The Call is to Fight - Ephesians 6:10-18
Years ago, I experienced a moment that clarified for me what preparation and purpose truly mean. I walked through a tunnel into a packed arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where twenty thousand people had gathered. Music thundered, voices roared, and anticipation electrified the air. I was about to compete for a collegiate national wrestling championship, a goal that had defined my life for years. Every training session, every sacrifice, every disciplined decision had been oriented toward seven minutes on that mat.
As I approached the stage, memories flooded my mind: childhood practices, victories, defeats, and the countless hours of preparation. Alongside the excitement came fear; the possibility of failure, the weight of expectation. My opponent stood before me, a formidable athlete who had defeated me three times before. He represented the final obstacle between me and the realization of my lifelong ambition. Yet as I stepped onto the mat, heard a last motivating word from my coach, and moved to the center, a quiet confidence settled in. I had done everything within my power to prepare. When the whistle blew, the moment had arrived, and all preparation gave way to action.
To live the life Christ calls us to is not merely to be agreeable or outwardly “nice,” nor is it to adopt a passive posture in the face of moral and spiritual disorder. We are not called to stand idly by while things such as transgenderism and post-modern ethics invade the minds of the next generation. Scripture does not present the believer as a spectator. Rather, it portrays a person awakened to a deeper reality: that life is marked by spiritual conflict. As it is written, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). To live faithfully, then, is to recognize this struggle and to prepare oneself accordingly. It is the dead who need no armor. You, however, are alive, and on the battlefield. Therefore, we must put on the armor of God, that we may withstand the schemes of the devil.
As a wrestler, I often had to do things that I did not want to do to be the best. There were practices that I did not want to attend, weight that I did not want to lose, and healthy food that I did not want to eat. But I knew that I had to partake in these disciplines so that I could have the best chance at winning.
All of these disciplines are now at work in the Christian life. Every Christian must continue to fight for every rep of prayer and Scripture reading. Every time we toe the line in the presence of God, He makes us more Christ-like. When we are in His presence, He makes us greater imitators of Him. But there is always an excuse. The common complaints of “I do not have time.” Or “I do not know where to begin.” Or, the best one, “I do not like reading.” Are all excuses from the enemy. They are ways to keep us from becoming more like Christ; they are ways the enemy shoots flaming darts at us from being a warrior for Christ.
When I was in college, I had an opportunity to make the USA World Team. The only issue was that I was severely undisciplined. I was twenty, yes, twenty, pounds overweight ten days before the event. In wrestling, if you are even 0.1lbs over your weight class, you cannot compete. After days of agonizing runs and hot yoga classes, I made the weight. The problem was that my body was run down. I lost matches that I should not have lost, and I failed to accomplish my goal. It is the same in the Christian life. If you fail to be disciplined in your warfare against the flesh, then you will not stand when the anxieties, temptations, and trials arrive. So, you must be disciplined in how you deal with them. 2 Corinthians 10:3–4 tells us, “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” We have been given many weapons in our warfare against the devil. Reading God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16), prayer (Matthew 26:41), confession when we fall (1 John 1:9), community (Proverbs 27:17), and sharing the gospel (Matthew 28:18–20; 1 Peter 3:15) are ways that we can abide with Christ and fight the enemy. But do not be so arrogant as to think you stand alone. “Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). Remember Christ. Remember that if you tried to fight this battle alone, you would lose. Only with Him can you be equipped for the battle He has called you to live.
There is a real spiritual battle that we are living in. There is no neutrality; each decision forms us either toward or away from Christlikeness. You have a real enemy who seeks to devour you (1 Peter 5:8). Every conversation, thought, and action is an opportunity to obey God or play into the schemes of the devil. Will you honor Christ in thought, word, and deed? Will you pursue holiness even when you do not feel like it? Put on the armor, gird up your loins, and fight.
You have not been placed on this earth merely to accumulate comfort, security, or early retirement. Christ’s call is far more demanding: “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). If you want to follow Him, then you need to learn to die to self and to relinquish the illusion that life is ultimately about you.
This raises difficult but necessary questions. Are you living for comfort, or for calling? Are you living for your glory or for Christ’s? Question yourself! Who is your God, is it self or Sovereign? If it is not for God, then you are fighting for the enemy. You can be fighting for the enemy not only in overt rebellion but also in complacency; a quiet surrender to distraction, apathy, or fear. So, which team are you on? If you call yourself a Christian, but serve yourself over Christ, then repent.
The contemporary church often reflects this tension. There is a real temptation toward silence, toward avoiding difficult truths, toward prioritizing acceptance over conviction. However, love does not rejoice with wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). The Church is commanded to call people out for their sin (Matthew 18:15–20), judge those within the church (1 Corinthians 5:12), and stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves (Proverbs 31:8–9). These are hard actions. These are actions that require clear minds, soft hearts, and strong spines. These are warrior actions. However, this is not the church of our day. The church of our day lies down in the face of evil, runs from conflict, and is willing to allow sin to reign supreme. Why? For the idea of “being nice.” But being nice is not love. If I knew a heroin addict who continued to indulge in drugs, it would be loving of me to try to stop him. In the same way, if I know a friend who is in sin against the Almighty, it would be loving of me to call him out. We must fight for our loved ones, we must fight for those who are dancing, cheering, and laughing straight to hell. It is our job, O Christian!
Scripture warns against the lukewarmness of the modern church, describing that those who continue in their apathy will be spit out by Christ Himself (Revelation 3:16). Yet this is not an inevitable condition. The individual believer is still called to faithfulness: resist sin, confront unbelief, and pursue justice with courage and humility. In other words, we are called to live. It is the dead who face no battles. However, you must put on the armor, and you must wage war.
The metaphor of warfare is a call to discipline, clarity, and perseverance. Just as my life as a wrestler was structured around a singular goal, so too the Christian life demands our minds to be set on the things above (Colossians 3:2). Every choice, what one consumes, says, watches, or thinks, shapes the soul. Do not fall into the sin of the age. Do not follow those who are blind. Open your Bibles and read. Fall to your knees and pray. Humbly call out your brother in sin. Struggle well in trials. These are the ways that you, as a Christian, can bear your cross (Matthew 16:24).
C. S. Lewis captured this reality succinctly: “The cross comes before the crown.” The Christian life involves bearing burdens, whether relational, financial, or spiritual, and enduring them with faith. These struggles are not meaningless; they are formative. To carry one’s cross is to participate in a process that ultimately leads to life.
The promise set before believers is not merely future relief but transformation: a day when suffering and sin are no more, when God Himself wipes away every tear (Revelation 21:4). This is what we have awaiting us! This is our crown! This hope does not diminish present responsibility; rather, it intensifies it. When you have doubt, trials, or temptation in your life, go to Scripture. Fill your mind with truth. Remind yourself that you will dwell with Christ forever.
Therefore, to live as Christ calls us is to engage fully: to reject passivity, to pursue holiness, and to stand firm in truth. It is a life marked not by ease, but by purpose; not by fear, but by conviction; and not by self-preservation, but by self-giving devotion to God.
I look back and have no regrets about any of my actions leading up to the national championship. But I lost. I did everything I possibly could to put on my armor, but it was not enough. Christian, here is the good news: our eternal war has already been won. Christ settled the war on Calvary, but there are still battles to be fought. We must put on the armor of God and fight for a perfect, all-powerful commander who does every work for His glory and our benefit. Have confidence, then, that no matter what the enemy throws at you, you have a faithful Father in heaven who will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Keep going. The life of war is the life of fruitfulness. If you sin, repent. If you fall, get back up. The call is to fight. Remember, it is the dead who need no armor. Not only have you been made alive by God, but you also have been adopted into His family as a son or daughter. There is no losing in the family of God. Therefore, may we take on this day’s battle with full confidence, knowing that we have a Lord in heaven who has already won the war.
Written by: Jack Mueller
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