~ The World – The Flesh – The Devil ~
These are three
great foes which every Christian faces regularly! The Christian receives opposition from 1) the
Culture Around us, 2) the Flesh Within us, and 3) the Devil Against us.
The World (around
us) ~ The world refers to the world system and its values which surround
us. Anyone familiar with the Word of God
knows these norms are contrary to the teaching of Scripture. “You adulterous
people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward
God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend
of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or
do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in
us envies intensely?” (James 4:4-5).
remedy: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this
is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5).
The Flesh (within
us) ~ “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things
that you wish” (Galatians 5:16-17). Jesus Christ said, “No one can serve two
masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon [money, material things]” (Matthew
6:24).
remedy: “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh,
God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of
sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that
the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit”
(Romans 8:3-5).
The Devil (against
us) ~ “Put on the full armor of God so that you
can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms” (Ephesians 6:11-12).
remedy: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the
faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are
undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter
5:8-9).
The Bottom Line ~ Our battle is spiritual, not
physical, therefore the only remedies are spiritual. The Word
of God and the Spirit of God will
build our faith so that we can be increasingly victorious while we wait for the
return of our Savior. As we attentively
listen to these two great resources we will be putting on the “whole armor of
God” (Ephesians 6:10-20
– see 9 previous posts in February 2014).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
NOTES:
(1)
The
current
TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very
bottom of this home page.
(2)
There
is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the
left column.
(3)
You
may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website.
(4)
You
may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by
prominently displaying the following statement: Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free
blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid
Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/
.
