God’s Judgment Helps Us Win Our Spiritual War

True Christians are spiritual soldiers in a spiritual war (2 Timothy 2). There are many parallels between spiritual war and physical war. During the Civil War, United States President Abraham Lincoln had many generals who were not winning battles. One of the main reasons was their lack of judgment.

Jesus Christ warned us against lacking judgment in spiritual war: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:23-24).

Christ called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites! They dived into the trivial matters with passion while ignoring the weightier matters of the law. They didn’t see the big spiritual picture.

Judgment is listed ahead of mercy and faith. Judgment is a weightier matter that gives us victories. As Christians, we desperately need godly judgment to win our spiritual battles.

President Abraham Lincoln was cruelly disappointed by generals who reported victories that turned out to be defeats. T. Harry Williams discusses this in his book Lincoln and His Generals. These men settled for less than absolute victory or couldn’t identify true victory at all. Gen. John Frémont’s judgment could not be trusted. Gen. George McClellan was timid and cautious, while Gen. John Pope was aggressive and rash. But neither of them could judge reality on the battlefield! McClellan magnified dangers; Pope minimized them or didn’t see them at all, leading to his massive defeat at Bull Run.

Before being put to death, the Apostle Paul wrote his last book: 2 Timothy. This is one of the most inspiring books in the Bible.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). God leads us into spiritual battle. We must overcome the spirit of fear! Paul didn’t fear death because he had the spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Our world today has gone mad because so few people possess a sound mind.

Paul kept inspiring God’s people with a sound mind, even during this terrible time in God’s Work. The love of God will bring you a sound mind! (To learn more, request my free booklet John’s Gospel—The Love of God.)

“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (verse 8). Paul had done nothing but obey God and do God’s Work, yet people without a sound mind were about to put him to death! By God’s power, we can endure the “afflictions of the gospel” to move the Work forward. There is no reason to give in to fear.

“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). Simply follow the example of Jesus Christ, Paul told Timothy.

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (verses 2-3). Endure hardness, soldier!

In How to Be an Overcomer, I write about the science of spiritual warfare. Almost all of Lincoln’s generals didn’t understand the science of warfare, and so they could not win victories. They were impaired by a lack of judgment. Spiritually, we must learn how to win battles against Satan, the world around us, and our own wretched human nature.

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (verse 4). Jesus Christ has chosen us to be soldiers and endure hardness! God fills us with happiness, but we do suffer afflictions to overcome and conquer.

Another of Lincoln’s generals, Gen. William Rosecrans, could not discern the important from the unimportant, Williams wrote. How about us? As disasters overwhelm our world, are we using judgment to pick out and prioritize what is most important? Do we realize that we are in a spiritual war that we must win to enter the Kingdom of God?

Remember, judgment comes before mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23). What happens when mercy and compassion leapfrog judgment? The enemy will gain a big advantage because we will give in to him too much! Godly judgment ought to tell us not to cede ground to the devil, who is trying to kill us. No compromise!

It is wonderful to have faith, but making a bad judgment will damage faith. There are times when it is unwise to step out in faith. We need judgment to even be capable of walking by faith so we don’t unnecessarily veer off into all kinds of difficulties and dangers.

General McClellan “had called a partial victory a complete one. … [H]e called a partial reverse a disaster. He was giving a fine demonstration of his inability to evaluate the reality of events” (Lincoln and His Generals). McClellan could not judge reality! That’s a pretty big problem!

God and Christ execute righteous judgment. “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:26-27). We must follow Christ’s example (1 Peter 2:21), which includes using judgment. You and I must execute judgment! Strong judgment provides a lot of victories.

Notice an example of Christ using wise judgment: “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all” (Matthew 12:14-15). Christ discerned the threat and slipped away to continue doing God’s Work.

Godly judgment brings victories in physical and spiritual war. Are you winning victories? Am I? We must! God’s judgment wins!

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Millions of people wrongly judge according to appearances. We cannot judge based on surface details. Christ warns, No, you need to be more careful. You’d better really look closely. Judge whatever is going on in depth or you’re going to lose the battle—maybe even the war!

“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind” (John 9:39). If we are not guided by God and Christ, we will become spiritually blind—incapable of godly judgment! We can’t be blind and still win battles.

It is so easy to think we can handle problems or work out solutions our own way. But God says we have no idea how to live properly without His help! (Jeremiah 10:23).

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send [it] unto you. And when [it] is come, [it] will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7-8). After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, God sent the power of His Holy Spirit to a select few human beings called out of the world and into His one true Church. With this power, we can cast aside worldly human righteousness and faulty judgment.

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter in a way the world cannot understand. It makes our lives comfortable and our judgment focused and clear.

“Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (verses 9-11). God is about to render judgment upon Satan the devil, the god of this world who has deceived all mankind (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9).

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). We must grow spiritually so we can handle whatever God tells us in His perfect judgment and love. He knows how to fight spiritual battles perfectly and can empower us with the same judgment. He never loses!

Beware the human mind apart from God. It is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). Accept correction. Overcome human nature. Allow God to make you humble and teachable.

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). We need God’s Holy Spirit stirred up in our minds daily through deep contact with God. This Spirit is the greatest gift God can give us today.

Verse 7 again: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God wants us to live joyful lives of victory on top of victory thanks to His righteous judgment!