Christians at war with ascendant evil

The war in Israel has sent graphic images of the reality of evil in our world to every home with a TV or an internet connection. Never before have so many been confronted with the graphic barbarity of the depraved human soul. Anyone who defend the murder, rape, torture, and kidnapping perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 is a fool at best and a willing dupe of satan at worst.
Most reading this do not condone such horrors of the human soul, yet they will differ greatly in the type of response they feel is warranted. When we consider a Christian response to the kind of manifest evil that Hamas has perpetrated, it is important to remember the three types of people that the Bible tells us inhabit the world.
The first type is the saved, those who have accepted Jesus as their redeemer and master and have been delivered from the power of sin and death. The saved are obligated to reach out with the Good News and love to the second category of people, the lost.
The lost are people who are bound to sin but remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit, who calls them to salvation. They can enthusiastically support sinful behaviors and rebellion from God but have not yet made an enemy of the Holy Spirit. Conversely, the lost can appear moral on the outside but are inexorably bound to sin and death on the inside. They have not yet embraced their redeemer.
The third type of people are those who have closed themselves off to the work of the Holy Spirit AND declared Him to be their enemy. These are the people that Jesus referred to when He said, “I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:31—32). Such people have cut themselves off from the only power capable of bringing them to repentance and a revelation of the Savior. Thus, they are eternally condemned even while they are alive. These are the damned.
Christians are not called to determine whether someone is lost or damned. We are called to recognize those who are saved and proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus to the lost of the world.
Why are these categories important when considering the current conflict? Because it is the damned who perpetrate and perpetuate atrocities like Hamas just committed. While there were undoubtedly lost souls among the terrorists who invaded southern Israel, it is just as certain that these actions were inspired by those whose consciences and souls are forever seared to the work of the Holy Spirit and are walking dead men whose only destiny is eternal hellfire. To fail to identify the work of evil causes its opponents to fall short of the sacrifice required to stop it.
If the Nazis had not been identified as an evil empire, England might have capitulated when Hitler sued for peace after conquering France. Fortunately, Winston Churchill was convinced that Hitler was a devil that must be destroyed, not a poor soul that needed to be reformed.
Hamas, as an organization, must be destroyed, for it has clearly shown its corrupt nature. The wicked among its adherents need to be brought to harsh justice, and the lost among its ranks given a final chance to repent. The damned will be emboldened to even greater atrocities if this is not done. Those who love God and stand for liberty must confront the darkness of radical Islam and bring it low.
Two things must be considered to properly take action to confront evil. First, we must remember that we share a common humanity with those victimized on both sides. Since we all trace our lineage to Noah, they are our relatives and, therefore, our responsibility. Second, we must remember that the perpetrators are also made of the same nature we were born with. Except for the grace of God, any one of us could be doing what they have done. Only the grace of God has kept us from becoming tools of evil.
We are ready to fight properly when we keep these two realizations foremost in our minds. The weapons of our warfare are not based on physical force or modern military equipment. No, our weapon is prayer.
We pray that God would protect and defend the innocent and those fighting to bring evil to account. We pray that God would change the hearts of the lost and bring them to salvation. We pray for justice and that the damned will have their plans confounded, their minds overthrown, and their resources wasted.
We pray that the Lord of Lords would come and assume His rightful place as the head of the peoples and nations that currently covenant with evil.
These prayers are powerful for tearing down strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Christians, we need to go to war with those warring in Israel and continue to battle in prayer until evil is brought to justice.