During a war, there is often a long front, but not every place along the front is of the same importance. There are a few particularly important places, for example Gibraltar. These places are especially well-fortified, well-protected against attacks.
This also applies to the spiritual war in our battle against sin. In this battle, there are also a few especially important points. Everyone who fortifies or arms himself very well on these points is wise.
The first “Gibraltar” is: Money.
The second “Gibraltar” is: Power and honour.
The third “Gibraltar” is: Sexual morality.
It is difficult to break through the “front line” of someone who has done everything he could to arm himself in these three areas; it is almost impossible to defeat him. Many great falls happen on one of these three points, and many sins are directly connected with one of these three points.
Point 1: Money is a very important factor. (1 Timothy 6:10.) “Money” also means everything you can buy with money, which is a lot in this world. If you do not have victory over the love of money, you cannot, for example, get victory over anger. Then you will get angry when you are robbed of money or of something that is valuable.
Point 2: Power and honour are also a huge area. Feeling offended falls under this category, and there is usually a lot of it. The desire for honour is the reason that a person cannot bear very much, or even cannot bear anything. Many divisions in religious groups are caused by the desire for power. Of course, they give a few nice reasons, but they have actually suffered defeat at point 2. That is the real reason for the division.
It is good to realise that it was on this point that Satan made his last attack on Christ when He was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. (Luke 4.) The three final temptations are mentioned: The first temptation was to show His spiritual power. The second temptation offered Him earthly power. The third temptation was to do something great that would give Him great honour.
Point 3: Sexual morality is the third of these enormous factors in life. Many have been defeated on this part of the ‘front’. Many great men have become small because they have not armed themselves properly and were not watchful on this point. Even David suffered a great defeat on this point although he was not destroyed, but the very wise Solomon was totally defeated. And there are many preachers who have been put to shame by this. A lot of people, because they have not been careful enough in this area, have failed their faith and failed Christ by going in a relationship that is against God’s will.
Many people give in to their lusts in this area, souls who otherwise can be very praiseworthy. It is important to be watchful from the beginning in both what you think and what you look at.
If you want to win a great and final victory, if you want to walk in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14), then you should, as in a natural war, start working consciously to arm yourself on these three points. Then you will have the best hope that the enemy will never break through your “front line”.