But
just because one understands this gap and fallen state, and accepts God’s
extended cross to them does not mean they can leave the sin nature behind and
became a perfect creature again. Christians still must deal with the sinful
nature and the war against the flesh and the world. The Christian now has a
conflict and battle inside as we try to follow the laws and precepts of God,
yet struggle with the old self, the sin nature as it tries to lure us to not
obey the commands of God. The Christian now must battle three different evils
and enemies as we march on in the life that God has called us to.
The first pull is from the world and
the sinful influences around us. I John 2:15 tells us “Do not love the world or
anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not
in him”. The world and its culture, philosophy, and trends try to pull the
Christian farther and farther from God and His love. The world is evil and is
trying to seduce the nature of the old selfish sin nature. John reminds us also
that the world is under the control of Satan and he is the ruler of this world
and is trying to drag the believer away from the calling of God (John 5:19).
Paul truly understood how to beat the world when he states in Galatians 6:14
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”. The world is the first
enemy the Christian battles and a realization of the world and the power it can
have over our sinful nature is important.
But the world is not the only enemy
that the Christian battles. It is the starting point but just the beginning.
The flesh or sin nature is still there inside all Christians and it must be
dealt with properly. The flesh is our inner selfish nature, which is the second
enemy. It is the nature that rebels against God and it is the nature that was
the root of Adam’s sin of pride. Timothy Keller even expands upon the nature
and sin that the flesh can cause us to do. He states, “Sin is not simply doing
bad things, it is putting good things in the place of God” (171). Paul explains
in Ephesians 2:3, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts”. The
flesh is the original enemy and the root of the battle of Christians as they
fight against the power of sin in their lives. Paul even takes the flesh one
step farther and states that it is a decision that needs to be made. Either the
Christian is for the flesh or for God. He tells us in Romans 8:5, “Those who
live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature
desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set
on what the Spirit desires”. The Christians must deal with the sin nature and
this enemy and seek God and the Spirit to beat back the temptations of the
flesh, so that the third enemy of the Christians when it comes to sin may be
confronted.
The third enemy and struggle when it
comes to sin is the devil or Satan. Satan is a real being, not some made up
character in fiction. Satan is focused on stopping the Christian work and
spreading of the gospel. Satan is a great manipulator. He can use the world and
the flesh and go after the believer to distract and bring them down away from
the work of God. Peter reminds us that the devil is a lion and ready to devour
the Christians at any chance he gets (1 Peter 5:8). James reminds us what a
believer must do to succeed against the devil and his mighty attempts to bring
us down when he states, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you” (4:7). The three levels or enemies of temptation are
tough. From every angle the Christian is bombarded with sin, temptation, and
struggle as they travel along on the journey God has for them. But, God has
also provided a way to escape and not sin if only the Christian will turn
towards Him.
God has provided three ways also to
combat the three enemies of sin. First and foremost God has provided His word.
The Bible is God’s first gift to the believer as they struggle along in this
life. The Bible is the living word of God that can help the believer to grow,
understand, remind, and refresh the believer of the truths form Him. The Bible
can even rebuke the believer when he has struggled or sinned.
The word of God is not the only gift
for the sin struggle that is provided. The gift of Jesus Christ as our
intercessor is there also. 1 John 2:1 reminds us of this truth, “My dear
children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does
sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-Jesus Christ”. This is
a great truth because it helps us understand first a great action and gift that
Jesus has given us, but it also gives us hope. Hope in knowing that we can
never be perfect and sinless because Jesus is there to pick up the pieces and
make us right in the eyes of the Father. This is a gift that the believer has
nothing to do with or an involvement with. This gift is all about Jesus and
God.
The third gift is a great power
given to the believer, the gift of the Holy Spirit or God living in the
believer. God’s power lives in us and can aid the believer in his struggle
against the flesh and world. The power of God is even greater than anything the
devil can do also. Galatians 5:16 reminds us, “So I say, live by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature”. The power of God, as the Holy Spirit can do
anything in the lives of the believer. This is a great comfort to know that the
believer has a power greater than anything in the universe or flesh and it will
help us over come all temptation, as long as it is sought after and used to fit
it. God has provided a way for the true believer in Him to escape the
temptation and sin and with Jesus Christ, He has even provided a way when we do
struggle and sin and fall. God provides for the believer in his struggle and
will ultimately help him win the war at the end of all time.
Sin is like disease. It is a killer.
But with more drastic results than physical diseases; it kills the soul and
spirit. The physician that can prescribe medicine for the disease is God. The
Bible tells us what the disease is and where it is infecting us spiritually.
Then it prescribes a cure and treatment for the disease. The difference here is
that the physical disease may have many cures while there is only one cure for
the sin problem, the grace of God. The grace of God heals all sin, and even
though the believer deals with sin in life, there is not an eternal death from
the results, just broken fellowship. This biggest aspect of sin and the cure of
grace is that the patient can do nothing on their own; they need the physician
and cure to do all the work on the patient. Oh what a mighty physician and cure
has been blessed to the patient of the sin disease.
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