Let’s cut to the chase.
The life of a person who is avidly and truly a believer of God and follower of Jesus Christ is not marked by whether they are living perfectly and free from sin, but whether or not that person is fiercely and faithfully fighting against sin.
If marks of that battle are not evident, if there is no war declared, no clear sign of any ongoing fight underway – then that person is not someone who is following Jesus. Period.
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:28-29 that we should be gouging out eyes and whacking off hands and other extremities in our ferocious willingness to cut out (and off!) sin in our lives, we could expect to see the people who claim be Christians largely as a group of amputees, violently handicapped in multiple ways… unless, as John Piper states, Jesus must have had something “even more radical in mind than literal mutilation”. (Future Grace, Multnomah Publishers, 1995. “Faith in Future Grace vs. Lust”, pg. 330)
(Whew! Everyone, it’s safe to come out now. Your hands and eyes can stay put.)
In Piper’s excellent book Future Grace, he explains that while we generally consider global issues and injustice and similar ‘big’ social problems as far more important than ‘minor’ sins like pornography or complaining or lying, Jesus sees things differently than we often do.
The ‘big’ problems are important, but it’s because they all relate to individual people. People, who are made in the image of God with eternal souls, have only two possible endings: forever in the New Heavens and Earth in the presence of God glorifying him, or forever in hell defying him. This is why people – with their eternal ability to honor God regardless of their actual earthly lifespan – are so important.
All the ‘big’ problems can kill the body. But the consequences of sins (like lust) that stalk and easily entangle can eternally condemn our souls – more terrifying than any earthly death.
This is a comfort to me. I am not expected to be perfect, nor am I chided by my Holy Father for stumbling when I do. But I am to consistently grip my sword and fight and to resist my sin with each new day that I am given here on Earth.
That resistance is what marks me as a faithful warrior who claims Christ as King.
“If you live by [your sinful nature’s] dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.” – Romans 8:13
Which brings me to the sword.
Ephesians 6:17 calls us to take up the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God.
If we are not faithfully, consistently and prayerfully opening the Bible and reading it with humility and teachable hearts, we are weaponless in the battle.
The Word of God is there to bring light and truth to our thinking so we see clearly. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) The truth of God’s Word helps us recognize the inherent deception of sin to satisfy and bring happiness. It helps us recognize the fully satisfying, delightfulness of God and brings the faith to trust in his promises. “You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.” (Psalm 16:11)
The role of God’s Word, Piper states, is to feed faith’s appetite for God. As we learn to delight in the rich sweetness of him, we begin to lose our taste for the poison-sugar of anything less.
It gives us the honed ferocity in our battle that we need – the daily reminders that give us the strength to endure the (often wearying) fight and to grow in our knowledge and love of God.
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that endable to you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” – 1 Peter 1:3-4
“Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:8-9
Makes me want to go grab my Bible right now and get feasting – and fighting.
Come on, fellow warrior!
If you were inspired, helped or encouraged by this post – please share it! Thanks.
Wear your crown. Carry your sword. – Maria E. Miller