January 2014 – It was a small and ragtag invasion force: a young preacher on a fishing boat with 12 companions, landing in territory firmly under the control of pagan gods.

In the country of the Gerasenes (Mark 5:1), Jesus Christ and His disciples encountered a poor soul completely controlled by so many demons that, when asked to give his name, the unclean spirit simply called himself “Legion.”

A legion was an inexact number, but since the size of a Roman legion could be anywhere from 3,000-6,000 soldiers, the word represented a lot of demons. It still wasn’t enough, for at the insistent command of Christ that the demons leave the man, the unclean spirit began to plead with Him to stop their torment: “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (vs. 7).

Most High God. That the Lord God is “Most High” is a familiar biblical concept (Genesis 14:22; Psalm 7:17; Acts 16:17), but not everyone – or everything – agrees. That there is an ongoing rebellion against the Most High God is also a familiar biblical concept. Everyone can’t be at the top, but so many try.

Satan is obviously one of them. He apparently tried the direct approach to toppling God, but that didn’t end well. So the great dragon, the serpent of old (Revelation 12:9), has spent many centuries trying the less direct route.

As revealed in the temptation in the Garden, Satan uses deception – both the twisting of God’s commandments and outright lies – in order to undermine the truth of the Most High. In its place, the devil inserts doubt and unbelief, followed by his own dark “truths.”

It is therefore not surprising that ancient pagan religions used “high places” as anchors for the worship of false gods. Whether on mountains or hills (1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 16:4) or even in raised places in cities and towns (1 Kings 13:32), the idea was for the false religions to have preeminence in the eyes of the people. 

This elevated the god who was worshiped, and the demons behind those idols could then control the lives of the worshipers (1 Corinthians 10:20).

Lies with roots
Not all lies are religious in nature, of course. But all religious lies have one thing in common, according to the Apostle Paul: They are “speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5; emphasis added).

When such lies dominate the life of an individual or community of people – even a nation – they are characterized by Paul as a “fortress” or stronghold.

Where do such strongholds reside? In the minds and hearts of the people who believe the ruling ideology. In 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, Paul says that Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Here we see that two human faculties are necessary for people to “see” the light – or truth – of the gospel. The first is the heart. Paul refers to the “unbelieving,” and we know this is a reference to the heart because that is where faith resides. According to Romans 10:10, “with the heart a person believes,” and we would expect that the corollary is also true: With the heart one disbelieves. 

The second faculty is the mind. Once the heart refuses to believe the truth, the mind can be manipulated so that it defends the unbelief. 

Every parent who has raised a teenager has probably seen this tendency in action. It doesn’t matter what a parent says, if a teen has rebellion in his or her heart, the parent will never get the child’s mind to admit wrong-doing. The mind defends the heart.

However, this is a human flaw, not simply a teenage one. In Romans 12:2 the apostle Paul explains how prone we all are to the influence of the culture, which is why Paul exhorts us, “do not be conformed to this world.” To extract ourselves from this process, he urges us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Why is the mind so important in this process? Because worldly truths enter the heart through the mind. In fact, every day our minds are assaulted by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ideas. Many are internally generated; many are externally generated and, upon entrance to our minds, demand an audience. We often embrace or reject thoughts based on the prevailing worldview.

In any given culture, certain universally accepted “truths” are introduced to us when we are children, then taught and reinforced over and over again. If those truths are anchored in a scriptural view of the world – as they were for much of our nation’s history, for example – then they promote the knowledge of God. But if those truths are not biblically-based, then a stronghold takes root that has lifted itself up against the Lord God Most High.

These roots into the hearts and minds of a people are what give such ideological fortresses their power. Without lies and deception, false religions and thought systems have no foundation. But when men believe the deceptions of the Enemy, these lies are given power to control.

In the shadow of strongholds
The Bible reveals not only the light of the gospel of Christ but also, more generally, “the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Christians are to enter the dark places of the world as bearers of the light of God’s truth – all of it (Matthew 5:14-15).

Is there any limit on when and where God’s truth should be manifested by the Christian? Not if the Lord is the Most High God. While believers should be “shrewd as serpents” (Matthew 10:16) in all that they do, no area of human existence should be allowed to remain in the shadow of any stronghold.

As the Dutch theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

This would imply, of course, that Christians should be involved in cultural issues – at least if the truth of God’s word speaks to the issue in question. 

The Christian must command all the world to be obedient to Christ in their religious practices, laws, institutions and so on. Believers should never attempt to force that obedience by threat or punishment, but in the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word they must command it nonetheless.

Naturally, this will create a spiritual crisis for most people. It will also be seen as a direct challenge to all human – and demon-oriented cultures, and neither people nor devils will take the challenge lightly. Conflict and, in some cases, persecution will invariably follow.

But it is the only way to expose the lies that hold men captive, and it is the only way to bring them into the kingdom of the Lord Most High.  

All Scripture citations are from the New American Standard Version.
Next month: The clash of worldviews

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There are many Christian ministries that help equip believers to engage the culture in the area of worldview. More to come next month:
▶ Summit Ministries
P. O. Box 207
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
866-786-6483
summit.org

▶ Truth for a New Generation
truthforanewgeneration.com
864-977-2008

▶ The Christian WorldView with David Wheaton is heard each Saturday morning on American Family Talk Radio (8-9 CT). 
888-646-2233
thechristianworldview.org