In Part One of this post, we discussed the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. That now brings us to the sufficiency of God’s Word.

 

Sadly, it is at this point that many evangelical pastors and leaders have erred.

 

Probably the greatest example of this is in the area of psychology. Much of psychology, although it has been passed off as a science, is actually a religious system which places man at the center instead of God.

 

In that regard it is the religion of humanism—which is exactly why a major branch is called ‘Humanistic Psychology.’ For 1900 years the cure of souls used to be handled by clergymen in the Church—I mean what did Christians do for 1900 years before psychology came along?

 

They flourished under the teaching of the Word, the biblical counseling ministries of godly pastors and other Spirit-filled believers, and the love of the Body of Christ which was instructed by the Lord to bear each other’s burdens by loving, encouraging and praying for one another. Remember—these people were not free from problems by any means.

 

They lived with extreme poverty, disease, persecution and every other form of hardship you can imagine—and yet the Word of God was sufficient for them. But that all changed with the coming of psychology onto the scene. The devil pulled off a major coup when he psychologized the Church—recovery replaced repentance—therapy replaced theology—sin was turned into sickness—and happiness replaced holiness as the chief pursuit of the Christian life.

 

Thomas Szasz, considered to be one of the great masters in the field of psychology in the world, in his book,

“The Myth of Psychotherapy” said, 

“Through psychotherapy we have turned the salvation of sinful souls into the cure of sick minds.”  Szasz, who is Jewish not a Christian, is basically saying, “You Christians have the answer, you ought to take this back into the Church. What’s it doing out here? We’ve got nothing to offer.”

 

R.D. Laing (another of the great masters in psychology) said, “I cannot think of one thing that psychology has offered the human race of any benefit in the area of interpersonal relationships in its entire history. We haven’t gotten beyond Plato, Aristotle or Shakespeare.”

 

Yet Christian leaders by the thousands have bought into the lie of psychology believing that the Bible must be supplemented with it if Christians are to be mentally healthy and spiritually mature.

 

Another way that Christian leaders are supplementing the Bible with that which they claim is essential to really connecting with God is in the area of 

. It goes by different names: contemplative prayer, spiritual formation breath prayer, or centering prayer.

 

It is nothing more than Christianized Transcendental Meditation that uses ancient, eastern meditation practices to induce altered states of conscience known as ‘the silence’.

 

. Sadly far too many churches have rejected that idea as foolish, archaic and naïve choosing rather to make the focus of their churches things like—mysticism (contemplative spirituality), materialism (word of faith), environmentalism, and social justice (Christianized socialism) just to name a few of the themes that dominate many pulpits in our country today. That’s why more and more Christians all over the country, and the world, are saying, “Our church isn’t what it used to be.”

 

The host of the Christian radio show Cross Talk read some letters she had received on this subject—

 

“Our church is changing, something’s happening, our church is moving away from a biblical Christ-centered approach to ministry. The meaty sermons have disappeared and we’re getting entertainment. Our small group is memorizing large portions of the Purpose Driven Life instead of memorizing Scripture. Something’s changing in our church, we can’t put our finger on it but it seems that our voices are being ignored. When we try to speak out in our small group people shout us down. We are viewed as Bible-thumpers in our own church.”

 

These things are the fulfillment of what Paul said would characterized the last days church—

 

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ…Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their 

 

Listen, a person doesn’t have to believe in the inspiration, the inerrancy, the infallibility or the sufficiency of the Scriptures to be saved—but if they don’t it will definitely affect the way they live their Christian life.

 

They will never be victorious and fruitful if they believe that the Bible is full of errors and therefore untrustworthy. Look, to fight and win this spiritual war that we’re in we need the weapons that come from God—

 

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,

 

Paul is saying here that spiritual warfare is all about ‘pulling down strongholds.’ What does that mean? What are these strongholds? Verse 5 tells us:

 

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

 

“Pulling down strongholds” in v.4, relates to “

” in v.5.

 

You have the metaphor in v.4 and the explanation in v.5—these strongholds are “

”.

 

The Greek word is logismos and it means, “thoughts, opinions, philosophies, theories,”—or to sum it up—“Ideologies.” The “and” is kai in the Greek and should be translated “even.” Paul is saying that 

—“ even”, “every high thing (every proud, arrogant, lofty ideology) that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.”

 

This would include all the false religions and cults in the world—but it would also include ideologies like: atheism, communism, Marxism, secular humanism, and the one that dominates our universities, and centers of science, politics and education, the reigning ideology of our day—naturalism.

 

Spiritual warfare is primarily fighting against the brainwashing of the devil who has pumped incessantly into the minds of people through the mass media, and many other outlets, all of his anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible satanic propaganda.

 

This is what Paul meant when he said at the end of verse 5,“…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

 

Most Christians apply that to personal sanctification instead of its correct interpretation which is spiritual warfare. We’re fighting against lies, thoughts, opinions, philosophies, theories that people raise up against the true knowledge of God—

“You mean spiritual warfare isn’t about casting demons out of people?” —that’s part of it—but a very small part.

 

Primarily, on a day by day basis, spiritual warfare is all about rescuing people who have been taken captive by the devil through his lies and we have the truth that alone can set them free— Jesus said in John 17:17, “Your Word is truth.”

 

And in John 8:31-32—”If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

Spiritual warfare is the battle between the truth of God and the lies of the devil; and the main battle field where it is fought is in our minds for control of our thinking. That’s why Paul admonished us as believers—

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 

We read 2 Cor.10:4-5 again but this time from the New Living Translation—

 

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

 

We are in a war, but the weapons of our warfare are not physical—bazookas, tanks, AK-47’s—however they are still powerful for bringing down the strongholds we face. Again, the New King James Version translates the last part of 2 Cor.10:4—

 

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

 

The New American Standard Bible translates it:

 

“…but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

 

It’s interesting that the Greek word for “fortress” could also be translated “prison” and “tomb.” These fortresses that we assault are the fortresses of the damned that are really their prisons and will become their tombs if someone doesn’t set them free.

 

These fortresses are all the aberrant ideologies that people take refuge in, all the strongholds of lies whether they are the wisdom of man or doctrines of demons that people seek to fortify themselves in against the true knowledge of God. And Paul chose his words carefully because he wanted us to know what we are up against.

 

As one author put it:

 

You can’t pull these down with clever gimmicks, with verbal formulas or with human philosophies—it takes something much more powerful to smash these fortresses.

 

So what are these mighty weapons God has given to us to smash the ideological strongholds and fortresses? Paul in Ephesians 6 (one of the great sections on spiritual warfare in the Bible) tells us that they are the Word of God and prayer.

 

I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.

 

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word…

 

When Satan came against Jesus in the wilderness with three successive temptations—after each one Jesus said, “It is written!” The lies of the devil are too powerful today to try and fight against using the wisdom of man—we need the Word of God and prayer.