So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. (Colossians 3:5-6, NLT)
Put to death.
That’s a strong term.
Not one I use in my daily life.
Put to death.
Not try to end.
Not start to overcome.
Put to death.
When something is put to death, it doesn’t get up again.
When something is put to death, it doesn’t come back for another round.
When something is put to death, the only place it can be found is the graveyard.
Put to death.
If you are a believer, you are not to try to deal with
the sinful, earthly things lurking within you
And you are not to expect God to deal with
the sinful, earthly things lurking within you
without your participation.
You are called to be a warrior and PUT THEM TO DEATH.
When Theoden’s army is hemmed in by thousands of orcs at Helm’s Deep he doesn’t try to shoo them away. He doesn’t open the gates to them and invite them in for a heart-to-heart. He doesn’t throw a few swords and rocks down from the wall to try to stop them. And he doesn’t have a dinner banquet with his army.
He MAKES WAR.
He brings every man and even boy to the battle line. He uses every sword, spear, arrow, and chunk of rock they have. He dresses his army in every piece of armor they have. And he sounds the cry and they make war.
And when those orcs throw their ladders up the side of the helm and climb up, they are not greeted with pats on the head or offers for counseling.
Swords slash, arrows pierce, and spears impale.
The goal of every man and boy in Theodred’s army is to put to death every orc they can.
I agree with Tedashii in his song Make War–we get ourselves so scared about sin and so cowardly towards arousing the enemy’s anger that we do not do the battle God has called us to do. We do NOT
put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within
We do NOT fight.
We wait for God to do battle for us.
John Eldridge is right when he says something similiar: God may give us a few freebies where He does the work for us, especially when we’re new believers, but we are enlisted in His army–not invited to pull up a lawn chair on the sidelines or cower somewhere off in a corner. We are called to MAKE WAR. We are called to kill the
sinful, earthly things lurking within
Not to reason with them, ignore them, bribe them, or even wound them.
We are called to kill them.
Put them to death!
. . But how on earth do we do this?
In a way, it feels harder than taking up a sword at Helm’s Deep and warding off ten thousand orcs. How do we fight against something that isn’t in the physical realm?
Ephesians 6:10-18.
Look at this passage. Read it. Really read it. And you will know what you have to do to MAKE WAR against the sin that grows like choking vines from our inward self, grows right up in our brain and out our mouth and arms and legs and eyes and controls how we think, what we say, and what we do.
put to death
DESTROY.
NO MORE.
GONE FOREVER.
Make war today.
And put to death the sin within you through the power and authority of Christ Jesus.
Don’t forget to read Ephesians 6:10-18.
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