Text: Galatians 5:16-24
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
It
is easy for us to take the bait. When we
turn on the radio, flip the television channel, or go online, we can hear preachers
or authors telling us that if only we
would turn our life over to God, life will be easy. Their claims make
it sound like becoming a Christian cures all our troubles. They make the Christian life sound like a
sure ticket to easy street. They say, “When
you become a Christian your life becomes magical and wonderful and stress-free
and better. Becoming a Christian will turn your can’ts into cans. As a Christian your life will be in a bed of
roses.”
It is easy to believe this for a while; however, sooner or later
things break down. In other words, the
longer we are Christians, the more we realize that our lives are not a life of
ease that we once thought or were promised. Beneath these preachers’ fake delightful
smiles and underneath the pious sounding clichés about comfort, extravagance,
and leisure, a different reality emerges – a reality that is much unlike the
life of ease that was promised from the preacher-man on television or from that
book promoted on the Oprah network.
And what is that reality?
That reality is this: the good that we want to do and the good that we
talk about, well… we don’t always do it.
And that very evil that we don’t want to do, well… we end up doing that;
we find that our hearts betray us and we secretly want to do evil, when we know
we should be doing good. So, instead of
finding ourselves as Christians, who are living a life that is a lap of luxury
and comfort, well it is quite the reverse, we are living a life that is
conflicted.
On the one hand we rightly act and talk about our affection for
others and our exuberance about life. Thankfully we develop a willingness to
stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a
basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal
commitments, not needing to force our way in life, and being able to direct our
energies wisely. However, on the other
hand and at the same time, we try to get our own way all the time, which results
in dreams of loveless cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and
emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; a desire for
trinket gods and magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat
competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; divided
homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; and uncontrollable
addictions, to name a few.[1] We find
ourselves doing that which is good and that which is bad, at the same time.
And so, the life of the Christian is not one of ease like so many
preachers and popular so-called Christian books say, but rather, the life of
the Christian is the exact opposite – it is a life in conflict.
Dear friends, what the Apostle Paul describes in our Epistle
Reading, from this morning, is that there is a conflict and struggle between
the flesh and the Spirit. We can also
call this the conflict between the old Adam and the new man. In other words, the Christian life is not
experienced as luxury, comfort, or paradise, but a daily battle between your old
Adam and your new man in Christ. You see, you have a dual identity. You are fully saved and righteous and
forgiven in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death (this is what we call our new man)
and at the same time you are still the same old sinner that you have always
been (this is what we call our old Adam).
This means that the Christian’s life is a daily battle and conflict between
the old Adam and the new man.
During World War II there was a famous battle called the Battle of
the Bulge. It lasted some six
weeks. The Allies would push forward a
few miles and hold their position for several days. Then in a new series of events, the Germans
would then counter attack and push back and reclaim any lost ground and maybe
even gain a little bit. This went back
and forth in this battle. Now, this
Battle of the Bulge is an excellent picture of the Christian life. The Christian experiences this war between
the old Adam and the new man. They are at
constant war, back and forth, with constant tension. But unlike the six week Battle of the Bulge,
this internal war of the Christian begins at Baptism ‘continues’ for a whole
life. This battle for the Christian only
ends at death.
There are some Christians though that do not appreciate or agree
that the Christian life is a lifelong battle.
They reject this idea of the Christian battle and would rather believe
that the Christian life is all milk and honey.
You and I may be tempted to do this as well, for it is easy to get tired
of the ongoing battle. And so, there is
a temptation to do one of two things.
First, as we heard in the introduction portion of today’s sermon, we
can downplay the sinful nature – the old Adam.
Either we don’t talk about our sinful nature or we pretend that it isn’t
as big of a problem that it is. If
someone does talk about it, well…
they are too negative or too pessimistic.
So, the plan is quite simple, if we can downplay the sinful nature, we
can then supposedly remove the old Adam from the equation and eliminate the
battle within. So we say to ourselves
and others, “The more you talk about negative things in your life, the more you
call them in. We are going to speak victory not defeat. I’m going to start
believing today that things are going to change for the better. The best days
are still out in front of me.”[2] I am o.k.
I am good. I am at peace with
myself. No struggle with me!
The second way to try and eliminate the civil war within is to
make the enemy our friend. In other
words, if the old Adam is our friend, then there will be no war within the Christian
life and we can supposedly live in peace.
What happens is that we can take any sin that we are currently
struggling with and then change it from the category of sin to the category of
holiness. That is to say, that which is clearly
evil according to the BIble, we call good.
Therefore, if sin is moved from the category of the enemy and considered
a friend, then the Christian supposedly no longer has this internal struggle,
the ongoing tribulation will cease and the good life can be lived.
Beware of this! Not only
are these two temptations completely unbiblical, but they are straight from the
devil himself. You see, if we eliminate
the sinful nature – the old Adam – and eradicate the war within, we have not
accomplished anything except our own demise and fulfilled the plans of the
devil.
Dear friends, the devil wants to give you fake comfort – he never
wants you to be shown your sin. The
reason why, if you never see your sin, then you will find righteousness and
comfort in yourself. If you never experience this war with your old Adam, you
will never have a need for Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus wants you to be
continually shown your sin, so that you may find righteousness in Him.[3]
The reality is that this Christian life will ‘always’ have this
struggle. In secular wars, there are
times for rest, such as when it is winter but here in this Christian life we
will battle daily.
This ongoing battle though is not a reason for concern. The reason
being, understanding the war within is not only a mark of a Christian, but it
is evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work within you. Indeed, Christians are not those who stop
sinning and live a cushy life, but Christians are those who recognize their
sin, begin to despise it, and seek the grace of Jesus Christ for forgiveness
and strength.
What does this mean? As
long as the war within continues, you can be assured that the Holy Spirit is
present and actively warring against your old Adam. The time to worry is when the struggle
against sin ceases, when you no longer care whether you are sinning or not.
So today, you and I can confess that we are struggling Christian –
struggling Christians who belong to Jesus.
Confessing that you and I are struggling Christians though shall
not bring us to despair, for the Lord does not forsake us in this battle. Oh no, we are not abandoned, but the Lord continually
comes to us. The Lord continually comes
to you in His Word and Sacraments to daily slay your old Adam and forgive you
of all your sins.
Truly, you are daily and richly forgiven all of your sins as the
old Adam is continually crucified – daily drowned in repentance and then the
new man emerges in faith.
Furthermore, while you battle with the old Adam, you await the
time when your old Adam will finally be put to death and buried. You await for the promise of the day when you
will arise out of the grave with a new body that is complete and perfect, with
no sin. Yes, you and I wait for a new
body that is holy and a new life in eternity, where we will be completely freed
from sin, death, and evil.
Dear Baptized Saints, you are buried deeply in the wounds of
Christ. There is no doubt about that you
and I struggle in this life, but we do so in hope, knowing that despite the
ongoing war with our sinful nature – the old Adam - that Christ’s grace is
sufficient for you and for me and is ours forever.
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] This section is an adaptation of Eugene Peterson’s
“The Message” on Galtians 5:19-21.
[2] Two Facebook quotes from Joel Osteen Ministries Facebook Page.
[3] An adapted Facebook quote from Mark Harrison.
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