Not the Easy Way

But is the Christian’s path easy? Is becoming Christ-like in character the proverbial “cakewalk”? Definitely not!

Let’s return to the Sermon on the Mount for Christ’s own answer. He said, “Enter you in at the strait[difficult] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in the reat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13-14). It has always been only the very few who are willing to pay the price to live this difficult way of life. Remember, Christians “run.” Running takes effort—it is HARD WORK! Runners grow fatigued after expending a lot of energy. Watch people in a long-distance race as they near the finish line. They are tired, worn out—beat! Running is never easy. And sometimes, like a cross-country or marathon participant, the runner has to go up and down hills, over broken ground.

Paul himself said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). In the previous verse, he said that he had learned to “forget those things which are behind” and to “reach forth” to the ultimate goal that was ahead of him (Phil 3:13). If a runner has pressed himself throughout a long race, he is totally spent at the end. Yet, if he gives up, he has no chance of winning, and all of his practice and effort in preparation for victory is wasted! So, no matter how tired the runner becomes, he remembers, “with God all things are possible.”

Paul also spoke of Christianity as “wrestling” (Eph. 6:12). Anyone who has wrestled knows it is very strenuous—sometimes to the point of nausea and vomiting. He also compared it to fighting. Notice I Timothy 6:12: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” Also, II Corinthians 10:4 states, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [physical], but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds [Greek: castles].”

Nothing about war is pleasant or easy. It is dangerous and usually results in many casualties—some wounded, others killed. This is why Paul cautions Christians to “war a GOOD warfare” (I Tim. 1:18). Christ is called the “CAPTAIN of our salvation” in Hebrews 2:10. The inexperienced or untrained soldier can easily become a casualty of war if he does not submit to authority and follow his captain’s orders!

Resisting Three Enemies

Christians are at war on three different fronts. They must be vigilant—not neglecting potential danger from any of three enemies who regularly confront them. It takes humility for a Christian to acknowledge, to himself and to God, that any one of these adversaries is capable of overwhelming him.

Let’s take a brief look at them.

Ephesians 6:1-24 goes on to describe six pieces of armour that Christians use in spiritual warfare. Carefully read Eph 6:12-17. They contain a strong warning not to forget that we are wrestling against “wicked spirits in high places.”

FIRST, the devil and his fallen angels want to defeat and destroy every son of God in-the-making. If you are begotten of God, you are a son of God, carrying enormous potential for rulership. The devil hates the prospect that you can receive what he has never been offered—membership in God’s Family. He lies in wait, like a “lion seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). But he cannot defeat the “vigilant” and those who “resist” him (I Peter 5:9)! A Christian must continually beware of and resist Satan’s attitudes creeping into his mind. (Read our booklet Who Is the Devil? to understand Satan’s role in God’s Plan.)

SECOND, I John 5:19 states, “the whole world lies in wickedness.” That is a very strong indictment of mankind. Yet there it is in your Bible! The Christian must also resist the pull of this world, with all its glitter, excitement, attractiveness and temptations. This is not God’s world. The “god of this world” has fashioned it. The true God is not the author of the confusion, ignorance and misery that permeate all of the many cultures and societies of Satan’s world. (Also read A World in Captivity.)

There are many temptations, traps and pitfalls into which the true Christian can easily fall if he is not close to God and living by every word of the Bible (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). Paul instructed the Ephesian elders that God’s “Word…is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance [salvation—eternal life]” (Acts 20:32). Study it daily!

THIRD, studying God’s Word will help you overcome the pulls of your flesh. After Paul said, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace,” he added, “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:6, 8). A Christian is still made of flesh, but is no longer “in the flesh,” because he has God’s Spirit leading him.

Left unchecked, human nature consists of vanity, jealousy, lust, greed, envy, resentment, hatred, anger, pride, rebellion, foolishness, stubbornness, deceit and hostility toward God. The one who is walking God’s path is striving to curb and withhold himself wherever God’s Word instructs. And he strives to exercise himself in all matters where God instructs. When God gives instruction to do something, he strives to do it! When God gives instruction not to do something, he strives not to do it!

While learning to always follow this pattern takes a lifetime, building God’s character is the purpose for which every human being was born. His job is to “put on” the character of God and Christ, and to “put off” the fleshly pulls of human nature (Col. 3:8-13). Though this is not easy, the reward is great.

Only through regular prayer, Bible study, meditation and even occasional fasting (going without food and water for a period of time), will the child of God be able to overcome the three foes that lie in wait for him every day of his life!

Paul’s Struggle

The Bible is filled with stories of God’s greatest servants battling to overcome sin. In nearly every case, they had to learn difficult and sometimes very painful lessons. When examined collectively, Moses, Noah, David, Samuel, Peter and many others are seen to have fought every kind of problem known to man.

Paul represents a classic example of how one of God’s greatest servants fought to overcome sin. At the end of his life, he was able to say that he had “fought the good fight,” and that he had “run his course” knowing that a “crown” awaited him. But this did not happen without much wrestling, pressing, running, fighting and warring against his human nature.

Carefully read Romans 7:14-23. It will educate and encourage you that you are not alone on your path to overcoming Satan, society and self—all of which lead to SIN!

Paul said, “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal [physical, made of flesh], sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Rom 7:14-15). He continued, “for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would [do] I do not: but the evil which I would not [do], that I do” (Rom 7:18-19).

It was as though whatever Paul did or did not want to do, his human nature, his flesh, caused him to do exactly the opposite! Why?

God inspired him to record the answer for us: “I find then a law, that, when I would [try to] do good, evil is present with me…But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin” (Rom 7:21, 23).

Paul went on to add that only through the power of Christ’s Mind in him was he able to overcome and obtain final victory in keeping the Law of God, instead of obeying the very real “law” of sin. Only in this way could Paul later say that he had “fought the good fight” and had “run his course” to victory.

Make no mistake. Christianity is all-out war! But it is a war that the Christian should expect to WIN!—as long as he continues to draw close to God to obtain strength for overcoming.

God looks on the intent of your heart. It is your overall desire and motivation that is important to Him. He wants to know if, after you sin, you are sorry for it and are always determined to strive to do better. He understands the temptations that beset us even better than we do. He watches to see if we will be sober and vigilant as we root sin out of our lives—and whether we will continually press on.

God’s Perfect Character

The all-powerful God, who made the heavens and the earth, also made you. The physical universe was merely created to reflect the glory of the God who made it, and to be a beautiful gift for mankind to see and enjoy.

You were created for an infinitely greater purpose. You were created to become like God—to build perfect, holy, righteous character. God is actually reproducing Himself in people. Just as you are the child of parents, and possibly have children of your own, God is your parent. As you physically look like your parents, and your children look like you, He wants you to look like Him—IN SPIRITUAL CHARACTER!

Rarely anymore do people even talk about, or concern themselves with, the development of character—once called “virtue.” It seems that so few people today understand much about it. Only through God’s revealed Word is the right definition of character described and understood.

Character is understanding—knowing—right from wrong and doing what is right instead of what is wrong! God reveals what is right—how to live. But righteous character is built through the power of free moral agency—deciding to DO what is right. Like any muscle of the body, character is built by pushing against resistance, thus strengthening the muscle (in this case, the mind) undergoing the resistance. Character chooses to do what is right instead of choosing to do what is wrong. It does not concern itself with what OTHERS say or do. It only concerns itself with what GOD says to do!

God is love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. It is outgoing, out flowing concern for others, putting them first—ahead of the interests of self. Constantly remind yourself that to build the very character of God is the reason you were born!

Recall that Paul said God’s Spirit reflects a “sound mind.” Even on the human level, few people today any longer have much “common sense.” It seems harder than ever to remain balanced and stable, as pressures and stresses surrounding people cause them to do more things that are unsound, strange and even bizarre. God’s Spirit will lead you into stable, steady, sound ways of thinking (Phil. 4:8). It will help you see the things going on around you, and react to them in a godly manner. It will settle your understanding and lead you to make wise, right and sound decisions in your everyday life.

Apply yourself! Push yourself to grow and overcome. Do not expect it to be easy, like “falling off a log.” Grow in knowledge. Once converted, recognize that you have been “chosen to be a soldier” and must sometimes “endure hardness,” as Paul wrote Timothy (II Tim. 2:3-4). Breaking all your old habits will take time. After all, you have practiced—and, in a sense, even refined—them over a lifetime. Your habits have become part of you. They are “second nature.” However, remember that they are not the “divine nature” (II Pet. 1:4) that entered you with the receiving of God’s Spirit at baptism and conversion.

If you are an adult, it took you fifteen to twenty years just to grow to a certain height. Christianity is no different! That is a long time. And it probably included many “growing pains.” You probably fell and skinned your knee or bloodied your nose many times before you reached adulthood. Christianity is no different! Do not become discouraged and quit growing, any more than a child should become discouraged and “quit life” simply because he may have fallen down or skinned a knee. When your child falls, you tell him to get up, because it is part of life. Christianity is no different!

Little children always want to grow up faster than life’s timetable allows. Though childhood is wonderful in so many ways, it seems that most young people cannot wait for adulthood. Christianity is no different! But full, mature Christian adulthood only comes after a long period of practicing the right way of life.

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