The Warrior

The title I have used for this post is the title of a song off of the cd Over the Grave by Sojourn. That's Philip Revell's church in Louisville for any of you who know that guy. Anyways, both the song and cd are really great. My wife recently purchased it for me. See the link for amazon.com or look it up on iTunes.

Advertisements aside, I want to discuss a war that we all take part in. Check out Romans 8. I have been thinking through this passage for a few months.

Romans 8:5-8

5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Paul here and elsewhere sets up the battlefield. In the Christian, there is the spirit (which God has regenerated, given life to, at salvation) and the flesh (our body and sinful desires). These two parts of us are in tension until our death or the return of Christ, when we shall be finally and fully released from sin, though even now the Christian has been released from its power.

Let's return to our passage before I get ahead of myself, we see two clearly different ways to live. We can live according to the flesh or we can live according to the spirit. What does this mean? An example from last night, it was a bit later and I wanted to read a fiction book instead of having my devotion. My flesh wanted to enjoy a silly story about pirates. My spirit knew that I needed to commune with my God. My flesh wanted sin, and my spirit wanted righteousness. Luckily, my wife sided with my spirit and this post is the result.

Later we can discuss how to seek to kill the flesh and how to live according to the spirit, but for now let us merely be content to discover this battle in ourselves. Where do you struggle? Do you struggle? For the longest time, I didn't struggle because I was living fully according to the flesh. I avoided "major" or public sins because I wanted people to think heile of me, but I was not even fighting this battle. Do not be content to frame this battle in terms of church attendance or quiet times, but look at your live as a whole.

Anything that draws your heart or your affections away from Jesus Christ is sin. Whether it is a good or bad thing. I talked with a man recently who left seminary because it distracted his heart from Jesus. Weird stuff, but watch for it. Seek to discern what sin is a usual part of your life. Start seeing the battlefield for what it is. Soon we will begin to make plans.

Here is a cool quote to stir your pride to want to fight:

"Cowards do not count in battle; they are there, but not in it." - Euripedes