The War Within (Romans 7:13-25)
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The War Within
Romans 7:13–25
Well, I can’t fully express how much of a privilege it is to open the Word with you this morning. To fill a pulpit that has been so faithfully served by our pastor, my mentor and father in the faith, is a significant task and great privilege. If you would, open your Bibles to Romans 7.
When I was determining our text for this morning, I could not think of a more common struggle shared amongst us all than what is communicated in this text. And so, just to open our time, I’d like to share a bit of my testimony, because I think this is what our passage today really forces us to do–to consider how the Lord has saved us and what He has transformed us into.
It was at an FBC Winter Camp where the Lord saved me as a junior in high school. I did not grow up in a Christian home and I never heard the Gospel. I felt like I hit an all-time low as a jr higher when my parents got divorced (which is why it’s such a privilege to share Christ with our jr highers now). My life was shattered and it left me searching for love and satisfaction anywhere I could.
I was a slave to my sin. Sin deceived me, it enticed me, it convinced me that it was good and that it offered true satisfaction. But each time I indulged in it, it left me flat on my face. It was killing me–until one day a couple of my friends from high school invited me to Winter Camp. I agreed to go, because they promised me a weekend away in the mountains, staying in cabins with friends, and . . . snow! I had never been in the snow before. My family had no money to send me–the only reason I was able to go was because you gave towards camp scholarships! And it was at this camp that the Lord freed me from my sin.
Sitting on bunk beds in a cabin after a morning session, I watched as each one of my friends confessed their sins and was broken over it. I had never confessed my sins before–I didn’t know what sin was. But I watched as my friends would weep as they would confess–friends who I thought were perfect Christians. As it finally came my turn to share, it seemed as though the Lord finally broke me and all I could do was confess my own sinfulness.
With many tears, I confessed my sins before the Lord and my friends and for the first time I realized just how wretched a man I was. In my brokenness, our high school pastor at the time told me about Christ and the forgiveness He offered by His death and resurrection. And in that moment, all I could do was cry out to Him and ask Him to save my poor soul.
He did save me–and as if the grace of God and the freedom in Christ wasn’t already too overwhelming for me, I came down that mountain, began to faithfully attend this church, and I realized just how great a family I gained through Christ. You immediately embraced me and showed me the love of Christ. You held my hand and walked with me towards Christ. I remember immediately after Christ saved me, our high school pastor at the time, Morgan Maitland, invested into me. He discipled me, wept with me through trials, and gave me my first ever preaching opportunity.
I remember in 2017, Robert Dodson, one of our elders, took me on my first missions trip to Albania just six months after Christ saved me. That trip changed my life and sparked my heart for missions. In 2018, you supported me and sent me back to Albania for two months as an intern. I came back and served as Shawn Farrell’s pastoral intern in the college ministry.
In 2019, you supported me and sent me to India for three months. I came back and served in children’s ministry on Sunday Nights as “Boots” (for many of your kids, this is all they know me as). In 2020, I served as a co-pastor of high school ministry. In 2021, you supported me and hired me as your jr high pastor, which is still to this day the greatest joy–I love our jr highers!
Last year, you supported me and sent me to West Africa. This year, I finished our three-year Training Center and I’m heading back to India to preach at a youth conference in August, and will also finish seminary at the end of the year. All of this to say, the Lord has been so kind to me in giving me the best church family. I am a product of your faithfulness, your constant investment and support. And to you I am eternally thankful. You led me to Christ our Savior, you discipled me and shaped me and formed me into who I am today. And I can’t wait to, Lord-willing, serve as one of your full-time missionaries in the near future.
After Christ saved me, I was so excited to serve Him and know Him more each day. But there was one thing I did not fully anticipate as a new Christian. With my new heart, I hated my sin–I wanted nothing to do with it anymore! And I loved Christ and wanted nothing but to follow Him and be fully devoted to Him. But there was something still lingering in me–something I thought I had completely gotten rid of–something that still stained my flesh–it was my sin.
This was the conflict I did not anticipate as a new believer and this is the conflict that the Apostle Paul describes in our text today. Hopefully you’re there already in Romans 7. Let me give you a preface before we start–transparently, we are tackling a very full passage this morning, verses 13 to 25. And so as Chris says, I hope you had your oatmeal this morning. And jr highers, I hope you had your Dr. Pepper this morning.
We won’t read this all at once, I’m afraid I might lose you if we did that. Rather, we will tackle this passage one point at a time–not covering everything, but we will seek to understand Paul’s main points. So, would you pray with me now and let us ask for the Lord’s help in understanding this great passage. Let’s pray.
As a kid in school, I remember reading and learning a lot about World War I. We learned that it was a fatal event that shook the world to its core, leaving death and destruction in its wake. It was a conflict that spanned continents and drew in nations from across the globe, with millions of soldiers and civilians caught up in its deadly embrace. The war raged on for four long years, bringing a terrible toll on those who fought and those who were caught in the crossfire.
Yet while the gunfire and explosions of combat claimed countless lives, it was the silent killers of disease and starvation that proved to be the greatest threat to those who fought in the war. Indeed, it is estimated that almost 9 million soldiers died from non-combat causes during World War I–victims of sickness, malnutrition, disease, and other internal struggles. While we may tend to think only of the bloodshed and destruction–in reality, most of the people who died during the war did not fall on the battlefield, but rather succumbed to the ravages of disease and illness.
The main cause of death was not the obvious opposing enemy–it was the war within. Internal disease and illness killed more people than external combat–the silent killers of WWI. Friends, the same is true for you and I today–though trials may pain you so terribly, though persecution may shake you down to your core–it is the war within, the battle with our own sinful flesh, the silent killer of sin which is our greatest foe and our most persistent and pressing conflict. Don’t you feel this great pain?
You say, “The Lord has saved me. He has set me free from the bondage of sin. And yet I still sin. I hate my sin. I want nothing to do with it–get away from me!” Yet each day we fall back into it.
It seems as though each day we look at ourselves in the mirror and every time we see more dirt, more filth, more sin. “This is truly not what I want anymore–the Lord has given me new passions, new desires, a great love for Him. But still my flesh fails me and each day sin seems more evident in me.” This is exactly what Paul is expressing in Romans 7. Not only is Paul a believer here, he is a mature believer. He has been walking with the Lord for two decades, and yet the conflict, the war within is only growing stronger. Why is this so? Why is it this way?
First John 1:5, “And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” Friends, the closer we draw to this great Light, the more our own sinfulness is exposed. As Paul grows spiritually, he becomes more sensitive to his sin, more aware of it. The same is true for you–the closer you draw to our holy and righteous God, the more you will recognize the sinfulness of your own sin. And this is the first point I would like us to consider this morning–in order to find victory over the war within, we must recognize and understand two important truths.
#1 THE SINFULNESS OF SIN Verses 13 to 24
Paul says in verse 13, “Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”
Paul is speaking of the Law of God here–that which in the previous verse he says is holy and righteous and good. He is saying, it is not the Law that is the cause of our death, it is our sin. The Law merely exposes the sinfulness of our sin. It is sin that beats us down endlessly and leaves us for dead. The Law merely shines a light on the cause of our conflict. If we are to engage in this great battle, friends, we must know the enemy we are fighting against.
Puritan Ralph Venning, commenting on this verse, describes sin like this, “It cannot but be extremely useful to let men see what sin is: how [extremely] vile, how deadly mischievous, and therefore how monstrously ugly and odious a thing sin is… Romans 7:13 denotes the malignant nature and operation of sin, its own name being the worst that can be given to it. … As God is holy, all holy, only holy, altogether holy, and always holy, so sin is sinful, all sinful, only sinful, altogether sinful, and always sinful. … As in God there is no evil, so in sin there is no good.”
This our enemy–this is what we must contend with for the rest of our days. Sin is any word spoken, any deed done, any thought in your mind that goes against the character of God. Sin seeks to dethrone God and rob Him of all His glory. Our sins are many–they are too many to count. Think of how many times you have sinned against God in just the last 24 hours. Shall I give you a moment to tally them all up?
Lashing out against your spouse or your sibling or your parents with anger, impatience, selfishness. Indulging in lustful thought, taking that inappropriate second look at another, filling your eyes with darkness as you scroll through social media, drowning your ears with unwholesome words. Being consumed with yourself, your own wants, your own desires, your own needs, your own business and moving all others to the side–your family, friends, yes even Christ.
As I was sitting on that bunk bed at winter camp. this is what I realized for the first time–the sinfulness of my own sin. The fact that I was in constant opposition towards our holy and righteous God. My sins were too many to count and the burden too heavy to carry. Every single sin that you commit deserves an eternity in Hell–it deserves an infinite punishment, the unrelenting wrath of God. This is the punishment that you will endure if you have not yet bowed the knee to Christ and submitted your life to Him through faith and repentance.
And for those who have put our faith in Christ, this is the punishment that Christ endured for us on that cross. Every single sin–past, present, and future, an infinite punishment poured out on the sinless Savior. The thought of this alone should cause every true believer in Christ to well up with thankfulness and be stirred up in hatred towards our sin.
And so, this is the painful reality of every Christian–though we are no longer slaves to sin, we still struggle with it. And so we must seek to understand this reality in order to find victory over it. Let’s continue to wrestle through this with the Apostle Paul as we consider four realities of a saved sinner.
A. The Saved Sinner’s Conflict Verses 14–17
(And yes, I am a Mueller disciple, so these points all start with the letter C.) Romans 7:14 to 17, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”
Paul is affirming our fleshliness. Look at verse 14 where he says, “I am of flesh”—basically, “I am fleshy,” right now, present tense. You may hear your jr highers say, “I’m so drippy!” This means that they think what they are wearing looks really cool. Paul is saying the opposite here–“I am fleshy!” What I am wearing, this flesh I do not want. This flesh causes me to “do the very thing I do not want to do.”
What does Paul mean by this term “flesh”? He uses this term many times throughout his writing. Paul says in Philippians 1:21 to 24, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.”
The meaning is pretty obvious here–Paul is speaking of his earthly, bodily life. He’s lamenting the fact that we can’t be with Jesus in the same intimate way here in this body on Earth and not in Heaven. Paul saying, “I’m going to remain in the flesh” is the same as, “I’m going to remain in this physical body.” But that is not what Paul means in our passage–he speaks of flesh in a new sense, in a moral sense.
MacArthur explains Paul as using “flesh” here “in a morally evil sense to describe man’s unredeemed humanness… that remnant of the old self which will remain with each believer until each receives his or her glorified body.” When Paul speaks of “flesh” in our passage, he is speaking of our old sinful nature, our old disposition and inclinations, our fallen humanity.
When Paul was an unbeliever, his fleshly desires dominated his life–his and our sin was master over us. But then Paul received a new Master–and so have we. Jesus Christ is His name–He has freed us from our slavery to sin and has made us slaves of Christ. But even though fleshly desires no longer rule our lives, they are still present in us. Our pastor, Chris Mueller has said, “Though sin does not reign in us, it nevertheless remains in us. He goes on to say, “Sin is dethroned, but it is still not destroyed.”
And as if that wasn’t already flames (meaning it was a really good quote), he told me this one the other day. “Though sin was once president of our lives, now it is only merely resident in our lives.” (I like that.) This is our great conflict–not that we live in sin (that would mean we are unbelievers)–but that we live under sin.
Paul is honest with us–he is expressing our same struggle. He’s saying, “I’m confused as to why I still sin as a believer. I want to live one way, but yet so often I find myself living another way. Why do I still give into temptation and trip and fall?” It is because I am still under the influence of sin as a believer. The Law is revealing Paul’s own sinfulness and reminding him, and us, of the great conflict we all presently live in.
Christ has saved us. He has made us new. We desire to know Him and be like Him—yet because we still live under the influence of sin, because we still live with this sinful flesh, we again and again return back to our sin. This is the saved sinner’s great conflict. But friends, the very fact that you find yourself in this conflict should bring you blessed assurance that you are truly in Christ. Why? Because it is only the believer who hates their sin.
What does Paul say? Verse 15, “I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.” It is only the believer who hates their sin. It is only the believer who is willing and desirous to defeat their sin. The unbeliever is comfortable with their sin–they are okay with it. They enjoy it. There is no conflict with the flesh–there is agreement with the flesh for the unbeliever.
Think about your life before Christ–we happily lived in our sin, didn’t we? We loved our sin. There was no fight in us against our sin. We were just a dead body, unable to move or fight back. Boys, fighting sin as an unbeliever is like playing Fortnite with a dead controller. You can’t move or do anything when that guy comes to snipe you. Your controller needs to be on in order to fight back. (C’mon parents I’m giving you good content here!)
But if Christ has saved you, He has made you alive–He’s put the batteries in. Now you can move. Now you can fight back. So, yes–this conflict brings us great grief. But the very fact that we feel this conflict proves that we are in Christ. Do you feel this tension? Are you actually in the fight? If you are, then like Paul, you will hate your sin, you will be disgusted by it and make every effort to fight back and kill your sin. Are you fighting back?
B. The Saved Sinner’s Corruption Verses 18-21
Romans 7:18 to 21, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.”
Paul is like a physician giving us the true diagnosis. Our problem is not with our environment–our problem is our own sin. Paul says, “There is nothing good in my sinful flesh. My flesh is rotten and depraved.” We know this, don’t we? Romans 3:10, “As it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE.” Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Every Friday I lead a campus ministry at David A. Brown Middle School. I go during lunch, bring pizza, then do a quick Bible study. What is so amazing about this ministry is that it is completely filled with unchurched students. The only people from FBC there are myself and Michelle West (because we use her classroom). And so as I started this club, I knew I needed to get the basics drilled into them.
And I think the first thing you must help unbelievers recognize is their own sinfulness and need for a Savior–so I spent the first month or so drilling this in. Maybe too much, to the point where now I’ll start saying, “We need Christ because we are all . . .?” And they’ll scream, “Sinners!” “And because we’re sinners, we all deserve . . . ” “Hell!” They know this, we know this–we are all sinners. This is our corruption.
But Paul says something interesting here in verse 18. “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” He adds this clarification–why? Because he’s acknowledging the fact that we have been transformed by Christ. When Christ saved us, He made us righteous–He gave us a righteous nature. This righteousness cannot sin, does not desire sin, only desires to please and glorify God. The problem is, we still have this sinful flesh attached to us.
In the past, the way officials would punish murderers (jr higher’s, you’ll love this) is by tying their dead victim to the murderer’s living body. A great and horrific form of torture–as the dead body rots and decays, oozing rotten dead juices and diseases into the murderer’s body. This dead, rotting flesh causes great harm to the criminal and ultimately leads to his death.
We too have a dead flesh attached to us–a totally corrupt flesh which Paul says contains no good. Again, Paul is recognizing that there is a righteousness in him thanks to Christ, that wants to do good. But he recognizes that attached to him is a corrupt flesh–sinful desires and inclinations that still remain in him. A classic Mueller illustration–we are like Swiss cheese. There are holes and crevices in us that store up and catch sin. And so we wait until that day when we will be made into an incorruptible wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano–you know how hard it is to break through a wheel of that thing? Until then, we must recognize the corruption of our flesh.
C. The Saved Sinner’s Contradiction Verses 22–23
Romans 7:22 to 23, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members.” It couldn’t be any more polarized! On the one hand, we desire to live in obedience to Christ. But on the other hand, our sinful flesh is being enticed, deceived, and pulled back to sin.
The law of his mind refers to his new mind with his new perspective with his new eyes, which have been opened and now can see truth, with his new heart that desires to please God, with the new feet that run hard for His glory on that narrow path, with the new ears that love to hear the word of God preached, with the new mouth that he loves to tell others about Jesus Christ.
But yet at the same time, in this sinful flesh, the different law is waging war against my mind. Every part of Paul’s body is under an influence from sin–his eyes, ears, feet, and all the different members are still affected by sin. Oh church family, how often have you found yourself in this terrible contradiction?
Though Christ has saved you and has restored your marriage–your sinful flesh wages ware against the law of your mind, and so you still at times act out in anger and selfishness. Though Christ has saved you and you now hate your lust and want nothing to do with it–you still at times desire to indulge in your lustful flesh. Though you have been saved by the truth–your flesh still leads you to lie and deceive in order to avoid consequences. Though you worship a Savior who humbled Himself by becoming a man and dying on a cross for sins He did not commit–still at times, you indulge in your prideful flesh by becoming consumed with yourself, only concerned with your own desires and needs instead of the desires and needs of others.
What a great contradiction we find ourselves in. It brings us great pain and grief, that we would return back to the very sins that Christ died for. So this reality leads Paul, and it leads us, to . . .
D. The Saved Sinner’s Cry Verse 24
Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” Look at Paul’s view of himself over time, as he matures in Christ. First Corinthians 15:9, “For I am the least of the apostles, and not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
Six years later after saying that, Ephesians 3:8, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable riches of Christ.”
And then two to four years later after saying that, 1 Timothy 1:15 says, “It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.”
If Paul experienced this, how much more so will you and I? This is the view we must have of ourselves if we are to have any victory over our sinful flesh–that we are sinful, that we cannot live this Christian life on our own. We cannot fight this battle in our own strength. We need Christ. We need Him to work through us. Paul has arrived at this conclusion–I am a wretched, evil, sinful man.
And so, in his great despair, he begs the question–“Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” Answer? Romans 7:25, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
#2 THE SUFFICIENCY OF GRACE Verse 25
“What a welcome, then, should Christ and his gospel have! They come with saving health to cure us of the worst of diseases and plagues, that of sin.” – Ralph Venning
In order to find victory over our sin–to have the great burden of sin lifted off of our shoulders, will you consider with me four aspects of God’s sufficient grace?
A. The Source of Grace
The fuel in our engines, the wind in our sails, the motivation for this war within is to remember what Christ has done for us. Oh, if you are in Christ would you remember what He has done for you? And if you find yourself sitting in your seat, as I did on that bunk bed, recognizing for the first time the sinfulness of your sin–would you this day receive the grace of Christ? Though your sin is great, the grace of Christ is greater! Like we sang earlier, “Grace greater than all our sins!”
The Creator of the universe, Jesus Christ, loves His own so much that He willingly became a man–truly man, truly God (Colossians 2:9) perfect and sinless. And even though He was sinless, He was beaten, mocked, and ultimately hung on a cross where He willingly suffered and died–not only a physical death, but the eternal death that you deserve. On that cross, Jesus paid for every sin that believers have committed. And three days later, He rose from the dead–defeating death and offering us new life in Christ.
If today, you would surrender to Him, put your faith in Him, turn away from your sin and be saved–why hang on to your sin any longer? Why bear the burden on your own? John Owen gives us a picture of Christ saying, “‘Come with your burdens; come, you poor soul, with your guilt of sin.’ [We say] Why? what will you do with them? ‘Why, they are mine,’ says Christ; ‘this agreement I made with my Father, that I should come, and take your sins, and bear them away: they were my lot. Give me your burden, give me all your sins. You do not know what to do with them; I know how to dispose of them well enough, so that God will be glorified, and your soul delivered.’”
Would you this day experience the greatness and sufficiency of God’s grace for the first time? And to those who already have, would you reflect upon that great day when Christ showered you with His saving grace? This will be motivation enough to mortify your sinful flesh. Remember the source of grace.
B. The Fuel of Grace
Oh, what happens to your soul when your eyes fix upon Him. What happens to your soul when His words are on your tongue. What happens to your soul when Christ consumes your thoughts. The fuel of grace is communion with Christ. You wish to get rid of your sin? You wish to wash out your sinful thoughts and attitudes? You wish to cast out the darkness? Then run to the glorious light every chance you get. Dig deep into His Word–seek to know more of Him each day. Get on your knees in prayer and beg Him to overcome your weaknesses.
Samuel Rutherford says, “There are infinite plies in his love that the saint will never be able to unfold. I urge upon you a nearer and growing communion with Christ. There are curtains to be drawn back in Christ that we have never seen. There are new foldings of love in him. Dig deep, sweat, labour, and take pains for him, and set by as much time in the day for him as you can; he will be won with labour. Live on Christ’s love.” Commune with your God–run to Him, drown yourself in His glorious word and watch as your sinful flesh is carved away.
I use the illustration all the time with our jr higher–what would you say about a wife who never talks to her husband? She walks in the house, goes straight past her husband to her room to talk with her girlies. What about a wife who never seeks to know more about her husband–she doesn’t know anything about him. She doesn’t care. Would you say this wife actually loves her husband? No!
And yet here you are–the Bride of Christ. How often do you talk to your God? How often do you pray? Does your heart yearn to know more of Him? Do you seek Him diligently each day through the study of His glorious word? My family in Christ, if you truly love Him, commune with Him. Like we learned last week, Christ and the cross should be our obsession, consuming our every thought.
Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.” Communion with Christ will be the fuel that gets you through this battle with your sinful flesh.
C. The Power of Grace
The power, then, by which we wage war with our sin is relying on the Holy Spirit (this is what all of Romans 8 is about). Romans 8:1 to 4, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
We cannot engage in this war within on our own–we need Christ. We need the Spirit working through us. We rely on the Holy Spirit through constant prayer, begging Him to overcome our weaknesses each day. Prayer leads to great dependence on God and not ourselves.
I love to use this illustration because it is so simple. We all know what the best thing in the park is—the teeter totter. How does a teeter totter work? When one side goes up, the other side goes . . . ? When one side goes down, the other side goes . . .? The same is true for our relationship with Christ. If we are exalting ourselves, relying on our own strength, seeking our own glory, lifting ourselves high, then at the same time we are putting Christ low, pushing Him aside, relinquishing the only true source of strength, robbing God of all His glory.
Would you stop relying on yourself? You of weak faith, you have a strong Christ. Depend on Him, cling to Him, rely on His strength and you will witness His grace lavished upon you. You will be met with great peace when you finally rely on Him. Depend on Him.
D. The Hope of Grace
We have been saved, we are being sanctified, and one day we will be glorified with our Lord in Heaven for eternity. Romans 8:16 to 18, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
On that great day, our war with sin will be over, and we will rest in the arms of our Savior. Those who survived the war surely received a warm welcome and great celebration from their families, friends, and nation once they arrived home. But the homecoming of those soldiers from war is nothing compared to the homecoming that awaits you, Christian. One moment in Heaven will make an entire life waging war against sin worth it.
I would go through this war against sin a thousand times over if I knew I could have just one moment in Heaven. But we will not have one moment there, will we? No, we shall have eternity with Him. Therefore, do not be discouraged–grab His hand, grip it tightly each day, press on, and Heaven will make amends for all.
