Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Our sinful nature. is waging war against us. And in some ways I think our flesh is the most deceptive of our enemies. Though it appears as a friend, your flesh, your sinful desires are an enemy against you.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Most Christians understand they have external enemies like the world and the devil. But today we examine perhaps the most insidious threat. The enemy within. In our continuing series in 1 Peter, we'll explore how our own sinful nature wages a continuous battle against our souls.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with this message, titled, Waging War. Thanks for joining us in this continuing series in First Peter. Today we're looking at only two verses, verses 11 and 12 in chapter 2. but they're very important verses. Certainly they are applicable to all of us.
Peter writes about waging war. What can he possibly mean? We often hear about spiritual warfare, and it's sometimes presented in very sensational terms. But the Christian is at war. Our battle is against the world, our sinful desires and the devil.
Today we're focusing on a war that is being waged against our soul. And the problem is that the enemy is unseen. and can be very insidious.
So we must be guided by the Word of God. Let's listen carefully as Peter talks about this war. but it is a war which followers of Jesus Christ can win. We return to the book of 1 Peter. If you're new here, we're going consecutively through The book of 1 Peter, and we come to chapter 2, verses 11 and 12.
One of the things when we are going consecutively through a book of the Bible. Uh the Bible chooses the subject, not me. And so we want to declare the whole counsel of God as it's contained in this book. Uh the Bible.
Now, let me briefly recap where we are in our study. Peter has described our magnificent salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. He's also emphasized the identity we have as the people of God. He's told us we're a chosen race. We're a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood.
We are those who have received the mercy of God. And in response to this magnificent salvation, Peter is challenging us to live holy lives. to live obedient lives, to live lives of love. and to live lives where we desire the sincere milk. of the word He told us that we have been called called out of darkness into his marvelous light.
And all of this is wonderful, and we rejoice. the salvation we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. But As we'll see this morning. As followers of Jesus Christ, We soon realize that there is real opposition. We have an insidious enemy Who tries to destroy us?
So let's read that. In 1 Peter, I trust you have come with your Bible. 1 Peter chapter 2. Uh verses 11 and 12. Two sharp verses we're looking at.
Beloved, I urge you. as sojourners and exiles. to abstain from the passions of the flesh. which wage war Against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable.
So that when they speak against you as evildoers, They may see your good deeds. And glorify God. on the day Of visitation. This is the word of God to us. Today.
In the Bible, we understand that the Christian has three enemies. First, there is the devil. Peter describes him later as your adversary. We have an adversary, and he is the devil. Secondly, we have the world.
That means the sinful world around us. The world which is so alluring, but James the Apostle reminds us it is at enmity against God. Two enemies? Our adversary? The world And now the enemy we're thinking about today.
The flesh. Our sinful nature. which, as we've read, is waging war against us. And in some ways I think Our flesh is the most deceptive of our enemies because we enjoy the flesh when it presents itself as a friend. But although it appears as a friend, Your flesh.
Your sinful desires are at enemy against you. Our flesh, we could say, is a traitor within us with a multitude of disguises. All plotting your Destruction. And so Peter here is giving an urgent exhortation to these first century readers, and so to us. He is urging them, he's saying, he's appealing to them.
reminding them that they are at war against an insidious, deadly enemy. The world and the flesh. The world and the devil rather are external enemies, the flesh, Our sinful nature is an internal enemy. It's an assassin, is a word. It's a traitor, a mole within us, waging war, says Peter, against your soul.
This is very strong language, isn't it? And we must understand it as we seek to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.
So as we come to 1 Peter 2, verse 11, Peter is now dealing with our relationships, and in the passage that follows, he's dealing with our relationships not within the Christian community. but with the outside pagan world. We're going to see that as we continue our study. But first. He gives us this warning.
to understand That as we serve God in our culture, we must have an understanding. of our internal enemy. First, he gives a negative command in verse 11. And then a positive command in verse 12. First, the negative command in verse 11.
What is it? Abstain. from the passions. of the flesh. Peter is writing to believers.
Look at the text. described as the passions of the flesh. That is our sinful Nature, our sinful desires, the Greek word is epithumia, often translated lusts or desires, in this case, passions of the flesh. They will wreck your spiritual life.
Now, when we talk about the flesh here, we're not talking about our body, our human flesh, which has God given us. He is using flesh in an ethical and a moral sense, of that which is apart from God. That is when we act in an independent way. Our flesh. These sinful desires, these lusts are always, always our enemy.
And until our glorification. We will always have these passions of the flesh. Jesus says in John 3, that which is of the flesh Is Flesh. And these passions of the flesh, did you notice, they are waging war. against your soul.
Peter is urging his Readers He's appealing to them. And as he does so, he uses a military term. Waging. War, prison tense. No?
These passions of the flesh which attack us. They are not a skirmish. This is not an occasional battle. It is a war. your passions of the flesh.
are constantly waging war against you. trying to destroy your soul. Abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. They're not just a problem. They're not just a slight distraction.
They are your enemy. And we must understand it. They are constantly. waging war against us, so we must constantly be On alert, alert. We must be strong, we must be courageous, as we heard from one of the verses from one of the candidates of baptism.
These passions These sinful desires attack unexpectedly and often without warning. and with disastrous consequences. Remember nine eleven? Our enemy. hitting the United States.
Our enemy struck ruthlessly. without warning, unexpectedly, with the most deadly of consequences. That's the point. The passions of your flesh are waging war against you. What's your response?
Abstain. Don't you admire the brevity of the word of god Here it is. I'm saying, you know what I mean. Stop doing it. When you're lured into evil by your lusts.
you will lose the sense of God's power. and presence. You will be spiritually defiled. You will quench The Holy Spirit. Finding yourself spiritually dirty.
Finding you. Lack the assurance of the presence of God. As you go through life, this may well be the reason. The passions of the flesh have attacked you, and you have succumbed. This is a deadly Destructive and dangerous enemy.
Moderation is not the Is that the command? The command is clear. Abstain. Absolutely.
Now these fleshly lusts and passions clearly include sexual sins. And today People think if they feel a certain way. If they've convinced themselves they're in love with someone, they can pursue these lusts. Scripture says However you feel Understand this. You have an enemy and you are to abstain.
You are to have a zero tolerance policy. Today, the discussion on sexual activity.
sometimes becomes a discussion on safety. Safe sex, apparently, is the goal. But when dealing with sexuality, the Bible is concerned not so much with safety but with sanctity, with the holiness. Sexual activity is not primarily a medical issue, it's a moral issue, it's a spiritual issue. The only safe sex Is sexual intimacy within the confines of marriage?
You find yourself In a sexual relationship outside of marriage. Whether you're single or married. What's the scripture saying to you? Stop it. Stop it.
Abstain. Stop it. No. Don't do it. It's wrong.
Stop it. And these passions of the flesh These lusts of the flesh are not to be fed. This is part of our problem, isn't it? We are surrounded by images. Sexual images, pornography.
salacious social media Do not promote abstinence. They do not bring you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. What do they do? They inflame and feed the passions of the flesh. which will damage your soul.
which will weaken your spiritual life, which will distort You're thinking. which will place you in spiritual bondage. Will pervert your view of intimacy, will mess up your sexuality, will wreck your marriage and relationships.
So listen to the voice of God.
Song reminded us of the greatness of God. God is great. We heard that at the beginning of the service, and greatly to be praised. This great God is all-wise, He created you, and He knows far better than you how you should live. Here is the voice of God.
Contrary to all the voices of our society. Abstain. Now these passions of the flesh certainly includes sexual sins. But there's other passions of the flesh. Turn to the book of Galatians if you have your Bible.
Galatians. Paul's letter to the Galatians, chapter 5. You may be a little smart today, so when I'm not involved. in sexual activity. But what about your mind?
But there's more. Galatians 5 verse 19. You say, what are these passions of the flesh? Here they are. Here are some of them.
Now the works of the flesh are evident. Notice what he says first. Sexual Immorality. Impurity. Sensuality.
Are you listening? I dollar tree.
Sorcery. Enmity, strife. Jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, says Paul. As I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
And then he goes on to describe, in contrast to the works of the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit. As I read these works of the flesh, If you're guilty of any of them, there's lusts. For power. For money. Popularity.
Pleasures. Do you have fits of anger? A lot of angry men out there, that's the passion of the flesh. You've lost control of yourself, you shout, you abuse others. You're a troublemaker.
Wherever you go, there's a fight, there's divisions. You're always arguing against everyone. This will work. of the flesh. These fleshly, greedy Passions, they're very powerful forces in our lives, and none of us can say we're exempt from them.
But followers of Christ have a higher power. You say these are strong powers, the flesh. Yes, they are. But in Galatians 5, Paul says verse 16, I say Walk by the Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The passions of the flesh, it's the same word.
Epithumia, the desires, the lusts of the flesh. If you walk by the Spirit, you indwell by the Spirit. Allow the Spirit to control you. And as you do that, you will not gratify the desires. of the flesh.
The Holy Spirit. enables us to obey God. to live a life which pleased God.
so that we can resist and defeat these fleshly passions. You say, John, well. I found this pretty tough. How do we do this? It's interesting that.
Peter does not directly tell us how we are to abstain from the passions of the flesh. Paul has told us in Galatians 5. But as we follow Peter's arguments, I think he gives us a clue. A motivation, two motivations.
so that we can abstain from the lusts of the flesh. Notice how he addresses his readers in dealing with this very tough subject. He addresses them as Beloved. That's wonderful, isn't it? He's going to talk about this nasty subject of the passions of the flesh, but he reminds his readers that they are beloved.
It's the word agape. which is love. They are beloved. And an understanding, what do you think with me on this? An understanding of the love of God.
is a great motivation to abstain from the passions of the flesh. Peter is reminding us. As followers of Jesus Christ, that were greatly loved. Above all, we're loved by God. that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.
That God commends his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. His God is a God of love, a God who loves me. His love has flooded my heart. God continues to love me every day, every moment. He is loving me.
And this is divine love. And this is the very opposite of the lusts, the passions of the flesh. Think also of how you're loved by others. Beloved. True love.
As followers of Jesus Christ, you have experienced The pure love of God. that sacrificial love whereby you have been redeemed. Think of that. What do the passions of the flesh do? What does lust do?
Lust demands, lust takes, lust uses, love manipulates, it's self-centered, it's never satisfied, it's always demanding, insistent, impatient, and selfish. That's the passions of the flesh. Never satisfied, always demanding. going back to it over and over and over again. I deserve to be happy.
It's time to take care of myself here. And that seems to be an excuse. for living contrary to the will. of God. True love.
is the opposite of lust. Love gives. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. If you're in a relationship, think is a relationship of lust. of the passions of the flesh.
Or is it a relationship of love? Love gives. Love is patient. Love is undemanding. Love is sacrificial, it's pure, it's honourable.
Lust. These passions of the flesh They promised so much. But deliver.
So little and contrary to the love of God. The more you bathe in the love of God, the greater you understand the love of God, the more you'll be drawn to your Savior. Because this Saviour loved me. and gave himself for me. And we are people of sincere love.
Peter has told us that. In chapter 1, verse 22, he says, Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth, For a sincere brotherly love, love one another. One of our themes. This year, love. One another.
Think of the the power. of love. You're loved by your husband. You're loved by your wife. You're loved by your children.
You love your children. You love your grandchildren. You love your grandparents. You love your friends. Here at Calvary, we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We truly are. Beloved, think of that.
So when you're tempted with a passion of the flesh, reflect on God's love for you. Reflect on the love that is given to you by your family and your friends. Don't lust. But as we heard We're called To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all of our mind. And so, when you're tempted by these fleshly lusts, meditate on Calvary's love.
Meditate on the Lamb of God who loved you and gave Himself for you. And an understanding, I think, of the love of God is a great motivation. To abstain from these fleshly lusts, these passions of the flesh. But there's another motivation. Note also how he addresses them.
Chapter 2, verse 11. Beloved, I urge you, I'm appealing to you. as sojourners and Exiles. Isn't that interesting? In dealing with the passions of the flesh, he's appealing to them as sojourners and exiles.
Yes, an understanding. of the world to come is a motivation to abstain from these passions of the flesh. An understanding that I am a pilgrim, I'm a sojourner, I'm an exile, helps me to resist these passions of the flesh. He's begun his epistle. In chapter one, verse one.
referring to his readers as Elect exiles.
Now they are sojourners and exiles. They are strangers in the world. They are pilgrims in the world. We are people living in a foreign country, is the point. And a proper relationship with the world begins with the understanding that we, as followers of Christ, do not belong to this world.
This world is not our home. Our alien world out there, the culture out there, you know. has different values. has different standards, have different desires. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the first part of a message titled Waging War.
John will be back in a moment with closing thoughts on today's powerful teaching. The spiritual battle John described today is one every believer faces. but to strengthen your faith and help you continue to develop an eternal perspective. We're offering a free resource called For the Time is Near. Unlike sensationalized approaches to revelation and spiritual warfare, this booklet by John provides five clear biblical principles that help you understand not only the battles we face now, but God's ultimate plan for the future.
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And now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks for today's lesson.
Well What's your verdict? I know you've experienced this war as our sinful desires crave to be satisfied. Secular therapy and counseling may say that the answer is in some behavioral modification. They seek to win ourselves slowly off these habits. But Peter is saying, abstain.
Will you? With the help from the Holy Spirit, abstain from these fleshly lusts which are waging war against your soul. Yes. You can have the victory in Jesus Christ as you obey the Word of God. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict.
I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
