Where were we? Actually, I missed a line, so I'm going to back up a bit.
Resist the devil
And he will fleed from you
This is a deceptively simple couplet. First is the idea of resistance. What does James mean by this? One of the things I see all the time is disilllusionment that sin is still a fact of life post conversion.
As a matter of face, people usually find that sin is even more of an issue than it was before they knew Christ. Steve VanDopp at the Vineyard in Columbus Ohio conducted a study as part of his doctoral dissertation. One of the facts that emerged was that sin was not an issue for people until after conversion. That means, by the way, that all our nagging about sinful lifestyle is a waste of time until after the person has some reference point in the form of a changed heart.
The key word in this couplet is word resist. When we think of resisting the enemy, we often think of the enemy having a grip on us while we pull back from him as hard as we can, all the while crying out for help from God. The thing is, that's not the meaning of the word. It's active resistance, otherwise known as...pushing.
The last part of that line means just what it says. We often fail in our work of resistance because we're pansies about it. As a pastor I'd like nothing better than to see way less whining about how hard it is to be a Christian, and way more life in victory. I'm not sure where this crept into Christianity, but we seem to think that we're out in the pagan frontier, God's crack troops, wandering in dangerous enemy territory. Who knows what will happen? NO. God's already taken the ground through Jesus Christ. It's done. Even though we will lose some along the way, we're going to claim it.
This is something I write all the time, but I suppose it's a theme in my life: Romans 8:1 is key here: there is no condemnation in the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. If you're not struggling, it's not because you're an awesome Christian; it's because you've given up. Never give up. Push back...hard.
Resist the devil
And he will fleed from you
This is a deceptively simple couplet. First is the idea of resistance. What does James mean by this? One of the things I see all the time is disilllusionment that sin is still a fact of life post conversion.
As a matter of face, people usually find that sin is even more of an issue than it was before they knew Christ. Steve VanDopp at the Vineyard in Columbus Ohio conducted a study as part of his doctoral dissertation. One of the facts that emerged was that sin was not an issue for people until after conversion. That means, by the way, that all our nagging about sinful lifestyle is a waste of time until after the person has some reference point in the form of a changed heart.
The key word in this couplet is word resist. When we think of resisting the enemy, we often think of the enemy having a grip on us while we pull back from him as hard as we can, all the while crying out for help from God. The thing is, that's not the meaning of the word. It's active resistance, otherwise known as...pushing.
The last part of that line means just what it says. We often fail in our work of resistance because we're pansies about it. As a pastor I'd like nothing better than to see way less whining about how hard it is to be a Christian, and way more life in victory. I'm not sure where this crept into Christianity, but we seem to think that we're out in the pagan frontier, God's crack troops, wandering in dangerous enemy territory. Who knows what will happen? NO. God's already taken the ground through Jesus Christ. It's done. Even though we will lose some along the way, we're going to claim it.
This is something I write all the time, but I suppose it's a theme in my life: Romans 8:1 is key here: there is no condemnation in the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. If you're not struggling, it's not because you're an awesome Christian; it's because you've given up. Never give up. Push back...hard.
posted by Frank Oesterheld at 3:22 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Frank! That's all. happy to find your blog.
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