WEEKLY ARTICLE

Becoming a Spiritual Warrior

By William Lane

  Weekly Article

September 1st 2006

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now If I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15-25)

If this is your first time reading this quote from Romans, it might seem a bit confusing, you may need to read it a few times. It seems confusing because Paul is illustrating a confusing and frustrating experience. It's clear that there is a war going on inside of him.

If you are a follower of Christ, you will experience spiritual warfare and you will struggle with sin. These are facts we can't get around, no matter how much we try.

When we experience spiritual warfare what should we do, how should we respond?

 The phrase “spiritual warfare” could be used in a more general context but for the purpose of this article we will narrow the definition to: the battle for our minds and hearts that takes place in our innermost being.

The mind and heart of the believer is the battlefield where two opposing forces meet and it is the territory they both seek to gain. On one side of the field are the forces of the enemy: the old you, who walks according to the flesh, armed with lies that the world perpetuates, and Satan in the background barely visible, cloaking himself. On the opposing side of the field are the allied forces: you, the new creation in Christ wearing the full armor of God, the Holy Spirit within you, and Jesus shining clearly as a beacon of truth, and grace behind you.

If only we could see this spectacle with our eyes instead of simply perceiving it within, then perhaps believers would live in victory more often instead of defeat. We are often defeated because we are unaware of or out of touch with the battle within.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1John 1:5-10)

 If we are not real with ourselves about our sin, the battle is lost before it begins. When people walk according to the flesh their capacity for self-deception is amazing. In the flesh, we see ourselves as we would like to be rather than as we are. In order to walk in the light we [the new creations in Christ (2Cor 5:17)] must make a conscious decision on a daily basis to reject the skewed vision of ourselves and seek the truth.

The Holy Spirit will help us with this through prayer. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

It has become clear to me, through personal experience and observation of others, that believers sometimes have a tendency to condemn themselves when the light exposes some of their not so righteous qualities. When we condemn ourselves the two most common outcomes are;1. returning to a self-deceived state and blocking out the painful truth or 2. existing in a self-loathing state that results in more sin and keeps perpetuating the cycle.   

But if we trust that Christ is who he said he was, then there is no condemnation for us.

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.(Romans 8:1-4)

We have grace to call upon in time of need, when those not so righteous qualities rear their ugly heads (Hebrews 4:16).

When we are convicted of our sin and imperfections, there is no need for condemnation, simply own it by taking responsibility for falling short of God's standards, accept the grace he offers you, and repent.

There are people who think that repentance is just the process of “owning” or acknowledging your sin. However, true Biblical repentance is much more than that.

The Greek word for "repent" is metanoeo, which translates according to Strong's Concordance as: “to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider.” Repentance is a process of changing the ungodly patterns of thinking in your mind to the way God wants you to be thinking.

Often before true repentance comes sorrow. This is healthy so long as it is Godly sorrow (2Corinthians 7:8-10).*

In short repentance is: being genuinely sorry for your sin, taking ownership of and stopping any outward manifestations of your sin, and working with the Lord to remedy your inward condition that caused the sin.

Preparation and vigilance is everything to experienced warriors. When we begin our walk with the Lord we often clumsily work towards repentance. Instead of looking like the new creations we are, battling with and through the power of Jesus Christ as in the illustration above, we look more like the classic image of Adam and Eve, with nothing on but a fig leaf, very out of place and vulnerable on the battlefield.

It is only by the grace of God that we begin the process of repentance at all; however we have an obligation to equip and prepare ourselves to continue up that road. We need to be well equipped with the armor of God (Eph 6:10-18). We also need to consistently vigilantly guard our minds (2Cor 10:1-5) (Rom 12:1-2).   

The bottom line is that we are all involved in a spiritual war whether we like it or not, the question is whose side are we on during any particular moment and are we prepared to fight.

*Sorrow over sin is unhealthy when it lasts long after you have repented. If Christ has forgiven you, there is no reason not to forgive yourself.

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