The Enemy in Us

“Right now, we’re playing against the Knicks,” D’Antoni said. “It’s us.”  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/sports/basketball/15knicks.html?_r=1&hpw

In case you didn’t know, D’Antoni is the coach of the Knicks!  They’ve been having problems not with the team they’re playing against, but against themselves.  Individualism is always a struggle for any team.  The moment a player thinks only of himself, everything falls apart.  That’s why many times the real enemy of a team is itself, it’s own players.

Ask a Christian who his/her enemy is, and they will quickly answer “the devil”.  And it’s true.  Peter tells us:

1 Peter 5:8  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Yes, he is our enemy.  But most of the time he uses another enemy to try and destroy our foundations.  Who is that?  Our self.  What many Christians don’t realize that there is another enemy lurking closer than Satan himself – our sinful self, our old self.

James 1:13  When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
James 1:14  but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
James 1:15  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Another enemy that we need to be aware of is our selves.  Yes it is true that our sins have been forgiven in Christ.  It is true that He has set us free from sin.  Yes it is true that His grace supplies us with the strength and power we need to overcome.  But we must not forget that deep inside this new heart that the Lord has given us is our sinful nature that still struggles to rear it’s ugly head up.  Inside us are the old desires of our flesh, still desiring to be satisfied.

The only solution, the only victory that we have is Christ in us.  Not only has He washed our sins, He has also set us free from sin.  And only in Him, only with Him, can we overcome our self.

This is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus always.  We need to walk in the Spirit always.

James 4:7  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:8  Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Galatians 5:16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Be aware of the schemes of the devil, but be aware also of the tool that he uses to go against us – our own self.  That’s the other enemy we need to be aware of.  Don’t just rebuke the devil. Don’t just shout “get behind me Satan”.  Know that a major battle of a Christian is defeating our self.  We need to ask the Lord to open our eyes that we may be conscious of our old self coming out, and praying for the power to defeat it.  We need to be dying to our self, and allowing Christ’s life and character to be seen in us.

Eph 4:22-24  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.