The Sign of a Great Warrior

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ the righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. - 1 John 2:1-3 HCSB

I once had a jiu-jitsu student who was born to fight. That kid had more natural talent than any three others combined. But he’s not fighting today. He kept winning with his talent until he found a man who figured his tricks out and got soundly trounced. Instead of going back to the drawing board and humbly recognizing that he had not yet achieved, he simply quit.

I gained another student who came into my dojo filled with pride, arrogantly thinking that he could knock the cap off my head at will. Thirty pain-filled seconds later, he changed his mind. He humbly accepted that there were entire worlds of knowledge out there just waiting to be conquered and got to work. He’s still fighting today and I am filled with a righteous pride for him.

We all mess up. We all make a hash of our lives. That’s why John said, “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”[1] That’s just facing reality. We were born in sin[2] and we take to it like ducks to water. It’s so easy to sin that even with the Holy Spirit’s help, it actually takes a tremendous amount of effort for the Ransomed to maintain their practical holiness.

We must recognize the absolute need for holiness for “If we say, ‘We have fellowship with Him,’ and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.”[3] That’s why we “pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—for without it no one will see the Lord.”[4]

However, we must equally admit our complete inability to achieve this lofty goal on our own. We must seek the help of the only man who can teach us the Way – the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth. He’s the only human to have never sinned and He willing to show us the Way.[5]

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.[6]

The sign of a great warrior is not constant victory. The true sign is his ability to humbly acknowledge his lack, go back to the dojo and try again – and again – and again.[7]


[1] 1 John 1:8
[2] Psalm 51:5
[3] 1 John 1:6
[4] Hebrews 12:14
[5] John 14:6
[6] Hebrews 4:15-16
[7] Philippians 3:10-14