10 Risks of Not Teaching about Spiritual Warfare

When I first started teaching about spiritual warfare more than 30 years ago, few evangelicals were tackling this topic. More churches do now, but many are still afraid of the topic. When we don’t talk about this subject, though, there are often consequences (and that’s one reason we’ve tackled this article series over the last nine weeks). Here are some of those problems when we’re silent about this topic:

1. We ignore much of the Bible. Spiritual warfare is evident from Genesis to Revelation, and the battle culminates in a cross that is central to our faith—followed by ultimate victory when the enemy is cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). You almost have to intentionally ignore spiritual warfare to miss it when reading the Bible. If you want a book that looks at spiritual warfare throughout the Bible, followed by a practical section on warfare, check out this book I co-wrote with a colleague from Southern Seminary.

2. We send believers into the battle unarmed. The spiritual battle’s happening whether or not we choose to address it. It’s happening, in fact, even if we know nothing about it. If we don’t teach believers about it, they’ll face a battle in a war they don’t know exists—and the result is almost always loss. Discipleship really does matter in preparing self and others for the spiritual battle.

3. Some of the people we lead will fall in the battle. Too many of us can tell the story/stories of others who have fallen in the conflict. The scars of a lost battle can be deep and enduring. The time to teach about spiritual warfare, therefore, is not when folks are locked in the middle of a battle; it’s before the battle heats up so they’re prepared for it.

4. We fail to understand the battle in evangelism. Multiple times in the New Testament, Paul described lostness in terms of spiritual warfare (Eph 2:1-3; 2 Cor 4:3-4; 2 Tim 2:25-26; Col 1:13; cf. Acts 26:18). The enemy will always fight to keep lost people in his kingdom, and we need to recognize that conflict. Indeed, we need to prepare for that conflict if we choose to be obedient in the task of evangelism. By the way, here’s another article on this site that ties together prayer, warfare, and evangelism.

5. We miss the significance of discipleship. Much of discipleship is teaching believers how to wear the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-17). Discipleship is both about teaching believers their identity in Christ through Him (Eph 1-3) and challenging them to live out their faith accordingly (Eph 4-6). New believers need guidance in knowing how to walk in truth, righteousness, and faith; when we don’t disciple them, we set them up for defeat when the enemy attacks.

6. We miss an opportunity to teach about the sovereign power of God. Never in the Bible is the devil outside the control of God; from the Garden of Eden to the fire of judgment, God is sovereign over Satan. In reality, God even uses the battle at times to keep us weak and dependent on Him (see #9 below). He wants us to know, accept, and live out this truth: the battle is not ours; it is the Lord’s (2 Chron 20:15).

7. We likely ignore warfare in our own lives. As leaders in God’s church, we wear a bullseye on our back for the enemy. Too often, however, we don’t think much about the battle unless we’re caught in the middle of it at the time. And, because leaders are generally gifted in some way in what they do, we sometimes still try to fight the battle on our own. Thus, we ignore that reality of warfare—and that’s really risky.

8. We see even Christian families lose too many battles. The enemy attacked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the quick result was a husband turning against a wife. Since that time, Satan has aimed his arrows at marriages and families. In fact, the next story in the Bible after the fall of Adam and Eve is the story of Cain and Abel—a story filled with division between brothers. Our families may be at stake when we know nothing about spiritual warfare.

9. We miss a chance to teach about the power of trusting God in the battle. The apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh which he identified as a “messenger of Satan” (2 Cor 12:7). Whatever that thorn was, it tormented Paul with continual buffetings. So painful was the thorn that Paul pleaded with God to remove it—and God did not. Instead, He wanted Paul to realize that God’s grace was sufficient, and it was in Paul’s weakness that he would experience God’s power. When Paul came to the point to say, “I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses” (2 Cor 12:9), you know how much he’s learned to trust God in the battle.

10. We leave someone else to teach it. Others do teach the topic, but not always with a strong biblical foundation. It’s easy to give Satan more attention than the Bible ever does when we’re teaching about warfare. It’s also far too easy to come up with seemingly powerful “quick-fix,” formulaic ways to fight back against the enemy—thus focusing more on some warfare technique than on biblical obedience and faithfulness that stand strong against Satan. When we’re not grounded in the Word, we risk teaching something less than helpful in the battle.  

Do teach the truth of spiritual warfare, but let the Bible be your guide!