Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Wednesday July 22, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey, good morning, everybody. It is Wednesday, July 22nd. I'm your host, Greg Miller, and this is the episode of Beliefs, Ballots, and Bulldogs. ⁓ today's theme is is the question of are we fighting the right battles? ⁓ are we are we doing the right job of of selecting who our actual enemy is? Think about it, like what if what if the people or the the person who frustrates you the most isn't actually the problem? What if that's not the enemy? What if the the politicians online that you see all the time or on the news? What if you the the politicians that just make your blood pressure raise? What if that's not the enemy? What if the the the political activist, the crazy coworker, the insane neighbor, or the family member who you just can't seem to understand? Anybody who thinks differently, votes differently, or believes differently than you? What if that's not the enemy? What if that's not really who we're supposed to be battling against? If if that's the truth, then then many of us have been spending and essentially wasting our energy fighting the wrong war. ⁓ today's scripture comes from the book of Ephesians, ⁓ chapter six. And and most most Christians are are aware of this chapter because this is this is the one that references the armor of God. ⁓ but before Paul gets into telling us how to fight, Paul makes sure to tell us who we're fighting. ⁓ and I think it's important here to take a minute, and and we discussed it a little bit yesterday, but we need to make sure we remember. know, who Paul was before he was Paul as we know him. ⁓ before that he was he was Saul of Tarsus. Saul was the enemy of the church. He hunted Christians. Paul approved or Saul in this case approved of Stephen's execution and was trying to destroy the Christian faith altogether. If if the early Christian believers had had concluded, hey, Saul is the enemy, in one sense they would have been a hundred percent right. But because of, and as we discussed yesterday, because because Barnabas and the church eventually learned something about this, and and and the message here is, and this is what's going to ultimately reinforce the whole the whole ⁓ theme of the day. God can transform even the fiercest opponent into a great missionary. ⁓ and and essentially this is that in a nutshell is that's the gospel in living color. It this this reinforces the whole point of this episode. And And this basically tells us, you know, we can't confuse the person with the spiritual battle at hand. God is still in the business of changing hearts. And sometimes He changes hearts that we have already decided cannot be changed. So in the chapter six of the book of Ephesians, Paul writes, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. We're going to focus, don't, don't miss those first six words. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Before we rush into this, let's let's remember, you know, let's remember who's writing this and and where where and when he's writing this. You know, we we discussed Paul's history, you know, as Saul of Tarsus and and persecuting Christians. ⁓ but this at this point, this is this is a fully converted Paul. This is this is not Paul sitting quietly in a study like I am doing doing Bible study and trying to lead any any sort of worship. ⁓ this is not Paul sitting there after a quiet, relaxing retirement. ⁓ he's he's writing from prison. He is he is literally chained to Roman guards as he writes these letters. And think about everything that that he's endured. He was he was run out of cities, you know, sometimes dragged out. He's been beaten, whipped, stoned, and left for dead, falsely accused, rejected by the very people he was trying to reach. He'd been arrested, imprisoned. Paul had Every earthly reason to hate people. And if anyone could have written at that time, my struggle is against Rome, it was Paul. ⁓ if anyone could have blamed the religious leader, it was Paul. If anyone could have pointed at specific people and declared, these people are my enemy, it would have been Paul. But instead, ⁓ under the inspiration of the of the Holy Spirit, he says something completely unexpected and profound. My struggle is not against flesh and blood. Now, church, let me tell you this. This doesn't mean that people don't do evil. It doesn't mean that people's actions don't matter. It doesn't mean that governmental leadership is irrelevant. And it doesn't mean that the truth becomes optional. Paul is in no way denying reality. He's just redefining the battlefield for us. What Paul is saying here that if you mistake people for your ultimate enemy, then you're never going to fight the battle that really matters. You know, Jesus, Jesus saw the battle just just as clearly as anyone possibly could. You know, the Pharisees opposed Jesus. Pilate condemned him. The soldiers mocked him. The crowd shouted, crucify him. And yet instead, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he did not say, Father, destroy them. He was not looking for revenge. He prayed, Father, forgive them. Why? You know, the father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus understood something I think we often forget. People can be and should be responsible for their actions. But that doesn't mean that that doesn't mean they don't still desperately need and possibly deserve redemption. Jesus never once minimized sin. We talked about this yesterday, but he also never stopped seeing people that as as people that he came to save. Even the sinners, he never lost sight of the fact that he was here to save them. He could certainly have condemned the hypocrisy while while while weeping over Jerusalem. He could have confronted Peter, but then he restores Peter. He could expose the Pharisees and still die for them. That's the heart of the gospel. He was able to call out sin, call out untruths, but still sacrifice himself ultimately for all of us. I I wonder sometimes if if one of Satan's greatest victories isn't to make Christians stop believing in Jesus, but but maybe it's to make Christians to to stop hating ⁓ him and maybe it's convincing Christians instead to hate the people. ⁓ that he's influencing. And and we have to remember that those people are are always made in the image of God. If if Satan can convince us that other people are the enemy, then he he never has to worry about us coming after him. He simply sits back while we attack each other and and families get divided, the nation gets divided, churches split, friendships end. And all the while he's just sitting back there smiling because we've decided to aim our weapons at each other. In instead of it sin, instead of it deception, instead of it pride, and instead of it untruths and the spiritual darkness that fuels them. I mean, look around. We we see this everywhere. Look at our country right now. Politics, race, immigration, education, artificial intelligence, the economy, foreign policy and and and wars. Every issue becomes ⁓ just another opportunity to decide you know who deserves our anger, who's the enemy. And and our culture repeatedly tells us. You know, destroy the other side. They're wrong. Put them down. Scripture tells us to pray for our enemies. Our culture says if they're wrong, then then we should hate them. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Our culture says win at all cost. Jesus says make disciples. You know, we have to ask, do Christians really have convictions? Absolutely. Should we stand for biblical truth without hesitation and without apology? Should we oppose evil? You're damn right we should. But we should never forget that there's a difference between opposing evil and hating people. One is commanded, the other is condemned. Christian fight isn't about fighting people. Christian fights for people, not against them. And that's exactly what Jesus was doing in his time on earth. He was he was quick to call people out and address the sin, but never lost sight of the fact that those were the same people he was fighting for, not fighting against. I don't think, you know, we we certainly deal with some some persecution as Christians, but it is certainly not like it was back in the day. I don't think that's one of the greatest ⁓ dangers facing the Christian church today. I I think less than than persecution sometimes, it's more just a ⁓ general distraction. You know, we have we have all become experts at at defining and identifying the villains and enemies, but we've become very amateurish at making disciples and being good Christian leaders. ⁓ we've some of us have become very incredibly skilled at winning arguments. But are we really winning people over to our side? Are we really bringing followers to Christ? Are we making heaven crowded? Those are those are not the same thing. Winning an argument and losing a person is not necessarily a victory. You know, some of us here we seem to know every political talking point. We can recite those conversations, we can talk online about political issues to or blue in the face. But we haven't shared the gospel in a while. When's the last time you did that? You know, if if you can't remember the last time you prayed for somebody that you vehemently disagree with, then I would ask, and Paul would ask, are you really fighting the real battle? You know, at the cross, you know, Jesus defeated the true enemy sin, death, hell, Satan. But notice what he didn't defeat. He didn't defeat people. Jesus died to save us. Jesus died to save people. Even the people who nailed him to that cross that killed him. And this is exactly why the church exists today. That it's not to create enemies, it's it's to it's to proclaim a better savior. So this week, before you post or before you argue about something, or before you go like we all do, and just assume the absolute worst about someone, ask yourself that one question. Am I really fighting the real and true enemy here? The person across from you. bears the image of God. They may be wrong, they may be badly wrong. They may even oppose everything you believe, but they're not beyond the reach of God's grace. And if God's grace can reach them, then our love should reach them too. Stand for truth, fight against evil, and never compromise the gospel. But let's never come let's never confuse the captive with the capdo. The real enemy has been and always will be the one who blinds hearts, spread lies, and delights in the division. Fight that battle, not against your individual friends, because that's the one that Paul says matters. You know, maybe like you said, maybe the greatest victory wasn't wasn't getting for Satan wasn't to get Christians to stop believing in the Bible. ⁓ I I've often heard the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And I think that's in a nutshell that sometimes we just lose sight of the fact that he is the only one and true enemy and that most all of the evil in the world is coming from his hands. You know, if if if we forget who the enemy really is, then then that's that's not when we're going to be at our best. The church is at its best when it tells the truth without fear. The church is at its best when it loves without compromise. And the church is at its best when it determines to remember that every soul we encounter is a soul that Christ in fact died to save. So today Pray for somebody that you've been tempted to despise. Speak the truth, but do so with grace. Refuse to let bitterness and anger become your witness. And remember, your greatest battle has never been against flesh and blood. It's against Satan. As always, guys, get in your Bible, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.