Excursus, The Enemy Within (Pt 1)

In the posts on chapter 5 (see them here and here) we talked about the flesh's tactic of deception saying when the flesh deceives you like this, “you will sin” (55). Therefore, deception's primary target in the Christian is his or her mind. If the mind is deceived, the affections are entangled and the will consent to sin (cf. James 1:14-15).

The Enemy Within has a chapter excursus at this point called "Loving God with all your Mind." In it, Kris Lundgaard takes us deeper into how to protect the mind, get it ready for actions, against sin by speaking of the mind's duties to accomplish pleasing God.

First, the mind must obey fully. The Christian life is not about how close can I get to sin without sinning (something I heard about a lot being in youth ministry for 6 years). The Christian life is about how much can I please God in EVERYTHING I do.

Second, the mind must obey by faith, so that "no duty that is acceptable to God--can be performed but by the actual working of Christ, who is our life" (82).

Third, the mind must obey from the heart, meaning "the mind must watch over the affections in every duty to God" because " a duty offered to God as an act of mind and will without the affections is abominable to God" (82).

Fourth, the mind must obey God's way so that "your mind has to make sure you do everything the way and by the means God has commanded" (82). This has so many applications, but one can be the person who gives his money at church (out of duty), but no cheerfully, which is God's way to obey.

Finally, the mind must obey God for God's goals. The overarching goal being the glory of God, making Him look wonderful, great, awesome, magnificent. If that is not the goal of our obedience "the flesh will try to slip other motivations for your obedience, such as satisfying your conscience or winning the priase of your peers" (83), which ruins your obedience.

If you do this, train and make it your mind's goal to please the Lord, you can expect three counter moves from your flesh:

First, it will try to keep your mind from being specific. This is a general desire to glorify God without seeing this as being the goal is specific, particular actions and reactions.

Second, the flesh will try to make you content with doing you duty, whatever that may be in a given situation, without really wanting to do it. Your flesh will say "You ought to read you Bible, so read your Bible. Good, now go do what you want."

Third, it will try to get you into an obedience routine, doing your duty for duties sake, and never really obeying God in a way that is acceptable to Him because it has nothing to do with any of the five points above.

Your mind is at war with your flesh. Therefore, you need to give it bullets from God's Word, and you need to watch and be mindful that the counteroffensive it's always launching against you is real and effective though it is hidden so well.

Without the light of God's Word to expose the flesh and the power of the Spirit to overcome it we will not be able to "do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31).