Sometimes I go throughout the day getting caught up in political debates.  I get distracted with the most recent “happening” that is popular within the mainstream media.  I begin to focus on what I can see and I lose focus on the things that are unseen, which is eternally valuable.

Lately, I’ve been going through a YouTube series called ‘Know Your Enemy’, which is a series that highlights the unseen war that has been going on since Genesis.  God has been using this series in my life to help me realize the importance of spiritual warfare.

What we believe about the unseen determines our purpose.

Our purpose determines our daily choices.

Our daily choices have eternal consequences.

Love your enemies

Liberals are not our enemies, nor are communists.

Atheists are not our enemies.

Muslims are not our enemies.

As Christians, radical Islamic terrorists are not our enemies either.

These people are simply enslaved by the darkness and the spiritual forces of evil.  We must not forget our history as Christians.  Before God saved us, we were enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:20) and we were dead in sin (Eph. 2:1).  The only difference between the Christian and the sinner is that God has freely chosen to open our eyes to the Gospel, and we can only boast in Him (1 Cor. 3:21).

There is no human being on earth that is our enemy.  Jesus Christ has made this clear in the Gospel.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:44 to “love our enemies” and to “pray for those who persecute us”.

The war

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)

This is it.  This is the nail in the coffin.  Everything around you, including the political atmosphere in America, is a place of ongoing warfare.

This war is a war for dominance.

This war is more important than any war that has ever took place in all of history.

This is a war for your soul, and the souls of those around you.

Our enemies are our flesh, satan, and his demons

Our weapons

The way in which we fight this war and defeat the enemy is through God’s promises, which we find in His Word, the Bible.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. – Ephesians 6:13-17 (ESV)

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. – Romans 8:12-13 (ESV)

We win the war for our souls through the strength of God’s Spirit.

We are commanded by God to kill our sin.

This battle we are fighting requires a war mentality.  We are at war with ourselves (flesh), and with the world (satan).

The Unseen

Remember Christian, no human being is our enemy.  The war that we are fighting is a spiritual one, and we are called to fight this war with God’s Word.  The war against globalism, the new world order, and satan’s realm is a spiritual war.

 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. – 1 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

The next time you turn on the news and you get worked up over the liberal media, remember that our fight is against the unseen.

As Christians, we are enlisted in God’s eternal army, and we are fighting a war against our flesh and satan’s kingdom.

Soli Deo gloria!

If you haven’t read my previous articles on mass shootings, please read them here:

Part 1

Part 2

Review

In part 1, I briefly touched the question as to why these mass shootings happen.  In part 2, I went deeper into the sin issue, which is the root of the mass shootings.  I provided a small amount of Biblical evidence regarding the sin issue.  I discussed the importance of the story regarding Cain killing Abel, and why Cain killed Abel.  I detailed all of the sin Cain dealt with and mentioned the fact that the same sin that Cain dealt with is the same sin WE deal with as humans.

You and I are not exempt from this sin problem.

we are all fallen creatures standing before a Holy God who demands righteousness and obedience.  The sin that infected Cain has infected us all, and we need help.  The sin issue is the root cause of all mass shootings, and every mass shooter that has ever lived is sinful (like you and I), and they will have to stand before God one day just like you and me.

This is the final part of this mini series.  The reason why I wanted to write some opinion articles on mass shootings is because  society as a whole is missing the mark on why these mass shootings happen.

Society is scratching at surface level symptoms, and I wanted to get to the root of the problem.

Welcome to part 3.

We’re all sinful

The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans 3 that we are all sinful.  He says there is no one that is good.  Paul says that we have all “fallen short” of God’s glory.  This is you, this is me, and this is every mass shooter that has ever lived.  We are totally and utterly depraved.  Apart from God, Ephesians 2 says that we are “dead in sin”.

So now what?

The solution

Jesus Christ is the solution.  Jesus Christ is the Gospel.  The Gospel means good news.  He is the answer to every problem we see around us, including mass shootings.  The truth is, we all need Jesus just as much as mass shooters need Jesus.  We need God to save us from ourselves, because when we are left to ourselves, we will continue to choose ourselves over Jesus.

The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV)

Jesus calls us to repent and believe in Him.

Repent simply means to change our mind about who we are (sinful), and who God is (Holy).

Repentance leads to the total surrendering of yourself to God.

Belief simply means to trust fully in who God and what He says in His Word, the Bible.

My hope

So there it is, the solution.  It might seem simple, but we like to make it super complex.  My hope is that Jesus will transform destroyed homes and broken hearts.  My hope is that Jesus will convict sinners and will give fathers the courage to lead their homes in grace and truth.  My hope is that Jesus will repair the sinner’s heart and transform that heart into a heart that desires to obey God.  My hope is that the people in America will stop looking for faulty solutions to the mass shooting problem and will look to Jesus for guidance.

I’m not here to speak about comforting lies, I’m here to give you uncomfortable truths that lead to a life of fullness with Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the only solution to mass shootings.

Nothing less, nothing more.

We all just need Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria**

**If you’re interested in the solution, feel free to watch this video

What are the causes of mass shootings? What are the solutions to prevent these horrific crimes?  What steps do we need to take as a society in order to prevent them? How can someone commit such a horrible crime?

These are some of the basic questions I believe everyone asks whenever these shootings occur, but one question always remains stuck in my head when these tragedies strike the heart of America.

Why do mass shootings happen?

Worldview

All people everywhere will answer the question in different ways depending on what your worldview is.

Your worldview is the way in which you view the world and everything in it. Your worldview answers basic questions such as this:

1. Why am I here?

2. What is my purpose?

3. What is wrong with the world?

4. How can what is wrong be made right?

When it comes to mass shootings, your worldview has the potential to answer the question as to why these tragedies occur, and why murderers commit these atrocities. Your worldview has the potential to objectively call every person who commits these murderous acts evil. This is why your worldview is important, because without a correct worldview, you won’t be able to answer these questions.

Now that I’ve gone over a basic overview as to why your worldview is important, I’m going to go back to the original question and answer that original question through my personal worldview.

Sin

Why do mass shootings happen? Sin. Sin exists, and sin is everywhere. Sin is the reason why we live in such a fallen and broken world. Sin is the reason why so many kids go to school without hope and go home to destroyed homes. Sin is the reason why kids are finding their identity in everything that the world is offering rather than finding their identity in things that could satisfy their hungry soul. Sin is the reason why rampant leftism has spread everywhere, especially within the education system in America. Sin is the reason why parents think they know their kids, but will turn on the news to find that their child was the next school shooter.

Here are a few Bible verses that speak about the sinfulness of man and the destructive nature of sin:

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. – Genesis 6:5 (ESV)

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. – Psalm 51:5 (ESV)

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)

 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. – Mark 7:21-22 (ESV)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. – John 3:19-20 (ESV)

Surface Level Symptoms

I’m not here to argue about what you might or might not believe, rather I’m here to simply provide you with the truth.  Without the truth, you cannot come up with a rational explanation as to why mass shootings happen.

You say mental health?  I say the sinfulness of man.

You say broken homes?  I say the depravity of mankind.

Broken homes and mental health issues are all surface level symptoms of the root problems mankind deals with on a daily basis, which is the sinful nature he was born with.

Why do these mass shootings keep happening?  Sin.

How do we prevent these mass shootings from happening?  I will provide the answers to that question in the upcoming articles.