June 21 Bible Reading Plan

I could do this all day.

-Steve Rogers (1)

The first time we hear this phrase, it's from a skinny, scrawny, yet very patriotic Steve Rogers as he's being pummeled by a much larger man who dared not to respect the patriotic news clips about World War II.

Later, when Steve Rogers becomes Captain America, this becomes his catchphrase. He even says it to Ironman when they are fighting each other in Captain America: Civil War.

There's even a joke about the phrase in the movie Endgame when an older Captain America is fighting a younger version of himself and says, "I can do this all day," and the older version says, "Yeah, I know, I know." (2)

It's Captain America's catchphrase. Yet, every time I hear it, I think, "This needs to be the attitude of every unbreakable man of God when he's battling sin in his life."

It reminds me of Paul's words in Hebrews 12:1-4:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (ESV)

In these verses, Paul challenges us to do all we can to overcome sin in our lives—especially the sins that "so easily entangle us." (These are the ones that seem to come naturally to us and the ones we struggle the most to overcome. The Fire Bible says this literally refers to our most troublesome, sidetracking sins.) (3)

Paul compares these sins to a "weight" that holds us down and keeps us from growing in our relationship with God and running the race God has for us.

The interesting thing here is that Paul doesn't say, "If you feel like it," "If you can get around to it," or "Do the best you can," but Paul gets right to the point when he says, "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

Can we take a moment and do a collective Joey Lawrence "Whoa" at that last statement? (4)

One problem that breaks too many of God's men is that we don't take our fight with sin seriously enough.

We ignore the sin in our lives and hope no one notices.

We hide it.

We make excuses and tell ourselves things like:

"It's no big deal."

"God understands."

"There's nothing I can do; everyone in my family is like this."

"I've tried to overcome before, and it didn't work; I guess it's just how it will be."

However, in his challenge in verse 4, Paul says all these excuses are bogus. They don't hold up. They aren't valid explanations at all—they are just things we say to cover up the fact that we aren't willing to fight our sins all day and gain victory. Instead, we live in our defeat and brokenness, never really becoming the men God wants us to be.

Guys, it's time for this pattern to end.

Instead of allowing the "sins that so easily trip us up" to dominate our lives, we need to adopt the attitude of Captain America and say, "I can fight against this sin all day—all week—all year—for the rest of my life if necessary—but I'm never giving up, never giving in, and never letting it conquer me again. I can do this all day."

Here's an incredible truth: Just like Steve Rogers had greater power to fight his enemies after being "transformed" into Captain America, you have also been transformed.

You become a new creation when you accept Jesus' offer of salvation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

As a son of God, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, empowering you.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. (Romans 8:11, NLT)

But let's go back a couple of verses in Romans 8 and see how this applies to overcoming sin:

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.

You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. (Romans 8:9-12, NLT)

Did you see it?

Because you are a new creature in Christ, because the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, you can fight and overcome the power of sin in your life. Because you have experienced the transforming power of salvation, you don't need to be a weak, wimpy man who is always broken by the same old sins in your life. Instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit living inside of you, you have all you need to fight and overcome any sin in your life.

When temptation comes, you can resist.

When you want to fall back into a familiar sin, you don't have to.

Instead, empowered by the Holy Spirit and armed with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, you can stand unyielding, like Captain America, and declare, "No. I refuse to be defeated by sin. I can fight against it all day."

Bibliography:

1. Captain America: The First Avenger. Directed by Joe Johnston , performances by Chris Evans and Tommy L. Jones , Paramount Pictures, 2011.

2. Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo , performances by Robert L. Downey Jr and Chris Evans, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2019.

3. Donald C Stamps, Study Notes on Hebrews 12, Fire Bible: English Standard Version, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2014), Pg 2160.

4. "Blossom: Joey’s "Whoa!" Catchphrase On 'Was From The TV Icon Gods' | PeopleTV." Youtube, uploaded by Peopel, 11 Oct. 2017, youtu.be/wz66Cq_Hh-Q?si=nQ8getAvP-NaVuty.