Victors, not Victims!

I want to start with a good story I heard just this week.

One bright, beautiful Sunday morning, everyone in the tiny village of Jonestown got up early and went to their local church. While waiting for the services to start, the townspeople sat in their pews and chatted about stuff… their lives, families, jobs, plans for the afternoon… you name it.

Suddenly, there was a giant boom, and Satan appeared in a blaze of fire and smoke at the front of the sanctuary. As everyone realized what was going on, panic set in. Everyone scrambled for the exits, screaming at the top of their lungs, fighting to get out… even trampling each other. Before long, everyone was out of the church, except for one elderly man who sat calmly in his pew about 10 rows from the front, seemingly oblivious to the presence of evil just a short distance from him.

Satan, a bit confused by this, walked up to the man and growled, “DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!?”

The man looked up calmly, and said, “Yep. Sure do.”

Satan replied, “WELL? AREN’T YOU AFRAID OF ME?”

“Nope. Sure ain’t.”, replied the man.

Satan was enraged and shouted back, “WHY NOT?!?”

The man calmly replied, “Been married to your sister for 48 years…”

I know that was just a joke, but think about that scene for just a moment. People scrambling for the exits because Satan appeared… CHRISTIANS scrambling for the exits. What do you think of those folks? Me? I wonder about what kind of faith they had. I wonder if they understood that, through their faith in Christ, they already have victory over Satan.

So let me ask a question. How often do our lives demonstrate that maybe we really don’t have a firm grasp on this fact? Do you live life knowing that your faith in Christ makes you the victor when it comes to sin and temptation rather than a victim?

Let’s take a look at the struggle with sin for a moment, and think about that concept.

Ever have one of those weeks where your walk with God just stinks? Where you really don’t want to even talk to God? Where you know what you need to do, but just can’t seem to do it? Where the struggle with sin seems nearly impossible to win?

Paul experienced this… yes, Paul, the guy we generally hold up as our greatest evangelist and missionary.

¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15-16)

¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:18-19)

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:21-24)

Paul points out that the struggle with sin is tough. Guilt drags us down when we fall time and time again. Frustration sets in, as we feel that we know better than to do what we do. Sometimes we even feel depressed, maybe even to the point where we question how we can even keep up the fight against sin.

What can see us through?

Let’s look at Romans 8:1-9.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ²because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

⁵Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

I see three things we can draw from this passage that can help us in our struggle with sin.

1. We, through faith in Christ, have already been made right with God.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

If you’ve place your faith in Jesus Christ, at the moment of doing so you were forgiven for all sin, past, present, and future. At the moment of salvation, God begins to view us through his son, Jesus. We’re cleansed of sin completely! We’ve already been granted ultimate victory over sin!

2. We, through faith in Christ, have been set free from the law of sin.

²because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Remember the struggle with sin Paul described in Romans 7? There is a war going on within each of us, between redeemed mind and sin-filled body. We know what’s right, but have to fight our sinful desires to fulfill it.

Ever wonder what the non-believer goes through when tempted? Do you remember? I do. Unless a non-believer has deeply held convictions resulting from something (cultural expectations, values instilled by parents, etc.), there’s no fight when it comes to sin. There’s nothing from God working within non-believers to help in the fight. The struggle is almost pointless (in most cases). Self-imposed walls to sin are easily destroyed by Satan (he’s not called the father of all lies, the tempter, and the wicked one for nothing).

But the believer? Another story altogether. Faith in Jesus grants us not only forgiveness for our sins, but frees us to fight sin to remain pure.

3. We, through faith in Christ, have the Spirit living in us.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Here’s the most exciting part about the struggle with sin… our most powerful weapon to win the war… the filling of our hearts with the Holy Spirit. We have God himself living within us, guiding us when temptation comes knocking. The struggle, for believers, is not a me vs. Satan kind of thing, but a GOD and me vs. Satan thing. Yes, we can still choose to let sin reign in our bodies… but our odds of successfully fighting sin are MUCH better. God Himself calls us to be pure in the middle of temptation!

Rely on the Spirit, then! As a believer, you’re free from sin. You’ve been made right with God. You BELONG to God. Live like it! Take advantage of the gift God has granted you to fight the fight!

Remember, when it comes to sin and temptation, don’t lose heart… don’t fear failure… have faith. Christ has assured our forgiveness… He has set free from sin… and He’s given us the Spirit to live within us. Battling sin is not a fruitless fight! We’re victors, not victims!

Next time Satan comes knocking, don’t scramble for the side door… be fearless. Not because you’ve seen his sister and she’s not so scary… but because Christ has defeated Him already, and through your faith in Jesus, you’ve already won.

(Note… This is the basics of the message I shared last Sunday during chapel service with the Blacksnakes. It was probably the easiest message for me to deliver so far, which would seem to indicate that it was far more God speaking than me. Perhaps this will be of benefit to someone who happens to come across it here through some sort of divine appointment. This isn’t word-for-word, obviously… but it’s close given that these are my very “crutch-like” notes, which allow me to read the message should I get too worked up and lose my head.)