Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that ultimately caused the fall of the Aztec Empire. The Aztec Empire was renown for its barbarism which included human sacrifice. The gods of the Aztecs along with those in the remainder of Mexico demanded cruel and regular sacrifices. Thousands were offered up to the gods every year, including women and children.

When Cortes landed in the New World of the Americas in 1519, he ordered his ships burned to prevent any possibility of turning back. Cortés destroyed 10 of his 11 ships, cutting off his men’s only hope of retreat and leaving them with no option but to head inland. Similarly, in 334 BC, Alexander the Great led a fleet of Greek and Macedonian ships across the Dardanelles Straits and into Asia Minor. When he reached the shore, Alexander ordered his men to burn the ships. By burning the shios, Alexander committed his army to defeating the Persians who greatly surpassed Alexander’s army. Cortes ordered his men to burn their ships, making clear that their survival depended upon going inland and winning.

The conversion of the New World started with the order from Cortés to burn his ships upon arrival. His passion for conversion to Christ led Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Dominican friar, to write: “Through this captain, God opened the door for us to preach his holy gospel” With an initial force of 600 Spanish soldiers and a handful of horses, Cortes’ defeated a vast Aztec empire of tens of thousands of warriors. Many of Cortes’ original 600 men died inn the ensuing effort.

Of course not everything that Cortes did was right. But the spiritual lesson for us from the historical account of Cortes’ is not forcible conquest, but resolute determination to never back down or turn back from our commitment to Christ. In Luke 9:62, Jesus said that “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Paul in Phil 3:13 comments, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead”. Remember Lot’s wife who looked back, apparently with longing for her former life.

Sometimes I encounter Christians who are struggling with burdensome and unhealthy ties to their old life before Christ. The problem is that they have one foot in their new life in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) but one foot still remains in their old life . . . a sure-fire recipe for stunted spiritual growth. They symbolically need to burn the ships from their old life. This does not mean cutting all ties and relationships with the old life, but rather figuratively “burning” any bridges in the old life that lead to things with an unwholesome hold on them.

The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us and increasingly conforms us to the character of Christ. But his work of santification, unlike justification, is synergistic which means it involves our cooperation with the Holy Spirit. This is why the process of sanctification is different for everyone; it is not just God working in us but also us cooperating with God by “burning the ships” of our old life.

As our culture free-falls into paganism and is increasingly hostile towards Christianity, trying times are ahead for the church. Another golden age for apologetics is dawning. The early church often faced a fatal choice between “turning back” snd renouncing Christ, or pressing on no matter the consequences. May we be bold enough to maintain a resolute commitment to Christ, no matter the cost, and “burn our ships”.