“…casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”
—2 Cor. 10:5
As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must expect the continual opposition of this ungodly world to our Lord, His Word, and His Church. Therefore, taking a stand for Christ and His Church must happen every moment of every day of our lives, and not just when the world comes up with ungodly legislation that opposes Christ’s Word, such as the “abortion on demand” or “same sex marriage.” It’s in daily life that the real spiritual battle is won or lost, and if we lose the battle on this level then the bigger battles, which come upon us from time to time, will also be lost because we will not be equipped, prepared, strengthened, or conditioned to fight the bigger battles.
Therefore, we must stand for Christ against the philosophy of this world by faithfully living every moment of everyday according to the Word of God and oppose wickedness at every turn (Matthew 4:4; Ephesians 5:11). We must be faithful in our marriages, families, and church relationships, and we must resist compromising because of the pressures of the world (Ephesians 5; Colossians 3). We must faithfully train our children in the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Joshua 24:15). We must avoid gossip, slander, and backbiting (James 4:11; Proverbs 10:18; 1 Timothy 5:13), and we do this by always speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 4:6).
If we are going to stand for Christ against the philosophy of this world, we must faithfully pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2), obey our church officers and pray for them daily (Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:17-18). We must be faithful in our vocation (Ephesians 6:5-8), walk in humility (1 Peter 5:5, Romans 12:3), and continually forgive one another even as God has forgiven us (Eph. 4:31; Matthew 18:21-22; Luke 17:3-4). We must resist being conformed to the ways of this world by being transformed by Scripture (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:17-18), which will teach us to love not the world or the things in the world, such as the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15).
In summary, to take a stand for Christ is to “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” and to “walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14). This is a daily fight for every Christian (Romans 7), but the Holy Spirit is diligently at work within us transforming our minds through the Word of God. He is daily conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:16; Romans 8:29). Pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit upon the church of Jesus Christ so that all believers will march in the name of Jesus and for the glory of His kingdom!
Tuesday Encouragement: June 24, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
