Divinely Powered Weapons

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God...

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

What weapons do we wield as Christians against the Devil? In these verses, Paul speaks of weapons that have “divine power.” And he says that we use these divinely-powered weapons to “to demolish strongholds and arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.”

But what are these weapons? Paul doesn’t say in this passage. But as we look at his ministry, and at how Paul attacked false teaching, I think we can get a pretty good idea of what these divinely-powered weapons must be.

First, I think one of them must be the clear proclamation of the truth of the gospel. Clear explanation of gospel truth is a Spirit-powered weapon that God uses to tear down the lies of the enemy. Consider, for example, all the letters Paul wrote to address errors in the church. The New Testament is filled with these letters in which Paul is carefully explaining and teaching the gospel. Why? Because Paul understood that we can’t just win people’s hearts for Jesus… we must also win their minds.

I think the modern church has largely forgotten that! Too many of us think that if we can just make people feel good enough about church, if we can just make them feel good enough about Jesus, then we will win them for the Lord. But, that’s not how the New Testament church did it.

Have you ever read Romans? Have you ever read 1st or 2nd Corinthians. They aren’t exactly what I would call “feel-good” books. They aren’t primarily aimed at making people feel good. No! They are filled with sound doctrine, with logical arguments and detailed explanations that are primarily aimed at the mind.

We must learn to do the same. If we want to rescue people from the lies of the enemy, we must give them a clear dose of the truth. And if we want to safeguard our own minds from the enemy's attacks, then we must take in a steady diet of the truth presented in God’s Word ourselves.

Another divinely powered weapon that we see at work in Paul’s ministry is prayer. If you read Paul’s letters, you will see that he is constantly praying for his churches. Why? Because prayer unleashes the power of God in our lives. It's through prayer that the Spirit of God acts and convicts men and draws them to the truth. So, pray for yourself and for others to know the truth and think clearly. And pray for those who have been deceived by the enemy, who have been captured, to be set free from his strongholds and come back out into the light of day.

A third and final divinely-powered weapon that I see at work in the Apostle Paul’s ministry is the example and witness of his daily life. The Apostle Paul lived a divinely-powered life that confirmed his message, silenced his critics and gained a hearing for the gospel. He didn’t just preach the gospel, he lived it. You and I must do the same if we are going to unmask the lies of the enemy.

Follow the Spirit

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch... The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Acts 8:26-27, 29

Philip had just sparked a revival in Samaria that brought many Samaritans to Christ. In fact, verse 14 tells us that it was a significant enough revival for some of the apostles to come down from Jerusalem to check it out and take part in it. So, Philip has been doing a great work! And now, God tells him to take the road that leads to the desert?

Philip must have wondered why! Why would God ask him to do this? There were so many new converts in Samaria that needed to be discipled. Surely, Philip could be more useful there. This didn’t make any sense. Why would God send Philip away from the action to this deserted place?

We serve a God who works in mysterious and wonderful ways. What He leads you to do, won’t always make sense. Sometimes, obeying what you believe the Spirit is prompting you to do will make you feel downright foolish. Because it won’t make any sense to you. You won’t know why you are doing what you are doing. You will just know that you believe God wants you to do it.

Is that enough for you? Are you willing to take the next step that God is pointing out to you even if you can’t see where it leads or why God wants you to go that way? You’ll have to, if you are going to be used by God to go and tell others about Jesus.

You see God is at work in people’s hearts long before you ever get to have a conversation with them about Jesus. And only He knows who is ready to hear from you. Sometimes, you won’t understand why God is asking you to do something. But, if you are willing to obey Him— even when it doesn’t make sense—then God can do things through you that are bigger than you are. 

If you are going to be used to lead people to Jesus, then you will have to listen and be willing to follow the promptings of the Spirit. To be an effective soul winner, you must be willing to step out in faith and obey the promptings of the Spirit even when they don’t make sense to you, even when you don’t know where they lead. Will you follow the Spirit?

Live Such Holy Lives

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

1 Peter 2:12

Do you meet that standard? Do you live such a good life that even though people want to slander and attack your faith, they can’t find anything bad to say about you? Do you live such a good life that even those people who do falsely accuse you, over time have to admit that they were wrong?

Let me put it a different way. Do you live your life in such a way that your testimony about Jesus is believable? You see, how you live your life often determines whether or not people are willing to listen to what you have to say at all.

There are few things in life more frustrating than having to listen to someone who is just as clueless as you are explain to you what you ought to be doing. Have you ever had that experience? Someone who doesn’t know a lick about cars trying to tell you what they think is wrong with your car. Or someone who doesn’t know a lick about farming trying to tell you how to run your farm. Or someone who has never had a kid trying to tell you how to raise yours. Have you experienced that? No one likes that.

In the same way, people don’t want to listen to somebody tell them about God unless they’re first convinced that you know what you are talking about. And the way you convince them of that is by living such a good, holy, hope-filled life day after day after day that when the time comes, they want your opinion.

I hate to say it, but I think there are many believers who could go share Jesus with a friend right now, and it wouldn’t much matter... because those friends have seen how they live. They’ve seen that these Christians don’t live holy or hope-filled lives. Why would they listen to someone who claims to have the answer, but lives the same way they do? Nine times out of ten… they won’t. Very often, living a holy life when you think no one is watching, is the unseen but necessary preparation to being able to share the gospel effectively and reach people for Jesus.

So, let me encourage you to live in such a way that people are inclined to believe you when you share the gospel with them. Adorn the gospel with your life! That is what we are called to do, to live such holy lives that they give us opportunities to share the gospel and that they render what we share believable. Do that!

Be Prepared

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...

1 Peter 3:15–16

If someone were to notice your Christian character, if they were to sense the presence of God in your life… and they were to ask how they could become like you, how they could be saved… would you be ready to give an answer? Are you prepared (right now) to lead someone to Jesus?

You can’t wait until you get the opportunity to try to prepare. It’s too late to get ready then! You must prepare ahead of time. The Bible commands you to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” And the best way for you to be prepared to share your faith is for you to memorize a gospel presentation that you feel comfortable with.

So, I’m going to teach you the Romans Road Gospel Presentation with the ABC’s of becoming a Christian tacked on at the end. I want to encourage you to memorize this or some other gospel presentation and go over it again and again until you ar ready to lead someone to the Lord. 

“There is no one righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)

 

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23)

The Bible teaches that we are all sinners. Every single one of us has rebelled against God and His commands. We have all gone our own way. This is called sin, and sin has consequences.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

The wages (or result) of sin is death… physical death in this life and spiritual death in the afterlife. The Bible clearly teaches that sin earns us eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.

But because of His great love, God made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. Instead of death, He offers you life… eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Because God is just, our sin had to be punished. Because God is loving, He took the punishment for our sin on Himself. He sent His Son Jesus to take on flesh. He was fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect, sinless life. The only man to ever do that. And He became the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty and die the death that your sin required on the cross. Jesus did that… for you and for me so that anyone who repents of their sin and believes on Him will be saved.

But Jesus didn’t just die, the Bible tells us that on the third day after His death, Jesus was raised back to life. By His death and resurrection Jesus beat the power of sin and death for us so we can be set free from both. And Romans 10:9 tells us exactly how to receive this gift of eternal life that God offers us in Jesus.

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

That’s what it takes to be a Christian. It’s as easy as ABC.

A- Admit you’re a sinner. Repent of your sins. Ask God to forgive you and start obeying His commands.

B- Believe in Jesus. Believe that He really is God’s Son, that He took on flesh and lived a perfect sinless life and died on the cross to take your punishment. Believe that He was raised from the dead on the third day and ascended to Heaven where He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity with Him.

C- Confess Jesus as Lord. Surrender control of your life to Him. Become His servant and make Him your Lord. 

That’s how you become a Christian. If you are a Christian already, then learn this. Memorize it. Go over and over it again and again until you’re comfortable with it and can share it easily.

And if you aren’t a Christian… if you have never made Jesus Lord of your life… or if you aren’t sure that you have, then make today the day you draw a line in the sand and pray a clear prayer of salvation admitting your sins, placing your faith in Jesus and making Him Lord of your life.