The War Has Been Won
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” ESV Colossians 3:5-6
How many times have you heard the phrase, ‘lost the battle but won the war?’ Like me, you’ve heard it many times I am sure. Oddly enough, this phrase came to mind as I studied this text last week and thought about the ongoing struggle between good and evil.
Paul begins his letter to the Colossians by greeting the “saints and faithful brothers in Christ...” in chapter one, verse two. Admittedly, Paul is sometimes difficult to understand, but this is plain enough. He’s writing to Christians in Colossae; Christians mind you.
But if these folks are Christians, why does he have to tell them to “put to death” this list of sins and remind them that God’s wrath is stoked by their very presence? It sounds more like something you’d be writing to a bunch of non-believers doesn’t it? I mean, Christians don’t struggle with sin do they?
Well, a couple of things come to mind. Regretfully, Christians are not without sin and Christians have not yet been removed from the presence of sin. So the answer is yes, Christians do struggle with sin. Why, some people are so keenly aware of sin in the lives of Christians that they refuse to go to church on account of the hypocrites in attendance! But that’s another story...
In one sense, I suppose it’s like those skirmishes that continue to flare up after a peace treaty is signed but before everyone gets the news. Those battles are no less real just because the war has been won. No, people are still injured and people still die. So, in the same manner, Christians must do battle against sin, a very real battle, even though the war has already been decided.
Now, hear me on this; victory is certain. The war against sin and evil has been won. Christ won the war when he defeated even death and rose from the grave after having been crucified. But a casual look around will prove that sin and evil are most certainly still in our presence. And, in some sense, the battle between good and evil still rages each and every day even in the lives of Christians.
The good news for Christians is that the war has been won. And since they have been freed from the controlling dominion of sin, the daily battles can be won too. Sin is still present all around us and the temptation to sin will be with us until Christ removes us from its very presence, but sin can be defeated day by day. The war has been won.
-Ken Askew
How many times have you heard the phrase, ‘lost the battle but won the war?’ Like me, you’ve heard it many times I am sure. Oddly enough, this phrase came to mind as I studied this text last week and thought about the ongoing struggle between good and evil.
Paul begins his letter to the Colossians by greeting the “saints and faithful brothers in Christ...” in chapter one, verse two. Admittedly, Paul is sometimes difficult to understand, but this is plain enough. He’s writing to Christians in Colossae; Christians mind you.
But if these folks are Christians, why does he have to tell them to “put to death” this list of sins and remind them that God’s wrath is stoked by their very presence? It sounds more like something you’d be writing to a bunch of non-believers doesn’t it? I mean, Christians don’t struggle with sin do they?
Well, a couple of things come to mind. Regretfully, Christians are not without sin and Christians have not yet been removed from the presence of sin. So the answer is yes, Christians do struggle with sin. Why, some people are so keenly aware of sin in the lives of Christians that they refuse to go to church on account of the hypocrites in attendance! But that’s another story...
In one sense, I suppose it’s like those skirmishes that continue to flare up after a peace treaty is signed but before everyone gets the news. Those battles are no less real just because the war has been won. No, people are still injured and people still die. So, in the same manner, Christians must do battle against sin, a very real battle, even though the war has already been decided.
Now, hear me on this; victory is certain. The war against sin and evil has been won. Christ won the war when he defeated even death and rose from the grave after having been crucified. But a casual look around will prove that sin and evil are most certainly still in our presence. And, in some sense, the battle between good and evil still rages each and every day even in the lives of Christians.
The good news for Christians is that the war has been won. And since they have been freed from the controlling dominion of sin, the daily battles can be won too. Sin is still present all around us and the temptation to sin will be with us until Christ removes us from its very presence, but sin can be defeated day by day. The war has been won.
-Ken Askew
posted by TBC at
6/10/2009 10:58:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home