Preparing for the Fight

When it comes to sin in our Christian lives, the struggle is real, and we often fight against temptation toward the same sins continually. Fighting against our flesh is normal, but prolonged fighting is exhausting. However, we can stay sustained by our faith and continually prepare for the fight because, although we battle against sin, we can have confidence that God has already won the war.

Some people aren’t prepared for the fight against sin as Christians. They may think that the Christian life should be easy since we’re children of God, but God promised in Ephesians 6:12 that we will always be fighting against evil. While this doesn’t look like warfare in the traditional sense, the fight can be spiritually exhausting if you’re unprepared.

This post encourages you to prepare for battle and to respond to temptation in the spirit. In doing so, you glorify God with your actions and show others your commitment to Him. Christian apparel brands take this opportunity to glorify God publicly. With faith-based apparel, you can reveal your connection to God even in the midst of battle so that you further spread the message of God’s love and power over sin.

Christians Aren’t Slaves to Sin

Our fight against sin can feel lonely. You might feel you’re the only one doing battle, but the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that everyone has sinned. We all have sinful natures and fall short of the perfection and glory of God.

None of us are righteous by our own works in God’s eyes (Romans 3:10). So when it comes to sin, we’re all in this together. However, a major reason the gospel is called the “good news” is because we may be in a fight, but we have a savior.

Romans 6:23 informs us that because of our sin nature, our penalty is death. But we have a savior who  paid the penalty for us. Romans 5:8 speaks of God’s tremendous love for His created beings and how, even though we sin, He sent his son Jesus to die on the cross and accept our penalty in our stead.

Jesus paid it all so we can have a new life (Romans 6:4). His death and resurrection offer the gift of eternal life to us all. We can do nothing to get ourselves to heaven. We are saved by grace through the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Romans 6:10 describes that Jesus died to break—once and for all—the chains of sin and that Jesus now lives to glorify God. Jesus gives us a gift through his death and resurrection but also gives us the perfect picture of how we should live.

As Christians, we are new creatures, but that doesn’t mean that we are perfect (2 Corinthians 5:17). Although old things are passed away, and we’ve been made new, we may still fight against the same old sins. As Christians, Jesus is our savior from sin in two ways. He gave us freedom from the penalty of sin, and he gave us freedom from the power of sin. As Christians, while we have to remain vigilant, we have the power, through the spirit of God, to resist temptation and fight against sin.

Although we are new beings in Christ, we still have to fight our flesh and against the temptation of sin (1 Peter 2:11). The Bible confirms that we have a multi-faceted fight ahead, so we must prepare to fight on several fronts:

• Against our own hearts: Jeremiah 17:9 tells us how wicked our hearts can be.
• Against our fleshly desires: Paul tells us in Galatians 5:19–20 that our spirituality is hindered by those physical desires.
• Against the Devil: Satan isn’t a cartoon character. He is real, and he lurks constantly hoping to tempt you into sin (1 Peter 5:8).

Nevertheless, we can do battle because God has supplied us with a savior and with ways to prepare ourselves. We can even encourage others to do the same and join the battle against sin. You can put on both the whole armor of God spiritually and also wear your favorite modern Christian clothing. Wearing clothes that reflect your commitment to godly living not only encourages fellow Christians in the fight but also helps connect your actions of faith to your motivation—your connection to Christ.

Fighting Builds Your Faith

God convicts us of our sin, and we must listen (Hebrews 12:5–6). We must learn to fight against that temptation to sin and live a life that glorifies God. Like any good war strategist, we have to prepare for battle. We have to:

• Survey the scene. Analyze what is going on according to Scripture, and if you don’t understand ask God for help. Ask God to search your heart and thoughts and reveal the root cause (Psalm139:23–24). The root cause is always some desire of ourselves that conflicts with that which God wants for our lives. We are warring with our own flesh. We have to own that fact, or we will fail in battle.
• Select appropriate weaponry. You don’t want to come to the battle against sin underprepared. You must prepare for every possible outcome, and God has provided us with weapons for our arsenal that are not only easy to use but also extremely portable—the Bible and prayer. Digging into God’s word daily, memorizing it and applying it in all categories of our lives offers a weapon that fiercely guards your heart, and prayer can be a constant resource as both a daily habit and a quick defense when the temptation to sin crosses your path.
• Acknowledge your need to rely on God. Dying to yourself isn’t a decision you make once; it is a lifestyle to be intentional about daily. We assume that dying to ourselves means never getting to do what we want to, but the best self-care is wrapping yourself in the arms of God. The more you devote time to God, the less “me time” you need. The Bible points out in 2 Corinthians 12:9 how God is all we need: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” This truth is further affirmed in Philippians 4:19, which reads, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

This fight against our flesh and sin helps build our faith because every time you do battle, you can remember when your reliance on God helped you in your time of need. The more you rely on God, the more you reinforce the foundation of your faith, and the easier it will be to do battle in the future.