Slideshow image

Every good Christmas story has a twist — and in Die Hard, the twist comes when the danger turns out not to be outside the building, but already inside it. The partygoers at Nakatomi Plaza never saw the threat slipping quietly through the walls.

Paul says something similar about the Christian life: the most dangerous enemy you face is the one already living inside you.

For the past few weeks we’ve explored our adversaries — the deceitful devil and the seductive world. But this week’s focus is the most uncomfortable of all: our enemy within, the flesh. And Paul wants us to understand what it is, why it’s so dangerous, and how, through Christ, it can actually be resisted.

What Is the Flesh?

In Scripture, “flesh” sometimes means the physical body (like when John says “the Word became flesh”). But in Romans 7, Paul uses the word differently. Here, “the flesh” is your sinful nature — the inward pull toward sin that remains even after you become a Christian.

No one had to teach you to throw tantrums as a toddler, to covet, or to lie. Those tendencies weren’t learned; they were inherited. The flesh is that built-in inclination to choose what opposes God. It’s the internal traitor, the Judas within.

Martin Luther put it bluntly:

“A man void of the Spirit does not do evil against his will… He does it spontaneously.”

In other words: you don’t sin because you’re forced to. You sin because, apart from grace, you want to. The flesh is not just a weakness — it’s an enemy.

Why Is the Flesh So Dangerous?

If you are in Christ, the devil can’t own you and the world can’t satisfy you. But the flesh? You carry it with you everywhere. Paul gives three reasons why this inner enemy is so deadly.

1. The flesh remains powerful — even in mature believers.

Romans 7 is written by the Apostle Paul, after decades of following Jesus. Yet he writes things like:

“I do not do the good I want… the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

If Paul described this internal battle, none of us are above it. Spiritual maturity doesn’t eliminate the flesh — it only makes you more aware of its strength.

David wasn’t a teenager when he fell into adultery and murder. He was seasoned, victorious, and deeply devoted. The flesh doesn’t weaken with age; its strategies simply change.

2. The flesh is always present — you can’t outrun it.

You can flee from Satan. You can refuse the world’s influence. But you cannot move away from yourself.

Paul calls sin “the law in my members” — a gravitational pull within your own heart. If sin only attacked occasionally, you could brace yourself. But the flesh is both resident and relentless.

As Kris Lundgaard writes,

“The flesh is both a homebody and a relentless assailant.”

Even if you avoided every worldly temptation, the flesh would still be there — whispering, pulling, deceiving.

3. The flesh constantly pulls you away from God.

Paul says,

“When I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.”

That’s why it’s easier to watch three hours of TV than pray for three minutes. Easier to scroll for an hour than read Scripture for ten minutes. The flesh is always tugging, always resisting spiritual life.

Like gravity, it never stops working. And just like gravity, only a greater power can lift you above it.

How Is the Flesh Resisted?

If the flesh is this powerful, present, and persistent, how can Christians ever hope to stand against it?

Paul’s answer is found in the miracle of Christmas:
God sent His own Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” to condemn sin in the flesh.

Jesus took on flesh — but not a sinful nature — so that He could defeat our greatest enemy from the inside out. Because He lived without sin, died in our place, and rose again, we can now walk “not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

And that’s the key:

We resist the flesh with the Scriptures, in the Spirit, beside the saints.

1. With the Scriptures

Paul says those who live by the Spirit “set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
Where do we find the things of the Spirit? In the Word He inspired.

This means…

  • Start your day with Scripture before screens.

  • Carry one verse into battle with your most common temptation.

  • Build daily habits of intake — plans, accountability, and rhythms that feed your soul.

You cannot resist fleshly desires without filling your mind with spiritual truth.

2. In the Spirit

Romans 8 tells us plainly:

“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Only the Spirit gives the power to resist deeply rooted desires. He is the “external force” that overcomes the gravity of sin.

Resisting in the Spirit means…

  • Pray before temptation hits, not only afterward.

  • Confess quickly and start again.

  • Ask the Spirit to reorder your desires, not just suppress behaviors.

3. Beside the Saints

The flesh thrives in isolation. It withers in gospel community.

We need other believers to:

  • Tell us when we’re being deceived,

  • Ask hard questions,

  • Remind us of the gospel,

  • Walk with us in confession and restoration.

No one wins the war against the flesh alone.

The Good News: The Flesh Is Strong, But Jesus Is Stronger

Victory over the flesh doesn’t rest on your performance. Romans 8:1 declares:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

We do not resist the flesh to earn God’s acceptance — we resist because Christ has already secured it.

At Nakatomi Plaza, the people inside could not save themselves. Someone had to come from outside to rescue them.

That’s the gospel:
Your greatest enemy is inside you, but your greatest hope came from outside you.
Jesus entered our world, took on flesh, conquered sin, and sent His Spirit so that we never fight alone.

Yes — the flesh is always powerful.
But Jesus is stronger.

The flesh is always present.
But so is the Spirit.

The flesh is always pulling you away from God.
But Jesus paid it all — and His power at work in you is greater than anything that wages war within.