Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

2:20; Eph. 1:3; Ph. 4:13). It is applied by the Spirit (Ezek. 36:27; John 7:38-
39; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9-13; Gal. 5:22-23; Heb. 10:16). It is received through
prayer (1 Tim. 4:5; 2 Cor. 3:18). In short, the victory comes from above (Col.
3:1ff.)! Paul writes that as a result of that the believer turns his eyes eagerly to
the glory of the Lord, as it is exhibited in the mirror of Scripture. In this way
he changes into the image of the Lord, from glory to glory by the Spirit (2
Cor. 3:18).
The Christian’s life is clearly a “battle.” But the fight of the Christian is
not portrayed as “a fight against sin,” if the implication is, “Give it all you’ve
got. You can do it, (wo)man!” Every attempt to take up the fight in this way
will fail. Rather, the battle ought to be waged against the (all too frequent)
unwillingness to “fight the good fight,” as a fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), that
is, the unwillingness to do so in dependence upon the Triune God (1 John
5:4). To look at sin and to try to fight it in one’s own strength is by definition
to lose. To look at Jesus and to attack it in his strength is equally by definition
to win. Incidentally, Scripture does not command us simply to fight, but to
kill sin through the Spirit (Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5ff). Once again it is “the
above” that makes all the difference!
The problem is that Christians often hate to admit to the total inability to
conquer sin by themselves. They fall repeatedly into the trap of attempting to
gain the victory in their own strength. This, and this alone, produces the “experience
of weariness,” which is so often found among Christians, whether
leaders (teachers), aspiring leaders, or members in the congregation. However,
as soon as the conviction of their inability comes upon them as a freeing
liberation, they turn to the Lord, full of eager and prayerful expectation of
miracles of grace to happen. Soon “the Lord gives them to his beloved in
their sleep” (Ps. 127:2)! As has been argued already, it should not just be their
liberation. It should be their joy and their glory. Only in their 0% will the
100% God come into its own. Only in their nothingness will they function as
the mirror of the sum total of all God’s perfections. Then, as soon as God’s
100% takes hold, man’s 100% takes shape as well, if not perfectly, then at
least purposefully (Phil 2:12-13)! In short, “to try” is “to fail” miserably.
However, “to pray” is “to shine” gloriously!
This also sheds light on the modern phenomenon of “burn-out.” Candidly,
burn-out does not exist, since it is predicated upon the supposition that
the believer has something to burn, which he has not. Burn-out is a symptom
of a pharisaical malady that puts its trust in its own (non-existing) strength.
When this non-existing strength shows itself exhausted, and sooner or later it
will do so, it is no wonder that the subject experiences itself as “exhausted,”
with “nothing left,” “nothing to show for,” and “nothing to give.” When to-
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