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...

The psalmist said, “Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.” (Psalms 144:1) This is our calling too as believers, except not in the physical sense of war. (I’m speaking here of the spiritual battle we’re in, not about those called to the military.) Moses said after the exodus, “The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His name” (Exodus 15:3) — and that means that everyone in His kingdom is drafted. Child of God, you are consigned to military service! Change your thinking, comrade in arms. You’re in the army now. You’re in the Army Now So say the words of the Old Testament: “Let the saints rejoice in His honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all His saints.” (Psalm...

“The child of God has two great marks about him . . .” So writes J.C. Ryle in his classic book Holiness. How would you finish the sentence? Faith and repentance? Love and hope? Praise and thanksgiving? Humility and joy? I’m not sure what I would have said before reading Ryle, but I know I would not have finished the sentence as he does: The child of God has two great marks about him. . . . He may be known by his inward warfare, as well as by his inward peace. (72) Warfare and peace. Combat and rest. The clash of armies and the calm of treaties. The Christian may have more marks about him than these two, but never less. He is a child in the Father’s home, and he is a soldier in the Savior’s war. That sentence would play no small role in saving me from despair. Parachuting into War When I entered the Christian life, I had no idea I was walking into war. I felt, at first, like a man parachuting over the glories of salvation — finally awake to Christ, finally safe from sin, finally headed ...

One of the greatest problems that we face in the church today is disagreement. Anyone who has served in a position of leadership in the church will know exactly what I am talking about. The real problem that we face, however, is not so much the presence of disagreement as to the way that disagreement is usually carried out and what typically happens as a result. Disagreement, in and of itself, can be a good thing. It can provide important clarification and refinement when we are developing a plan of action. It can also provide protection for the church as a whole so that no one is able to kidnap the church and take it in an unbiblical or unwise direction. Disagreement forces us to think. It opens our eyes to different perspectives and challenges us to see issues from different points of view. At its best, disagreement strengthens and protects the church and its individual members. The problem that I see is not that we disagree with one another. The problem is the way that...

The Old Testament tells us that no person can see the face of God and live (Exod 33:20). The New Testament echoes this prohibition (John 1:18). The prophet Hosea, however, seems to disagree. In Hosea 12:3–4, the prophet revisits the story of Jacob as told in Genesis:     In the womb he [Jacob] deceived his brother,       and in his manhood he struggled with God.       He struggled with the angel and prevailed;          he pleaded for his mercy.       He met him at Bethel,          and there he spoke with him. (LEB) If we turn back to Genesis, we find that Jacob “struggled” (sarah) with “a man” in a physical scuffle (Gen 32:24 LEB). The same Hebrew word is also used in Hosea 12:3 for Jacob’s struggle with God, thereby linking these two passages. As Jacob wrestled the stranger, he came to realize he was struggling with God (elohim) in human form (Gen 32:28). He named th...

We are at war, but we cannot fight in the spirit realm with our natural ability, nor with our education, our money, or our natural resources. We can only fight spirit with spirit, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4, NKJV ). Demonic spirits with different ranks and assignments exist in the spiritual realm, and they respond to atmospheres. All spirits seek expression of their will into time and space, but they cannot accomplish this without someone providing them the opportunity. If a demonic spirit manifests, it is because somebody allowed it and created an atmosphere for that spirit to operate. When the disciples asked Jesus why they were unable to cast the evil spirit out of the child, Jesus said, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21, NKJV). “This kind” would indicate that there are spirits with different ranks. Without going into an expository work on demonology, le...

Voddie Baucham exposes the pornographic nature of our culture and provides men and women with a key tool necessary to fight addiction.