From a Bible Reading on 1 Peter 2
(The listener is asked to bear with the quality of this recording)
Christian Warfare
“Beloved, I exhort you, as strangers and sojourners, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation (behavior) honest …” (1 Peter 2:11-12a).
“And the war was long between the house of Saul and the house of David; but David became continually stronger, and the house of Saul became continually weaker” (2 Samuel 3:1).
“As we ponder this long war between the spiritual house of David and the carnal house of Saul, there does come to one’s mind a similar experience that strikes at the citadel of our own souls — that is to say, a continual warfare between the Spirit and the flesh.”
What is normal to the Christian (Galatians 5):
“But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall no way fulfil flesh’s lust. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these things are opposed one to the other, that ye should not do those things which ye desire; but if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under law” (Galatians 5:16-18).
The battle goes on as long as we are here. Christ knew nothing of this battle since there were no fleshly lusts in Him to war against the Spirit.
The “should not” goes both ways:
- Something that I am led by the Spirit to do, and the flesh says not to do it
- Something that I want to do according to the flesh, and the Spirit forbade me to do it
How are we supposed to prosecute this warfare? Are we prepared for the battle?
“If we live by the Spirit, let us walk also by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
Let us not forget the early morning devotion (reading God’s word), and we also ought to get on our knees.
The word to Timothy was “my child, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). How can we be strong if we do not feed? And yet, some of us grow worldly-minded, and we think that we can skip the early morning and the evening devotions and still be strong. But this is not so! We must daily feed on the word of God, and thus our behavior will be manifest according to godliness and holiness.
Victory Against 5 Kings (Joshua 10)
Joshua was at war with 5 kings, and he won that battle (vs. 10:16). The kings fled and hid in a cave.
“And Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me those five kings out of the cave. And they did so, and brought forth to him those five kings out of the cave…and it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, ‘Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings.’ And they came forward and put their feet on their necks” (Joshua 10:22-24)
Who slew these kings? It was Joshua and not the men of war.
There are kings to be slain, and there is only One who can do it. Whether it is the World, the Flesh, the Devil, Sin, or Self — Let us be assured that the Lord Jesus has slain them all! Our heavenly Joshua has dealt with these kings that dominate our lives. The Lord Jesus has dealt with them all!
Remember Paul when he threw off the viper into the fire (Acts 28):
“And when we got safe to land we then knew that the island was called Melita. But the barbarians shewed us no common kindness; for, having kindled a fire, they took us all in because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. Paul having gathered a certain quantity of sticks together in a bundle and laid it on the fire, a viper coming out from the heat seized his hand. And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging from his hand, they said to one another, This man is certainly a murderer, whom, though saved out of the sea, Nemesis has not allowed to live. He however, having shaken off the beast into the fire, felt no harm” (Acts 28:1-5).
“For sin shall not have dominion over you” (Romans 6:14).