by Charissa Veal
CLEVELAND, Ga., (TMNews) –Dr. Joel Southerland, the State Evangelism Director for the Georgia Baptist Convention, gave a warning to students in Truett-McConnell’s October 30 chapel service.
“You are in the Lord’s army…Every day, your generation in college wakes up on the front lines, and the sad fact of the matter is most of you don’t even know that there is a spiritual battle going on,” Southerland said. “If you don’t know that you’re in a fight, you cannot win the fight.”
Quoting James 4:7, Southerland established how Christians can win the spiritual battles they are in: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” He went on to remind the students that if they don’t know they are fighting a battle, they can’t win the battle, citing 2 Timothy 2:26 as an example of the devil’s ability to ensnare people who are unaware.
Southerland then expressed the importance of three different aspects of resisting the devil’s attacks. First, he stated the value of having warning: “Why do you need warning? Because if you are warned, you can be prepared,” he said. Second, Southerland indicated the armor of God, listed in Ephesians 6, as the means of actively resisting spiritual attack. And thirdly, Southerland rejoiced that Christ has already won the victory: “You don’t defeat the devil. Jesus did that from the cross to the empty tomb.”
Reiterating his summons to action, Southerland insisted, “Invest in your spiritual life. Get your life right with God. Serve your generation and make a difference for Christ. And put up a fight against the enemy.” Finally, he spoke again the admonitions of scripture: “Resist the devil in the power of God, and he will flee from you.”
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Charissa Veal is a senior English major at Truett-McConnell.
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