You are in a battle.
This battle is very real. It’s not popular to talk about. It’s not a war making headlines. It’s not on social media. Those things are all distracting you from the real war… the one in your soul. Between the ways of Jesus and the interference of the world, the flesh, and ultimately the devil.
All throughout Christian history, the three sources of opposition that we face in our lives have been called “The Three Enemies of the Soul” and they are just that, enemies that stand against who Jesus wants to form us into. The first enemy, the world, is one that gets a lot of press. Mainly because it is the loudest one and the easiest to notice. The distractions, the evil on the news, and all of the other ways that our culture stands opposed to what God has asked for our lives. That is the kind of opposition we can face when it comes to the world.
And the inmost enemy, that gets a lot of accurate press, is the devil. Don’t look to movies and cartoons for your understanding about the devil. He is not a tights wearing red guy with horns and a pitchfork who rules in hell. He is a deceptive, cunning, half truth spitting deceiver whose kingdom is this world. Satan isn’t his name, satan is a title meaning, “the accuser.” From the beginning of time he has lied and deceived and accused God and us. His MO is to steal, kill, and destroy. To distract us into oblivion and get us to question God’s character. He will not get in your face and say, “I’m the devil! Follow me!” He doesn’t even want you to know he exists. But at the center of the interference and tension that we face, there he lies.This kind of opposition fuels everything that we face.
But I want to focus on the enemy smack dab in the middle of this conversation of the enemies of our soul. I could say a lot more about the other two, but this one in the middle is the one that requires the most work on our parts to defeat, and I believe we don’t do very much about it.
This middle enemy, that makes the world look enticing, and is tempted by the lies of the devil… is our flesh.
Let me clarify, The flesh does not equal the body. God gave you your body and it is a gift that should be stewarded and used as an instrument to serve God, but the historical church talked about this second enemy often and were very upfront about it needing to be dealt with asap.
What they were describing when they were talking about the enemy of the flesh was the sinful nature that lies inside each and every one of us and will not be fully killed in this life, but it cannot be ignored either. Paul describes our internal battle with the flesh beautifully in Galatians when he says…
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
Galatians 5:16-17
We have to be aware of the fact that one of the main things that we battle against in our lifelong journey of following Jesus comes from WITHIN US. In fact, this kind of interference is one of the most consistently named enemies in all of the New Testament. The way that Paul describes it is that there is a tug of war happening within the hearts of everyone who follows Christ. We now have a new heart and a new Spirit when we believe in Jesus, but our old way of living and thinking still tries to trip us up.
When we understand this enemy, then it becomes a no brainer why the New Testament is so explicit and harsh when it comes to our flesh. Deny ourselves. Carry our crosses. Crucify our flesh. These are all quotes directly from writings to those who are trying to follow Jesus in a noisy and distracting world pulling us every which way. Jesus even takes it so far to say
“29 So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
Matthew 5:29-30
We hear those things and laugh and scoff and move on with our lives that are ruled by our flesh but Jesus is saying we absolutely have to get serious about this. If you understand that your flesh is betraying you and making it harder to be all that Jesus has called you to be, you will fight against it. You will…
Deny your flesh. Starve the sin. Repeat.
Don’t overthink this. This is a very simple (which doesn’t mean easy) three step process that all of us have to walk out in order to get over ourselves and submit our whole lives to Jesus. A quick word on each step…
DENY YOUR FLESH. Say no to yourself. Even when it’s hard (maybe especially when it’s hard). When a desire or a want comes across your mind, say NO! You aren’t the center of the universe. Yes it’s hard to deny yourself, but when you love Jesus more than yourself, you will!
STARVE THE SIN. What you feed grows, what you starve shrinks. Struggle with lust? Don’t watch shows and movies with ANY sexual content. Struggle with comparison? Allow yourself one hour on social media every day. Struggle with spending? Invite someone older into your life to review all your finances. Stop putting yourself in situations and environments where you’re tempted to sin! Make it hard for your flesh to even desire your old way of living. This isn’t rocket science it’s obedience!
REPEAT. Some of us need to walk out this process daily, multiple times a day. And it may feel exhausting and overwhelming, but I promise over weeks and months of following this process, the noise and pull of your flesh will die down almost completely.
It’s time for all of us to get over ourselves and fall under the leadership and authority of Jesus.
