You Are Not Your Own

We are a walking battleground. Daily we fight against the attack of sin and all the evil devices of the devil. God has not just left us alone and unarmed to fight the spiritual battles of life. God has given us the Word of Truth that defends against falsehoods. The Holy Bible is also called the sword of the spirit. A sword is a very important part of the armour. It not only protects us from the claws of the roaring lion that is Satan, but the sword is an offensive weapon. Scripture says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” We must put on the armour of God.

In Ephesians 6 the Bible encourages believers to put on the whole armour of God. This is so that we can stand against the fiery darts of the devil. John Gill writes in his commentary concerning this chapter, and verse 14 in particular, “Keep your ground, do not desert the army, the Church, nor his cause; continue in the station in which you are placed, keep your post, be upon your watch, stand upon your guard.” The breastplate is an essential part of a soldier’s armour. As soldiers of the Lord, we have righteousness as our breastplate. Ephesians 6:14 is a reference to Isaiah 59:17 which says, “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.”

The righteousness mentioned here is not gained by a series of good works, but through faith in Christ. By faith, Christ has imputed his righteousness to sinful men and women. This gracious deed of Christ protects against every accusation and condemnation of sin and the devil. It is my view that we often fall into sin as a direct result of not using the weapons of spiritual warfare. The Word of God keeps us from sin. We must apply the truths of Scripture and follow the clear direction of holiness. We are our own worst enemy if we do not heed the instruction of God. Indwelling sin must be mortified in the light of the Saviour and by the Holy Ghost. I suggest you read John Owen's work on the mortification of sin in believers. That work will be a blessing to you.

Sinless perfection is truly a demonic doctrine. We will never be sinless until that day when the redeemed man or woman of God goes to be with the Lord. In God's Kingdom sin has no dominion nor grip on men and women. On that day the child of God will know for the first time what it is like to be fully freed from every result of sin. Sadly, many of God's people have given up the fight against sin. They have deserted the flock of God and gone back to the world in which they were custom. The true Christian will never surrender in the face of the enemy, he is ready to go into the midst of the battle with Jesus at his side.

Do not give in to the pressures of the day. Do not seek the approval of man nor the praise of the crowd. Go the way of the cross. Bear that cross you are called to bear. Going with the world is a sure path to spiritual failure. There are a number of biblical principles that are unpopular in society today, yet we must not mask the truth to please the world. Issues such as abortion, gender identity, marriage, the family, and freedom of speech among others are current issues. I am not going to claim it is easy to make a stand for truth, it is easier to go along with the consensus, but we as the Church are called to be faithful to the teachings of Scripture in these ever-growing secular and benighted days. The devices of popularity and contemporary conformity must not beguile us. The hostile world wants to put us in its liberal box, but as Bible-believing Christians it is like putting round pegs in square holes. We do not fit in, the Christian is just a pilgrim passing through this world, we are ambassadors for our heavenly king. We are here to bear witness to the Gospel.

Christ has overcome the world and sin. John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” In Christ, the sinner has victory over sin. Christ came to redeem us from the presence, practice, and penalty of sin. He alone breaks the power of sin. If we are in Christ today, we have redemption through his blood.

There are many famous battles recorded in the history books. The Battle of Trafalgar, Battle of Britain, Battle of Loos, and more recently the Falklands, but the hardest and greatest battle one can fight is the battle against personal sin. In Scripture, King David and Joshua are the only two who never lost a battle. We may fall on occasions but get back up and continue. This is all part of our progress in sanctification. As the years pass by we find we are stronger. Claim the riches of the victory in Christ, crown the king of glory. The battle is not won by sitting in the armchair and expecting Christ to do the work of warfare for us.

This attitude is a plan of failure. We must have self-control and discipline. For example look at Joseph. He was tempted to sin with another man’s wife. Joseph did something about it, he fled the temptation. He did not try to fight it, nor did he try to overcome it by praying for deliverance. What a great contrast this example is to David. He did not take wise steps to protect his eyes from lust. Not only did David commit sexual sin, but he played a key role in the murder of Uriah who was the husband of Bathsheba, the woman whom David committed adultery with.

We are responsible to put into practice what God has said in his Word. God has given us the tools, we must both use them and appreciate them. Sin is when we come short of the life that Christ lived while he was on earth. You may say, “But he was God.” This is exactly my point. Jesus the Godman never sinned. The same spirit that kept Christ from sin dwells in us also. The Holy Spirit has the power to reject sinful thoughts, desires and deeds. Christ was tempted in every way that we are but never sinned. Christ knew what it was like to fight sin, he fought sin every day of his earthly existence. Christ was not defiled with original sin like we are. However, a life that is yielded to Christ and lived in Christ leads to godliness.

In closing, I would like to remind you of Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul the Apostle beseeches believers to live a life that is a sacrifice for Christ. This is in complete opposition to life without Christ. We are to live an acceptable life that is honouring to the God of Holy Writ. This means we are to renew our minds in truth and not be conformed to the agenda of the world. Let us be a faithful living servant of God. Let our lives be one for service and faithfulness to God.