In times of natural warfare, debating is not an effective weapon. The same is true in times of spiritual warfare. At some point, the debate becomes ineffective, and we must abandon its appeal to continue lingering in the false promise of peace and enter the fight. When this moment arrives, the Lord will command us to stand up from the debate table and draw the Sword of Truth, and thrust His word into the heart of the arguments being debated.

As one reads the following two verses it can seem Scripture is offering a contradiction. “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation” (Proverbs 26:4-5). This is not a contradiction. It has to do with Spirit-led timing and understanding of the season in which we live. There are times to remain silent and there are times to pull the sword and slash lies with the truth. This is where the debate ends and we no longer answer foolish arguments even if our declarations appear out of step with the accepted status quo.

The intensification of the current spiritual warfare has reached a point where it is time to end the debate. The naïve pauses where believers hope the forces of hell will come to their senses and respond to our well-crafted debate is a delaying tactic used by hell to continue to occupy more territory as we continue to foolishly debate what needs to be confronted with the sword of truth. 

At some point, when a conflict reaches a critical state, a switch will be flipped in the Spirit informing us that it’s time to move on from providing debated answers and begin answering the arguments with declarations. This happens in the space between the two verses I cited above.  For everything, there is a season. The current season of debate has come to an end.

When we make this transition, it can appear harsh and unloving to the fools who still believe we can debate our way out of this conflict into a place of peace. No matter how effective our ability to debate might be or how substantial our debate evidence appears, it is a limited tactic. There can never be a lasting peace treaty with deception no matter how convincing the elements of a debated peace treaty appear. It will always prove to be an errand of fools.

Our declarations will reveal the intentions of the human heart, proclaim a new direction into the future, and challenge the dark spiritual coaches whispering their instructions into the ears of fools who still believe they can debate their way to freedom apart from God. When the time comes to rise from the debate tables and declare the truth, the Lord will embolden our obedience with acts of courage we did not realize we possessed until we stood and declared God’s truth.