Take Every Thought Captive
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
The Lord has given His children the ability to wage war not against physical people, but against spiritual strongholds which were established by the enemy in contradiction to the Truth. To be ready to wage this war against false teachings or faulty logic against the Lord, we must prepare in one way by taking captive our own thoughts. If we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ, then our actions and words will likewise be obedient to Christ. This in turn will allow us to be a living testimony of the work that the Lord has done in us and then our words will be in sync with our life and our faith when we go to defend the faith.
The Spirit of the Lord can empower us to take on opinions and arguments against the Lord and destroy them. Not destroy people with vehemence, but with clarity, gentleness, and truth. Should we find ourselves in a position where we can defend our faith in the Lord, speak to His existence, describe the creation of the world versus secular arguments, attest to the divinity of Christ and the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies, let us not squander the opportunity to breakdown a stronghold that the enemy has built up against our Lord. Jesus warns us that if we deny Him before men, then He would deny us before God the Father. So let us not waste this opportunity to share the truth of God’s word with a people who do not know the truth or seek to smear it with their faulty opinions. They deserve to hear the truth, so let us be prepared to give a defense.
1 Peter 3:14-15 “But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”.