Christian people simply do not like to go on the offensive anymore. It is very common for Christian people to latch onto Bible passages that concentrate on the defensive portion of the faith. They love verses like 1 Peter 3:15 which tells us to always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us. Softer Christians will latch onto the word “defense” and never progress beyond it.
Unfortunately, they cherry-pick these defense-based verses but ignore the additional verses that authorize an offensive form of spiritual warfare. Those are the verses I want you to concentrate on because if you have grown up in the church, you are already well acquainted with defensive warfare.
For far too long the religious world has trained men to be passive pacifists and shy away from any form of aggression or violence.
They do this even though this same aggression is what builds civilization and keeps them safe. Many soft Christian men are anti-violence until they need to be rescued by the police or protected by the military. They preach peace until they need someone man enough to apply violence to an assailant. They have educated out of themselves the need to be masculine men who can defend themselves and their families.
Though those are examples of physical violence, the same pacifist mentality has spread into the intellectual sphere of these Christian men. Now they are unwilling to engage in spiritual “violence” even though it is authorized by the Bible, which we will cover shortly. They are unwilling to attack overtly false ideas or teachers. They refuse to address their fellow man who is wallowing in immorality.
Worst of all, they use “mercy” or “grace” to justify cowardice.
These men do not shy away from the offensive because they are virtuous, they do so because they are cowardly. They do not want to be the bad guy or hurt anyone’s feelings, so they simply let the immorality exist. They allow their brother to live immorally because they are too afraid of angering them. This is not kindness, it is hatred. A man who sidesteps his responsibility because he is unwilling to endure discomfort and then justifies it by twisting the Scripture is no man.
Let’s examine some of the passages that authorize us to engage in offensive warfare, and then we will supplement these with commands for general warfare:
Offensive Warfare
I. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ~ “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 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”.
This is perhaps the single greatest authorization of offensive spiritual warfare in scripture. Here we are given the signal to attack false arguments and pull them down. If you are an ancient general pulling down a stronghold, it means you laid siege to it and destroyed it, which requires you to attack. No man ever pulled down a stronghold from a defensive position.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is the biblical authorization to go on the offensive. Attack and destroy false arguments, there is no need to sit passively and ideally by as war breaks out around you.
II. Ephesians 6:10-17 ~ “Finally, my brethren, 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, taking 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.”
While the specific context speaks concerning spiritual warfare and destroying temptation, there is no doubt that we also wrestle against those individuals who are vessels for the enemy. The bible teaches that the adversary corrupts the hearts and minds of men, therefore these men should be attacked (Acts 5:3, Luke 22:3-6).
The second half of this passage outlines our tools of war. I think it is beneficial to think of the shield of faith as both offensive and defensive. If you have read anything about how the Spartans used their shields in combat, you know that a shield can go from being a protection device to an offensive weapon in an instant. Any man who was ever hit in the face with 20 pounds of bronze-coated wood can attest to that fact. So also faith can be used to defend yourself from temptation or immoral argument or to attack enemies.
Then you have the sword of the Spirit, which is primarily an offensive weapon. You use the Word of God to go on the offensive to attack and destroy the enemy. You can destroy temptation with scripture (Matthew 4) or you can attack faulty ideas and false teaching (2 Peter 2:18-22). Everyone thinks of a sword as an offensive tool used for an offensive assault, so use it as such.
Unfortunately, we may have to use the Sword to oppose another man’s incorrect use of the Sword. The Bible does not contradict itself, every alleged contradiction can be explained if men are willing to have an honest, non-emotional discussion about it. But flawed human men will attempt to wrongly use the sword to justify their behaviors or condemn the behaviors of others (1 Timothy 4), they twist the Bible to their destruction (2 Peter 3:16). You will have to use the bible to attack other incorrect interpretations of the Bible where you see them.
General Warfare
I. 1 Timothy 1:18 – “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.”
This is an authorization for general warfare, which I argue encompasses both offensive and defensive positions. Not only is faith a war, but it is a total war. It is not limited to violence on the battlefield, it also includes economic warfare, propaganda generation, psychological maneuvers, and discreet, pinpoint assassinations.
If you are going to war, do not think of it only in terms of the battlefield.
You must also consider all these other avenues in which men wage war. You will find many times that a man is using deception or propaganda-style war instead of attrition war. Men may couch their personal or political agendas in morality, and they may do so from the pulpit in the name of God. They can cloak their position in just enough morality that it becomes difficult to attack their position without attacking the morality they have propped up as a shield.
You must be very clear about this, if you have an enemy who is intelligent enough to engage in guerrilla warfare, you do not need to engage in attrition warfare. Most well-meaning Christians go wrong here. They respond to an intelligent enemy with emotion. They allow the enemy to frustrate them and this dilutes their ability to focus and make good battlefield decisions. What you must do is have the presence of mind to elevate yourself above the battlefield, see every position, and consider propaganda and economic attacks.
The Usefulness of Defensive Warfare
I am not suggesting that we get rid of all defensive warfare. On the contrary, I am suggesting that we add the principles of offensive warfare to an already well-established position of defensive warfare. Essentially every Christian man knows to defend the faith and be ready to answer those who have questions about our hope, but very few men understand and appreciate the fact that we are also to engage in offensive attacks on our enemies.
It is easy to be a defender, it is difficult and dangerous to be an attacker. To defend, you simply need to know the scripture. To attack, you not only must know but must also understand the scripture.
Application
Step one is to rid yourself of the guilt complex that is commonly associated with an attempt to engage in offensive warfare.
Because of your pacifist upbringing, you may feel discomfort when engaging in offensive warfare. It simply does not “feel right” to your intuition, but let me assure you that it is not only appropriate but necessary. It is your responsibility to help your brothers who are living immorally or have integrated some wrong philosophies, and it is their obligation to help you as well should you fall into some intellectual trap.
Step two: move beyond the basics of biblical knowledge.
What most people do is read the Bible, swallow a few lines they like without ever thinking about it. They accept the surface level meaning of what they read without going any deeper or trying to understand the target audience and societal structures of the day. This is an advantage for you in your warfare against them but is also a weakness of human nature that you will have to learn to avoid in your own study. The surface-level understanding is just our attempt to take the path of least resistance.
Deepen your understanding by concentrating longer on passages and reading supplemental materials like commentaries. Never simply swallow an idea, no matter how respected the source; always think about it for yourself first.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it”
Aristotle
Step three, adopt the Socratic Method. Socrates was an ancient philosopher who confused and confounded the people he talked to simply by asking questions about their positions. It would not take many questions before his opponents were angry and were shown that they did not know that much about their own position. Many centuries later, Benjamin Franklin would adopt this same practice and go on to write about it in his autobiography. He had a reputation in his friend group of being the one who confounded the opinions of others simply by asking questions. Questions reveal gaps in knowledge, so use them as weapons of war.
Principle of War: You only have to ask most people“why” about three times before their position collapses.
To use the Socratic method, you simply have to question your opponent. By asking questions, you are on the offense and you force your opponent to take a defensive position. When an opponent takes a defensive position, it is very difficult for them to maneuver into an offensive one later. Being attacked puts men on edge, it pushes them into fight-or-flight mode, especially if they have weak positions.
Whenever they make a statement, ask them what they mean or question small portions of their statements. Force them to define terms so there is no uncertainty about the words they are using. Look for holes in their arguments that you can exploit with a carefully placed question. This has the added benefit of allowing them to destroy themselves because you are not attacking their position with direct statements. Their own words will be their undoing.
Be careful with the Socratic method as well. At the end of his life, Socrates was made to choose between death or exile. He chose death by hemlock poison.
Attrition Warfare
It is rarely appropriate to attack your opponent directly. You must almost always use guerrilla war tactics and intelligent maneuvering rather than all-out frontal assaults. Prevent yourself from being the “bad guy” by forcing your enemy to destroy his position. Or modify the way you attack the enemy so that they cannot be mad at you for defeating them, but may even be grateful for the correction.
One of the only times a full-scale direct attack is necessary is when you are dealing with an individual who is unwilling to change and will not listen to reason no matter how clearly and rationally it is presented. In this instance, it is your responsibility to bludgeon this individual as much as possible in the presence of as many witnesses as possible. Do not attack directly if no one can witness it, you will only damage your position. The point of the frontal assault is for the benefit of those watching, not for the one being eviscerated. You also need witnesses who can defend you if you are accused of being “unloving”.
But the real benefit of witnesses is so they can understand a few principles:
- You are a force to be reckoned with.
- To assist them in understanding the ridiculousness of your adversary’s position.
- As an undeniable display of force – you are not afraid to go to war if necessary.
- You are comfortable engaging in offensive warfare and are not limited by pacifist doctrine.
Fourth, have the character to stand resolute in your positions. It may make you less popular to be the one who is assaulting faulty positions, but it is a biblical requirement.
Fifth, choose your battles. Not every argument is worth having. Offensive warfare causes the attacked party to feel embarrassment and shame. Many people have fragile egos that cannot handle this type of war and will not improve if attacked directly. Again you must consider guerilla war tactics or quiet political maneuvers. Count the cost of warfare, it is expensive so consider whether it is worth it to engage in. If you are the type of person who is content being the “bad guy” and not having deep personal relationships with others, then offensive war will not cause you any real problems.
Also, all these tactics assume that you are holding the correct position.
It could be that your position is the one that is incorrect and you need someone to correct your thinking. If you are ever shown that your position is faulty, you need to have the humility to accept it with grace.
Never be mad to be corrected, because being corrected is the fastest way to go from being wrong to being right again. Have enough open-mindedness to correct your position, but be resolute enough to hold positions you know are correct.
Fight to the Death.
Conduct Yourselves Like Men.
