Am I a soldier of the Cross?

Read Romans 7.

This is one of the most personally transparent passages in the Bible.  The Apostle Paul describes his struggles to live the Christian life.  He recognized his death to the old life of sin and alienation from God.  By the grace of God, he had been saved from the condemnation of the Law.  As a Pharisee, Paul tried his best to live up to and beyond the demands of the Old Testament Law.  But, all his efforts never resulted in spiritual life and freedom.  He could never be good enough to meet the prescribed perfection.  He came to realize that before he gave his life to Christ, he had been controlled by his sin.

Then, he met Jesus.  The old life had passed away.  He became a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Now, Paul understood.  The Holy Spirit changed his eternal destiny and gave him the capacity to finally live a life pleasing to God.  However, he discovered that his sinful tendencies and outright evil were constantly present also (v.21).

In verse 23, this conflict of wanting to obey God and feeling the pull of sin is called "waging war."  The Greek word has to do with an attack.  Its root meaning refers to an organized military campaign.  Friends, if the Apostle Paul struggled like this, how much more do we?

The battle is real and it is on-going every moment of the day.  If one is not aware of their spiritual battle, perhaps, the answer is that they have never truly committed themselves to Christ.  They sin at will with little or no conscience for doing so.  If one claims to be a believer and is not waging war daily, throughout the day, it is an indication that they are losing battle after battle with sin.  In essence, they are betraying the faith they profess and surrendering to the enemy.

Where does the battle take place?  Creating rules to control behavior is an outward attempt at morality and is akin to what Paul experienced with the Law.  The real battle is fought inside a person, in the mind (v.22-23).

Are you aware of your daily battles with sin and evil?
What is your predetermined strategy to win?

If we do not decide in advance to win by rejecting sin and yielding ourselves to obey God, we will lose 100% of the time.
1. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
2. "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life..." (Romans 6:13)
3. Suit up and put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)