Our War With The Flesh - Part 1
Notes
Transcript
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Could you imagine someone living in a war zone with death and destruction and injury all around him not realizing there is a war going on? Is it possible to get so used to bullets flying by, minefields in the road, and enemy attacks aimed at killing you that you no longer consider them a threat? Could you possibly live peacefully while a war is waging around you?
What does war do to a person? Other than the obvious possibilities of injury or death, war either breaks a person, or make the person stronger. I am glad to say that I am not speaking from personal experience, but from what I have read of those who have gone through war. No one wants to go through war, but when you find yourself in a war, you must make a choice as to how you are going to act.
As much as we hate war and recognize it is ugly, barbaric, and cruel, we must admit that wars have produced some of the noblest and most admirable actions by men and women. This by no means justifies war. In our modern era, the potential for mass destruction has reached unimaginable possibilities. It is good for us to pray for peace on earth.
But it is an interesting paradox that in times of war we see unbelievable courage, unnatural sacrifice, super-human endurance, and resourcefulness in the face of overwhelming odds. The story of Desmond Doss is one such story of bravery and resourcefulness.
Desmond Doss’ religion forbade him from carrying a gun or threatening another human life, which was very inconvenient when he was drafted into the Second World War. So Doss was a conscientious objector, placed as a non-combatant, and was the target of ridicule from the other soldiers. He was serving as a field medic in Okinawa when the Japanese attacked his unit on top of a cliff, cutting down nearly every man. Doss quickly rigged up a stretcher that could be lowered by a series of ropes and pulleys to the ground below. Then, by himself and under fire, he retrieved each soldier in his unit one at a time and lowered them to safety. President Truman said it was 75 men that Doss pulled to safety when he presented him the Medal of Honor (above), but Doss insists it was closer to 50. That was only one instance of astonishing bravery and self-sacrifice Doss displayed throughout his military service. His story is told in the documentary The Conscientious Objector. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56157/11-incredible-acts-courage
War is where lives are destroyed, and heroes are made.
Christians are in a war with three different enemies. Many Christians don’t even realize they are in a war. They are being defeated day after day. Some are discouraged, like soldiers sitting on the ground in the middle of a battlefield while battles rage around them. Others are trying not sure what to do. Some are fighting the good fight and living the victory every day.
One of the challenges of the Christian life is understanding we are in a war. This should be a challenge but it is because the war is in our minds.
Our War with the Flesh
See: https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-41-war-within-romans-721-25
Christians are at war with the flesh.
Christians are at war with the flesh.
Romans 7:22
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
“I delight in the law of God in my inner being.” This doesn’t describe unbelievers.
Define the flesh: The flesh, also called sin, is that fallen part of our nature that produces evil moods and desires. It includes our former ungodly habits, instincts, tendencies from our life before Christ.It came into existence as the result of the first act of sin and renders humanity sinners, separated from and hostile toward God. The flesh makes us as bad off as we could be, not as bad as we could be.
The war is a mental war.
The war is a mental war.
Romans 7:23
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
“I see another law waging war against the law of my mind.”
The flesh wages war with our souls. 1 Peter 2:11
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
The passions within us lead us to sinful activity. James 4:1
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
The war is an ever-present battle. Romans 7:14-21
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
The flesh wants to take us captive.
The flesh wants to take us captive.
Romans 7:23
“but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind”
Do you know what it looks like to be taken captive by the flesh?
The war is agonizing!
The war is agonizing!
Romans 7:23
Do you feel the distress of the wickedness of the flesh? 2 Peter 2:7
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked
You can be a hero in this war.
You can be a hero in this war.
Romans 7:25
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Put on Jesus to win this war. Romans 13:14
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
You can be a hero by the power of our hero, Jesus!