Edmond Burke famously said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” In western society, particularly in the United States, our identity is often based on our ability to conquer. This self-image bleeds into everything we do or believe, especially in terms of religion. When we hear Paul tell Timothy to “Fight the fight of faith”(1 Timothy 6:12), we rally behind this battle cry, seeking to conquer our enemies.

We Are At War

We hear about conquering and imagine powerful armies bringing death and destruction. To be true, these images are found in scripture as well. The national identity Israel, both Biblical and modern, is based on conquering the people that occupied the land. This prompts uncomfortable questions about our faith. Is the book of Judges a prescription for how God desires we proceed? Are we to go to war and slaughter unbelievers, steal their land, and set up a new nation for ourselves?

The Bible is clear; we are at war. The book of Revelation describes our enemies as dragons, beasts, immoral kings, natural disasters, and hordes of flying scorpions. The war rages around us in a fight to the death. In the early chapters, Jesus charges us to conquer and promises rewards if we do so.

In the two thousand-plus years since Jesus’s resurrection and ascension, the Church has faced threats from without and within. Insiders cling to heresies and threaten to destroy the holiness of God’s Word. Outsiders seek to destroy our faith. Secular forces relegate believers to the margins of society. Yet through all of this, the Church still stands.

A Christian Nation?

Many, fearing that threat, believe that America should become an explicitly “Christian Nation,” that we should codify our beliefs in law and enforce them on all. Also, government should take specific measures to protect us from unbelievers and those hostile to us. While I understand their motivations, scripture makes it clear that there cannot be such a thing as a “Christian Nation.”

Jesus reminds us that “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), and Paul writes “Our citizenship is in heaven”(Philippians 3:20). The kingdom of heaven cannot be defined in earthly terms. There are no national boundaries. There is no earthly government. Yet we need not fear. Jesus promises us that “the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Who is the conqueror?

If we are not to use force against our enemies, who, then, will conquer? Who will ensure we survive this war? In the fifth chapter of Revelation, one of the twenty-four elders said to John: “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered” (Revelation 5:5). When the ultimate battle takes place (See Revelation 19: 17–21), it is not believers, nor armies of angels, but a single rider on a white horse, Jesus Christ, who goes to battle alone.

We are conquerors only to the extent that we set aside our own powers and rely on what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do. The more we rely on our own efforts, the more we try to replace God’s strength and wisdom with our own. A true conqueror, from a spiritual point of view, is one who lays aside their weapons and allows God to fight on their behalf. “If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).

None of this means we are to remain on the sidelines. God wants us in the game. He calls us to be “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). This means we are to face all the difficulties of life with the faith that we are not struggling alone, but with the power of a loving Father who cares for and protects us. Our battle goes beyond physical combat and embodies the spiritual conquest over sin. Through faith, Jesus empowers us and changes us into conquerors in the deepest sense.

Many battles present themselves to us each day, but not every battle is ours to fight. Fighting battles that are not our own leads to loss of time, loss of energy, loss of resources, and frequently involves stepping beyond God’s plan. When we step outside of God’s will for our lives, even if we win the battle, we risk losing the war! So, what does God call us to conquer?

Conquering Ourselves

The first battle in our conquest over ourselves is defeating our own ego. Our ego, appropriately balanced, is critical for self-confidence, but in our fallen state, our ego is seldom, if ever, balanced. We fall either into the depths of self-pity or the dangerous heights of pride. We must spend time studying scripture and pray that God will help us achieve this balance.

Closely related to the battle for our ego is the battle for our own minds. We need to understand our patterns of thinking and the triggers that send our thoughts reeling into dangerous realms. Examine your thoughts. Where do you have thoughts of anger, sloth, greed? What situation prompts these thoughts? Knowing where your destructive thoughts come from can help you resist them. Then, cling to Paul’s advice to the Philippians: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). We can’t simply turn off our thoughts, instead, we can replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts.

Conquering the ways of the World

Once we have learned to conquer our own minds, we turn our attention to the world. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable, and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Look into the world around you. Where does society, culture, and the media conflict with the Word given to us in Scripture? Focus on that difference, then make the decision to turn away from the wide road leading to destruction and seek the narrow path that leads to righteousness. This is an arduous task, but John tells us, “Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5).

Powers and Principalities

Seldom in our lives are we attacked by physical human beings. Much more frequently, we face spiritual enemies. Paul tells us, “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). This is the “spiritual warfare” we hear so much about.

The attack of Satan and his minions often takes the form of small voices that twist our thinking and bring about doubt, temptation, anger, discouragement, and even despair. Note that in all these cases, it is not their power that threatens us, but our inability or unwillingness to turn to God and hear His voice instead. James tells us to “Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). By far, the most powerful weapon we have in our arsenal is prayer.

How do we conquer?

In the Christian life, victory appears quite different than it does in the outside world. Victory for non-believers looks like defeating an enemy and planting a flag. Victory in Christ is all about surrender. We surrender our lives to God and live in the faith that God will, in fact, already has, conquered.

Knowing that God has the battle under control, we can live through faith the way Jesus has called us to live. As Paul wrote to the Romans:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17–21)

It is too easy, however, for us to charge back into the battle, furious at the sin and injustice that we see in our world. Scripture tells us we should “Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9). If we love something, we will hate anything that threatens it. Note that we hate evil itself, not the person who practices evil. In all likelihood, the person has failed in their battle with the spiritual powers. We are to love our enemies. If through love we can win them back for Jesus, we’ve defeated that evil twice!

Harboring anger accomplishes nothing. The more unresolved anger we carry around, the greater the likelihood that we will explode, often taking it out on an innocent person whose only crime is being close to us. Therefore, James tells us, “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness”(James 1: 19–20).

We are called to reach out to our neighbors in love, not to conquer them. If we have already labeled them as “the enemy,” we will never be able to win people for Jesus.

Rewards for conquering

Our salvation is a gift given by Grace through Faith and not related to anything we do. That said, rewards are promised to those who conquer. In Jesus’s letters to the churches in the 2nd and 3rd chapter of Revelation, He promises us many things, but the promise that I cling most tightly to is, “To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).