Chapter 1, The Enemy Within

I know sin was serious enough for God to come and die for it, but I live largely unaware and uneffected by its seriousness. Sin is not grave, not compelling, not awful enough to me. I pray that I too will feel "like a whipped puppy" (22) for my inward wickedness and my outward expressions of that wickedness.

Lundgaard says "the reason for this book is that the first step to fighting this enemy [sin] is to know it--and to know it well" (22). To that end, he teaches us about sin from Paul's experience as described in Romans 7:21, "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me."

First, sin living in us is a "law." -- Just like the law of gravity, the law of sin "impels us to fulfill its demands, and...brings a force to bear on us to bow us into submission" (24). Sin entices us, threatens us and even bullies us into obedience. Hope: Jesus is so beautiful because He has "overthrown [sin's] rule, weakened its power, and even killed its root so that it cannot bear the fruit of eternal death in a believer" (24).

Second, we find this law inside us. -- I thank God that this book and Piper's messages about the joy in God that I struggle to have have awakened in me a deep sense of my sin, and therefore my frenzied need for Jesus and His gospel and God's grace like never before. Lundgaard is right when he writes "the believer...swims upstream--he meets sin head-on and strains under its strength" (25). So true!

Third, we find this law when we're at our best -- I see this. When I want to serve God most purely and humbly and with the most self-denial, sin is right there seeking to make me impure, arrogent and self-centered.

Fourth, this law never rests. -- The enticing, threatening, bullying, compelling nature of sin to get us to obey never ever lets up so that beleivers are "in a constant tug of war against [our] overall desire to please God...making [us] drowsy or distracted when [we] would pray [or read our Bibles], or stingy and ambitious when [we] should tithe" (26), or scared and self-conscious when we should witness, or weak and fearful when we should fight temptation. Hope: Like sin, "He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep," (Ps 121:4), Jesus is with us always even to the end of the age (Matt 28:20), and God will never leave us and never forsake us (Deut 31:6, 8; Josh 1:5; Heb 13:5).

The chapter ends with this warning: "If we are not spiritually wise in managing our souls, how can we help making a wreck of ourselves?" (27).

Lord, make us watchful of our souls. Please grant to us the words of this prayer in hymn form by Charles Wesley:

I want a principle within of watchful, godly fear.
A sensibility to sin, a pain to feel it near.
Help me the first approach to feel of pride or wrong desire,
To catch the wandering of my will and quench the kindling fire.
From Thee, that I no more may stray, no more Thy goodness grieve,
Grant me the filial awe, I pray, the tender conscience give.