For the month of March I’ve joined with over 3,000 other men to focus on our pursuit of purity. As I’ve listened to and engaged in some of the many conversations on our Facebook group there is one word that I hear (and have likely even used) a fair amount of times. That word is “victory”.
I’m also preparing a six week series for our churches Sunday evening service. That series is on sanctification. I don’t believe I could do such a series justice without reading through Jerry Bridges’ book, The Pursuit of Holiness. One of his first paragraphs caught my attention as it relates to our pursuit of purity.
Bridges acknowledges that our experience of holiness and purity is often lacking and we end up discouraged. He then lists a few reasons why we experience frustration in Christian living more than success. His first reason is what grabbed my attention:
Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We are more concerned about our own “victory” over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God. (Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, 16-17)
I can relate to this. So many times I want victory over sin not because I find it to be offensive to God but because I want to be like Rocky Balboa throwing my hands in the air after racing up a flight of stairs. I want to be able to shout, “Yo Adrian I did it!” Bridges continues:
God wants us to walk in obedience—not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented towards self. This may seem to be merely splitting hairs over semantics, but there is a subtle, self-centered attitude at the root of many of our difficulties with sin. Until we face this attitude and deal with it we will not consistently walk in holiness. (17)
There is a difference between obedience and victory.
In my mind I picture a team of solider bunkered down behind enemy lines. They are mostly surrounded by enemies and at the point of frustration and despair; death seems certain. Then a most wonderful word is transmitted to them—a decisive victory has been won and rescue is coming. They are given instructions on how to do battle while they await ultimate rescue.
Now of course they are still surrounded by enemies and are not fully living in the light of this victory. The war is won but the battle isn’t quite over. If these soldiers become victory conscious and bolt out of their bunker doing a victory dance then they’ll be blown to pieces. Their victory will come as a by-product of them obeying the rules of battle. Bridges explains:
This is not to say God doesn’t want us to experience victory, but rather to emphasize that victory is a byproduct of obedience. As we concentrate on living an obedient, holy life, we will certainly experience the joy of victory over sin. (17)
As I’ve counseled many guys (my twenty-something self included) that are in the muck and mire of a battle with porn, I’ve noticed something. When they become obsessed with winning victory over lust, porn, etc. they inevitably continue living in defeat. Or even if they do gain little victories in this area their growth in Christ will be stunted in all other areas. Their whole walk with Christ is consumed by this one particular issue.
Yet whenever people “seek first His kingdom and its righteousness” something slowly happens. Porn loses its luster and impurity its grip.
If you are in Christ the victory over the defilement of pornography and lust has already been won. He’s dealt a death blow to the guilt, the shame, and the stains that come from every look that lasted too long, and every action that you regret only seconds after.
Focus your attention on abiding in Christ. Fan into flame your love for Christ and His kingdom. I’m not saying ignore the fact that you are sinning. But I am saying consider your sin in proportion to the greatness of Christ. Bask in the grace upon grace upon grace that He has given to us. Pursue obeying Him in the whole counsel of God and don’t be fixated on only this issue. Yes, it’s a big deal, but it’s not bigger than Jesus.
Focus on daily obedience and leave the victory dance up to Christ the Victor.
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