Breaking Free from the Bondage of Sin and Addiction | 1 John 1:5-10
Have you ever fought the devil? In the late fourth century AD, a young intellectual named Evagrius Ponticus went into the desert of Egypt to fight the devil. He read the story of Jesus going out into the desert to face the devil head on and intended to follow Jesus’ example. Word spread that there was a monk out in the middle of nowhere at war with the devil. The rumor was that he was winning. He became a sought-after spiritual guide and people from all over would brave the dangers of the elements in an attempt to locate him and learn his ways. Before he died, one of his followers, asked him to write down his strategy for overcoming the devil. So, he wrote a short book called, “Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons.” In his book, his best strategy for fighting demonic temptation was to fight with “thoughts” or “beliefs.” You have to fight evil thoughts with godly truth. The premise of the book is that “our fight with the devil is first and foremost a fight to take back control of our minds from their captivity to lies and liberate them with the weapon of truth.” If we are going to break free from the bondage of sin we must fight with truth.
The purpose of 1 John is so that believers would have joy. (1:4). Joy comes from having a right relationship with God through Jesus. The thief of joy is sin. The most miserable person is not the unbeliever, but the believer who is not in a right relationship with God. John says he is writing this book so that you can learn not to live in the bondage of sin (2:1) because Jesus came to this earth to destroy the works of the devil and the power of sin over our lives (3:18). John teaches us that our fight for joy comes by breaking free from the deception of darkness and by walking in the light of truth.