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The Reality of Our WeaknessIn the second place, we have to realize our own weakness and our need of help. That is the presupposition behind what the Apostle is saying here. He is not only concerned about this because of the power of the enemy, he is equally concerned because of our own weakness, our own lack of strength; and, again, the best way of realizing this impotency is to understand something of the power of the enemy. There is ample teaching in the Bible to bring you to that knowledge. Go back to the very beginning of the Bible. You find there is a man called Adam who was sinless and perfect. But he is confronted by the devil, and the manifestation of "the wiles of the devil." Though Adam was perfect, and had lived a life of fellowship and communion with God, he fell; and he fell so easily! The subtlety of the enemy with his insinuation that God was against man, that God was unfair to man, was too much for Adam and he fell. When the devil launches his attack, what is man, even perfect man made in the image of God? Adam fell. And if Adam in that perfect state fell, who are we to stand? But let us go further. Look at the Old Testament saints, all of them, the patriarchs, the godly kings, and the prophets. They all fell, not one of them could stand up to the devil. He is "the strong man armed, that keeps his goods at peace." All men have failed, they have all "sinned and come short of the glory of God" they have succumbed to "the wiles of the devil." This has also been the universal testimony of all Christian saints, the greatest saints of the centuries. It is one of the hallmarks of the true saint, that he never gives the impression that the Christian life is an easy one—never! The greatest saints have always testified to the fierceness of the battle, to their own weakness, to their own ability. They have mourned over this. Let us then pay heed to what this great "cloud of witnesses" is saying to us today. But let me commend to you also the study of your own experience. If you feel that you are a very strong Christian, let me ask you why you have failed so much and why you still fail? What happens to your resolutions and resolves? Why do you so often find yourself in the place of repentance? Why are you sometimes attacked with feelings of utter hopelessness and almost despair? To what is it due? It is all due to the plain fact of our weakness; it is because we are insufficient and fallible. But we must face this honestly. It is not enough just to say in general, "Yes, I know the enemy is very strong, as you say, and I am weak." We have to persuade ourselves of our weakness. This is important in the battle. We need to know that we are ill; in other words we need to indulge in a great deal of self-examination. That is why people pay such slight heed to our text; that is why we know so little about what it is to stand, and to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might; we have never realized our own need. "They that are whole have no need of a physician." That was the chief trouble with the Pharisees. They thought they were right with God; they did not go to the doctor; there was nothing wrong with them. We do not go to the doctor as long as we feel that all is well; we have to realize that we are "sick." But that means examination, self-examination. In that way only shall we discover the elements of weakness that are in us inherently, and that render us incapable of fighting the battle against sin and Satan. Another thing we have to realize is that mere principles of morality are not sufficient for us. The world has always been interested in what it calls "the good life." Philosophers have always been interested in the subject; they have written about it, talked about it, and argued about it. But the trouble has been that they were never able to practice it. Principles of morality are good as far as they go, but they are not enough; you can read books on ethics and can wax eloquent on these matters, but it is a very different thing to put them into practice. "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I know not," said the Apostle (Rom. 7:18). "I see that a certain thing is right, but the problem is, "How am I to do it?" And it is when you really face the problem that you begin to realize the extent of your weakness. Furthermore, human will-power alone is not enough. Will-power is excellent and we should always be using it; but it is not enough. A desire to live a good life is not enough. Obviously we should all have that desire, but it will not guarantee success. So let me put it thus: Hold on to your principles of morality and ethics, use your willpower to the limit, pay great heed to every noble, uplifting desire that is in you; but realize that these things alone are not enough, that they will never bring you to the desired place. We have to realize that all our best is totally inadequate, that a spiritual battle must be fought in a spiritual manner. Here we have the very beginning of an understanding of this whole matter. The problem is not just a problem in moral living. That is the limit of the State's concern with our persons. The State knows nothing about the spiritual background, for it knows nothing about the devil and "the principalities and powers." And that is why it continues to believe that education can really solve the problem and reform persons. That is why it evokes the aid of psychotherapy and various other expedients in prisons. But the more it does so the more the problem seems to increase. It is all because men do not realize the spiritual character of the problem. You and I have to realize that the living of the Christian life does not follow automatically upon conversion. Many a man, having come into the Christian life through regeneration, through a true experience, has then tried to live the Christian life in the old terms. He thinks that he needs the act of God in Christ to save him, but he seems to leave it at that. He feels that henceforward he is going to live the Christian life by his own power; he has a new understanding so now he is going to live this life. But it cannot be done! This is the road along which people "melt away, and droop, and die," because they are trusting to nothing but their "native strength." On the contrary, this is a battle that has to be fought in a spiritual manner and with spiritual understanding. |
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