If You Don’t Fight Lust

Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 

(1 Peter 2:11)

When I confronted a man about the adultery he was living in, I tried to understand his situation, and I pled with him to return to his wife. Then I said, “You know, Jesus says that if you don’t fight this sin with the kind of seriousness that is willing to gouge out your own eye, you will go to hell and suffer there forever.”

As a professing Christian, he looked at me in utter disbelief, as though he had never heard anything like this in his life, and said, “You mean you think a person can lose his salvation?”

So, I have learned again and again from firsthand experience that there are many professing Christians who have a view of salvation that disconnects it from real life, and that nullifies the threats of the Bible, and that puts the sinning person who claims to be a Christian beyond the reach of biblical warnings. I believe this view of the Christian life is comforting thousands who are on the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

Jesus said, if you don’t fight lust, you won’t go to heaven. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29). The point is not that true Christians always succeed in every battle. The issue is that we resolve to fight, not that we succeed flawlessly. We don’t make peace with sin. We make war.

The stakes are much higher than whether the world is blown up by a thousand long-range missiles, or terrorists bomb your city, or global warming melts the ice caps, or AIDS sweeps the nations. All these calamities can kill only the body. But if we don’t fight lust, we lose our souls. Forever.

Peter says the passions of the flesh wage war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11). The stakes in this war are infinitely higher than in any threat of world war or terrorism. The apostle Paul listed “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness,” then said it is “on account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Colossians 3:5–6). And the wrath of God is immeasurably more fearful than the wrath of all the nations of the world put together.

May God give us grace to take our souls and others’ souls seriously and keep up the fight.

John Piper

Oppression and Obsession

“Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.” MARK 1:23-26

 

PONDER THIS

I once thought that if I could avoid sin, I would not face spiritual warfare. But you can be perfectly righteous and still do battle with the devil. Jesus did. The devil came to Jesus to oppress Him.

The devil works through oppression but also obsession. That’s when something fills your mind, consumes your energy, and drives you in a particular way. Many people are obsessed with money. A businessman may be respected in America today, but he may have an obsession. He's not making money; he's just keeping score. He doesn't need any more money, but he can't stop. He has an obsession. Others are obsessed with maintaining their image. Their vanity has become an obsession that drives every decision they make, from what they wear to what they say. So many times, these obsessions blind us instead of moving us toward God in repentance. You may feel like you are in control, but there is a spiritual battle at war for your soul.

Where do you feel oppressed or obsessed in your life? What might this indicate about spiritual battle?

How can we seek to balance daily interests in good things so they don’t become unhealthy obsessions?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess the ways you have been, or are currently feeling, tempted. Ask God to help you focus on Him and follow His way.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The War We Often Miss

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."EPHESIANS 6:12

 

PONDER THIS

There is a spiritual world. Some will laugh at the idea of demons and spirits, and they may be somewhat amazed that a supposedly educated man would teach about the reality of demons. The problem is, there is no way possible that you can take the Bible at face value and deny the reality of the demonic.

It will be a great day in America when people learn everything spiritual is not necessarily good. There is spiritual righteousness and spiritual wickedness. Our battle is not primarily any earthly power. We are not wrestling against flesh and blood; we are wrestling against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. And the reason we don't win the battle many times is we don't show up for the war. We don't even know where the war is. And therefore, we go down in defeat. God has given us the means to be prepared if we will come to Him.

What are your beliefs about the spiritual realm? What does the Bible say compared with how you typically operate?

How does recognizing there are spiritual battles change how you deal with the challenges of today?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask a pastor what he has learned about spiritual warfare. Ask how you can grow in awareness and preparedness.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Who Goes to War with Zero Training?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“When they [the council] heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them [Peter and the apostles]”...  (Acts 5:33)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Suppose you’re on the battlefield and someone’s coming at you. You warn him, “Don't come any further! I'll shoot!” He answers, “I don't believe in your gun. As a matter of fact, I don't believe in guns at all.” That's not going to change anything, is it?

Likewise, the Bible is the Sword of the Spirit. Someone may say, “Well, I don't believe the Bible.” But it will cut him anyway! The apostles preached the Scripture, and when the people heard it, they were cut to the heart. The Word cuts even an unbeliever. It's a two-edged sword. It cuts to heal, or it cuts to judge. But it will cut—believe it or not.

Before going into battle, soldiers are dedicated to training in the use of their weapons. How foolish to go into battle without training. How familiar are you with your Sword?

ACTION POINT:

God has given you a weapon for spiritual battles—the Sword of the Spirit. In the armor of God, it is the only offensive weapon—the rest are defensive. To have the victory God wants for you, you must see the sharpness of your sword, the Bible, and you must be trained in it.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers