Any examination of the Old Testament will show the terrible wars that the children of Israel and their enemies engaged in. Innumerable people were killed, mostly by the sword. In our day armies have progressed from the simple sword to horrible weapons of mass destruction.

Thank God for the good news of the gospel of Christ. We are still called to fight the battle for truth, but it is not a physical battle but a spiritual one: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, the weapons we use in our warfare are “not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). God has put into our hands the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

The world wants us to sally forth into battle but does not want us to bring our trusted weapon with us. That is because the world cannot stand against the wisdom and power of the word of God. They are happy if we use our own philosophical arguments; these they can easily defeat, but the word of God is endowed with invincible powers. Let us firmly grasp this sword today as we go forth in the crusade against the world, the flesh, and the devil.