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...

Few things can cripple people like fear. Fear makes people shrink back from doing the things they know they ought to do. Fear can also make us do things we know we ought not to do. Fear is not simply self-protective or self-preserving; fearful concern for the well-being and protection of those whom we love can cause us to worry, to lie awake at night, and even to do things that could be perceived as either very brave or very foolish. So what overcomes fear? The Bible offers a clear and potent solution—faith in the promises of God. “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king” (Heb. 11:27). This verse stands in the middle of Hebrews 11 and in the middle of the author’s commentary on the life of Moses. It briefly reflects on the faith of Moses in the face of a very real and present danger (humanly speaking)—the king of Egypt. Moses was a man just like any other man; blood flowed in his veins just as it does in yours and mine. He was truly human and thus capable of k...

I've long been fascinated with those moments in Jesus' life when the veil of His human flesh gave way to a vision of His refulgent glory as the Son of God. What must it have been like to be one of His disciples and to know Him as a man but then see with clarity His deity in an encounter of dazzling light? The most spectacular of these encounters was His transfiguration, that moment when His transcendent radiance paralyzed Peter, James, and John with awe (Matt. 17:1-13). All they wanted at that moment was to bask in Jesus' glory forever—and so that is what they asked for. It has always struck me that Jesus said no to that request. Instead, Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration with His disciples and went back into the world. Jesus' going back into the world has served as a model for the church's ministry until the present day. When Christ calls people into His kingdom, He doesn't pull them out of the world forever. He sends them back out with the g...