Sin attacks the Christian from multiple fronts—principally, it springs out of our dying old nature, influenced by our culture and heritage, and is spurred on by the devil. To cut off a sin at it’s source then, we need to die to self and become alive to Christ through the process of sanctification. Personal holiness, then, comes through the process of self-denial.

Throughout Scripture, self-denial is practiced and encouraged. Notably, fasting is mentioned again and again. To our modern American culture, however, fasting has become lost knowledge. Perhaps with the rise of materialism and its infusion into the church, the idea of voluntarily giving up something for the sake of giving it up is foreign. Lent has been relegated to the archives of liturgical churches. Lent remembers what Christ gave up when he left heaven and the glory of the father. No, we’re not used to self-denial.

Worse, Christian men have largely failed the fight against the sinful nature in lust, self-ambition, and every other form of immoral habit. In short, we don’t know how to fight anymore. Perhaps we’ve lost sight of who and what we’re fighting. Perhaps we’ve forgotten where the battle is. Across the four realms of jurisdiction (self, family, church and state), self is the foundational field of war. If Christian men cannot control themselves, they have no way to lead their families, teach the church, or guide the state, all for the dominion of Christ.

Men, learn to fight the battle inside of you. God promises to deliver you from your enemies. Use the tool of self-denial to combat the root of selfishness. Don’t be afraid to take drastic measures to win. Satan isn’t missing any tricks—fight sin with no holds barred.

The battle for the world is in the hearts of Christian men.

I’ve been encouraged by older men with the phrase, “don’t waste your youth!” (perhaps most eloquently by J.C. Ryle in his book.) The question is, how to utilize the time that god has given? Many young men have taken up causes, and campaign against evil in the world. Some have taken up arms against sin in the world, and I know some young men called to preach, as was John the Baptist.

All that is well and good, and needed. But I received some wise counsel from another wise man–the battle for the hearts of nations begins in your own heart. The battle for the things of God, holiness, purity and righteousness–that conflict is most present in your own heart, Christian.

Your task is to extend the dominion of Christ over the spheres where God has given you influence, and to work out the reality that our Father has put everything under His feet. And your influence and authority is greatest over your own heart and mind. (Primarily, the Bible describes the center of consciousness as the heart, what we often consider our minds.)

Yes, if you father a family, your are the primary one to lead them in submission to Christ. And if you are an elder in the Church of God, you have a primary calling to bring Christ’s flock to His fold. If you are a civil magistrate, your duty is to bring your sphere into submission to Jesus as Lord. Men are placed in authority in this world. Christians are guides to the world, Christ’s representatives on earth. If Christian men fail, the world fails.

If you fail in your heart, the catastrophe of that failure will rock any success in other spheres. If you cannot walk humbly before God with a clean heart, your ability to help others do so will be severely hobbled.

That’s where the battle is, in your heart.