Finding Peace and Purpose in Our Battle with the World

Acceptance into Christ’s army means, not deliverance from battle, but deliverance from defeat. There is now a necessity to do battle, to overcome, and only so to reign. The condition of victory is always battle. The modern lust in religion and all of life for a battle-free victory is only escapism of the ugliest sort. Salvation is never deliverance from conflict but the assurance of power and victory in the conflict.^[1]

Where is the army of the Lord? It seems to be hidden in the hills cowering before its worldly opponents just as the army of Israel cowered before the pacing taunts of Goliath in the Valley of Elah. Are we not aware of God’s covenant with us as David was? Who are these giants of our time that defy the will and purpose of God before the armies of Christ?

We are facing many giants, but we don’t see much of a battle. Maybe weariness along with the success of the megachurch has shifted the thinking of Christians from being soldiers of Christ to being “hipsters for Christ.” After all, the more we accept the ever-changing world, the more they like us, right?

Wrong! What the church will soon find out is that the world never gave up the battle, and they intend to win. They are still working to undo the Christian tradition, silence God’s voice, and distort the image of God in man into a thousand genders. They want all things redefined in their terms and after their likeness, and although they claim enlightenment, they have no idea what manner of spirit they are of.

When times are dark, end times prophecy is an easy sell. Surely the Lord is coming soon to deliver us! The One who saved our souls will quickly save us from this world! Come, Lord Jesus! It’s 2018. Haven’t Christians learned yet that we’re still here for a reason?

As Rushdoony mentioned in the citation above, “Salvation is never deliverance from conflict but the assurance of power and victory in the conflict.” God saves us, but He intends to use us, and by our acceptance into Christ’s army we shall be delivered from defeat not battle!

What Christians are searching for in Christ is actually found in fighting the battle of Christ. Our theology should not be one of escapism whether the escape is a rapture or a retreat into the church. Peace follows purpose, and part of our purpose is to engage the world on behalf of our conquering King:

Men cannot find peace in Christ until they accept the necessity for war with the fallen world, and Christ as the principle of this warfare. It is a part of His shaking of the things which are, so that the unshakeable might alone remain.^[2]

What will remain after conflict with the world? It’s the unshakeable Kingdom of Christ, but this is a point of controversy amongst churchmen who shout, “His Kingdom is not of this world!” Christ was also not of this world, but His victory over death by His resurrection transformed the meaning of history and launched a “resurrection age” for the church:

While the kingdom is not of this world in that it is primarily and originally an eternal order, its triumph in and over this world is set forth in the resurrection, a historical event, and shall be developed in terms of the whole of history.^[3]

As Christians joined to Christ who was raised from the dead, we now “bear fruit” in terms of that resurrection (cf. Rom. 7:4), and in that sense, both our personal and world history are immediately affected by Christ’s resurrection. The eternal order of God’s Kingdom is constantly invading history.

Our Lord instructed us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10), therefore the Kingdom comes when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. There is no doubt that this will not happen without great conflict, and we are the tip of the spear in this eternal battle being played out on the world stage.

The age has its tribulations, its battles unto death, but its essence for the Christian is victory unto life. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it cannot be otherwise.^[4]

We have a mission therefore as servants of Christ, and that mission is first and foremost Christ’s advancing Kingdom. For many, this aspect of Christian dominion can be an attractive one because of the allurement of control, but the message of Christian Reconstruction is based upon law and covenant so that dominion follows from faithfulness and godly work.

Like the builders who worked with Nehemiah, we work with one hand while holding a weapon in the other (Neh. 4:17–18). This is God’s will for us, as we should be enthusiastic and diligent about manifesting God’s Kingdom in every sphere of life while prepared to engage the enemies of God in the ongoing conflict.

The building we are doing is in terms of God’s law, and that should adequately explain the reason for the conflict with fallen man. The world does not want God’s rule or God’s law, so they certainly don’t want the people of God who are working to extend that rule.   

And he [the nobleman] called his ten servants, and delivered unto them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. ~ Luke 19:13–14

When Christ ascended, He left behind His church with gifts and power to exercise dominion and multiply His reign. It’s interesting that in Luke 19, the citizens expressed outrage and hatred against the nobleman’s reign over them even though he had departed “into a far country.” The citizens understood that the servants being left behind were equal to the present rule of the nobleman. This is our simple task:

Regenerate man, however, works to reestablish the law order of God among men, to establish church, state, and society in terms of the word of God, and to manifest the kingdom of God in its every meaning.^[5]

This is the Christian mission, and this is the mission of Chalcedon. We must “manifest the Kingdom of God in its every meaning,” and this begins with Christian education. The simple fact is that the wider church is unfamiliar with Christian Reconstruction, and our primary ministry task is to bring them that message while also reviving the hearts and minds of those who are familiar with it but have eased back into the landscape. We are here to inspire “faith and action.”

For me theology means the total mandate of God through His word. What I have written only scratches the surface; it is an introduction to the subject, and it is written to move men to faith and action.^[6]

What you are doing, in your support of me, is to sponsor a counter-measure to the prevailing trend, to promote by your support, interest, and study, a Christian Renaissance, to declare by these measures your belief that the answer to humanism and its statism is Christian faith and liberty … You have made your choice both by faith and action.^[7]

Let’s continue in “sponsoring a counter-measure” and work to create that “Christian Renaissance” by supporting the work of Chalcedon. Please take a few moments today to prayerfully consider supporting Chalcedon with your tax-deductible financial gifts. Click now to donate.

^[1] R. J. Rushdoony, Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2001), pp. 125–126.

^[2] ibid., p. 141.

^[3] ibid., p. 55.

^[4] ibid., p. 83.

^[5] ibid., p. 169.

^[6] R. J. Rushdoony, Systematic Theology in Two Volumes (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1994), p. xv.

^[7] R. J. Rushdoony, Roots of Reconstruction (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1991), p. 545.