Battles Christians Face

by Vaughan Roberts

“‘The Christian life is victorious, full of joy and triumph.’ Well, usually. Sometimes. Ever?”

I suspect that, like me, most of us will identify with this cry of frustration. Vaughan Roberts has tackled 8 of the most common struggles we encounter in our Christian lives – in a Scriptural yet down-to-earth and practical way.

• Image, or identity (Colossians 3:1-14)

We learn of the world’s lack of identity and security, and how that affects the way we view ourselves and each other. This is contrasted with our new identity in Christ and how this changes the way we see our world.

“Perhaps I do not reflect the current ideal the world says I should conform to........So what! What matters is that I reflect God.”

• Lust (2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:14)

Whatever our sexual orientation, this is a struggle common to virtually all of us. Here, we are taught four lessons from David’s fall and how to put them into practice.

“God has entrusted us with the precious gift of sex. We are not to take risks with it, asking, ‘how far can I go?’ The Bible tells us to ‘flee’ from sin. That will not be easy, but Christ is with us. He both forgives us for our past failures and, by His Spirit, helps us to live a godly life in the future.”

• Guilt (Psalm 32:1ff)

We just keep beating ourselves up, don’t we? This chapter looks at why this is, and what we need to do about it.

“If we have acknowledged our sin and appreciated God’s forgiveness, we have much to praise God for.”

• Doubt (John 20:24-31)

We doubt our faith, our forgiveness, whether God is there – just about everything in fact. The post-resurrection encounter between Jesus and Thomas has much to teach us – about Christian faith.

“We cannot always help the thoughts that come into our heads and the feelings that enter our hearts, but we can make sure that we respond to them wisely.”

• Depression (Psalm 42:1ff & Psalm 43:1ff)

Another common struggle for many of us. Our faith does not make us immune, if anything it makes the illness harder to deal with – we are not supposed to feel like this!! This is a very practical look at how to cope with what is an extremely debilitating condition.

“We are to express our feelings, at least to God and a few trusted friends, rather than bottle them up, And we should address our feelings: looking in, looking back and looking forward.”

• Pride (Mark 9:33-41)

This is arguably the sin that leads to all others – it sets self in opposition to God. Pride also affects the way we view ourselves and others, and distorts the way in which we treat others.

“[Pride]... corrupts our relationship with God and with other people. As we recognise this poison in our hearts we should apply the only antidote: the cross of Christ.”

• Homosexuality (Matthew 19:3-12)

Vaughn Roberts has managed, in a very short space, to produce one of the most balanced essays on this subject I have ever read. He includes a word to churches and leaders on how to deal with the issue.

To quote words from this chapter would mean not quoting others – the material is that well presented!

• Keeping Spiritually Fresh (Luke 7:36-50)

The key to fighting the battles that confront us. Here we find six ingredients that are helpful in maintaining a close relationship with God – where we find the resources we need to continue the battle.

“The devil is at work in all the battles we face and in ourselves we are no match for him. So we must be ‘strong in the Lord and in His mighty power’”