Introduction: We've all seen enough police shows on TV to know what it means to be arrested. The police come, they put the bad guys in handcuffs, put them in the back of the squad car, and take them off to jail. Sadly, in this sinful world, sometimes the opposite happens. Hitler and the Gestapo arrest innocent Jews and Christians, and take them off to prison and death. The Taliban, and radical Islamic governments, and Communist governments arrest Christians and burn down churches. Jesus surely spoke the truth about this long before it happened (John 16:1-3 and 15:18-21).

John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
John 15:19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
John 15:20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
John 15:21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

John 16:1 "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.
John 16:2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
John 16:3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.

Here in John 18, we have the historical account of the arrest of Jesus, and how he was bound, and carried off to be condemned to death by a perverted, sinful judge and jury. The central lesson of all this is that there is a spiritual battle raging in the earth, and as followers of Jesus, we are caught up in that battle. Let me remind you of some important principles to bear in mind as we take part in this battle.

I. We must defend ourselves.

A. Ephesians 6:10-18 is almost entirely about defense.

B. Note: This is not about using guns and other physical weapons of defense, though, there is a proper time for such things. Our deadliest enemies are spiritual: Satan, his helpers, and their lies.

C. Know your enemy. Put on your bulletproof vest of righteousness. Wear your helmet of salvation. Carry the shield of faith. Be alert!

D. Pray for all the saints, as we have done today.

II. We must go on the offensive by spreading the Gospel.

A. Someone once said, "The best defense is a good offense." You can have a tremendous defensive team in football, but if your offensive team isn't making any points, you won't win the game.

B. Christ has given us marching orders to make disciples in every nation of the earth (Matthew 28:18-20).

Mat 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Mat 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

From their own viewpoint, the Islamic and Communist governments of the world are wise to attack and eliminate Christians; because the success of the Gospel does indeed mean their downfall and defeat. As more and more individuals receive Christ, and live for Him, they will change their nations.

C. Our victory is guaranteed by Jesus (Matthew 16:18). He has all authority. He says that the gates of Hades (which means "death") cannot withstand the Church's preaching of the Gospel (Gates are for defense, not offense. Death's gates are not attacking us, we are attacking them). We have done, and we shall continue to snatch convert after convert from the jaws of death. There is coming a day in which every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. That day may or may not come in our lifetime, but it shall indeed arrive.

D. Until that day of victory comes, we shall send missionaries around the world. We shall infiltrate anti-christian governments with our agents for the Gospel. We shall broadcast the Gospel by radio behind iron curtains. We shall smuggle Bibles into countries that forbid it, and we shall overcome in the name of the Lord. In the words of the old hymn, "Jesus Shall Reign!"

III. We must also go on the offensive by being God's salt and light in whatever nation or culture God has put us:

Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

In a recent editorial by Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, she has given us a clear example of what it means for a Christian to be salt and light in society, by using whatever voice and influence God has given him or her to say the truth. Here's a short quote from a recent essay:

"A few weeks ago I wrote a column called "God Is Back," about how, within a day of the events of Sept. 11, my city was awash in religious imagery--prayer cards, statues of saints. It all culminated, in a way, in the discovery of the steel-girder cross that emerged last week from the wreckage--unbent, unbroken, unmelted, perfectly proportioned and duly blessed by a Catholic friar on the request of the rescue workers, who seemed to see meaning in the cross's existence. So do I.

"My son, a teenager, finds this hilarious, as does one of my best friends. They have teased me, to my delight, but I have told them, "Boys, this whole story is about good and evil, about the clash of good and evil." If you are of a certain cast of mind, it is of course meaningful that the face of the Evil One seemed to emerge with a roar from the furnace that was Tower One. You have seen the Associated Press photo, and the photos that followed: the evil face roared out of the building with an ugly howl--and then in a snap of the fingers it lost form and force and disappeared. If you are of a certain cast of mind it is of course meaningful that the cross, which to those of its faith is imperishable, did not disappear. It was not crushed by the millions of tons of concrete that crashed down upon it, did not melt in the furnace. It rose from the rubble, still there, intact.

"For the ignorant, the superstitious and me (and maybe you), the face of the Evil One was revealed, and died; for the ignorant, the superstitious and me (and maybe you), the cross survived. This is how God speaks to us. He is saying, "I am." He is saying, "I am here." He is saying, "And the force of all the evil of all the world will not bury me."

"I believe this quite literally. But then I am experiencing Sept. 11 not as a political event but as a spiritual event."

You may not be a Peggy Noonan, with her opportunities and editorial clout. But, that doesn't matter. What matters is that whatever position, influence you may have, small though it may be, you live for Jesus. Being salt. Being light.

Conclusion: The forces of evil arrested Jesus. They tied Him up. They carried Him off to a kangaroo court, and they murdered Him. Now the forces of evil are persecuting goodness and God's people around the world. Sometimes it seems as if the Devil is winning. But remember, Jesus came back to life, and Jesus is coming again. God's martyrs will come back to life, and they're coming back with Jesus. The final chapter has not yet been written in the story of the war between good and evil. The first time Jesus came, He came as a Savior to die on the cross for our sins. The next time He comes to earth, He will come as a conquering warrior, and He WILL NOT be arrested, and He WILL NOT be killed. He WILL beat down all the forces of evil, and He WILL rule the earth in righteousness. He's coming back, and the bad guys had better watch out. Amen.