Know Thine Enemy I
Sermon Review
13 Feb 2000
Reading - Romans 7:15-25
(Try New Living Translation or similar)

A few years ago several of us were asked to do some music for a mission program with Helen Ivicevich. To get an idea of what sort of thing she was likely to be wanting, we had a look at a video of her church (City Christian Church) in action. The service we happened to look at was on spiritual warfare: capital S, capital W, Spiritual Warfare. It was heavy duty. The speaker was really cranked up, the music was loud and heavy, the musicians were all wearing battle fatigues and army netting and camouflage were scattered about. The imagery was very effective. They were at war. They were taking on the spirits and deceptions and temptations of the evil one.

But as I read the Scriptures I get the impression that there are different kinds of spiritual battles. Certainly, some are very overt confrontations with Satan. Consider the kind of thing that Jesus faced as Satan came to tempt him. Consider the kind of Spiritual Warfare that afflicted several people that Jesus and the disciples healed. Consider the kind of thing that we still might see in sorcery, in people possessed, in exorcisms and witchcraft.

I see another form of spiritual warfare in Scripture. It’s still ultimately against Satan of course, but it takes a more insidious form: it’s more personal and it’s less obvious to another person, but you know about it and it is you involved in the battle. Perhaps it’s small-S-small-W spiritual warfare but it is still profoundly important to win. It’s the war that Paul speaks of in Romans 7: it’s the war against your own fleshly self. How come, says Paul, that the thing I want to do, I don’t do …and thing I don’t want to do, I do!!!

The problem is obvious: it’s the total failure and total depravity of our fleshly fallen nature. Whatever we call it - the old man, the natural man, the old nature, the flesh - (Scripture uses a number of terms) - it is that part of us that is in opposition to God. It’s not something we learned; we didn’t pick it up from our environment; it’s not something left over from a savage primeval state; it’s something we inherited from Adam. Unfortunately, too many of God’s people underestimate the terrible strength of our fallen nature. Too many people allow their spiritual life to be hindered. They allow their life of holiness to be shattered by not being on guard against that sinful nature. Too many people have turned their backs on God because they have consciously given themselves to the desires of the fleshly nature.

So we have an inner war. It is a battle between the fallen nature we inherit from Adam and the spiritual nature that comes when people are born again. The spiritual nature tells us to do this, but the fleshly nature tells us to do that.

How are you going with the battle? Are you winning? Have you got the old fleshly thing totally beaten? Maybe it’s sitting there stirring up trouble from time to time? Maybe it’s ready to go off like a bomb and wreak havoc with your spirituality?

I have an item of interest. It’s a detonator from a WWII shell (made in the munitions factory at Marrickville around 1944). The detonator is the bit that causes the shell to explode. It screws onto the front of the shell. You set the dial to control the detonation of the charge. It will explode immediately, or it can delay ignition, depending on how much penetration is needed to cause maximum damage. And happily enough, it has a safe setting. That would have been appreciated by the diggers who had to handle the shells; load them into the vehicles; sleep with them in the bunkers and so on. If we set it to safe, then it won’t detonate.

So how is it with your inner war? Have you got the fleshly you - the fallen nature - completely under control? Is it so secure that you can say with certainty that it’s safe. Or is it more like one of these other dial settings - it could go off later on and cause you trouble? Maybe you don’t know where the setting is, so it’s a loose cannon ready to explode anytime!

I guess the thing about one of these shells is that you can run away from it. If it’s about to go off, you can take cover. But you can’t run away from your fleshly nature. It’s there with you! That’s what makes this kind of warfare so difficult. The flesh is a difficult enemy because of its close relationship with the inner you. It’s intertwined with your personality, your mind, your will, and your emotions, so it is really important to understand some of the outworking of the flesh. What are some of the telltale signs? How do we recognise when the flesh is at war with us?

There are a number of places in Scripture where we get glimpses of this. Matt 15:19 mentions it. Mk 7:21-23 adds a bit more. Perhaps the best caution is in Galatians 5: (17-21)

…for the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to each other, so that you may not do the things that you please…But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident. Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these, of which I forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now it’s easy to bolt through that list without thinking too much and convince ourselves that we’ve got all that under control. Have we really? Can we truly say that we experience victory in every one of these areas?

Surely it’s no surprise that Paul puts the moral and sensual sins first. Immorality, impurity… that is, adultery and fornication. There’s no place, there’s no excuse for these in God’s plan. Both of these sins strike at God’s law of purity. Both of them strike at the sacredness of marriage. What can I say? Keep up your guard. These temptations might be lurking around closer than you think. How many times have you heard of these things wreaking havoc in Christian marriages? Sadly I could even list ministers of the gospel who have fallen for these sins.

And what about sensuality - or uncleanliness or lasciviousness as other versions put it? Here’s all those things like impure thoughts, dirty yarns, crude jokes, lustful desires, pornographic interests, leering, desires to read trash, desires to see morally unclean or warped pictures and movies. Here’s the provocative dress and gestures, the lurid speech, the wanton laughter. Here’s the sin that gives attention to others and attracts attention to yourself in a manner that flaunts God’s standards of moral purity.

What can I say? Here’s good reason to switch your televisions off ¾ of the time. Here’s good reason to avoid at least half the daily or monthly magazines down at the newsagent. Here’s good reason to keep on your guard with your web surfing, and good reason to be suspicious about your incoming ICQs. Sensual filth has permeated just about every form of the media. But it’s not just the media to be careful about: check your own responses.

Now let me speak to the blokes here: how would you go if we all walked though the mall and somebody had stationed some absolutely stunning blondes every 20 paces? What’s happening inside men? Is there a bit of a struggle? Are you praising God for the beauty of his creation? Maybe you are considering the beauty of God since these people are made in his image! Maybe you have so utterly conquered sensuousness that you are praying for the spiritual welfare of these women. Or are you thinking things that Scripture here says you shouldn’t be thinking? Are you praying madly that you’ll not think those things?

Ladies what about a scenario for you? What about those handsome and intelligent and muscle-bound blokes?

Only you know whether these areas are a problem or not. Only you know what happens when the fleshly desires are set against the Spirit. But remember, God knows. Sobering isn’t it. God knows.

The next two fleshly sins in Galatians are serious and direct rebuttals of the place of God in our lives: idolatry and sorcery (witchcraft). Anything that we physically or mentally put before God is idolatry: pleasure, money, things, academia, and work, even our families. This is a sin that rebels against worshipping God or giving God his full worth.

And what of sorcery? There’s a whole raft of occult things here. Sorcery is basically about our desire to contact the spirit world without God and explore the mysteries of the unseen world. Astrology, levitation, seances, special voices speaking to us, tarot, ouija…they’re all tools of this sin. Drugs and magic potions are part of it too. In fact, the direct translation of the Greek to the English is pharmakia, that is to say, drugs. Using drugs for mind-expanding and sensational purposes is sorcery. It’s leading us to other spirits rather than the Spirit of God.

There’s a whole raft of fleshly sins that stir up trouble between us. Here’s the interpersonal stuff. Not only do they distance us from God, but they distance us from each other These things destroy the fellowship between us. They destroy the community that God wants us to be. They include hatred, quarrelling, jealousy, anger, rivalry, forming factions, divisive teaching, envy, and the like. All these things are driven by self-interest and self-importance. They spring from us wanting our worth to be recognised, rather than the worth that God places on us.

Now Paul goes on to escapism. Some of my students are into this. For some it might be the grog and revelry that Scripture mentions. But for others it might be endless reading of fiction. One of my students is just off in fairyland most of the time with an endless stream of weird fiction stories. About the only time he stops is to pick up a guitar and crank out some weird metal. Others escape into virtual reality - maybe meditation - but more likely a weekend of videos or endless computer games or web surfing or net browsing or so-called chat sessions. It’s all escapism - it’s that desire within us to avoid the moral and physical responsibilities that God expects of us.

How are we doing? Is the flesh under control in all these areas? How’s it going on the sensuous front, the idolatry front, the interpersonal front, the escapist front? There’s quite a few fronts that this battle has to be fought on isn’t there! But Galatians is pretty clear. We have to win on all fronts. The flesh must be beaten on all fronts. These are the sins of the natural person and people who continually practice these things cannot inherit God’s kingdom.

But there’s more! The importance of having victory in these areas is not just because of the spiritual wrongness of each of the sins. Neither is it just because we slap God in the face every time the flesh gets its way. There’s something more subtle and deadly here. The Scriptures bring it out more plainly in Ephesians (4:27). It’s about giving Satan an opportunity. Giving way wilfully to the sins of the flesh gives Satan the chance to have his way in your life. Don’t get me wrong here: Satan’s legal claim over us was cancelled by the cross of Jesus. But if we willingly indulge in any of this fleshly activity then we can count on the evil one to quickly exploit it. It’s like the detonator: it’s been taken out of safe mode, and it’s just waiting to explode.

What to do? How do we overcome the flesh? How do we make sure that the detonator is in safe mode?

Just briefly - 4 things:

Be honest, take the walk of death, walk in the Spirit and pray. That’s the way to win against the flesh.

In closing, let me read you a contemporary version of the Romans passage. Maybe you would like to close your eyes and contemplate these words: are they true for you?

I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to - but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. When I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now if I am doing what I don’t want to do it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.

It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong: I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me - in my lower nature - that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to sin. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant but instead I find myself enslaved to sin.

So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh what a terrible predicament I am in. Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.

If you are struggling with any of these fleshly things - If you aren’t winning this spiritual warfare against the fleshly person that you were, then do something about it…be honest - come down the front here and let’s pray together. Don’t let Satan keep scoring points …come and let Jesus switch that detonator to the safe position. Go for the walk of faith. Go for the walk of freedom that Jesus brings. Go for the walk with the Spirit.

In His Service

Back