Warfare

The Christian life is often compared to warfare. Every follower of Christ is called to prosecute sin from within our own hearts. True Christianity is a daily fight.

1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

There are three enemies in this war: sinful desires, the selfishness of this world and evil. The daily warfare mentality is a crucial part of whole-life stewardship. Every day we have a new opportunity to fight, pray and struggle for godliness or to allow our passions to control our lives.

I have been reading a very provocative book by Soren Kierkegaard called- Attack Upon Christendom. The book was one of the very first to bring up the concept of "cheap grace". Kierkegaard argues that a religion that cost nothing is worth nothing. Jesus' own words, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow that leads to life and those who find it are few."

I have been reflecting on- and hopefully engaging in- this warfare a lot lately. I know based on my own habits of sinful patterns that one of the keys to fighting this war is to not allow sin an opportunity to engage a foothold in our thoughts. Sin is a sleeping giant within all of us. It is crucial that we not allow it to awaken.

Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

• Do I struggle with lust? I am told to flee sexual immorality- 1 Corinthians 6:18.
• Am I tempted to lie? I shall not lie to others because I am a new creation in Christ- Colossians 3:9.
• Do I find myself saying "I deserve?" Philippians 2:14 tells me to do all things without grumbling or complaining.
• Am I tempted to be lazy at work? Jesus commands me to work while it is day because night (death) is coming- John 9:4

Holiness is not an option for the Christian. It is a life goal that must be pursued and fought for. Hebrews 12:14, "without holiness no one will see the Lord." Am I saved by this pursuit of holiness? Absolutely not. I am saved only by the perfect work of Christ on the cross. I put my trust only in His grace. But I am commanded to pursue holiness; therefore I must.

We are a slave to our affections. There was a time in my life when I believed I was a Christian but allowed my continual appetite and affection for sin to control my life. I believed that I was saved by grace and therefore forgiven to commit all kinds of terrible deeds. Looking back, I don't believe I was converted to Christ at that time. I was making a mockery of His grace. His grace is costly. It required my total surrender.

Although I fall short, I must battle, fight, watch and pray. Are you in the battle? Kierkegaard had a powerful analogy in Attack Upon Christendom. Kierkegaard writes, "Imagine a man with a loaded pistol says, 'I will torture you to death unless you make your life here on earth as comfortable as possible.' This would be comical."

Kierkegaard is making a point that Christianity that promotes the easy path is a joke. It makes a fool of the words of Christ that the way is narrow. Unfortunately this is what we see taught in many churches today. Say a prayer. Walk an aisle. Be baptized and you are forever saved. Does that one time intellectual agreement save us? Of course not. We are saved only by continual faith in the promises of God. We are saved by trusting continually in His grace alone. We are saved by a daily fight for holiness and a continual desire to be conformed into the image of Christ.

Are you engaged in daily warfare for His sake?

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge