Spirit-Led and Flesh-Fed

Can you be “filled with the Holy Spirit” and have the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” without also being led and changed and sanctified and purified and convicted and controlled and governed and made holy by the Holy Spirit? Can you be filled with the life of the Holy Spirit while your life is filled with the works of the unholy flesh? Can you be full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and also full of the works of the unholy flesh? Can you love the Spirit and also love the sin? Can you love the Spirit while also suppressing the truth? Can you eat from the table of the Lord and also the table of demons? Can you be the temple of the Holy Spirit and also the temple of idols? Can you experience the Spirit while enjoying the flesh? Can you feel happiness without finding holiness? Can you have the presence of holy fire and also the passion of fleshly flames? Can the Spirit of God be your leader without the Son of God being your Lord? Can you hear the Spirit and ignore the Word? Can you be controlled by the Spirit and uncontrolled? Can you be swimming in the Spirit and soaked in sin? Can you have the gifts of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit? Can you love what is holy without hating what is unholy? Can you be Spirit-led and flesh-fed? Is, or is not, the Holy Spirit Holy? The apostle Paul said “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)

Looking Back - John Owen on Sin

"He that hath slight thoughts of sin never had great thoughts of God."

~ John Owen

Looking Back - Evangelism

"There is no true evangelism without the doctrine of sin, and without an understanding of what sin is. I do not want to be unfair, but I say that a gospel which merely says “Come to Jesus,” and offers Him as a Friend, and offers a marvelous new life, without convicting of sin, is not New Testament evangelism. The essence of evangelism is to start by preaching the law; and it is because the law has not been preached that we have so much superficial evangelism…evangelism must start with the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man and the eternal consequences of evil and wrong-doing. It is only the man who has been brought to see his guilt in this way who flies to Christ for deliverance and redemption."

~ Martin Lloyd-Jones

Bring thy lust to the gospel - John Owen

"Bring thy lust to the gospel,—not for relief, but for farther conviction of its guilt; look on Him whom thou hast pierced, and be in bitterness. Say to thy soul, "What have I done? What love, what mercy, what blood, what grace have I despised and trampled on! Is this the return I make to the Father for his love, to the Son for his blood, to the Holy Ghost for his grace? Do I thus requite the Lord? Have I defiled the heart that Christ died to wash, that the blessed Spirit hath chosen to dwell in? And can I keep myself out of the dust? What can I say to the dear Lord Jesus? How shall I hold up my head with any boldness before him? Do I account communion with him of so little value, that for this vile lust's sake I have scarce left him any room in my heart? How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation? In the meantime, what shall I say to the Lord? Love, mercy, grace, goodness, peace, joy, consolation,—I have despised them all, and esteemed them as a thing of nought, that I might harbour a lust in my heart. Have I obtained a view of God's fatherly countenance, that I might behold his face and provoke him to his face? Was my soul washed, that room might be made for new defilements? Shall I endeavour to disappoint the end of the death of Christ? Shall I daily grieve that Spirit whereby I am sealed to the day of redemption?" Entertain thy conscience daily with this treaty. See if it can stand before this aggravation of its guilt. If this make it not sink in some measure and melt, I fear thy case is dangerous."

~ John Owen, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers

Looking Back - John Owen

"There is no duty we perform for God that sin does not oppose. And the more spirituality or holiness there is in what we do, the greater is its enmity to it. Thus those who seek most for God, experience the strongest opposition."

~ John Owen, Sin & Temptation

Theology of Suffering

There is so much wrong thinking in the area of suffering. Mark Driscoll clears away a lot of unbiblical philosophies that people have about suffering. This is definitely worth the watch.

Looking Back - John Owen on Sin

"Think of the guilt of sin, that you may be humbled. Think of the power of sin, that you may seek strength against it. Think not of the matter of sin... lest you be more and more entangled."

~ John Owen

Looking Back - Thomas Brooks

"Those sins that seem most sweet in life, will prove most bitter in death"

~ Thomas Brooks

Another Augustine MUST READ!

Here's another goldmine of a quote from Augustine of Hippo. I am really falling in love with his writings. As Agostino Trapè says, he is a "a philosopher, theologian, mystic, and poet in one." After many years of being in bondage to sexual sin and lust (involving a 15 year relationship with a concubine) he was finally converted by the irresistible power of God's sovereign grace. He realized the deceitful emptiness of worldly pleasure compared to the eternal fullness of the pleasures of God. This is what he wrote:

"How sweet did it suddenly become to me to be without the sweetness of trifles! And it was now a joy to put away what I formerly feared to lose. For thou didst cast them away from me, O true and highest Sweetness. Thou didst cast them away, and in their place thou didst enter in thyself -- sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood; brighter than all light, but more veiled than all mystery; more exalted than all honor, though not to them that are exalted in their own eyes. Now was my soul free from the gnawing cares of seeking and getting, of wallowing in the mire and scratching the itch of lust. And I prattled like a child to thee, O Lord my God -- my light, my riches, and my salvation." (Confessions, IX, I).

Looking Back - Pigsty

"The grace of God does not come to us to make us feel happy in the pigsty of our sin, the grace of God comes to take us out of the pigsty."

~ Alistair Begg

Looking Back - R.W. Dale

"It is partly because sin does not provoke our own wrath that we do not believe that sin provokes the wrath of God."

~ R.W. Dale

Looking Back - Thomas Brooks

"A man's most glorious actions will at last be found to be but glorious sins, if he hath made himself, and not the glory of God, the end of those actions."

~ Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)

Looking Back - Dealing with sin

"And the longer you delay, the more your sin gets strength and rooting. If you cannot bend a twig, how will you be able to bend it when it is a tree?"

~ Richard Baxter

Looking Back - Charles Spurgeon

“If you will not have death unto sin, you shall have sin unto death. There is no alternative. If you do not die to sin, you shall die for sin. If you do not slay sin, sin will slay you.”

~ Charles Spurgeon

Poll Questions - Follow your heart?

Here is the second question I gave in my poll that I did a little while ago. This is my brief answer and explanation to poll question #2 of 3. Again, I know my poll questions were too broad and that it is not fair that all you had was the yes/no or true/false option. Well now is your chance to give your opinion in the comment section.
Here is mine:

Should you follow your heart? Yes or No?

In spite of Disney's attempt to persuade me otherwise I believe the answer to this question is no. I do not mean, by this, that you have to only do things that you hate to do or that you cannot have dreams and desires. I believe that, through Adam's sin, man inherited a fallen and sinful nature. This fall effected man's heart in a bad way. Jer 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" The Bible makes it clear that "the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead." (Ecc 9:3) The Psalmist reveals the state of all of us in our natural state when he says: "I was brought forth in iniquity,and in sin did my mother conceive me." Adam was our perfect representative in the garden (chosen by God) and as the old children's schoolbook says: "In Adam's fall we sinned all." Following your fallen, deceitful and evil heart is only going to lead you into further destruction. How many times do people, who know what's right, get misled by their deceptive feelings and emotions? "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Prov 14:12). Of course, Christ can redeem one's heart and turn it, once again, from a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. That is when we can truly love God and our neighbor with all our mind, body and heart.

Things Pride Gives Birth To

Its been said that pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick except the person who has it. C.J. Mahaney explains that, “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence on him.”

Joe Thorn summarizes Puritan Richard Mayo in his sermon on The Prevention and Cure of Spiritual Pride where he warns us that pride can lead to all kinds of other sins. He says, “It is a big-bellied sin; most of the sins that are in the world are the offspring and issue of pride.” He gives a number of example. Here is a summary of most of them.

Pride gives birth to:

1. Covetousness - because you believe you deserve something more than others.
2. Ungodly ambition - because you believe that you are most qualified, and the idea of someone else being preferred over you is an insult to your perceived worth.
3. Boasting - because everyone should know who you are and what you have accomplished.
4. Contention - because in picking fights you feel a sense of superiority over those who may (or may not) be in error.
5. Unthankfulness - because you deserve everything you get!
6. Selfishness - because others do not!
7. Self-deceit - because it’s easier to believe you are something, when in fact you are nothing.
8. A judgmental attitude - because you believe the errors of others are much more serious than your own.
9. Gossip - because you look so much better when telling others how awful someone else is. Mayo said that the proud “endeavor to build their own praise upon the ruins of others’ reputation.”
10. Complaining - because God should have consulted you before orchestrating the events of your day/life.
11. Hypocrisy - because you must hide the truth, your own failures, in order to avoid shame and accumulate praise.

One more thing... You cannot spell sin or pride without "I" being in the middle. As someone else said, "When the "I" becomes dominant, the "spiritual eye" sees the entire world in a distortion."

Flee youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:22) Pt. 5

The Skin - The skin is the largest organ in the human body and the sense of touch can be a huge temptation from which you must flee. Since, to me, the most obvious way in which youth are tempted by their sense of touch is with the opposite sex, I am going to focus on that. Christians today are all over the map as far as their standard for what is appropriate touching and what is not among unmarried young people (and old people for that matter). Is it OK to sit real close? Is it OK to hold hands? Is it OK to put your arms around each other? Is it OK to be wrapped up all around each other? Is it OK to kiss on the cheek? Is it OK to kiss passionately? Is it OK to... I better stop there (I think you can see where I'm going). Does the Bible say anything about touching? Most people have heard the phrase "you can look but don't touch" but most Christians now feel that you can touch but not have sex. Is touching as innocent as many believe? Or is it something youth should flee? The Apostle Paul warned, "Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:1-2 NKJV) The word "touch" in the original language can mean "to touch" or "to cling" or "to fasten one's self to" and even "carnal intercourse." I think any honest person would admit that no one ever got involved in sexual immorality without first touching the other person. Also, most honest Christians will admit that once "touching" lights the fire, usually something gets burned before the fire gets put out. That is why Paul also says in verse 9, of the same chapter, "For it is better to marry than to burn with passion." If you are not married, bound in covenant for life, then you are not completely sure (no matter how much you think you are "in love") that this man or woman is going to be your spouse. So you must ask yourself the question: "What would you want someone to do with your future spouse?" Remember, God transcends time and space. He is not bound by the restrictions of time. He sees you touching another person's spouse while they are married, as it were. So-called innocent and flirtatious touching should be something that young people run from as fast as they can. No one, not even strong Christian and mature men, should put themselves in that situation. Save it for the marriage. There is "a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing..." (Ecc 3:5)

Flee youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:22) Pt. 4

The Nose - We are told to flee or run away from youthful lusts. We have seen how we must flee with our eyes and with our ears and with our tongue. Remember, we are dealing with fleeing temptation directed at the five senses. Fleeing or running away from temptation directed toward your smelling may give new meaning to a running nose. How in the world could temptation attack your sense of smell? Well it could be as simple as a child smelling the cookies he was told not to eat or as complicated as adulterer smelling a secret perfume-scented letter. It could be an alcoholic smelling an empty bottle of booze or a glutton smelling a doughnut, or a smoker sneaking a whiff of second-hand smoke or a druggy smelling a friends crack pipe or an old boyfriend smelling an ex-girlfriend's bottle of perfume. Is it wrong to open up the cookie jar and take a big old whiff of the cookies? Only if your parents told you not to eat them. As silly as this sounds, many have followed their nose all the way into temptation and even death. The Adulteress, dressed as a prostitute, in Proverbs 7 uses the sense of smell in her seduction: "I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey" (Prov 7:17-19). Notice that she called it "love." It wasn't love; it was youthful lust from which he should have fled. Don't underestimate the power of smell when it comes to temptation. It is far better to have a runny nose than to not run away from your nose.

Flee youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:22) Pt. 3

The Tongue - One more thing for youth to flee from is the sweet temptation of taste. Many young people have been taken down by their taste buds. First let me remind you of what Hebrews 11 calls the "fleeting pleasures of sin". Something might taste good but taste is always temporary. Sin brings pleasure, feels good and tastes yummy but it never lasts. It always turns around and stabs you in the back. It is deceptive and temporary. The pleasures of sin quickly turns into the pains of sin. When it comes to taste this "fleeting pleasure" principle is easy to see. Just stuff yourself with donuts or ice cream (or, in my case, Taco Bell) and the pleasure quickly fades into moaning and groaning. When it comes to food - you can go very quickly from the “pleasures of sin” to the pain of sickness. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things" (Phil 3:18-19). Notice the phrase "their god is their belly." This is the temptation of taste. Food becomes a god, taste becomes a god, appetite becomes a god, the tongue becomes a god. People worship the things that they put in their body. They worship their cravings, they worship their desires, and they worship the things that give them pleasure. In about 5 minutes you can go from “Oh it’s soooo good” to “Ooooh I feel so bad” I might add here that many, in our culture, worship their belly in another way. They worship the "six-pack abs". There are two extremes to making your god your belly. They both focus too much on food… One on the way the food tastes and the other on how healthy it is. Some worship junk food and others worship health food. You can worship your belly in a way you want your belly to feel good or you can worship your belly in a way you want it to look good. You can worship your appetite or you can worship your appearance. When it comes to youthful lusts directed toward your tastes, sometimes its better to run! If you're a chocoholic, flee the See's Candy Store. If you're addicted to caffeine, don't go hang out at Starbucks. If you're a glutton, don't spend all your free time in the kitchen. Your taste buds are a gift and a blessing from God but they are also a target of temptation. So next time temptation attacks your tastes let temptation taste the dust behind you as you run away. Flee youthful lusts.

Flee youthful lusts (2 Tim 2:22) Pt. 2

The Ears - Oh be careful little ears what you hear... Fallen man has become the master of selective hearing. We listen when we shouldn't and we ignore what we need to hear. There's an old joke about a young boy who thought his grandpa must be upside down because his nose runs and his feet smell. When is it time for our ears to run away? When is it time for our ears to flee youthful lusts? When do your ears become portals of temptation? There are two ways our ears sin. First, when we need to listen but we don't and second, when we shouldn't listen but we do. Let's first consider when we need to listen but do not. "Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!" (Ps 81:8) God's people have always had a problem with not listening. The wise father will say to his sons... "...sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth" (Pro 7:24). Ignorance is not bliss, it is rebellion. We have a duty to be attentive. We are obligated to listen. We can't ignore the truth and then use ignorance as our defense. If we don't know it's because we don't want to know. If we don't hear it's because we don't want to hear. Covering your ears will never cover your guilt. As much as we love to ignore the truth, though, I think we love to hear what we shouldn't hear even more. We love to listen to gossip. Our ears tune in to every whisper. Will rogers said: “The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.” Pro 20:19 says, "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." Do not associate with a gossip. Get away from them; don't listen to their gossip. Flee youthful lusts aimed at your ears. Besides, if they are talking to you about someone they will talk to others about you. One popular way of lusting with your ears is to listen to music you shouldn't. Morally depraved and corrupt lyrics fill the airwaves. One way to flee youthful lusts is to turn off the radio or get out of that store playing the music. Another problem, in this area, is hanging around foul and filthy mouthed friends. Again, as Paul says, "Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor 15:33) If you have friends with filthy mouths you will have filthy ears. If you have filthy ears you have a filthy heart and will not be able to see God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matt 5:8) In other words, if you want to listen to the world you will not be able to listen to God. Take your ears and run!