A Spiritual Soldier or a Lip-professor?⤒🔗

At your baptism, this petition was uttered in the prayer of thanksgiving:

Be pleased always to govern these baptized children by Thy Holy Spirit ... that then they ... may acknowledge Thy fatherly goodness and mercy which Thou hast shown to them and us, and live in all righteousness under our only Teacher, King and High Priest, Jesus Christ; and manfully fight against and overcome sin, the devil and his whole dominion.

In this prayer, the congregation asks God to assist its baptized children in the spiritual battle they must wage. At baptism, a baptized child receives the royal insignia of Christ and is obligated to fight the good fight of faith under His banner. One could say that a military oath has been sworn. Therefore, as the child reaches maturity, he will be called upon to engage in holy warfare.

For engagement in this battle Christ is called upon to render assistance by His three office as Prophet, Priest, and King. Only then can the battle be fought in a rightful and godly manner, and will victory be attained.

When you make profession of faith, this battle awaits you. You have sworn to be loyal to the banner of King Jesus. Not only has this been seen and wit­nessed in the midst of Christ’s church, but it is also known in the camp of the enemy. Satan knows that you have sworn allegiance to the banner of King Jesus. He will not readily accept this, but will attempt to make you unfaithful and lead you to apostasy. The apostle therefore urges, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many wit­nesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).

A Christian is a soldier. Jesus also taught this, for He said, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24).

Many people faithfully attend church on Sunday, say their prayers, read their Bibles, and keep God’s commandments, and their names are recorded in the membership register of the church. They all hope that upon death they shall enter heaven.

However, they are not acquainted with spiritual warfare — with an internal conflict between the flesh and the spirit and an external battle with the world. They have no knowledge of crucifixion of the flesh, of self-denial, and of being ridiculed and maligned by the world, let alone of being harassed and assaulted by the evil one. And yet, they believe that they are Chris­tians and that soon they shall become partakers of eternal bliss. This is neither the Christianity described for us in the New Testament nor that which was preached by Jesus and the apostles.

Three Arch-enemies←⤒🔗

The true Christian is a soldier and must do battle with a three-headed enemy: the world, the devil, and his own sinful flesh. These are the three mortal enemies of the true Christian, and therefore one must wage war against them after having made profession of faith.

The world will become your enemy. Now that you are desirous to serve God and Christ, you will notice that the world is dangerous territory for the Christian. How full the world is of snares and pitfalls!

The pleasures of the world will draw you away from God and Christ. The mockery of the world will hinder you in taking a stand for God and Christ. You will always be in danger of participating with the world, being one with the world. However, James says, “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

The devil will become your enemy. Satan is the old enemy — an enmity that dates back to Paradise. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, he goes about as a roaring lion and an angel of light, seeking whom he may devour.

He knows that you have sworn allegiance to the banner of Jesus and that you are ready to desert his army, or that, by grace, you have already done so and no longer do his bidding. It will now be true of you what Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).

Satan is frequently the invisible enemy who wears a mask. He can act piously. Luther called Satan “the white devil.” By making all sorts of pious or wicked suggestions and insinuations in your evil heart, he will try to draw you away from God and His service. He will attempt to render Christ and the gospel suspect by undermining your hope in God’s grace.

The worst enemy is your own flesh. Even after con­version, your fallen nature will be inclined toward evil. The old man has indeed been dethroned, but has not died. Time and again the old nature will seek to reclaim its former territory. Sin will even cleave to you in your most holy activities.

What warfare this engenders in the heart of a regen­erated person! The apostle Paul could say that with the inner man he delighted in the law of God. But at the same time he had to say, “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom. 7:23).

How distressing the power of indwelling sin and the wickedness of our hearts can be! The great apostle cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Therefore, you cannot do battle against these enemies in your own strength, but only “under our only Teacher, King and High Priest, Jesus Christ.”

If you had the nature of an unfallen angel and were not a fallen creature, you would be able to wage this war in your own strength. However, having to deal with a corrupt heart, a ceaselessly active devil, and an enticing world, you must learn with the godly Jehosh­aphat, “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us.” Then you may also join him in saying, “But our eyes are upon thee” (2 Chr. 20:12).

What a great grace it is to look unto Jesus Christ, our Prophet, so that in your blindness you may learn where you must seek your strength! What a gracious blessing it is that Jesus is the King who is stronger than all your enemies — and that He is the High Priest who prays for you at God’s right hand and who has compassion with all your weaknesses! Only by look­ing to Him will you be able to wage this battle.

The Christian soldier is therefore not a person who relies upon his own strength and weaponry. Instead, he prays the prayer recorded in our Heidelberg Catechism:

Since we are so weak in ourselves, that we cannot stand a moment; and besides this, since our mortal enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh, cease not to assault us, do Thou therefore preserve and strengthen us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but constantly and strenuously may resist our foes till at last we obtain a complete victory. Q & A 127

Engagement in this warfare is a good sign. It proves that you no longer find delight in sin and that Satan is no longer your master.

Dead fish float along with the stream, whereas liv­ing fish swim against the stream. The worst chains are the ones that are not felt. As a result of conversion, the chains of bondage begin to oppress and this Egyptian bondage will cause one to cry out to God.

The warfare will also flare up when, out of the love in your heart, you are desirous to serve the Lord. Spiritual warfare will commence when the choice is born in one’s heart, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Jesus taught, “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils” (Luke 11:21-22). Jesus is say­ing here that as long as you serve the devil willingly, there will be no spiritual warfare. However, when one becomes the recipient of the grace of conversion, and you bid Satan and the world farewell in order to serve God, the devil will launch his assault.

After Israel had left Egypt, Pharaoh pursued them with horses and wagons in order to bring them again into captivity. When the heartfelt choice has been born in one’s heart and one has in mourning bid farewell to all evil, he will experience that the devil will be his enemy. Precisely when you desire to serve the Lord, he will oppress you and attempt to recapture you.

How discouraging it can be when you experience that so much of the world still remains in your heart! How frequently, and in spite of our presumed capability to do otherwise, we fall into sin and must learn, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18)!

Yet, such experiences are necessary. One must learn not to expect anything from his own strength. Acquaintance with your own heart and the experience of your own weakness will teach you to wage this battle by faith.

When looking upon ourselves — that is, when we consider how weak we are and how powerful sin is, how devious Satan is and how enticing the world is­ we would despair. However, in the hour of need, faith looks to Christ and says, “My eyes are upon Thee!” It looks to Christ, the Advocate in heaven, and to His blood and righteousness. Then, in spite of all warfare, one may say, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37).

In spite of all that transpires in this warfare, it is a good fight. We are waging war under the leadership of the best King. He is acquainted with this warfare.

He knows your enemies and your weaknesses, and He has promised: “Be of good cheer! I have overcome the world.”

Furthermore, the battle which God’s children must wage is a battle which has already been won. Christ has already gained the victory and, therefore, you will eventually triumph eternally in Him. The promise, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Rev. 3:5), is not made to “fair weather” and nominal Christians, but to spiritual warriors.

Falling into Sin Through Weakness←⤒🔗

In the Form for the Administration of Baptism we read,

And if we sometimes through weakness fall into sin, we must not therefore despair of God’s mercy, nor continue in sin, since baptism is a seal and undoubted testimony that we have an eternal covenant of grace with God.

The Bible gives us examples of falling into sin through weakness. Noah, Abraham, David, Peter, and others exemplify the weakness of the greatest of the saints. James says, “For in many things we offend all” (James 3:2). When God’s children fall into sin, Satan will attempt to make them despair of God’s grace. That is always his evil objective. First he will tempt us to sin, and then he will torment us by insinuating that there is no forgiveness for such sins.

In the midst of a fall into sin, however, one must not despair of God’s mercy. Baptism declares to us that we have to do with a God who is faithful and with whom there is much forgiveness. Calvin therefore states:

Wherefore, as often as we fall, we must recall the remembrance of our baptism, and thus fortify our minds, so as to feel certain and secure of the remission of sins.Institutes, 4.15.3

The Christian will need the comfort of his baptism during his entire life.

The catechumens who made public profession of faith in the early church would wear a white garment for eight days. It is difficult not to soil a white garment during a period of eight days; it is equally difficult to remain unspotted in the midst of the world. God’s children frequently detect that they have defiled their garments. Even if they do not fall into public sin, they frequently bend their knees at night as defiled sinners. What a comfort it then is to be reminded of the mes­sage of baptism: that as surely as water removes the filth of the body, so the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses from all sin! Divine forgiveness will then comfort their grieving heart and rekindle in them the zeal to persevere in sanctification and the battle against sin.

The ungodly live in sin, whereas the godly fall into sin, after which they arise again. Swine fall into the mud and feel comfortable in it, whereas a clean animal will make every effort to get out of the mud as quickly as possible.

Believers, due to weakness, fall into sin. This could also happen to you after having made profession of faith. What often becomes of our good intentions! How one’s heart can prove to be as wicked as it was prior to making profession of faith! How discouraging that one does not serve the Lord as He is worthy to be served!

This does not always mean that one falls into open sin. However, one’s heart and thoughts can greatly defile the white garment of his confession. At such times, Satan will attempt to remove from your heart the doctrine of God’s unmerited pardon and the witness of the blood of Christ which speaks better things than the blood of Abel. He will then cry to you, “For such a person as you there is no salvation with God. If your profession of faith had been genuine, you would be liv­ing a more holy and godly life. If there were any trace of the grace of regeneration in you, you would not have such a struggle with sin and you would live a holy life before God.”

In the midst of such warfare, one must think of his baptism. For Christians in the early church, baptism signified a radical departure from sin and the world. The old life was laid aside in order that, from that moment forward, they might embrace the church of God, whose doctrine they now believed, as their new home and mother.

Though such Christians had fled from the world, the world followed them. Paul already wrote concerning this: “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortion­ers, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world” (1 Cor. 5:9-10).

The early Christians experienced the reality of this. They could not remove themselves from the world, for in that world they had to live, work, and reside. Consequently, they did at times, out of weakness, fall into sin.