Dr Paul Allen

How Not to Fight Sin Fighting sin is spiritual warfare, and warfare requires a battle plan. If left to our own devices, we would have little success against our unseen enemy. Thankfully, God’s word supplies wisdom to assist us in eluding the evil one’s snares. We’ll begin by briefly considering how not to engage in the battle, followed by practical tactics to flee sin and follow God. Don’t Fight Sin by Ignoring It Pretending sin isn’t there won’t help you fight it, as with Ben. Ben was a jokester, but at times, his jesting became inappropriate. He turned innocent comments into crude remarks and occasionally used off-colour language to get a laugh. When conviction came, he rationalized it away. He’d think, “I didn’t really mean it. It’s not who I really am. It’s not that big of a deal. I’m free in Christ.” An unwillingness to admit sin prevents you from repenting of it. Don’t Fight Sin by Entertaining It We also can’t fight by entertaining sin, as with Jess. Jess struggled with body ima...

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. [Heb. 1:1] God revealed himself to the Old Testament prophets in a myriad of ways. We can learn something about God by reviewing some of them. One of the most important ways God revealed himself was through theophanies. In a theophany God shows himself in and through some created thing. In one of the most famous examples of a theophany, the burning bush, God revealed himself to Moses as the bush burned with his divine glory. God also revealed himself through dreams. Famous dreams of Scripture include those of Jacob, Joseph, Nebuchadnezzar (in Daniel), and the night visions of Zechariah 1–6. God spoke in dreams to Joseph, the husband of Mary, and to Pilate’s wife. Visions differ from dreams in that they happen while people are awake. Ezekiel experienced numerous visions. The vision of Isaiah 6 surely changed Isaiah’s life and message. God spoke to Peter in a vision of the clean and uncl...

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” ( Hebrews 4:12 ) The Word of God (both the written Word and the living Word, Jesus Christ) is “living and energizing” and is the double-edged sword of the Spirit, piercing into the deepest recesses of body, soul, and spirit, where it “discerns” even the very thoughts and intents of our hearts. This discernment, however, is more than just understanding or insight. The Greek word for “discerner” is kritikos and is used only this one time in the Bible. Our word “critic” is derived from it, and this is an important dimension of its meaning. Its discernment is a critical, judging discernment—one which convicts and corrects, as well as one which understands. It is paradoxical that men today presume to become critics of the Bible when it should really be the o...