Why You Need a Battle Plan

As the battle for sexual purity rages hot in the sincerest and most committed of Christ’s servants, many grow exasperated, disheartened, and disillusioned when trying to find a pathway to victory. Some of this is due to misunderstanding the nature of the struggle itself. In other cases, it’s because the Christian does not realize that he has received all things that pertain to life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3), which includes victory over sexual temptations.

But one element that many men often overlook is the fact that they don’t have a comprehensive and Gospel-Centered battle plan. The plan integrates the fear of God and dynamic spiritual discipline with a Biblical understanding of the fallen nature of this world and the spiritual resources available to them in Christ.

A soldier who runs out onto a military battlefield clad in a bathrobe and fluffy slippers will quickly realize that he really has a death wish and a nightmare on his hands. Yet a wartime mentality is hard to cultivate when we live in an atmosphere of ease and luxury—with overwhelming distractions and allurements constantly enticing us to relax, kick up our feet, and coast. The war that rages about us is an invisible one, and this is where the deception lies.

While we feel the tension of spiritual battle in the heat of sexual temptation, we don’t really sense it very keenly at other times—and this is the very thing that fosters and perpetuates the deceptive illusion, leading us to become complacent and live out most of our days with a peacetime mentality. Then, when the battle suddenly becomes apparent to us, we scramble to fight like an equipped soldier, though we have done nothing whatsoever to adequately equip ourselves.

The goal, then, is to arm ourselves for an inevitable barrage of sexual temptations. We need to proactively and deliberately prepare our minds, and our hearts must be filled with Biblical truths to draw on.

I want to set forth six powerful truths for us, over the next six days, to deeply understand, diligently internalize and daily meditate on. I have designed these points to be both memorable and mentally accessible, especially in the heat of battle. After you have engrained these Biblical truths in your heart and mind, you’ll notice that they will become an instant help to you when in the battle for sexual purity.

Dear Lord, fill my mind and heart with Your Truth so I can resist sexual temptations.