ARE YOU A FIGHTER OF CHRIST?

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

Are You A Fighter of Christ?

The fight is real and the war has been declared by the evil one, but the question is are you a fighter of Christ or not? The decision has to be made by each and every Christian who is engaged in this warfare. Spiritual warfare is even more dangerous than the conventional one because the enemy is more cunning and invisible. We are warned by the holy Apostle Peters who says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your Adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" [1 Peter 5:8]. It is important, however, that anyone entering this spiritual battle must be prepared and possess the right and the most lethal weapons for this war because one’s life and salvation depends on it.

The fighter of Christ is familiar with Saint Paul’s admonition "to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, tasking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" [Ephesians 6:10-17].

Just as important as spiritual armor is a Christian’s READINESS and ALERTNESS; DILIGENT PRAYER AND WATCHFULNESS IN SUBMISSION TO THE Holy Spirit. Those on the "front lines," Bishops, Priests, Deacons, in this case, require the back up power of a praying Church. It also requires discipline, obedience, self-denial and struggle. Our example according to Saint Paul is the "soldier." He writes, "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier" [2 Timothy 2:4].

"This is the faithful saying:
For we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with
Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself"
[2 Timothy 2:11-13].

Spiritual warfare. however, does not only take place from without but also, from within ourselves. It is just as dangerous, threatening, devastating and destructive as the worldly one. Our opponents are the passions, envy, pride, ego, disobedience, faithlessness, sensuality, deception, hypocrisy, lying, stealing, gossiping, hate, unrighteousness, judging, the tongue, which according to Saint James is "an unruly evil" [James 3:8], condemning, lus adultery, lust, abortion, and all the other wicked works that are committed by us. Sinful actions and thoughts are attacking us daily. How do we conquer all these passions? Only by the grace of God Who is always ready to come to our aid. Saint Maximus the Confessor says, "The rewards for the toils of virtue are dispassion and spiritual knowledge. For these are the mediators of the Kingdom of Heaven, just as passions and ignorance are the mediators of eternal punishment." Therefore, we fight a two front war, internal one and external one. "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-.minded. Lament and mourn and weep! …humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" [James 4:7-10].

Our expectation of future salvation through the Glorious Second Coming of Christ motivates us to vigilance and proper spiritual conduct. In Romans 13:11-14 says, "And do this, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for NOW OUR SALVATION IS NEARER THAN WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of Light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." The "night" of course is this life under the influence of evil powers. The "day" is the glorious coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In every battle there are those who fight with courage, there are those who are afraid, there are those who know how to use their weapons effectively, there are those who are injured and those who lose their life in battle. There are some who instead of defending against the enemy, are dedicated to saving the lives of the injured friends and compatriots, they are the medics and even physicians and nurses. Spiritually speaking, however, those injured, who succumb to sin through temptation, negligence, passions, or by making wrong decisions. Nevertheless, there are also spiritual medics who are able to offer first aid and nurse the spiritual injuries of the combatants. If the injury is life threatening and what is needed is a physician, a physician is provided to them. There is also a hospital that one can be admitted into until the person is completely recovered. The physician who can save the life of the badly injured person is the Greatest of all physicians, the Physician of our souls and bodies, Jesus Christ. The hospital where He treats all patients at, is the Holy Church. The life-saving medicine given to those injured or are spiritually ill, are the divine Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Church.

The Spiritual Guide Who teaches those who remain loyal to Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit. We come to know God’s wisdom through the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit "knows the things of God, just as "the spirit of the man" knows what is in man. The unbeliever the "natural man" is one not yet joined to Christ, unenlightened and unregenerate. The spiritual person is filled with the Holy Spirit given at his/her Chrismation and is maturing in his knowledge of Jesus Christ. Just as the Holy Apostles worked together with God in carrying out the ministry, so too, we, as God’s fellow workers, cooperate with Him to do His will. Saint Paul reminds us "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:140. Spiritual discernment is absolutely necessary to fight the good fight. The spiritually blind are not able to distinguish what is sinful and what is godly for they lack discernment.

It is, nevertheless, true, that spiritual warfare can cause, not only injuries, but also great suffering and pain. The battleground is the world which we live in. This earthly world is filled with hardships, diseases, afflictions, attacks of all kinds and also poverty used as weapons by the evil one against us. There is also the great conflict between the flesh and the spirit which threatens the spiritual harmony and inner peace. The devil attempts to discover our weaknesses, and use them to undermine every effort from us to improve and grow spiritually. We are the target of the wicked forces who seek to destroy our soul and thereby create a chasm between us and our Divine Creator. If we are not strong, committed warriors, and are willing to fight against evil, we become fellow accessories of satan.

The holy Apostle Paul says, "For the weapons of our warfare are NOT carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). The battlefield of spiritual warfare includes (1) entrenched spiritual fortresses (strongholds), (2) human reason (arguments), (3) human and Angelic powers ("every high thing that exalts itself") (4) ideas (thought) and (5) the will (obedience). Our weapons include the Cross, Prayer, and the Word of God. Both our thoughts and our actions together are to be submissive to Christ. The Church is God’s Fortress, marching against the strongholds of disobedience.

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called
and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses… I urge
you in the sight of God Who gives life to all things…that you keep this commandment
without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing which He will manifest
in His own time" (1 Timothy 6:12-150.

____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George