Defeating the Enemies Within

Christians have enemies without—the devil, ungodly government, persecutors—but the enemies most likely to keep us out of heaven are within. Flip Wilson was famous for saying, “The devil made me do it.” Although the devil does tempt, he cannot make anyone sin. Have you heard it said of someone, “He is his own worst enemy”? That is true of most of us. The three great enemies to a godly life are lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15–17). Since Christ will save us from our sins, but not in our sins, we must defeat these enemies.

The Lust of the Flesh

Christians must deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts” and then “live soberly, righteously, and godly” in this present world (Titus 2:12). Humans are composed of a soul in a body. We are rational creatures capable of determining our own actions. Consequently, the abilities, inclinations, and appetites of both soul and body must be considered. As it is ridiculous that a beast should ride a man, so the physical man should not have dominion over the rational and spiritual man.

The word translated as lust in 1 John 2:16 is a neutral word. It is used of good desires in three New Testament passages: Luke 22:15–16; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:17. Most of the time it is used of sinful desires.

The lust of the flesh is an evil desire for sinful physical pleasures.

• “If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).
• “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14).
• “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
• “When they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness” (2 Peter 2:18).

There are two levels of sinful plea sures—those strictly forbidden and those wrong only in excess, such as overindulgence in food, drink, and entertainment. Lusts of the flesh come from three primary desires:

• Food (reveling, banqueting, gluttony) (Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:3; Deuteronomy 21:20). The lust of the flesh was what both Eve and Jesus faced (Genesis 3:6; Matthew 4:2–3). Some have made their belly their god (Philippians 3:19; cf. 1 Samuel 2:11–16). “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (1 Corinthians 10:7).

• Drink (drunkenness, excess of wine) (Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3). Solomon wrote,

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. . . . Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter per verse things (Proverbs 20:1; 23:29–33).

Richard Blummer wrote of Satan’s lies about alcohol:

We drink for joy and become miserable. We drink for sociability and become argumentative. We drink for sophistication and become obnoxious. We drink to help us sleep and wake exhausted. We drink for exhilaration and end up depressed. We drink to gain confidence and become afraid. We drink to make conversation flow and become incoherent. We drink to diminish problems and see them multiply.¹

Drugs also fit into this category (e.g., marijuana, cocaine) (cf. Romans 6:13).

• Sex (adultery, fornication, unclean ness, lewdness, lusts, covetousness, evil desire) (Galatians 5:20–21; Colossians 3:5). The marital bed is honorable (He brews 13:4; Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:1–5), but other sexual activity is not. Adultery describes all illicit sexual relations between one or more married individuals. Fornication is a broad term describing any illicit sexual conduct, including premarital sex, and all deviant sexual activity, including homosexuality and bestiality. Works of the flesh keep people from heaven (Galatians 5:19–21). They must be “put to death” (Colossians 3:5).

These are the darkest days America has known. Christians live in a modern day Sodom with constant tormenting of their souls (Genesis 19; 2 Peter 2:7–8). Children and teens are bombarded with the flesh—drugs, alcohol, sexual perversion, and greed.

To avoid the lusts of the flesh, Christians must understand how sin works and set a strict guard to watch for temptations. James wrote, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14–15). The chaste Joseph is a good ex ample of resisting lust. He repulsed Potiphar’s wife’s solicitations (Genesis 39). Eyes and ears are doors through which sin and death can enter. Polycarp used to stop up his ears at the wicked speeches of heretics. We must keep our bodies in subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The Lust of the Eyes

This is the desire to own something be cause it is beautiful or valuable.

Sight is the largest inlet to sin. Because the mind is influenced by external objects, the eyes must be regulated as far as possible. These vanities are so alluring to the corruption in our hearts, that without constant watching and prayer, we cannot escape the world or obtain victory over the god and prince of it. Job made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1). In contrast, some followed their eyes:

• The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took them (Genesis 6:2).
• “When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her” (Genesis 34:2).
• Potiphar’s wife saw Joseph was good looking and wanted to sin with him (Genesis 39:7).
• Achan saw a Babylonian garment, silver, and gold and took them (Joshua 7:21).

“Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids” (Proverbs 6:25; cf. 2 Samuel 11:2; Matthew 5:28). Some have “eyes full of adultery” (2 Peter 2:14). The Greek historian Xenophon says Cyrus, the King of Persia, would not even look at the fair Panthea, the wife of King Abradaras. She was taken in battle and reserved for him by one of his captains. When one told Cyrus that her beauty was worth seeing, he answered that therefore it was more necessary to ab stain from seeing it.²

The Pride of Life

This includes desire for honor, preferment, applause, and revenge (even physical violence and murder). To be proud of one’s beauty, strength, intelligence, wealth, success, accomplishments, possessions, business, or ambition is to be guilty of the pride of life. One can even be proud of unusual things—poverty, social causes, healthy eating, or driving an old car. It includes desiring to

• Get credit for things that others (or God) did.
• Make a name for ourselves (Genesis 11:4). Though we are to value a good name, we are not to desire our own glory.
• Feel more valued than others, as Ananias did (Acts 5:1–12).
• Have positions of power over others to feed our ego. The hermit Ammonius cut off his ear to avoid being chosen as a priest.³
• Do things for the sake of bragging rights.

Those who desire to be great should be the greatest servants (Matthew 23:11). King Saul is one of many Bible characters who allowed pride to destroy him (1 Sam uel 15:1–23).

In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9–14), the Pharisee thought he was better than others. He should have thought of Solomon’s words, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate” (Proverbs 8:13). “When pride comes, then comes shame” (11:2); “by pride comes nothing but strife” (13:10); “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18).

Pride leads to other sins, such as hatred, contentions, wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, and heresies (Galatians 5:20–21). Pride keeps Christians from acknowledging sin or repenting of sin, especially when the sin is public (James 5:14–16). Irrational pride keeps some from saying to others, “I am sorry. I have sinned.”

Matthew Henry wrote: “The things of the world quickly fade and die away; desire itself will ere long fail and cease, but holy affection is not like the lust that passes away. The love of God shall never fail.”⁴

Endnotes

1. Source Unknown
2. “Xenophon, The Cyropaedia, vol. 5, trans. Henry Graham Dakyns (New York: Tandy-Thomas, 1909), 64–66.
3. Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 (New York: Church Publishing, 2019), 490.
4. Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible (Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2011), 1122