Christianity is, and has always been, an offensive faith. However it is not in mainstream Christian thought to believe such a thing about Christianity in North America. In a lot of ways Christianity has become a very defensive religion, one that trains people to protect themselves from the culture rather than to impact it.

There are handfuls of small 'militias' (if I may call them that) standing up for truth in this postmodern society. From my experience, however, most of the Evangelical movement does not engage the secular culture but rather runs from it or even embraces its lies.

This paper is a biblical defense of the fact that we as Christians are to live our lives offensively, meaning that our very lives are meant to overthrow the lies of our enemy and to stand for purity, love, and truth no matter what the cost.


Before I defend the world-view of living offensively, it is necessary to first make a case for the foundational God-view of living offensively. Many Christians today see God as a God that is all about love and peace and niceness, sort of like a divine Mr. Rogers. At the same time, most Christians don't see God as an all-powerful offensive God whom all should fear and respect.

One does not have to read much of the Old Testament to realize that the backdrop of the story is war, and that in this war God isn't afraid to destroy his enemies even through whole slaughter. John Eldredge writes:

"There is the exodus, where God goes to war to set his captive people free. Blood. Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death. Plague after plague descend on Egypt like a boxer's one-two punch, like the blows of some great ax. Pharaoh releases his grip, but only for a moment. The fleeing slaves are pinned against the Red Sea. The Egyptians make a last charge, hurtling down on them in chariots. God drowns those soldiers in the sea, every last one of them. Standing in shock and joy on the opposite shore, the Hebrews proclaim "the Lord is a warrior!" (Exodus 15:3). Yahweh is a warrior."

...It's war to get to the promised land…Then it's war to get into the promised land—Joshua and the battle of Jericho, all that. After the Jews gain the Promised Land, it's war after war to keep it. Israel battles the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Midianites, the Egyptians again, the Babylonians—and on and on it goes. Deborah goes to war; Gideon goes to war; King David goes to war. Elijah wars against the prophets of Baal; Jehoshaphat battles the Edomites." (Eldredge 15)

God does not mess around when it comes to war either. He decks the heavens with the spiritual equivalent to the Navy Seals. These beings are dreadful holy terrors who are armed and very dangerous. In fact, He sends only two of them to crush the entire civilization of people in both Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 19:1,13)

This theme of warfare does not end with the Old Testament. Jesus says, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Christ's very birth was an act of war…a great offensive invasion. His enemies knew it and tried to kill him before he was even two years old. (Matthew 2:13) Jesus takes on demons that had held people captive their entire life. And he offensively confronts the Pharisees every time they turn around, setting God's people free from their soul-killing legalism. Even his very own death was an act of war to break the spell that had been cast over the human race since the time of Eden.

When he returns Jesus is coming back mounted on a war horse, armed for battle with an army of angels behind him and his robe dipped in blood. (Revelation 19:11-15)

The great prophet Nehemiah opened up his prayer to the Lord like this: "I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments." (Nehemiah 1:5) J. Vernon McGee writes "God is the reverend God, the One who incites terror. But He is also the God "who keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments." He is a God of judgment, but He is also a gracious God." (McGee 505) We hear a lot about the gracious part of God but I can't ever remember ever hearing anyone refer to the Lord in prayer as "the great and terrible God." It is so far from the mainstream to say such a thing and yet the scriptures make it very clear that God does not mess around. He demands absolute respect and authority. The apostle Paul wrote "Every knee should bow…every tounge should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

Here are a few scriptures that describe our warrior God:



One does not have to read into the text to realize that the God of the Bible is a God to be feared. When it comes to war he is not on the defense. We never see God backed into a corner; he is offensive at his core.


Not only is our God by his very nature offensive, we are literally soulfully made in His image and so we are designed to live offensively from the beginning. First Peter makes it very clear that we are to be Holy as God is Holy. (I Peter 1:15-16) And so we are called to be the image bearers of an offensive and powerful warrior God.

Back in the Garden of Eden God did not give Adam step by step instructions about how to defeat the serpent before he showed up. God could have easily warned Adam about the serpent before it happened. But, as far as we know He didn't. The reason why God didn't warn Adam may be because God created Adam with the power to deal with this situation. It was Adam and Eve's responsibility to act offensively when they faced the serpent. The least they should have done was cast down the serpent's lies with the truth. Arguably it was their responsibility to crush the serpent then and there.

After the Fall of mankind God curses the serpent and tells the serpent that a future descendant of Adam will crush his head. (Genesis 3:15) That future descendent is clearly the Christ, 'the last Adam'. (I Corinthians 15:45, Romans 5:14-19) But the 'last Adam' Christ, did what the first Adam should have done. He destroyed the power of the serpent.

So, even before the Fall, man was created at ground zero of the greatest war the universe had ever seen. There was holiness to our strength; there was a purpose for our violent capacity. We were made to withstand aggressive confrontation from the very beginning.


Between the Old and New Testament there is a great shift in the type of war that is waged by God's followers. In the New Testament we are not called to physical acts of violence but rather spiritual acts of violence.



Paul then goes on to tell us to put on spiritual armor. Why would he suggest this? Would you put on armor to go sit around in church? Can you imagine everyone in your congregation showing up in hockey gear or set up for a paintball tournament coming in the door on Sunday? But this is what Paul is saying. The reason for this command to suit up for war is simple: WE ARE AT WAR! And if we don't live like it we will be taken out easily.

One does not have to look any farther than a newspaper to see the casualties of the assault! The broken families, the lost children, teen suicide, abortion, child pornography, rape, domestic violence, divorce, alcohol and drug addiction, terrorism, racism, and national war; all products of a world is that in the midst of a great spiritual war. Jesus warned us that He is sending us out "as sheep in the midst of wolves" for a reason. (Matthew 10:16) The apostle Peter warns us to be on guard at all times because there is a violent enemy, the devil, and he is like "a roaring lion…seeking whom he may devour." (I Peter 5:8) While this text was being written people were literally being devoured by lions in the coliseum, which was the effect of a Satanic attack. (Walvoord & Zuck 856) The fact that Satan will maul, tear apart, and kill us is so evident throughout history.

Jesus taught the people that there is "a thief who comes to kill steal and destroy" (John 10:10) but rarely does the American church live like the reality of this truth. The Church is to operate as a type of military that crushes the false ideas of our enemy and exposes the truth everywhere. However, our efforts are often futile in transforming society because we don't function as an army and most of our members don't view their lives as set in the midst of a great spiritual war so why would they? (Wiersbe 167) If our military in Iraq operated like the church does in America we would be obliterated and utterly useless and disorganized over there. We must first recognize the undeniable fact that we are at war if we are to ever have an offensive role within it.


Jesus boldly claimed to be God to a world that could not take in the truth of His words. (John 6:48; 8:12; 10:9, 11:25; 14:6; 15:1) In today's world he would be viewed as one eyed, narrow-minded, unecumenical, and intolerant. He did not mix his words of truth with any smooth talking that would be pleasing to the culture of the day. He approached the Jewish leadership with aggressive confrontation, and He did not let the consequences of speaking the truth cause him to back down or take the offensive edge off his message.

Jesus' life is one that exemplifies the life that He calls his followers to. He showed them how to live, and they were to be His ambassadors to the world. (II Corinthians 5:20) Before he left the earth he commissioned His followers to "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel." (Mark 16:15) He never claimed that this would be a safe or easy task. In fact he claimed those who followed Him would be literally killed for carrying His message, as was he. (Mark 8:35)

Jesus' message was an offensive one that engaged the cultural satanic lies that the people of that day lay captive under. Steven, one of "The Seven," followed Jesus' example and told the Pharisees that they were resisting the Holy Spirit and were unacceptable to God. He compared them to the thugs that killed the prophets of the Old Testament. (Acts 7:53) He didn't back down and they smashed his skull with rocks for his doctrinal presentation. However, as they pelted him with rocks, Steven offensively prayed that God would forgive them. (Acts 7:60) I don't think it is any coincidence that Paul was standing there. The text says he was holding the coats of his cronies and sure enough God has mercy on Paul and transforms his life in the very next chapter.

I have a gut feeling that Paul's offensive life was partly inspired by watching Stephen and other Christians preach God's message with their very last breath. After Paul's famous conversion he toured the entire known world preaching the Word everywhere he went. He challenged both the religious Jewish culture from which he was part of and then the secular, pagan world, alike. His entire life of confrontation can be broken down to preaching the word and then being persecuted for it. He was beaten, imprisoned, and even stoned for presenting Christ's offensive message. (II Corinthians 11:23–28)


Jesus told Peter that "the gates of hell shall not prevail" against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The gates of a city are what protect what's on the inside from what's on the outside. Jesus was saying that the Church is a force that can overthrow the spiritual powers of Hell. He was calling us to press in, to engage, and break down the gates of Hell. He was not saying, hunker down, hide out, and run from hell, but rather mount up, take charge, organize, and storm the enemy camp. Our adversary fears what we could do to his empire, and so he uses lies to convince us that we are the ones that should be in a fortress protected from all of Hell. We need to take this all very seriously because according to Jesus' teachings it is our enemy that should be on the defense not the Church.

It is the Christian's responsibility unto God to carry his message boldly and courageously to everyone, even to those who seem not willing to face the truth. (Joshua 1:8-9) Paul told us in his letter to Ephesus that it is our responsibility to engage the culture by "speaking the truth in love." (Ephesians 4:15) Often when Christians talk about speaking the truth in love, they really mean telling a diluted version of truth that isn't quite as offensive, and doing it while smiling. This approach, however, lacks not only authentic truth but also love. Christ with His very life taught us that true love presents the truth no matter how hard it is to say. True love shares the truth even if everyone will hate you for it.



He then goes on to give some very relevant examples of how one can use secular music lyrics of the day to show people how much they are in need of a savior. Jesus told his disciples to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. (Matthew 10:16) He was telling us to be strategic and cunning, because we are going to have to be when we offer a lost world truth and expose the lies therein.

To really be effective in this culture we must not ally ourselves with a valueless Christianity that makes no difference and has no offensive impact or influence on the moral fiber or spiritual thinking of our culture. We must break away from the lovey-dovey feel good seeker friendly churches that don't engage the culture with the truth that is relevant to our day. At the same time, we need to keep ourselves apart from the religious pharisaical legalistic churches that don't engage the culture at all but rather fortress themselves in.

There are stories of Christians in Germany who lived during the holocaust and would turn up the music on Sunday so that the congregation didn't have to hear the screams coming from the cattle cars as the train full of Jews rumbled by on their way to the death camps. Unfortunately, such testimonies of the Holocaust are not uncommon. Less than one fourth of the Churches in Germany signed a document, written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that stated that the killing of the Jews was an unlawful and immoral act. Most Christians justified the killings. The Christian Churches who didn't justify the atrocities felt like they had no power to say or do anything so they basically did just that, NOTHING. I am blown away by such awful testimonies. I almost want to explain them away by saying that those people must have been unbelievers posing as Christians, until I open my mouth and begin to talk with other Christians about the Abortion Holocaust. Few Christians really want to talk at all about the fact that 45 million children have been killed in America. Even fewer Christians are willing to do anything about it. Once again they feel powerless so they go down in history for doing nothing about it. In most Christian circles if you do stand outside an abortion clinic and talk with the folks going in, or wear a bold t-shirt, you're labeled as a 'radical'. I'm sure that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was looked at the same way while he was campaigning against the Nazis in Germany. Only after the Holocaust and after his martyrdom did the Church in large consider him a great hero for his attempts at assassinating Hitler and for his offensive writings. Bonhoeffer will forever be remembered for his Offensive Life. When it came right down to it, he didn't wuss out. He faced reality and engaged the culture; and did what he could to stand for truth.

We as Christians are called to be a beacon of light to a dark world. (Matthew 5:13) Light is a force that pierces the darkness. We are to be like that force to the rest of the world. Once again this is not an easy proposition, for more Christians have died for being a light to their world in the last century than all the other nineteen centuries combined. Living offensively is not a concept to be taken lightly at all for it is combined with our calling to be holy, set apart from the rest of the world.


I have a recurring dream usually right as I am drifting off to sleep. I am sitting around the most glorious campfire in a forest that couldn't be mistaken for anything less than paradise. With me are the all stars, the ones whom I have drawn the most inspiration from. I look over the fire and see David, Joshua, Jeremiah, Noah, Bonhoffer, Luther, and Wilberforce to name a few. Each of them are regaling their stories of when they lived in the 'old world' one after the next share the most amazing stories of their battles and their struggles and the glory of their victories, and the agony of their defeats. And at some point in all of this some one says "what's your story Baker?" And that's it, the end of the dream. But in eighty years what will my story be? What will your story be?

If you don't want to be sitting there on your hands with nothing to say, it's time to put on your spiritual armor, unsheathe your sword and hack back. You're not alone! May God give us the strength to overcome the evil one and free our generation from his grasp.

By the power of God may we advance the kingdom with forcefulness and power. May we live offensively with our every breath.

• Begg, Alistair, John Macarthur, Jr., and R.c. Sproul. Made for His Pleasure, the Benchmarks of a Vital Faith. Chicago: Moody P, 1996.
• Eldredge, John. Waking the Dead. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003.
• McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible. Vol. 2. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
• Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, eds. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 8th ed. Chicago: Zondervan, 1973.
• Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Ready. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1979. 154-161.