This weekend I have the privilege of speaking at a church retreat. Tomorrow I’ll be giving a workshop titled, “Praying Roots DOWN to Bear Fruit UP.” Prayer is such a key to bearing fruit, especially in our witness in the world as Christians. By no means am I an expert, but I’ve been learning some things about prayer and witness that may be helpful for you too.

God wants us to bear lots of fruit (as we’ll see from John 15).

There is a lot of fruit we could talk about bearing, but the fruit I want us to focus on here is the fruit of our witness as Christians in the world!

God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves, right? for the most part that means people who do not go to church, who are not close to God, and who are different than us.

We might conclude that God wants to bear the fruit of influencing others who are far from Him, right???

We all struggle to have the spiritual strength needed to face life. Maybe it’s temptations, habits, or even addictions. Many of us struggle with feelings of loneliness, frustration, uncertainty, sickness, boredom, and certainly weakness. This was the topic of my sermon yesterday from Ephesians 6:10. You can find part one of the video HERE.

Sometimes Christians act like life is more of a playground than a battle ground! But as Warren Wiersbe has famously said…

In Ephesians 6:10 the Apostle Paul said it like this…

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Ever struggle to live carefully? You want to do right, change a bad habit, or treat someone more loving, but you just can seem to be careful?! That can be a struggle for me. I addressed this in my sermon yesterday on Ephesians 5:15-21. You can find the video HERE.

At times I’m not careful with my words and actions…

Good Friday is part of THE most important weekend in the Christian calendar. It’s the day we REMEMBER the death and crucifixion of Jesus. To help make this day a more meaningful I pulled together 12 scriptures to meditate on. Consider taking one to read and meditate on per hour. Or come up with your own way to use these Good Friday meditation scriptures.

Why is Good Friday Called Good?

What makes something good, good? There must be a STANDARD of goodness.

GOD is the standard of good. Anything “good” is in reference to God.

The Hebrew word tov means GOOD. This is one of the essential characteristics of God. Goodness is actually the CENTER of who God is. It’s not like the goodness of ice-cream or football or even a good kiss. God’s goodness has to do with His holiness, His perfect sinless moral rectitude.

God’s goodness is first revealed to Moses in Exodus 33

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Throughout the rest of the Old Testament God is called good, or holy. He is perfect in every way, especially in His inability to sin or be wrong.

The goodness of God is nowhere more powerfully illustrated than through the spotless Son of God, Jesus, taking the sin of the world in His body.

Good Friday is good because God is GOOD. With that in mind, let’s take some time today to consider the following Scriptures.

Good Friday Scripture Meditations

The biblical account of Jesus’ death on the cross, his burial and his resurrection, can be found in the following passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:27-28:8; Mark 15:16-16:19; Luke 23:26-24:35; and John 19:16-20:30.

The following list of scriptures is in order of their occurrence in the Bible.

1. Isaiah 53:1-12

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

2. Matthew 27:46

 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

3. John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

4. John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

5. Acts 1:3

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

6. Acts 2:23-24

This man [JESUS] was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

7. Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

8. 1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

9. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

10. 1 Peter 2:24 *these two verses in Peter are the clearest regarding the significance of Good Friday

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

11. 1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

12. 1 John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

QUESTION: What verse(s) means the most to you and why?

The struggles of life on earth will remain. Sin. Fear. Doubt. Brokenness. Death. They aren’t going away. However, Jesus promised LIFE… ABUNDANT life; life to the FULL (see John 10:10)! There are no three easy steps to an easy Christian life. But there are solutions to the problems that keep us from Living a Victorious Christian Life.

Advice that changed my life

I was devastated. Hurting. Feeling lost. It was the summer of 1996. May 1 Jesus saved me. It was amazing. Drug addiction was gone. Hope was restored. My life was being transformed. I just didn’t want pain to be part of it. But it was.

For three months “G” and I dated. We were “in love.” It seemed perfect. But I sensed God speaking to me and gently nudging me to end the relationship so I could focus on growing my relationship with Him. I had so much to learn. So much spiritual formation needed in my life.

My mentor at the time, Steve Wilkins, encouraged me through it. He shared with me that God often takes the things dearest to us to test our faith. And then He often gives them back. I believed Steve and trusted God. So I ended the relationship! Ouch!

The pain I felt was more than I imagined it would be. One night I was out with Steve and his wife. They were trying to help me get my mind off of “G.” I began weeping in the back seat of their car feeling lost in it all. The advice they shared with me changed my life forever.

“Ed, keep your eyes on Jesus.” That quote from Hebrews 12:2 became my life verse. In the days that followed Steve shared that if I focus on my relationship with Jesus, He will begin changing my want-tos.

Are you struggling with heartbreak, sin, a bad habit, a negative feeling?

START HERE: focus your attention on Jesus. Talk to Him morning, noon, and night. Tell Him how you feel. And expect that as you seek Him FIRST (Matt 6:33), He will shape your heart and your want-tos according to His will.

THE PROBLEM

The problem with living a victorious Christian life is obvious. SIN! We struggle with the sin that comes from our own hearts, and the sin that affects us from others. As I wrote in a previous post (Why We Struggle With Sin), there are three sources of conflict…

The flesh – Gal 5:17

Our flesh pulls us away from the Spirit. James says it this way,

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)

The world

The devil

THE SOLUTION

There’s no easy solution to the problems the flesh, the world, and the devil present. However, living a victorious Christian life is possible.

In Ephesians 4-6 the Apostle Paul lays out the process and secret to the victorious Christian life.

First, based on the blessings of Ephesians 1-3, we have put OFF the OLD person and put ON the NEW person.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off [having put off] your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on [having put on] the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Second, we are BEING renewed in the spirit of our minds.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off [having put off] your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new [being made new] in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on [having put on] the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Third, we need the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)

Fourth, we need one another.

 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)

The Victorious Christian Life happens as we activate three things in our lives:

1. We renew our minds in truth (Eph 4:23)

2. We surrender to the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18)

3. We invite others into our priorities. (Eph 5:21ff)

This is just a brief overview. For a more in-depth resource I highly recommend the book How People Change, by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp.

QUESTION: What has helped you live a more victorious Christian life? I’d love for you to share resources that have helped you along the way.

Last week I wrote Why The Struggle of Romans 7 Should Not be Applied to the Christian Experience. I tried to answer comments but couldn’t get to everything. This post is an attempt to expound upon the previous post and answer a few questions.

1. Context of Romans

According to Ambrosiaster, a church father who lived in the fourth century, a group of Jewish Christians founded the church in Rome. The church included Gentile Christians too. But the focus and context of the letter of Romans seems to be Jewish Christians.

In 1:3 Paul refers to Jesus as appealing to Jews (also 2:9),

regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David.

In 1:16 he gives his philosophy of Jew first, then Gentiles,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

In 2:17 he speaks directly to Jews as the recipients,

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God.

Paul goes on to speak about the inability of Jews to keep the Mosaic law.

The Jewish recipients of Romans related to wanting to keep the law as good. They knew the  futility of trying to keep the law perfectly.

2. What’s the Struggle of Romans 7?

The struggle of Romans 7 is not sin in general. It’s not the flesh vs. Spirit struggle he writes about in Galatians. Paul writes from the perspective of one who desires to keep the law but can’t.

Verses 1-6 clearly refer to Jews who understood what it meant to keep the law. Then he applies the gospel to them,

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code

Verses 7-13 give the purpose of the law. The law was good and holy serving its purpose of exposing sin. Without the law a Jew would not have known what was sin and what was not.

Verses 14-16 introduce the answer to Paul’s question (v. 13),

Did that which is good, then, become death to me?

There is no indication that Paul is talking about anything other than the Mosaic law.

So then, how does this apply to a non-Jewish Christian? I’ve never met a Christian who said they struggled keeping the law! Have you?

How do vv. 24-25 fit?

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

At the end of Paul’s argument he leaps with hope! Who can save the Jew, whose greatest attempt to keep the law ends in futility? Verse 25a is the answer. The conclusion: the Jew wants to keep the law and in his mind he is there. But he is unable in his flesh.

On one hand it’s hopeless (apart from Christ). On the other hand it’s filled with hope because of Christ! Notice how this flows right into chapter 8, which continues the topic of salvation, not sanctification.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

3. Jesus.

Some comments referred to Jesus’ comment in Matthew 5:17,

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

What did Jesus mean?

Jesus lived BEFORE the cross as a Jew under the law. He was the only person who could ever perfectly keep the law. This is essential to the whole gospel. Jesus HAD to keep the law perfectly. i.e. “fulfill them” as stated in Matt 5.

Everything changed at the cross

This is not meant to be exhaustive. For serious study I recommend reading carefully through the entire books of Hebrews and Galatians. Here is a list of passages that clearly state that everything changed at the cross.

Hebrews

• Hebrews 7

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. (vv. 11-12)

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. (vv. 18-19)

• Hebrews 8

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (v. 13)

• Hebrews 10

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ² Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (vv. 1-4)

Galatians = if you live by the law you have to keep the whole law PERFECTLY!  Faith and law are opposed to one another!

• Galatians 3

The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” (vv. 12-13)

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. (v. 19)

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. (vv. 23-25)

• Galatians 5

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised [i.e. law], Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (vv. 1-6)

• Galatians 6

Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. ¹³ Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. (vv. 12-13)

Keeping any law is in opposition to what the Apostle Paul writes in NT.

5. Flesh vs. Spirit

The struggle that EVERY Christian has with sin is one that rages between living in the weak sinful flesh, and living with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Victory over sin will not be final or complete until this body of death is done away with (rf 1 Cor 15, 2 Cor 5), but we can experience a life filled with love, peace, joy, and growth. The next post will walk through that process.

QUESTION: do the five points made in this post help you see how Romans 7 should not be applied to the Christian experience? Why or why not? Please be specific. THANK YOU!

I struggle with sin… a lot! I wish I didn’t. It would be awesome not to have pride, not to lust, and never get angry again. Not to mention lacking love for God, not sacrificing for my wife, and struggling with consistent training and discipline of my children! How about you?

This series of posts is based on my reading through the New Testament during the 40 day #LentChallenge. You can read my take on that HERE. The #LentChallenge was created by Margaret Feinburg. You can read about that HERE.

On Thursday I wrote, Why the Struggle of Romans 7 Should Not be Applied to the Christian Experience. If the Apostle Paul was not talking about his struggle as a Christian, then what’s up with the struggle with sin we all have?

This is my attempt to lay out why we continue to struggle with sin, even after receiving new life and becoming a new creation in Jesus.

The Problem with Sin

No one claims to be perfect. Not hard to admit we struggle. We sin all the time, every day, MUCH more than we realize.

The core “commandment” is to love God with all our heart and love people as ourselves. Matt 22:36-39

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

How are we doing with that one?

I believe it was Phillip Yancey who said, “On my best day I might go an hour without sinning!”

Is there victory in Jesus? Is there power for living the Christian life? In my next post I will talk about that. Here I will address the reason and the source of our struggle with sin.

The reason we sin

Overly simplified reason: Christians struggle with sin to keep us desperately in need of Jesus. When we sin we need His grace and mercy. Our desperate need for Him fuels a trusting relationship, which is what God has always desired.

In 2 Cor 12:7-10 the Apostle Paul lays out a theology of weakness. It’s in our weakness that God’s power can become strength in us.

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God’s grace is given to those who humble themselves. When we sin and confess our weakness God’s grace has room to work.

James 4:4-10 addresses that directly:

 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us ? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favor [gives grace] to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

The Source of Sin

1. The flesh

• James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

• Hebrew 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Jesus had the same weak body of flesh we all have. The main difference… Jesus lived without sin!

• Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

• Galatians 5:19-21 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What about 1 John 3:9?

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

God’s seed is the indwelling presence of God. Sin cannot be in God’s presence. Therefore, the place within us where the Holy Spirit dwells cannot sin. The unfortunate thing is that the Holy Spirit is that the rest of us cannot escape the presence of sin. We live in a fleshly body that is fallen, tainted by sin.

On one hand we have holiness indwelling our bodies. On the other hand we live with weak sinful flesh.

Therefore, I do not believe John meant that Christians do not sin. That’s ridiculous. But there is a part of the Christian that cannot sin (i.e. the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit).

2. The world

• 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

• 1 John 4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

• The world is always over promising but under-delivering. There is no lasting satisfaction or joy in the world. It’s always temporary and fleeting at best.

3. The devil!

He is a Lion:

• 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

He is an Angel of Light:

• 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

He is a Tempter

• Matthew 4:1-3 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him…

• 1 Thessalonians 3:5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.

Conclusion

The flesh, the world, and the devil are strong influences in our lives. We can’t get away from our flesh. We live in the world. And the devil is seeking to devour us!

Allow the struggles you have today to drive you to Jesus. Pray UP, IN, and OUT. UP to God when you know you will be tempted. Pray when you’re IN the midst of temptation or even sin. Pray after you sin and thank God for His grace and mercy.

In the next post I will share how we can grow in our walk with Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and experience the NEW LIFE Jesus longs for us to experience.

QUESTION: Why do you struggle with sin?