Ammunition for a Good Fight Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Ammunition for a Good Fight ------------------- Date: 2/6/2002 Keywords: "forgiveness" "redemption" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. For the past several days, we've been studying one of the Apostle Paul’s great prayers, found in Colossians 1. This prayer, for spiritual growth for his readers, is tailor-made for men and women who wrestle with — and sometimes fail in — a chronic temptation to use pornography. God bless you! We hope you've benefited from these studies. Passage: Colossians 1:9-14* 9. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10. so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11. strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son 14. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Questions 1. According to verse 14, what has two gifts has Jesus provided Christians?   2. How would you distinguish between these two gifts?   Practical help Paul’s prayer for Christians in Colossians 1 provides the porn struggler with ammunition for a good fight against that awful stuff that can be so tempting! (For this brief study to be of any help to you, you must become a Christian. To find out how, click here.) Nowhere does his ammunition come in handier than when he reminds us of our redemption and our forgiveness. You — yes, you! — have been bought with a price. You belong to God. Therefore, even if you should stumble again and click where you shouldn’t, you are still God’s possession. One of the enemy’s (Satan's) greatest tricks is to try and convince believers in Jesus that sin "unsaves us." Wrong. God has redeemed you by the blood of His precious Son. While that truth should be enough to keep you from surfing for porn, if it ever should occur that you lustfully view the awful stuff, remind yourself that you are secure in Him, clear your head — and follow Him. And, you are forgiven. Period. That means that you will never be on the receiving end of the wrath of God. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins — all of them. You are forgiven. Sure, when you or I trip and fall and get ourselves dirty by sinning, we need to have the Lord clean us up so that we can enjoy rich communion with Him (confession, see 1 John 1:9). But, having placed your trust in Christ for salvation, your sin doesn’t condemn you. You have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous! You are not alone in your struggle with porn. The eXXit team is cheering you on and praying for you. More importantly, though, your Heavenly Father is with you. He has deemed you valuable enough to redeem and has lavished His forgiveness on you. Remember that the next time the accuser tries to either trip you up or keep you down! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2002 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." -