Last week, Theology 101’s common image of the uncommon life God intends for us was walking. This week’s image is fighting or warfare. The Christian life has battles that must be engaged, and of course the desired outcome is victory.
Standing in the way of a victorious Christian life is an unholy trinity that must be engaged daily: the world, the flesh and the devil.
The world around us with its temptations, untruths and unworthy goals is an influential enemy. Too often the desire to be accepted by others can lead to adopting an ungodly attitude or engaging in ungodly activities, not to mention being silently influenced by worldly standards or expectations.
Romans 12:2 admonishes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” A solemn plea is given in 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Natural tendencies
Another member of the unholy trinity is what the Bible calls the flesh. The reference is not to the physical body but to our natural tendencies to value and chase after sinful things that have their origin in our sinful nature. The Bible warns that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,” before setting forth the horrible outcome of such living: “To be fleshly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the fleshly mind is enmity against God,” and concluding, “so then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:5–8).
Galatians 5:19–21 gives a detailed list of the works of the flesh: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like.” This indeed is a formidable army of enemies to be faced.
A third member of the unholy trinity is the devil himself. The Bible speaks with deep seriousness: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith” (1 Pet. 5:8–9). Christian hope lies in the truth that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
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