STRIVING AGAINST SIN
(week 27/14)
OLUBI JOHNSON
Hebrews 12:4 KJV: Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, STRIVING against sin.
Philippians 1:27 NKJV: Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind STRIVING together for the faith of the gospel,
Colossians 1:29 NKJV: To this end I also labor, STRIVING according to His working which works in me mightily.
The Holy Spirit through these scriptures is telling us that we must strive or fight against sin even unto the point of physical death to overcome it.
Firstly, we must understand that sin is a nature or substance and power, which secondly produce acts or deeds of sin. You cannot stop acts or deeds of sin, if you do not overcome the nature or substance and power of sin.
So, we are to strive against and overcome the nature and power of sin in our souls: wills, minds and emotions (Rom. 7.20-23) Cor. 7.1); bodies (Rom.6.6) and in the air (Eph 2.2).
It is vital NOW in this time of intense spiritual warfare during which the heavens are being shaken to dominate sin by successfully striving against it in order to inherit the spirit without measure to do the works that the Lord Jesus did and greater manifesting His glory.
So, we strive against sin by diligently using the blood, the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, using the 7 pillars of the wisdom of God (Pr. 9.1) to overcome the nature and power of sin in our souls, bodies and the air in our circumstances.
This will involve daily (Lk.9.23) crucifying of the sin nature in the soul and body, by praying early in the morning in the fourth watch with all types of prayer and travail in the Spirit (Rom. 8.26, Gal. 4.19) like the Lord Jesus did (Heb. 5.7; Mk. 1.35).
This kind of disciplined lifestyle can be initially (though after a period of time of training (Heb. 5.14) the yoke becomes easy and the burden light (Mt. 11.28-30)) hard on the physical body and will involve ‘crucifying’ certain legitimate pleasures: like talking, eating and sleeping; so as to have the necessary time to spend in the Word and prayer:
2 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV: You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (4) No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
This is why Paul says that we should strive against sin even unto blood or ‘dying’ to desires of our souls and bodies:
Revelation 12:11 NKJV: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
1 Corinthians 15:31 NKJV: I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I DIE DAILY.
Luke 9:23-24 NKJV: Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, and follow Me. (24) For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
