We are at war. It’s not cultural. It’s Spiritual.

Every headline, every social media feed, every heated conversation screams it. We are told to choose a side, dig in, and fight. The battle lines are drawn over politics, social issues, and race. The world demands our outrage, our allegiance, and our energy in this relentless culture war.

But what if this war is a grand deception? What if the enemy has masterfully created a noisy, earthly battlefield to distract us from the real, eternal war for souls? The Bible is clear that our primary calling is not cultural victory but spiritual warfare, and Satan’s greatest triumph is to pit us against one another while the kingdom of darkness advances unnoticed.

Beware of the Enemy’s Red Herring

In logic and debate, a “red herring” is a fallacy where an irrelevant topic is introduced to divert attention from the original issue. The term reportedly comes from the old practice of using the pungent scent of a smoked fish to train hunting dogs to follow a true scent without being diverted. A red herring is a distraction designed to make you lose the trail.

Satan is an expert at using red herrings against the Church. The true trail—the primary mission we are commanded to follow—is the Great Commission, the proclamation of the gospel, and the spiritual battle for eternal souls. But the enemy relentlessly drags the emotionally-charged scent of the culture war across our path. Racial animosity, political outrage, and denominational discord are the red herrings of our time.

They are designed to exhaust our energy, misdirect our focus, and ensure we are chasing lesser things while the souls of men and women hang in the balance.

Our Fight Is Not Against Flesh and Blood

Before we can fight effectively, we must correctly identify our enemy. The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us our marching orders and identifies the real foe with clarity:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV)

Our struggle is not with a political party, a different demographic, or a person with whom we disagree. Our opponent is a spiritual hierarchy of evil, commanded by Satan himself. The Greek word for “wrestle” here is pálē (πάλη), which describes an intimate, hand-to-hand, personal struggle. This is not a distant, detached conflict. It is a close-quarters battle for our hearts, our families, our churches, and the souls of the lost.

God’s Authority in Every Nation

A common temptation for the modern believer is to relegate the Bible’s teachings on nations and rulers to the ancient land of Israel, as if they were historical relics. We may think that because we do not live in that specific biblical location, God’s biblical and political involvement is non-existent or somehow diminished today. This is a dangerous falsehood that breeds either political idolatry or fearful apathy.

The Word of God is clear: His sovereignty is not limited by geography or time. The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Rome—the heart of a pagan empire—declared a timeless truth:

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1, ESV)

This means that all authority, both in Heaven and on Earth, is ordained by Him. After His resurrection, Jesus did not limit His claim to a spiritual corner of the world.

He declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18, ESV).

Understanding this truth is freeing. We do not need to fight like the world fights—clawing for control—because our God is the one who “removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21, ESV).

This foundational reality forces a decision upon every believer in every generation. At some point, on every issue, we will either agree with God and submit to His Word, or we will rebel against it. There is no neutral territory.

The Enemy of Unity

The unity of believers across all ethnic and social lines is not a secondary issue; it is a direct testimony to the power of the gospel. It is the visible proof that Christ has accomplished what no human effort ever could.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, ESV)

Satan hates this verse. He despises the reality it proclaims. He works tirelessly to rebuild the dividing walls that Christ tore down with his own body (Ephesians 2:14). When a church is divided over race, when Christians hurl accusations and harbor bitterness toward one another based on ethnicity, they are not just having a disagreement. They are actively participating in a demonic agenda to discredit the gospel and mock the unity for which Christ prayed:

“…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21, ESV)

Our unity is our witness. By trading that unity for the fleeting validation of a cultural tribe, we are sacrificing our greatest weapons on the altar of relevance.

Doing the Accuser’s Work for Him

When we allow Satan to distract us with these lesser things, we do more than just neglect our mission; we can become active agents in his. Scripture gives Satan a specific title: “the accuser of our brethern” (Revelation 12:10). His primary work is to slander, condemn, and bring charges against the people of God, seeking to create division and despair.

Now consider the language of our modern culture wars, especially as they rage online. It is a language of constant accusation. We label, categorize, and condemn fellow believers who vote differently, hold a different social view, or emphasize a different aspect of justice. We question their salvation, slander their character, and impute the worst possible motives to them.

The primary weapons in this war of accusation are broad generalizations and logical fallacies. Broad generalizations lump millions of unique individuals, each made in the image of God, into monolithic, easily-demonized blocs. This is a form of bearing false witness, as it attributes beliefs and motives to people they may not hold.

These generalizations are often propped up by fallacies like the “straw man,” where we attack a distorted caricature of an opponent’s position instead of engaging their actual views. When we use these tactics, we are not just making a rhetorical mistake; we are adopting the dishonest methods of the accuser himself.

When a Christian publicly maligns another Christian over a political or cultural issue, they have ceased to be a minister of reconciliation and have become a mouthpiece for the accuser. You have picked up Satan’s tools and are doing his work for him. The spirit of the age is a spirit of accusation, and it is antithetical to the Spirit of Christ.

The Bible calls us to a different way:

• Instead of accusing, we are to restore gently (Galatians 6:1).
• Instead of exposing, we are to cover in love (1 Peter 4:8).
• Instead of tearing apart, we are to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

This call to gentleness, however, must be held in biblical balance. Restoring gently doesn’t mean we don’t give an open rebuke where necessary or that we don’t call out false prophets. Scripture also commands us to “rebuke them in the presence of all” who persist in sin (1 Timothy 5:20) and to be wary of those who bring destructive heresies.

The distinction is the what and the why. A biblical rebuke is aimed at clear, definable sin or heresy for the purpose of restoration and the protection of the flock. The worldly accusation we see today is aimed at a fellow believer over secondary matters—like politics or cultural disagreements—for the purpose of division and self-righteousness.

A key to this wisdom lies in understanding the difference between doctrinal disagreement and differences of opinion, a distinction that so many of God’s people are confusing in this hour.

Doctrinal issues ARE REQUIRED to be addressed at all times because they are harmful to the body of Christ, can lead people to hell, and further the agenda of Satan to deceive the saints.

The difference of opinion arguments are nonessential. We are allowed to have opinions, but our opinions are not God, nor are they sermons or prophetic words. Your personal convictions—meaning the things God has specifically told you not to do for reasons He has shared with you directly—are not for everyone else to follow either.

Scripture gives us clear examples for us to read and pray about:

• Doctrine: In Galatians 2:11–14, Paul confronts Peter not over an opinion, but over an action that compromised the very doctrine of the gospel. Peter’s separation from Gentile believers was a doctrinal threat that required an open rebuke.
• Difference of Opinion: In Acts 15:36–40, Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement over taking John Mark on a mission. This was a conflict of judgment and wisdom, not doctrine. They separated, but the ministry continued, and both were still faithful servants of the Lord.

Learning to distinguish between a Galatians 2 moment (doctrine) and an Acts 15 moment (opinion) is more important now than ever for every believer who wants to fight the right war.

Before you post that comment, share that article, or speak against that fellow believer, ask yourself the question: Whose work am I doing right now? Am I building up the body of Christ, or have I joined the ranks of the accuser of the brethren?

The Parable of the Foolish and the Wise: Trading Oil for Outrage

The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 provides a sobering warning for the distracted believer. Five were wise and five were foolish. All ten had lamps, and all ten were waiting for the bridegroom. On the surface, they looked the same. The difference was the oil.

“When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” (Matthew 25:3-4, ESV)

The oil represents a pure and Holy spiritual life, preparedness, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is the inner substance of our faith, not the outer performance. The foolish virgins were content with the external appearance of readiness (the lamp), but they neglected the internal reality (the oil).

How does this relate to the culture war? It is easy to carry the lamp of outrage. It is easy to post, argue, and signal our allegiance to a side. This is the outward activity that makes us feel like we are bearing fruit. But it is entirely possible to do all this while our own flask of oil is empty.

We can become so consumed with fighting external battles that we neglect prayer, Bible study, personal holiness, and communion with God. We spend all our time trying to fix the world while our own souls are withering.

The foolish virgins were distracted by a lesser thing. When the call came, they were busy trying to acquire what they should have been cultivating all along. They missed the bridegroom and the wise virgins didn’t feel sorry for them.

We are in danger of the same fate. Christ is coming. Will he find us engaged in the Great Commission, making disciples of all nations? Or will he find us exhausted and embittered from fighting earthly preferences and battles he never called us to, with no oil left in our lamps?

God has a lot to say in this hour. The question for every believer is this: Are you listening to Him? Or are you allowing yourself to be rocked to sleep by the soothing, familiar lullaby of your culture? Have your loyalties to people, to political figures, and to your own ethnic identity become so loud that they have drowned out the voice of the Shepherd?

The foolish virgins were lulled into complacency, assuming all was well because their surroundings were familiar. Do not mistake the comfort of cultural solidarity for the preparedness of a watchful heart.

The Thinning of the Line

In times of ease, it is easy for the foolish and the wise to look alike. But in times of intense pressure, a sifting occurs. The line between the church and the world, between the true believer and the “cultural Christian”, the line is growing thin and sharp. God is allowing the pressure to build in our culture to reveal what His people truly treasure.

This is not the time to fight for your right to be your race. Give glory to God that He made your skin the color He chose—but remember, that battle is an invitation to anchor your identity in the old self that was crucified with Christ. For the believer, our primary identity is no longer ethnic, national, or cultural. It is supernatural.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

The “old” that has passed away includes the pride, the grievances, the allegiances, and the divisions of the flesh. To cling to them, to fight for them as your primary reality, is to deny the power of your new creation. It is to tell Christ that his blood was insufficient to create a new identity for you. Our citizenship has been transferred.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20, ESV)

The prophet Elijah faced a nation spiritually paralyzed by indecision. He stood on Mount Carmel and issued a challenge that echoes the same in our own time:

“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him’” (1 Kings 18:21, ESV).

To limp between two opinions is to be crippled by a divided heart. It is to want the security of following God while still clinging to the idols of the culture. We are limping. We limp between our identity in Christ and our identity in race. We limp between the Great Commission and the latest cultural crusade. Elijah’s challenge was a demand for decisive, wholehearted allegiance. The time for limping is over.

To put it plainly: if you find yourself fighting for your skin and for your black or white church over and against the unified, global Body of Christ—you have bought into the enemy’s propaganda in this hour. There may have been a time where such conversations about cultural distinctions in the church were appropriate, but now is not that time. The sifting is too severe. This is the moment to choose your primary allegiance. Is it to your cultural tribe or to the kingdom of God?

Your True Calling: An Ambassador of Christ, Not a Culture Warrior

So, what is the right response? We are not called to be passive or to retreat from the world. We are called to engage it, but on God’s terms, not the world’s.

1. Re-identify the Enemy. Your enemy is not your neighbor. It is the spiritual force that wants you to hate your neighbor. Pray for discernment to see past the flesh-and-blood distractions to the real spiritual conflict at hand.
2. Check Your Oil. Audit your time and energy. Is it being spent on things that cultivate a Holy spiritual life—prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and service? Or is it being drained by endless arguments and the pursuit of cultural validation? Refill your oil daily through intimacy with Christ.
3. Embrace Your Ambassadorship. We have been given the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Our mission is not to win a culture war but to plead with a lost world to be reconciled to God through Christ. This is a message for every race, every tribe, and every nation.

Do not exchange the glorious, eternal calling to be an ambassador for Christ for the lesser, temporary vanity of being a foot soldier in a culture war. The world is fighting for temporary power. We are fighting for eternity.

May we all put on the full armor of God and fight the right war.