Why Downplaying Spiritual Warfare Is Dangerous

Introduction: A Modern Blind Spot in Spiritual Warfare

In many conservative and Reformed churches, a noticeable unease surrounds the topic of spiritual warfare. This discomfort manifests in sermons, literature, and conversations among pastors and congregants alike. A handful of objections surface repeatedly:

• “If we focus too much on demons, we’ll take our eyes off Christ.”

• “That sounds too Pentecostal or Charismatic, and we’ve seen how much harm that movement has caused.”

• “God is sovereign and all-powerful; why should we worry about Satan at all?”

  
  

These concerns are understandable. We rightly seek to guard against sensationalism and man-centered religion. However, the problem lies in the fact that the Bible itself does not share our discomfort with speaking directly about the spiritual battle we face. To act as though avoiding the subject diminishes its reality is to ignore the consistent testimony of Scripture.

God’s sovereignty does not minimize the threat of spiritual warfare; rather, it heightens it. The same God who is perfectly sovereign has chosen to reveal in His Word the ongoing activity of Satan, the devil, and the powers of darkness. We do not learn about demons from demons; we learn about them from God Himself.

Strikingly, every New Testament book, except Philemon, speaks in some way to the reality of spiritual opposition against the church. These warnings were not intended solely for the apostolic age; they were written for the church today.

This leads us to ask: What do these spiritual dangers actually look like for us? They may not always appear in sensational forms, but they are present in five devastating ways: false doctrine, division within the church, pietism, moral compromise, and losing sight of the kingdom.

1. Doctrinal Deception: “Teachings of Demons”

From the beginning, Satan’s chief weapon has been deception. His first words in Scripture—“Did God actually say?” (Gen. 3:1)—set the pattern. He twists God’s Word to undermine trust and obedience.

Paul warns Timothy that in the latter times, some will “depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). False doctrine, therefore, is not merely an innocent mistake; it is energized by demonic forces.

The apostle John issues a similar warning: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). In other words, behind false teachers, there are often real spiritual influences at work—spirits that must be discerned, resisted, and exposed by the light of God’s truth.

For the church, doctrinal clarity is not an academic luxury; it is warfare. To preserve the truth of the gospel is to resist “the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).

When churches downplay doctrine, they do not escape warfare; they surrender to it.

2. Division in the Church: Demonic Wisdom and Ungodly Words

James warns of a wisdom that is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:15). What does this look like? Bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, slander, and harsh words. The issue is not merely bad manners; it is spiritual warfare. The way we speak to and treat one another in the church is not neutral; it either reflects the Spirit of God or opens the door to the devil.

In chapter 4, James employs strikingly severe language. He calls believers who are consumed with quarrels and worldly desires “adulterous people” (4:4). Why? Because by resisting God’s grace, they ally themselves with the world—and, by implication, with Satan himself.

James ties church division directly to a failure to submit to God:

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Where believers refuse to humble themselves under God’s Word, Satan finds an open invitation into the fellowship. Church fights, James asserts, flow from passions at war within us:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1).

When God’s people do not rest in His grace—“but he gives more grace” (James 4:6)—they inevitably turn on one another. In doing so, they provide Satan with room to work. Division, backbiting, and church quarrels are not merely personality conflicts; they are signs that the church has failed to resist the devil and submit to God.

3. Pietism: Fleshly Religion That Ignores the Battle

Another danger in the church is pietism—the subtle belief that the Christian life is measured by visible performance. Pietism focuses on what can be seen: outward devotion, external effort, and measurable “progress.” However, when one only concentrates on the visible, one inevitably resorts to fleshly solutions.

Paul warns of those who possess “the appearance of godliness, but deny its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). This is the fruit of pietism. It is religion devoid of the supernatural. It attempts to wage a spiritual war with the weapons of the flesh.

This is why it is so perilous: pietism diverts our gaze from Christ and redirects it back onto ourselves. It teaches believers to look inward—to gauge acceptance with God by the quality of their performance rather than by the finished work of Christ. In doing so, it plays directly into Satan’s schemes.

The truth is that our hope and strength in the battle derive not from our performance but from Christ’s. Satan is defeated not by our spirituality but by Christ’s victory. A church consumed by pietism has forgotten that spiritual warfare is won by the Spirit, through the gospel—not by human striving.

4. Moral Compromise: Opening the Gates

One of Satan’s most effective tactics is moral compromise. Paul warns the Ephesians not to “give any opportunity to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). Sin is not merely a weakness; it is a foothold for the enemy.

Today, Satan tempts the church back into slavery—especially sexual slavery—through the powerful influence of media. Shows, movies, and music that glorify sensuality are not neutral entertainment; they are spiritual traps. Yet many Christians engage with them because labeling them “satanic” feels too extreme. In reality, that is precisely what they are: weapons of the enemy designed to dull our senses, blind us to danger, and normalize impurity.

The tragedy is that the church often allows the world to define what is “acceptable” in culture instead of submitting to the Word of our King. Out of fear of sounding legalistic, we hesitate to uphold what is righteous. However, Peter reminds us that standing for holiness will always invite opposition:

“With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you” (1 Pet. 4:4).

Why does this matter so profoundly? Because sin is never private. It harms everyone involved. It enslaves the sinner and hinders us from genuinely loving and caring for others who are also ensnared in sin. When the church compromises morally, it not only wounds its witness; it leaves its people defenseless in the war.

Moral compromise is not neutral. Every concession to the world’s definitions of sexuality and freedom is a crack in the wall of defense, through which the adversary presses his attack. The call to holiness is not legalistic moralism; it is warfare, and it is the only way of love.

5. Why Spiritual Warfare Matters: Fighting for the Kingdom of Christ

At the heart of spiritual warfare lies not merely survival but mission. We are not fighting for our comfort or our best life now; we are fighting for the Kingdom of Christ. Our calling is to set our minds and hearts on “the things that are above” (Col. 3:1), the kingdom that is coming. Yet Satan works tirelessly to keep our eyes fixed on what is seen and temporary.

Paul reminds us that “we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” (2 Cor. 4:18). However, setting our eyes on the unseen necessitates a spiritual battle. The world trains us to view people as objects to consume or competitors to defeat. Christ calls us to see them as souls to rescue. Only when our hearts are liberated from worldly distractions can we love people as Christ loves them.

Spiritual warfare is not about achieving worldly happiness; it is about living in the freedom of Christ to help set others free until our King returns. Tragically, many Christians today lack the joy of Christ because they remain enslaved to the fleeting joys of this world.

Through the gospel, we are liberated from slavery to sin and endowed with a new hope and purpose. We are enlisted in the service of Christ’s kingdom, equipped with spiritual weapons:

“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” (2 Cor. 10:4–5).

When we perceive with spiritual eyes, we begin to recognize our true calling in the war. The Lord has granted us the gospel itself as our great weapon—the message of Christ that alone dismantles the strongholds keeping the world enslaved.

Conclusion: Seeing the Battle with Spiritual Eyes

The purpose of this article is to help Christians begin to discern what is concealed in our world. We are not merely contending against our flesh and the influence of the world; we are also confronting “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). Satan is actively shaping the course of this world, and unless we perceive with spiritual eyes, we will remain blind to his schemes.

The more we comprehend reality as Scripture reveals it, the more we realize our utter dependence. Without the power of the gospel and the means of grace found in the church—Word, prayer, fellowship, and the sacraments—we are powerless to stand against the powers of darkness.

This is why so many Christians today feel hopeless, distracted, or even depressed: they are attempting to make sense of life without perceiving the unseen. They are fighting flesh with flesh instead of standing in the strength of Christ.

However, the good news is this: when we open our eyes to the spiritual battle, we see even more clearly the sufficiency of our Savior. Christ has already triumphed over the powers of darkness. Through Him, we can stand firm, not in fear, but in faith.