Legalized Abortion and Spiritual Wrestling

In my last posting I began a brief study of the Apostle Paul's guidance on spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-20. I continue that study today as we look at those enemies we each face in our one on one wrestling. Paul writes that we wrestle against

"the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place" (Eph. 6:12)

Last time I pointed out that wrestling was the most violent and no-holds-barred event of all the Greco-Roman Olympic sports, often ending in death for the loser and sometimes even for the winner. Preparation for the conflict required extreme training, physical strength and mental self-control. Learning how to wrestle was also part of the boot-camp training for Roman soldiers. They had to be carefully disciplined if they were going to win in one on one combat. The same kind of disciplined training is necessary for the believer in and follower of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

To understand the importance of this training,  Paul provides a brief explanation of whom we are up against. He calls them authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil. What does he mean?

Start with 'authorities'. A quote from the Lord Jesus applies here:

 "And I tell you,everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say" (Luke 12:8-12).

Jesus Himself, as you know, was dragged before the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin, and then before the Roman Procurator Pilate. Their lies, lust for power and political maneuvering led to His crucifixion. Believers, Jesus points out, will experience the same thing. Their open witness to their belief in Jesus and the Gospel, as well as their firm commitment to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures will be challenged by rulers and authorities. The forces behind such challenges, Paul says, are spiritual. We do not face mere men, mere "flesh and blood."

The implications for the present in the United States, for example, are multitudinous. Consider but one, the law that says it is legal for a woman to murder the unborn child in her womb, the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973.

This pernicious ruling is clearly contrary to God's commandment forbidding murder and yet in the name of the so-called Constitutional right to privacy, the Bill of Rights ninth amendment, it is legal. Christians have no choice—none—but to speak out against and oppose such an immoral law. We are bound by our faith in Christ to defend human life and most particularly the helpless life in its mother's womb.

In doing so, our Lord points out that we must be prepared to be brought up before the rulers and authorities. Even if they are not elected rulers, many vigorously claim to support abortion in the name of what they call a woman's rights. If and when that happens, we also need to realize that this is part of the spiritual wrestling we must endure.

Having said that, I also am very aware of the personal wrestling a young woman faces when she is pregnant because of rape or a pregnancy outside of marriage. I know of the wrestling a young couple faces when they learn their pregnancy will most certainly lead to the birth of a physically or mentally deformed child. I know what frightening decisions must be made when the birth of the child may lead to the death of the mother. As a pastor, I've been there, assisting women and couples in their wrestling. In those moments, fellow believers must be prepared to support and strengthen those who wrestle; we must be ready to speak the words of the Holy Spirit.

This is but one example out of many that illustrates the life and death struggles believers in Christ face and why we all must submit ourselves to rigorous spiritual discipline.