Basic Training for Spiritual Warfare

Paul admonished Timothy to be "a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Also, to war a good warfare. The first business with any kind of soldier is training. He must learn to recognize the enemy and defeat him. He must learn how to stay alive keep from getting wounded by the enemy. Most people who profess to be Christians have no training at all and are absolutely impotent in the face of the enemy. We cannot be ignorant of his devices, how he works, and what his strategy is. Until we know how the difference between natural appetites, desire, and lust, and how the tempter uses them against us, we are doomed to fall into his snare again and again. We are to arm ourselves with the same mind that Christ had in this warfare. Too much is at stake and it we cannot afford to be careless in this matter.