SPIRITUAL-WARFARE
Your life as a Christian is
seemingly full of Christ and there is no room for self, but an aggressive sin
comes in and wiggles his way in, crowding out Christ just a little bit. You give place to this sin and soon another
does the same thing. Sin by sin, error
by error, selfishness by selfishness, the backsliding continues until you are
virtually empty of Christ and full of self.
The flesh hates everything
about God. Since it resists everything about
God, it resists every way we try to taste Him and know Him and love Him. And the more something enables us to find
God and feast on Him, the more violently the flesh fights against it. It takes its battle to every quarter of the
soul: When the mind wants to know God,
the flesh imposes ignorance, darkness, error and trivial thoughts. The will can't move toward God without
feeling the weight of stubbornness holding it back. And the affections, longing to long for God, are constantly
fighting the infection of sensuality or the disease of indifference.
Kris Lundgaard
The Enemy Within, P&R Publishing, 1998, 48.
What then is the killing of
sin? It is the constant battle against
sin which we fight daily-the refusal to allow the eye to wander, the mind to
contemplate, the affections to run after anything which will draw us away from
Christ. It is the deliberate rejection
of any sinful thought, suggestion, desire, aspiration, deed, circumstance or
provocation at the moment we become conscience of its existence.
Sinclair Ferguson
The Christian Life, p. 162, 1997, by permission Banner of
Truth, Carlisle, PA.
Use sin as it will use you;
spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer, and the murderer of
the world: use it, therefore as a murderer should be used. Kill it before it kills you; and though it
bring you to the grave, as it did your Head, it shall not be able to keep you
there.
Richard Baxter
There is a great difference
between realizing, "On that Cross He was crucified for me," and
"On that Cross I am crucified with Him." The one aspect brings us
deliverance from sin's condemnation, the other from sin's power.
John Gregory Mantle
When you willingly or
unknowingly are under the control of any power other than God’s Holy Spirit
(e.g., drugs, alcohol, sex, another person, your peer group, a false religion,
a self-centered habit such as gossip or laziness, or a self-oriented desire for
power, food, or wealth), you are in bondage to sin. However, God has broken the power of sin through the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you can overcome sinful habits by depending on His strength and
being obedient to His Word.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 20, Page 1, Used by Permission
of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
God has defeated Satan
through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has
also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient
resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient
to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 21, Page 2, Used by Permission
of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
As an obedient believer, you
are to stand firm in the strength of the Lord, to be sober in spirit, and to
remain alert in order to resist the schemes of the devil. However, in all areas of your walk as a believer,
you are incapable in your own strength and insufficient in your own resources
to overcome the wiles and temptations of Satan. Therefore, you must put on the full armor of God to be an
overwhelming conqueror in you continuing spiritual battle.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 21, Page 4, Used by
Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
There is no death of sin
without the death of Christ.
John Owen
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by
permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 30.
Satan’s number-one objective
is to destroy our joy of faith. We have
one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph.
6:17). But what many Christians fail to
realize is that we can’t draw the sword from someone else’s scabbard. If we don’t wear it, we can’t wield it. If the Word of God does not abide in us (Jn.
15:7), we will reach for it in vain when the enemy strikes. But if we do wear it, if it lives within us,
what mighty warriors we can be!
John Piper
Desiring God, 1996, p. 129, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.
This is the great business
of life - to 'put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the
tempter baits his hooks.' I know of no
other way to triumph over sin long-term, than to gain a distaste for it,
because of a superior satisfaction in God.
John Piper
Desiring God, 1996, p. 11, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.
Out of all the armor God
gives us to fight Satan, only one piece is used for killing – the sword. It is called the sword of the Spirit (Eph.
6:17). So when Paul says, “Kill sin by
the Spirit” (Rom. 8:13), I take that to mean, Depend on the Spirit, especially
His sword. What is the sword of the
Spirit? It’s the Word of God (Eph.
6:17). Here’s where faith comes in.
…The Word of God cuts through the fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true
and lasting happiness is to be found.
And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make
me happy, and instead entices me to trust in God’s promise of joy (Psm. 16:11).
John Piper
How Redeemed People Do Battle with Sin, Decision, Jan. 1990.
If my thirst for joy and
meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence of the promises of Christ,
the power of sin is broken. We do not
yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can see the sizzling steak on the
grill. …At first lust tricks me into feeling that I would really miss out on
some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit
and begin to fight. …And as I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life
and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugar coating off the poison of
lust. …And by the grace of God, (lust’s) alluring power is broken.
John Piper
How Redeemed People Do Battle with Sin, Decision, Jan. 1990.
The reason why many fail in
battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others
succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before
the battle came...Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before
temptation comes, and you will always have victory.
R.A. Torrey
(Spiritual strongholds)
begin with a thought. One thought
becomes a consideration. A
consideration develops into an attitude, which leads then to action. Action repeated becomes a habit, and a habit
establishes a “power base for the enemy,” that is, a stronghold.
Elisabeth Elliot
Discipline – The Glad Surrender, Revell, 1982, p. 69.
If
Christ has died for me--ungodly as I am, without strength as I am--then I can
no longer live in sin, but must arouse myself to love and serve Him who has
redeemed me. I cannot trifle with the evil that killed my best Friend. I must
be holy for his sake. How can I live in sin when He has died to save me from
it?
C.H. Spurgeon
Look to the cross, and hate
your sin, for sin nailed your Well Beloved to the tree. Look up to the cross, and you will kill sin,
for the strength of Jesus' love will make you strong to put down your
tendencies to sin.
C.H. Spurgeon
Faith is the surest of all
sin-killers.
C.H. Spurgeon
Sermons, 34.393.
Spiritual warfare makes us
think of demon possession, horrific demonstrations of satanic control, and
dramatic exorcisms. But Scripture
presents spiritual warfare not as the violent, bizarre end of the Christian
life, but as what the Christian life is!
Paul David Tripp
Age of Opportunity, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 116.
The Bible will keep you from
sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
D.L. Moody
With such adversaries,
growing in the fear of the Lord will not be a smooth process. Instead, it will be the path of
warfare. We must hate the evil and
ungodly assumptions of the world, we must hate our own sinful nature, and we
must hate Satan. To accomplish these
tasks demands the most powerful resources we have: The Word, the Spirit, and
the body of Christ.
Edward T. Welch
When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing,
1997, p. 101. Used by Permission.
There are a hundred men
hacking at the branches of evil to every one who is striking at the roots of
evil.
Henry Ward Beecher
The Believer’s Warfare:
Internal, with the flesh- Gal. 5:17; Not after the flesh- 2 Cor. 10:3; with the
armor of light- Rom. 13:12; external, with the world- John 16:33; not by
resistance but submission- James 4:7; with the armor of righteousness- 2 Cor.
6:7; infernal, with the devil- Eph.6:12; with the whole armor of God- Eph. 6:13
Author Unknown
The Book of 750 Bible and Gospel Studies, 1909, George W.
Noble, Chicago.
The biblical motivation to
(avoid sin) is that we are no longer sinners by nature, and that sin goes against
the new nature that God has given us.
Mike Taylor
From Legalism to Grace, 2001.
Whenever God pardons sin, He
subdues it. Micah 7:19. Then is the condemning power of sin taken
away, when the commanding power of it is taken away. If a malefactor be in prison, how shall he know that his prince
hath pardoned him? If a jailer come and
knock off his chains and fetters, and lets him out of prison, then he may know
he is pardoned; so, how shall we know God hath pardoned us? If the fetters of sin be broken off, and we
walk at liberty in the ways of God, this is a blessed sign we are pardoned.
Thomas Watson
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by
permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 25.
Precepts instruct us what
things are our duty, but examples assure us that they are possible…. When we
see men like ourselves, who are united to frail flesh and in the same condition
with us, to command their passions, to overcome the most glorious and
glittering temptations, we are encouraged in our spiritual warfare.
William Bates
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by
permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 95.
Love Christ, and you will
hate that which caused His death. Love
Him, and you will love to be made like Him - and hate that which is so contrary
to Him.
Richard Baxter
The Reformed Pastor.
This
is the saddest warfare that any poor creature can be engaged in (fighting
against sin without the Holy Spirit).
A soul under the power of conviction from the law is pressed to fight
against sin, but hath no strength for the contest. They cannot but fight, and they can never conquer; they are like
men thrust on the sword of enemies on purpose to be slain. The law drives them on, and sin beats them
back.
John Owen
Works.
You now have, Christian, the armour of God; but take heed thou
forgettest not to engage the God of this armour by humble prayer for your
assistance, lest for all this you be worsted in the fight.
William Gurnall
(Jesus) saves His people
from their sins. This is His special
office. He saves them from the guilt of sin, by washing them in His own atoning
blood. He saves them from the dominion of sin, by putting in their hearts the
sanctifying Spirit. He saves them from the presence of sin, when He takes them
out of this world to rest with Him. He will save them from all the consequences
of sin, when He shall give them a glorious body at the last day. Blessed and
holy are Christ's people! From sorrow, cross, and conflict they are not saved.
But they are saved from sin for evermore.
Commentary: Matthew 1.
God’s Word will keep you
from sin, or sin will keep you from God’s Word.
Author Unknown
The
best way to fight against sin is to fight it on our knees.
Philip Henry
Our enemies are demonic, but
the warfare against them isn’t waged by commanding them, mapping their physical
location, invoking magic words to subdue them, claiming authority over them, or
any of the other common tactics some people usually refer to as “spiritual
warfare.” We are not fighting demons in
a face-to-face confrontation, or by spirit-to-spirit conversation, or with
voice-to-voice communication. We attack
them by tearing down their fortresses of lies…
What, precisely, are our weapons?
The only power that will destroy such things is the power of truth…“the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).
John MacArthur
The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 140- 141.
The simple fact is that you can’t
fight spiritual warfare with magic phrases and secret words. You don’t overpower demons merely by
shouting at them. I don’t have anything
to say to a demon anyway. I’m not
interested in talking to them. Let the
Lord do that (cf. Jude 9). Why would I
even want to communicate with evil spirits?
But I have a lot to say to people who have barricaded themselves in
fortresses of demonic lies. I want to
do everything I can to tear down those palaces of lies. And the only thing that equips me to do that
well is the Word of God. Spiritual
warfare is all about demolishing evil lies with the truth. Use the authority of God’s Word and the
power of the gospel to give people the truth.
That is what will pull down the fortresses of falsehood. That is the real nature of spiritual
warfare.
John MacArthur
The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 141.
All sin results from failure
to act in faith.
John MacArthur
Ephesians, Moody, 1986, p. 359.
Resolved, never to give
over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however
unsuccessful I may be.
Resolution Number 56.
Everyone is born a slave of
sin. Jesus Christ said, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John
8:34). We cannot free ourselves from
this oppressive master, for no one can live without sinning against God. But the sinless Jesus - not for His own
sake, but for others - came from Heaven to deliver His people. Jesus allowed godless men to nail Him to a
Roman cross, and three days later rose from the dead so that “we should no
longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:6).
And all those who trust in His work (and not their own) as the way to
freedom will find emancipation from sin.
“Therefore,” declared Jesus, “if the Son makes you free, you shall be
free indeed” (John 8:36).
Don Whitney
Rest Your Soul in "the Simplicity and Purity of
Devotion to Christ." www.BiblicalSpirituality.org,
Used by Permission.
Abide in Jesus, the sinless
One – which means, give up all of self and its life, and dwell in God’s will
and rest in His strength. This is what
brings the power that does not commit sin.
Andrew Murray
In opposition…to all the
suggestions of the devil, the sole, simple, and sufficient answer is the word
of God. This puts to flight all the
powers of darkness. The Christian finds
this to be true in his individual experience.
It dissipates his doubts; it drives away his fears; it delivers him from
the power of Satan.
A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Baker Book
House, 1980, p. 389.
If I profess with the
loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except
precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment
attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing
Christ. Where the battle rages, there
the loyalty of the soldier is proved to be steady… (It) is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point (of
attack).
Martin Luther
Quoted by Francis A. Schaeffer in The Great Evangelical
Disaster, Crossway, 1984, p. 50-51.