I have the privilege as a ruling elder at a PCA church to help shoulder the burdens people carry in their lives.

People come to me on a regular basis and ask for help with various issues. Often is the case that those burdens and problems are spiritual in nature and hence it might be good to review the “ABCs” of spiritual warfare.

What is spiritual warfare? We seem to toss that phrase around a lot in the church; it would be helpful to define it. Spiritual warfare is the “wrestling and often agonizing experience Christians encounter as they look to conform to the image of Christ (Col. 3:10) in the midst of wrestling against their remaining sin, a fallen hostile world and demonic powers.” Much literature has been published on spiritual warfare, some of it good, some of it bizarre and unhelpful. It might be helpful to review the fundamentals. I don’t like the approach of some in offering checklists or rules because I believe more often than not the rules are not Scripturally sound. I will offer the following as principles that are based in Scripture yet leave room for God to work in accordance with His Sovereign will.

The first thing to recognize is that Christianity involves “a fight;” it is an ongoing struggle against remaining sin in our bodies, a hostile fallen world around us and hostile spiritual powers. Look at some references that speak to this:

1. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Eph 6:11-18).

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:12-13).

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5).

Why is Christianity a fight? For a simple reason: after the fall, the Lord declared a conflict that would ensue until the end of history. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen 3:15).

After Satan successfully duped Adam and Eve, the Lord declared that two “offsprings” would populate this world. Metaphorically, the offspring of Satan, those who reject the law of God and his rule, and the offspring of “the woman;” those whom the Lord would call out of the world to Himself. Christ affirmed this conflict: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn”‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household” (Matt. 10:34-36).

For clarity sakes, let me affirm to some things about this conflict. As New Covenant believers this conflict is spiritual in nature (see 2 Cor. 10:4-5). It does not involve inflicting violence on any other human beings. I am not addressing the issue of war and serving in the military at this point, I am addressing the conflict that we as Christians are involved in every day of our lives. There is no justification whatsoever in the New Testament to inflict violence on people with different belief systems. With that said, it is still a real conflict. We engage in this conflict by obeying God’s Word and engaging in spiritual disciplines that equip the heart for battle.

Reigning Sin:
In the definition of spiritual warfare above, the first realm of darkness listed is the conflict with “remaining sin.” What is “remaining sin”? It is the effects of the fall that remain in us after we come to Christ. “Reigning sin” is the power or principle that dominated our lives before we came to Christ; this power has been broken. Look at these passages that show the dominating power of sin that affected us before receiving Christ:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Eph. 2:1-4).

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin (Rom. 6:1-7).

We were the “living dead,” namely spiritually dead but physically alive. But in Christ that is changed, the reigning power of sin has been broken through our relationship with Christ:

“Reigning sin” has been broken by our union to Christ by faith. That is precisely what Paul says in this passage. When we wrestle with spiritual issues that are internal to our being, whether adultery, hatred, unforgiveness, dishonesty, lying or stealing, we are wrestling with “remaining sin.” Wrestling with “remaining sin” clearly is spiritual conflict that is within ourselves in over agaianst external factors like a hostile world or demonic powers.
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Bill Mueller is a PCA ruling elder in Miami, Fla.