The War Within: Know Your True Enemy

Summary

The Christian life is a battle, and Scripture says sinful desires wage war inside us. There is no neutral position: only what drifts goes with the current, while everything else must be fought for. We face two very different kinds of enemies - some God commands us to hate and put to death, and others He commands us to love.

The great danger is friendly fire, confusing the two. The sins living in our flesh - lust, greed, anger, slander, gossip and lies - are the real enemies that destroy us and can shut us out of the Kingdom. People, even those who wrong us, are the enemies Christ tells us to love. If we love the sin we were meant to kill, we will end up hating the brother we were meant to love.

We fight not with worldly weapons but with God's power, taking every thought captive to Christ. Switch off the gossip and noise that feed anger, pray, fast, and fall more deeply in love with Jesus. As Christ said, Get behind me, Satan, we too must learn to refuse the flesh and walk in the fear of God.

Key Points

• In Christ there is no neutral ground: either you fight sin or it conquers you.
• Two enemies stand before us - the sinful flesh to put to death, and people to love.
• Friendly fire: loving the sin you should kill leads to hating the brother you should love.
• The works of the flesh - lust, greed, anger, gossip, lies - are real foes that can bar the Kingdom.
• We win by God's power, capturing every thought for Christ, not by willpower or harsh asceticism.
• Practical weapons: prayer, fasting, turning off gossip and noise, and a deeper love for Jesus.
• Walk in the fear of God and learn to tell the flesh, Get behind me, Satan.