In the battle against sin the church is to respond by trusting God and using the gifts he has given to love one another.

Fear can stop us from doing what we know we should. This was a danger for the church which the apostle Peter wrote to in his first letter. In this passage he mentions three ways to defend against fear and its consequences. The first way is to be ‘armed’ with the assurance that the war against sin has already been won through what Jesus has accomplished at the cross

The second way to resist temptation due to fear is in relation to the claims of pagan religion … as opposed to the true and living God who became man in the person of Jesus Christ. This passage reminds us that those who oppose God with the claims of false religion will have to face his judgement. Christ will judge the whole world even though they may try to judge us.

Futhermore, knowing what Christ is still doing is the third thread of resistance to sin. The church is to use the gifts that he has given to his people for building up one another in love. Members of the church are to love one another deeply because they are in the fight against sin together. This means serving one another as each has opportunity to do so. In doing this it points to the giver of the gifts, God himself, who provides the strength for resistance against evil.