“The Trojan Horse”

   “The Trojan Horse” is a tale from the Trojan War, as told by Virgil’s Latin epic poem The Ieneid.  In one version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a wooden horse, and hid a select force of 30 men inside.  The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy.  That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night.  The Greek army entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war. – Wikipedia
   The Enemy Within.  A Christian basically has three spiritual enemies: the devil, the diabolical world system, and his own sin nature.  The one that plagues him the most is the “Trojan Horse” within himself commonly known as “the old sin nature.”  It is an inner, evil disposition that tempts us to do just the opposite of what God wants us to do (1 Peter 2:11).  Believe it or not, it plagued the Apostle Paul too (Romans 7:15-25).  We all inherited one from our parents (Psalm 51:5).  It and false teachers twist and pervert wholesome things (2 Peter 3:16; Jude 1:18).
  Perversions. “Immorality, impurity, licentiousness are perversions of the sexual instinct which is in itself a lovely thing and part of love.  Idolatry is a perversion of worship and was an aid to worship.  Sorcery is a perversion of the use of the healing drugs in medicine.  Envy, jealousy, and strife are perversions of the noble ambition and desire to do well which can spur to greatness.  Enmity and anger are the perversion of that righteous indignation without which the passion for good cannot exist.  Dissension and the party spirit are a perversion of the devotion to the principle which can produce the martyr.  Drunkenness and carousing are the perversion of the happy joy of social fellowship and of the things which men can happily and legitimately enjoy.  Beauty is turned to ugliness.  Sin takes the raw material of potential goodness and turns it into the material of evil.” – William Barclay
  Types.  There are 17 specific lusts (strong desires) that can appeal to the Christian at any time in an effort to break his fellowship with God (Galatians 5:19-21).  There are 4 sexual lusts, 4 religious lusts, 6 emotional lusts, and 3 self destructive lusts.
  Consequences.  By engaging in certain works of the flesh any one could hasten the process of his death.  He could get a sexually transmitted disease from immoral living and die.  He could die from liver damage by drinking too much or drive while he is drunk and kill another person.  He could end up in jail where he might die from too much stress from prison life.  Hatred for another person could cause the chemicals in his body to get out of balance which could lead to his inability to resist certain diseases and die.
  Victory.  As long as a Christian “walks (orders his life) by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit he cannot fulfill the strong desires (evil lusts) that emanate from his sin nature (Galatians 5:16).  But he also must be on guard against the temptations that come from the devil and the diabolical world system which he devised to control the undesirable elements of the sin nature of man.  Thankfully the devil must get permission from God before he is allowed to tempt Christians (1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:13; Luke 22:31, 32; Job 1:12; 2:6). 
  Worms.  Man’s sin nature is likened to a loathsome worm.  At death or the rapture a Christian will no longer be plagued or tempted by this enemy (1 John 3:2).  But an unbeliever who ends up in hell will still have his perverted sin nature that will cause him to long to do what he did on earth (Mark 9:44, 46).  But apparently part of the torment in hell will be his inability to satisfy any of his vile cravings that he will continue to have for all eternity.  That would certainly be a cause for the gnashing of one’s teeth (Matthew 25:30, 41, 46). 
  Hell.  The “Lake of Fire” was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41, 46).  “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).  Do some of these things describe you?
  Forgiveness.  Some of the Christians in Corinth had been fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners.  But upon believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who died for their sins and rose again bodily from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) they were washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).  You can be forgiven, cleansed from sin, and enter heaven if you will place your faith in Christ alone to save you.  We are not saved by our good works lest any of us should boast. But to demonstrate our faith to other human beings we must do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:18-20).  Don’t get this mixed up or you could end up in hell.
  Help?  If you’re confused or have questions about spiritual matters, call us at 805-238-3549 or visit our web site at www.kelseypeach.com.  We designed it with you in mind.  We have “God’s Simple Plan Of Salvation” in 24 languages.  Our weekly articles and our web logs (Blogs) deal with additional topics for those who want to know God better, grow in Christ, and serve Him more effectively.