I was browsing through Kris Vallotton’s Book, How Heaven Invades Earth, when a quote, set apart in the middle of the page, caught my eye. It read, “To a powerless church signs have become something you nail to a stick.” His point was that churches who do not display or even believe in the present supernatural works of God will try to change the world by picketing abortion clinics or by covering their car with bumper stickers proclaiming their disapproval of one group of sinners or another. He goes on to say, “I think it just makes us feel like radical Christian’s when we take a stand for righteousness.” He then explains his concern that we may be actually hurting our cause by destroying any value we have with the group we are opposing.

I believe in Christians being politically active and being salt and light in the world. I believe in passing laws that retrain sin. But I also know that you cannot legislate morality and you cannot win people to a cause by only telling them what you are against and by proclaiming what horrible sinners they are. Perhaps, many Christians and some churches have reverted to the weapons of the world because they have no faith in divine weapons to tear down strongholds.

Vallotton raises the question of how Jesus would have dealt with an abortion clinic or a same sex marriage lobbyist or Islamic terrorists. I was reminded that Paul instructed Timothy about such matters. “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim.2:24-26).

A key thought in that passage is that men who oppose the gospel and what is good have often been trapped by the devil and are living under the power of deception. Arguing with them or slandering them will not change their minds but will only reinforce their beliefs that Christians are intolerant hypocrites unworthy of consideration.

Paul, the former persecutor of the church, wrote, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom.12:17-21).

Perhaps, the greatest power the church possesses is love and the power of the Spirit that keeps us from being overcome by bitterness, resentment, and hatred toward those who have been overcome by evil. It is the love and compassion of God that releases the power of miracles and the kindness of God that calls men to repentance. When we align our hearts and tactics with the world, we begin to misalign ourselves with the Father and his power cannot flow through us into a world that desperately needs his touch.

When I see Christians on social media calling on us to annihilate ISIS without mercy, I understand the feeling. My flesh jumps to agree but the Spirit reminds me that Jesus died for those men and their families too. Do we just stand by then and do nothing as genocide unfolds? No…we act and even go to war if necessary because we are also commanded to protect the weak and the oppressed.

But as we do so we must guard our hearts so that we do not become like the ones we oppose. We also pray for God to destroy the spirit that is behind ISIS because we do not war against flesh and blood. We pray that Jesus will reveal himself to these men and we pray for open doors for the gospel in the Middle East and in America.   Ultimately, the kingdom advances one heart at a time and one life at a time. That is why Jesus said that his kingdom is within. In a sense, these cultural battles and even world wars will only be won when men surrender to the Prince of Peace in their own hearts. If a man who is willing to blow himself up for an impersonal God could be won for Jesus, how much more would he be willing to live for the God who died for him?

Christians must promote righteousness in the land, vote on election days, support causes that defend Christian liberty in the courts, and even go to war. But somehow, by the power of the Spirit, we must not hate or despise those entrapped by the devil and we must find ways to overcome evil with good. We must declare what we stand for (the gospel) rather than what we stand against. We must oppose evil while loving our enemy. Is that possible? Yes, but only by the power of God. We are certainly in a time of testing for such things so pray that God will show us the way so that this evil will be overcome in our generation – “not by power or might but by my Spirit sayeth the Lord.”