Fighting the Flesh #30: Constant Training

“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”—Hebrews 5:14

Training for anything can be hard. And there are no shortcuts for good training. Training takes the will to do it, time, discipline, the right instruction, and perseverance. Anything else is a recipe for sure failure. For the Christian life, we fight the flesh by employing all of these essential ingredients, which we will examine one at a time.

The first essential ingredient is the will to do it, which is afforded us by the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Before we came to know Christ we were incapable of living the life that Christ intended, but with Christ, we are given His Spirit which is the divine unction and capability planted within us to do what God desires us to do.

The will needs to be fed by right instruction. Without right instruction the will can be manipulated to do any manner of things. Cult teachers have the will of people, but are not instructing them in the truth of God’s Word. We must be fed by the truth of God’s Word as we study it, meditate upon it, and seek to apply it to our lives.

The third essential ingredient needed for successful training is time. We cannot microwave godliness. Godliness takes time, lots and lots of it. The longer we walk with Christ, the more we learn His Word, the more we become like Him.

The next ingredient involves discipline, which is a close cousin to the will, seen in step one. Discipline is the will bridled to do what is right, like a racehorse bridled to run in a certain manner. Without discipline, the will will run roughshod over all it encounters, but discipline enables the will to run in a directed manner and to keep running when times get difficult.

Lastly, in the employ of all the others is perseverance. Perseverance is connected to all of the others because perseverance is what brings the others all home. Perseverance is the dogged determination to continue on, despite the odds, uncertainties, circumstances, and calamities that life may throw at us. Perseverance is keeping the eye on the prize and focusing the other essential ingredients to see and understand the prize that lies at the end of the race. Perseverance is that which enabled Jesus to continue on when everyone left, and perseverance will enable us to finish the race of faith faithfully.

It is through the application of these essential ingredients that we can live the life that Christ has intended. And it is through diligently putting them into practice that we are able to discern the difference between good and evil. The more that we put all of the above into practice, the easier it becomes for us to see what is good and right, as well as what is bad and wicked, so that we might do what is pleasing and glorifying in the sight of God our Savior. Amen.