Chapter 6, The Enemy Within (Pt 1)

The battle against the sin in you begins in your mind. If you loose the battle against sin there, you'll loose the battle.

Or, as Lundgaard says, if "the mind fails to identify a sin as evil, wicked, vile, and bitter, the affections will not be safe from clinging to it, nor the will from giving consent" (63).

We can see this quite clearly in the historical account of Joseph in Genesis 39:6-10. It's pretty clear from his responses to the sexual advances of Potipher's wife that his mind was fixed on the sinfulness of sin and the direction of sin, namely, that all sin is ultimately an act of treason against the authority of God.

Lundgaard concludes this opening section by explaining how Joseph's mind was filled with the goodness and grace of God, and how His kindness and love towards us is what "propels, fuels, drives us to obey" (64).

When I first became a Christian I spent a lot of time dwelling on my sin. Those early years as a Christian were, at times, miserable as I struggled with the difference between what I was before God and what I wanted to be for God.

Within the past year and a half, I've been overwhelmed with my sinfulness as God's given me a clearer picture of my wicked heart thanks to the ministry of John Piper and his talk of being satisfied in God alone. As I saw how much more satisfaction I get from stupid things like traffic opening up on the freeway than I do from God, I mourned my wickedness.

However, it wasn't very long that I began loving God more because He didn't leave me in my sin, but showed and continues to show His grace to me. There are times now when I think I'm more amazed at grace and the gospel than I did when I was first saved.

Now, this recognition and experience of God's grace in my life motivates me to expose my sin to him and others, and desire desperately not to sin against Him more. I can understand what Lundgaard is saying here because this has been my experience.