The stakes are high in the battle against sin. Kill it, or it will kill you.
In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches that we must go to extreme measures to expel sin from our lives. The example He gives is, "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."
EXTREME.
Now, Jesus is obviously offering a bit of hyperbole here, but his point is clear: take sin seriously. Hate it. Do everything in your power to rid yourself of it. The cost of sin is eternity in hell.
The first step in our battle plan is to HATE sin.
The commandment Jesus addresses in this passage is to not commit adultery, but he takes the sin a step further and says, "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The righteousness God requires of us is much bigger than just the surface sin. Jesus is not asking "are you keeping the rules", but, "do you abhor sin?"
If you abhor sin, you can fight it.
Romans 8:13 says, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
This verse is such an encouragement because it tells us we can indeed put sin to death.
So, how do we fight it?
1. We must fight consistently.
Just because you rid your lawn of weeds, doesn't mean they won't come back. We must continually work on this and petition God for victory.
2. We must fight combatively.
We must be savage, barbaric, violent, ruthless, and creative. We must make the mortification of sin our daily work.
In the fight against lust, for example:
We can eliminate sources of temptation
such as: TV shows, social media, computer, smart phones, etc. -- it's impossible to eliminate everything, but the elimination of SOMETHING is certainly better than doing nothing.
We can also get help by being open about our struggles.
Bring community into your battle so they can fight alongside you. Seek a mentor ahead of you in this, so they can pray for you and equip you with wisdom.
We can equip ourselves for battle.
Memorize scripture; pray and think about the battle daily; evaluate failures; read books about it.
3. We must fight by the Spirit.
We must acknowledge that we are utterly dependent on Him and that we have no strength of our own. If you are in Christ, He has given you a new heart that seeks Him. While this life is truly a battle, there is a finish line.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
-- Hebrews 12:1-2
The reward is great for those who run the race to the end.
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