50-Disputations on the Real Practical and Reformed Doctrine of Spiritual Enlistment of Onward Christian Soldiers in the Real Christian Army

Dr. MA Petillo

Reformed Baptist Preacher and Theologian

Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah's birth;
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Shepherds in the fields abiding,
Watching o'er your flocks by night,
God with man is now residing,
Yonder shines the infant light:
Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen his natal star:
Saints before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In his temple shall appear;
All creation, join in praising
God the Father, Spirit, Son;
Evermore your voices raising
To th'eternal Three in One:  (TH, 164).

1.  Enlistment into the Christian army is enrollment into the local Reformed church.

2.  Enlistment into the Christian army is about spiritual battles not cultism.

3.  Enlistment into the Reformed local church is sharing the gospel to dead man walking.

4.  The Christian wages war against this godless world through the teaching and living the infallible Word in handling it correctly in the holy presence of God for His glory alone.

5.  Pre-converted elect people before they know Christ will find themselves on the wrong side of the war waged though it is the foredetermined plan of God to see them come to real faith and repentance through the actuality of God's real choice in time and space.

6.  Pre-converted elect sinners who are outside of Christ still have their Master as Satan though there may be a "civil defiance" against Satan but the sinner cannot change his nature in and of themselves but after he has committed himself to "civil repentance" and finds nothing but blessed self-despair, he will suddenly find himself in Christ by God's Spirit.

7.  The Christian wages war against the sinful flesh between the Spirit and the sin of his nature, because God has made him to differ.

8.  The Christian wages war against Satan, but it does not mean to trace demons.  All we need to do is all the good we can for Christ and His glory.  If we are sold out to Christ in teaching and Christian living, there will be consequences best left to a holy God alone.

9.  The devil hates sound theology and sound living.  That is, he would have you be a sound theologian but reject godly living.  Or, he would have you reject sound theology but seek to merit heaven.  Remember dear Christian: the true balance is not a false balance, but a true balance is about the honor of Jesus Christ.

10.  Christians ought to wage war against false teachers by refuting those who contradict and being a godly example for all to see because we live in the holy presence of God.

11.  Christians must wage war against spiritual wickedness.  How?  It is simply done through spreading the divine message of the written Word and devoted prayer.

12.  Christian preaching and teaching is not about the folly of vain babbling, but it is about the glory and honor of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ.

13.  For the Christian, the Book that the Devil fears is the Bible.

14.  The Bible is the holy weapon and cosmic tool of the true Christian.

15.  Do not enlist into the Christian army to spy out our liberty in Christ.  Rather enlist in the Christian army to exalt, honor and glorify Jesus Christ in teaching and godly living.

16.  A holy God gives us a real spiritual armor for every true Christian.

17.  The war is waged in the battlefield of the mind.

18.  The battle could be the unseen children of Satan attacking in the battleground of the Christian mind for the interests of man in support of Satan.

19.  Real swords are no use here!  The spiritual sword for the Christian is the written Word.

20.  Satan will come for you to entice into sin, but Scripture keep a dividing line.

21.  Christians are called to obey a holy God through the reading and studying the Word.

22.  Christians endure hardship for the sake of Jesus Christ.

23.  The hatred against Christians is not much against them but against the Incarnte Lamb. 

24.  We are not living in a day of peace.  That does not mean Jesus does not bring peace with God the Father, but it simply means we are at war with the world and the father of lies.

25.  Christian, why have you deserted your post?  Do not flee into fornication in the other side, but get back up!  How do you get back up?  Repent and obey the gospel!  Get back in there and fight!  The enemy is staggering and scattering!

26.  Remember to put on your helmet of salvation: namely, it is for the battle of the mind where Satan comes with worldly wisdom and a holy God comes with the Spirit.  We still have that reminding corruption and indwelling sin.  It is already true that you are dead to sin and alive to Jesus Christ.  Make sure you think that way.

27.  Remember to put on your breastplate of righteousness: namely, it should remind us about the unified divine meritorious covering of Jesus Christ alone as we stand before a holy God.

28.  Remember to put on your shield of faith: namely, it is through the instrument of a Spirit-born faith that men are righteous before a holy God.

29.  Remember to put on your sword of the Spirit: namely, it is the infallible Word that is our sword not real metal.

30.  Remember to put on girdle of truth: namely, it is where we keep our spiritual utility belt, but it is better than Batman's earthly utility belt.

31.  Remember to put on the preparation of the peace of the gospel: namely, it is where we do not neglect or forget the gospel but where  we remember to bring the gospel anywhere we go and to live out the gospel.

32.  A wicked world fears a divine gospel.

33.  Satan cannot defeat the Spirit who brings the gift of the gospel.

34.  Christians are people set apart by a holy God who repent and believe the gospel.

35.  Government is not God.  Rather the only true God is Triune.  Christians must fight for a holy God when government declares itself God.  How do we fight?  We fight through the Word preached and godly prayer.

36.  Human rights do not come from the government.  Rather human rights come from God.  The Bible supports civil government, but civil government does not always recognize where it got its divine authority.  Civil government came from God, but sinners seek to gather against God's holy Anointed Jesus.  The Christian is called to fight for the Scriptural-meaning of civil government when sinners use antagonistic methodologies (it is simply out of place). 

37.  Evil enemies want blood shed, because the reprobate love violence.  The Christian is called to love his enemies and stand his ground for Jesus Christ.

38.  True Christians have all of their sins pardoned under the blood of Jesus Christ.

39.  Satan comes to accuse Christian to their face and before a holy God.

40.  Satan hates the divine unified imputed righteousness of a holy God through Jesus Christ alone in how someone is right with a superlative holy God.

41.  No true Christian can be undone because there positional peace is unbreakable.

42.  Satan may be able to influence the mind but if we are constant in prayer he will eventually flee from us because we resist him in a unmovable and steadfast way in Christ.

43.  Christian warfare is refuting the sin of homosexuality that has plague our nation.  Sinners have chosen the pleasure of passion over the holiness of the Triune God.

44.   Christian warfare is giving a rational defense for the infallible Word against non-Christian cults, the occult and false world religions.

45.  Christian warfare for a chosen instrument of God is always victory, because He ordains everything for the good of His elect children.

46.  Christians must always continue in repentance and faith toward Divine Christ.

47.  The resting place of a Christian is at the Cross of Jesus Christ.

48.  Angel armies surround God's chosen people in Christ and help the Reformed pilgrim along the dark way, because they are ministers of Christ who partake of His power.

49.  "Reformed" and Presbyterian elect angels will do whatever it takes to see a pre-converted elect sinner through even if it means enduring real death and murder itself by the group of the end times under the youthful idolatries of Satan, because angels in human form know that Jesus is the bigger and ultimate picture.  Some will say "how can an elect angel die?"  My response, "Didn't Jesus die as the sinless God-man?" There is a sinlessness that yields death even for elect angels in human form if they choose like Jesus to endure death.  Remember what Jesus said?  "I have power to lay down my life and take it up again.  No one takes it from Me."   What does it mean in this context?  It means the elect angel had power to lay down his life and to take it up again.  The elect angel is not another Christ.  It means He follows the angelic orders of King Jesus without question in immediate obedience.  Elect angels also have missions from a holy God where they seek to expose injustice.  It is true he endured death and murder but elect angels are also deathless in a sense.  That is, they are able to come back even if it seems they are no more.  How?  They are still in active duty in angel affairs but sometimes not all the time THEIR mission remains hidden.  This is my best understanding in light of King Jesus who authored the written Word in a Trinitarian sense.  As a saint not an angel, I proclaim, "Hail King Jesus!"  This old Transformer Cartoon is like the Elect Angel (but in my view it does not excuse the crime of the CIA under Mr. Gomes (Balaam) and earlier in American history they took out President Kennedy in illegal domestic affairs (because the shot came from within the distance of the framework of the car) but also involvement of idolatrous and satanic elites (click here):  "1986 Transformers The Movie Soundtrack: Dare by Stan Bus"

50.  The devil does not come to our aid but Jesus Christ alone.  Never give in or trust the devil,  but remember we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.  

Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before:
Christ the royal Master
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See, his banners go.
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before:
At the sign of triumph
Satan's host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers,
On to victory:
Hell's foundations quiver
At the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise.
Like a mighty army
Moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod;
We are not divided,
All one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus
Constant will remain;
Gates of hell can never
'Gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ's own promise
And that cannot fail.
Onward, then, ye people,
Join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor
Unto Christ the King;
This through countless ages
Men and angels sing.  (TH, 490).