Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

Victory Over Sin 51knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive tothe obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).We have the spiritual artillery needed to destroy the fortresses of the mind. Vainreasonings, powerful imaginations, and perverted attitudes can be routed! We have thespiritual equipment to track down every thought and make it captive to Christ.Military moves are made according to determined strategy. Weapons need to beunderstood before they are used. In this battle with Satan and evil, we need to knowthe strategy, and be well acquainted with our weapons. Specifically, how can we dothis?Three lines of attack1. IDENTIFY THE ALIEN THOUGHTS THAT WE WANT REPLACEDWe must name the fantasies, imaginations, and attitudes that we want to getrid of. To simply say, “I want to be a better Christian,” or, “I want to be morejoyful,” will not do! Generalities are not good. Specifics are needed.Assuming that we know the sins in our life that won’t budge – (if we have notdone it before – now is the time to identify them). It might be well to take asheet of paper and jot down the thought patterns that have to go.2. BE PREPARED FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF SPIRITUAL WARFAREThe world, the flesh, and the devil do not surrender without a struggle. Theperson who is blessed by God is one whose “delight is in the Law of the Lord, andin His Law he doth meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2).Sometimes we are told, “We are in a spiritual battle. As soldiers of the cross wemust be disciplined; we must put effort and sacrifice into Christian living.” Thenperhaps a week later, another Christian appears to say the opposite, “I wasworking too hard at being a Christian; God showed me that I must just hang loose –trust the Lord.”Though these viewpoints appear contradictory, they really are one! Only aChristian who is disciplined in the Word of God can rest in the Lord. We cancease our striving and learn to relax in the confidence that God is equal toevery situation. However, a lazy, undisciplined Christian cannot do this; hewill fall apart at the seams when tragedy strikes. The believer who is like a treeplanted by the rivers of water is the one who meditates in the Low of Godevery free moment; his thoughts turn to the Word of God like steel to magnet.Declaring war on our thought life means that we must set aside time everymorning to begin our offensive attack. Meditation in the Scriptures requireseffort; nothing worth having can be achieved without exertion.We have heard the cliché’, “a chapter a day keeps the devil away.” Don’t youbelieve it! It is possible to read a chapter with our mind on something entirelydifferent than from what we are reading --- tomorrow’s business deal – or –