What is spiritual warfare?

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)

We live in the flesh, but we do not fight by fleshly means. Our weapons are mighty through God to the destruction of the imaginations of our body or of any high thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons teach  us to submit to the obedience of Christ. Jesus’s soldiers have unusual armor. We have the “breastplate of righteousness”, the “helmet of salvation”, the “shield of faith”, and the “sword of the spirit”. Our feet must be “sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace”, all the while wearing the “belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:11-18 HCSB).

“Strongholds” of our sinful mental fortress can only be destroyed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our imaginations are filled with pride, selfishness, vices, evil tendencies to follow society’s standards, etc. The degradation of man is revealed throughout history. Therefore, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” – Romans 6:12. Destroy those fortress, and use your bodies to obey God. 

With all our strength by God’s power, we must focus on spiritual things, as we read in Colossians 3:2: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” We have to think about holy things, related to our salvation as we strive to be part of the Royal Priesthood.

When we want to subdue the old nature, we may examine ourselves through these questions:

1. Do my mind and heart enjoy sin in any form?
2. Do I justify my little sins as excusable?
3. Do I have a passion for justice, truth, kindness, gentleness, meekness, humility, patience and love? All Christian soldiers must recognize that their warfare will continue until death. There can be no question of considering any thoughts about withdrawing, if only for one hour, from the good fight of faith.

I am a Christian, so can I marry a Hindu girl?

No. When a Christian and a non-Christian marry, that couple is considered unequally yoked. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV) “do not be yoked together with unbelievers”.  

Deuteronomy 22:10 tells us, “do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together”.  A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull. When two animals of unequal strength are yoked together, the stronger one will need to bear more of the burden and the weight will not be evenly distributed. 

In God’s sight, a man and a woman become one (or yoked) when they marry. Emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and financially, the couple will need to work through the challenges of life together. It is especially important for the couple to pull together spiritually. 

So why does the Apostle Paul admonish us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers? Apostle Paul warns us in Romans 12:2saying, “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” As the saying goes, “be in the world, but not of it”. Christians are to live as new creatures in this unrighteous world while simultaneously not allowing it to influence us or lead us astray from the path of self-sacrifice. 

A non-Christian spouse will not be willing to sacrifice all to follow in Jesus’s footsteps. Remember Jesus’s words in Matthew 16:24, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” The natural spouse will appropriately want the good things of the world. But Jesus told His followers, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…” (Matthew 6:19). 

Therefore, a Christian believer should only marry another Christian. Jesus’s followers consecrate to do the Lord’s will in all aspects of their lives and that certainly involves choosing an appropriate life partner.

Why is the Bible written in parables ?

Mark 4:10-12, “When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables.  ‘You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,’ Jesus answered. ‘But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, so that, They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.’”

Mark 4:33-34, “Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these…but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.”

Mathew 13:10-16,  “Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, ‘Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?’  Jesus answered, ‘The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them…The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: ‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see,   because their minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.’ As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear.’”

We will break it down.

1. God’s Word as not intended to be understood by the world at large.
2. God only revealed His plan to a select few people whose minds and hearts were opened to understand.
3. Jesus did not want the whole world to be converted.

Jesus’ answer should make us want to ask a whole lot more questions.

Most Christian churches teach that you have to accept Jesus now or you will go to hell. If that were true, then why did Jesus purposely not want people to be converted? Didn’t he want people to be saved? Of course he did! So then you have to reexamine many of the main stream doctrines to see if they square with this reasoning of Jesus.

In will be during Christ’s glorious reign on earth that the whole world will taught of Jesus. Then, “They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD…” Isaiah 11:9. “…I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God…and no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least…to the greatest…I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33, 34.