Is Your Christian Life Working Part 1 - A Faulty Foundation
Is your "Christian" life working?
Does this describe you?
No continual deep joy in your life, no sacrificial love for others, no peace & contentment, no harmony at home with spouse or children, you are frequently angry, unkind, impatient, frustrated, depressed, discouraged, anxious, bitter or fearful and know you are constantly defeated by sin?
Could it be you have a Faulty Foundation?
As I've studied God's word over the past 30 years, here's what the Lord has shown me about victory in the Christian life. He can show you to, since it's all in the Bible. But only if we study God's Word seeking the truth to change our life, not just make us more knowledgeable or to make us feel good. Christ said, "Keep seeking, asking, craving, begging and you will find." (Lk.11:9)
God does not reveal Himself to the casual curious wanderer. He only reveals truth to those who are desperate for His help! "You will seek me and find Me, when you search for Me with ALL your heart." (Jer.29:13)
Jesus said "If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who trusts in Me as the scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'." (John 7:37)
If you are satisfied with your life the way it is, then you are not thirsty for what God has to offer, for God is only interested in changing your self centered, self righteous life to a life that is Christ centered and willing to sacrifice everything for Him and His kingdom. God only gives an abundant life to those who seek only Him. (John 10:10)
That's why Jesus said when asked "Lord are there a few who are being saved? He said, "Strive (literally agonize) to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." (Lk.13:24f)
Why must we strive and agonize to enter the narrow door? Mankind doesn't want to forsake all for Christ, he wants to bring his stuff with him. To get through this narrow door to Christ, you must give up attachment to EVERYTHING. "No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Lk.14:33) By giving up everything, we show that NOTHING is more important than Christ and His Kingdom.
Real Christianity, based on the teaching and life of Christ, is based on certain foundational elements. If these elements are present, the Christian life is wonderful and leads to an "abundant life" that Jesus talked about. If these elements are NOT present in your life, then YOUR life will likely be miserable.
The Bible tells us that there are 3 major elements or characteristics in the life of a truly saved person. These are THE ESSENTIAL foundational characteristics that God implants in EVERY follower of God. Putting it another way, if these characteristics are NOT in YOUR life to some degree and increasing, then it is doubtful that we were ever truly saved from sin in the first place.
I'll be explaining what they are, why they are important and how to become the person God wants you to be. Remember, with God, there is ALWAYS hope and forgiveness, not matter how bad you have messed up your life.
Here is a quick summary of the 3 characteristics:
1. Concern over YOUR sin and YOUR relationship to God.
2. Hunger for God, for Jesus Christ and the things of God.
3. Faith & trust in God and His Word.
Let's look at these truths in depth:
1st Characteristic: Concern over YOUR sin and YOUR relationship with God.
When someone is "born again from above" (John 3:1-21) into the family of God, ALL things become new. You literally become a new creature, a different person. (II Cor.5:17 says - "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.")
You have a new relationship to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is your loving heavenly Father who loves you as much as He loves His Son, Jesus Christ (John 17). He sent Jesus Christ to die a horrible death for YOUR sin, so you could be right with God. God is completely righteous and does not tolerate disobedience and rebellion against His commands. (Eph.5:6)
For example Jesus said that the greatest command in the Bible was to "love the Lord your God with ALL our heart, and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind. This is the great and first commandment." (Mt.22:37)
Look around today or at any time in history. Does mankind love God with ALL his heart, mind and soul? NO! Man instead loves HIMSELF supremely. He loves the things that please himself, like money, toys, pleasure, sex, power, prestige, etc., etc.
Lets not deceive ourselves, you and I are at our CORE entirely SELFISH. This is what we MUST be saved from!
The essence of sin is living for self! "He died for all, that all who live should no longer live for THEMSELVES, but for HIM who died and rose again on their behalf." (II Cor.5:15)
So, since we have disobeyed His commands, disregarded His standards, and rebelled against His wishes, we could NEVER become acceptable in His sight. It is ONLY when we gratefully accept His payment (the death of the sinless Son Of God, Jesus Christ) for our enormous sin that we can receive His UNMERITED gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
"For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly... But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom.5:6-8)
This new relationship is based on total honesty about YOUR sinful, wretched and hopeless condition before a holy and loving God. You have been totally honest with God about the condition of your inner life; your sinful thoughts of lust, anger, hatred, pride, greed, worry, covetousness, un-thankfulness, and your incessant SELFISHNESS.
You see yourself as TOTALLY helpless and incapable of doing ANYTHING to merit or earn God's favor in any way, because "all of us have become like one who is unclean and ALL of our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment." (Is.64:6)
Now that you have this new saving relationship with God, He gives you an even greater desire to see YOURSELF as He sees you. So you continually ask the Lord to help you see YOUR sin, YOUR selfishness, YOUR un-Christlikeness so you can have victory over it by the power of God.
You seek to immediately confess YOUR sin because it displeases and grieves your heavenly Father, not just because it causes you some discomfort. You seek to make restitution with others you've sinned against, just like Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10.
Notice this is the only time Jesus ever made this statement - "Today salvation has come to this house..." (Lk.19:9)
Why? Because it was clear to Jesus that Zaccheus was a changed man. His immediate actions of repentance and restitution demonstrated that he had a new heart, a new desire and motivation!
Zaccheus was no longer concerned about himself, his money and his reputation, but ONLY pleasing God!
Your whole focus of life is like that of Jesus Christ's, whereby He sought to please and obey His Father at EVERY point in His life. (Heb.4:15-16) A truly saved person is not only aware of their sin, but concerned over whether they have real daily victory over each and every sin. They seek to recognize that sin that offends their holy heavenly Father, and quickly confess and repent from it, seeking the grace (power of God) to overcome it and do righteousness.
Before we go any further, let's define these important terms and concepts from the Bible.
Total Honesty in Acknowledging my sin. This is a BIG issue. If we miss it here, we will become only good Pharisees and hypocrites.
On the cross with Christ were two horrific sinners both guilty of terrible crimes. One went to hell and the other went to paradise with Christ. (Lk.23:39-43) What was different in these two criminals? The one criminal was proud and wouldn't admit that he deserved his penalty for his crime. The other criminal, said - "we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds." He was totally honest about his sinful condition. He didn't justify himself, he didn't excuse himself, nor did he minimize his sin. He just called it for what it was.
Yes, it's that simple. The man that Christ said would be with Him in paradise was just honest about his crimes and his sin. He acknowledged to Christ that he was indeed guilty for his crimes and deserved the punishment he was receiving, whereas He (Jesus Christ) was not deserving of this punishment. This man was welcomed into paradise simply because he had humbled himself before God and was totally honest about his sinful condition. Are we honest about our true condition?
In the days of Christ, the Pharisees had superior Bible knowledge, but did not want to see, acknowledge and repent of their sin. That's why Jesus called them hypocrites and white washed tombs. (Mt.23:25-28) To clean ONLY the outside of the cup and not deal with the filth and sin on the inside is the ultimate hypocrisy. Man can see only the outside, whereas, God can see the inside of mans heart. God can see your motivations, your desires and your thoughts. (Heb.4:13)
So, if we ONLY deal with the symptoms of our sin which manifest themselves on the outside and never deal with the ROOT causes of our sin which reside inside our heart and mind, then we will NEVER have any real victory over our sin.
So, what are those ROOT causes that will keep us from seeing our sin and keep us from having real victory over our sin? PRIDE
The Bible clearly identifies our PRIDE as a deep ROOT of sin that also keeps us from seeing our sin and confessing our transgressions. Not only is pride the cause of ALL our sin (Prov.16:18 - "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling."), pride is the great blinder of mankind (Ps.36:1-4). Pride was the main problem of the Pharisees who were the most religious people who lived in the time of Christ (Mt.23).
Pride keeps us from being totally honest about our life and our sinful ways. (Rom.1:18-32)
Pride evidences itself in mankind as being self absorbed and interested PRIMARILY in pleasing SELF. Complete and utter selfishness is mankind's GREATEST sin problem. (2 Cor.5:15) That's why Jesus Christ is our example of living as a man on this earth like us, and NEVER pleasing Himself (Rom.15:3).
A proud man thinks that he is good and righteous before God, when just the opposite is true. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that mans' righteous and good deeds are filthy rags, not just his bad deeds. How do you really see yourself before a holy God?
A proud man thinks highly of himself. When God truly works in the heart of a man to save him, He will see himself as the WORST of sinners (Lk.18:9-14). The apostle Paul, one of the most spiritual men that ever lived, at the end of his life, viewed himself as THE FOREMOST of all sinners (I Tim.1:15). Do you really think of yourself as the worst of all sinners, or are you better than most?
We, like the proud religious Pharisees of old, think we are better than most others and therefore look down at others with contempt who are not as "good" as us. (Lk.18:9) If we look down on another for anything, or think we are better than another in any area, we are demonstrating that there is a root of pride in our heart. See Matt.20:12 where workers are upset that the Lord for He had "made them equal" to themselves. These men had thought that since they had worked longer and harder than they others, they deserved better treatment than the others.
We think we should get the glory and praise of men for our own achievements, when Jesus NEVER sought the glory for what He had done, but instead sought only to glorify the Father (Jn.5:41,44). We live in a day where man thinks and acts like he is god, unfortunately, he is only acting like the god of this world - Satan.
Satan is the embodiment of pride, for he said - "I will ascend..., I will raise my..., I will make myself like..." (Isa.14:13-14), whereas Christ who was the most humble person who ever lived said "I do NOT seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me." (Jn.5:30)
Satan and mankind say, "I will do what I WANT when I WANT to do it." ONLY Christ and His disciples say and live by this theme - "NOT my will, but Thine be done." (Mt.26:39)
If we have this same prideful Satanic attitude, it only shows we have NOT had a saving encounter with the God of the Bible. YES, this is very serious. The main reason that God sent His Son to this world, was to save man from sin, pride and SELFISHNESS. (Rom.6:6-11; 2 Cor.5:15)
But you may be saying, "I'm a Christian, how do I have PRIDE?
Pride keeps us from humbling our self before God and man.
"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives His grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting ALL your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you." (I Pet.5:5-7)
Do you seek to exalt yourself above others, or do you joyfully humble yourself before others? Do you get annoyed, upset or pout when others don't treat you as you think you should be treated? When you are treated as a nobody, does it bother you? Do you resent it when others treat you as beneath them? How about when others look down on you, or make fun of you, does it bother you? Then you are proud.
These things NEVER bothered Jesus Christ, for He had the heart of a lowly servant! (Ph.2:3-7)
If you give advice, and others scoff at it, or ignore you, how do you respond? If that person comes to you again asking for advice and ignores it again, how will you respond? How did Christ respond when this exact thing happened to him every day? He did whatever good He could at that time and blessed them and was never offended that the person didn't heed His message.
Remember, Jesus own brothers and sisters didn't believe in Him for most of His life. (Jn.7:5) They likely didn't listen to his advice, didn't follow His example and certainly didn't treat Him with the respect He deserved. But he never resented them or treated them differently because of how they treated Him.
For example, the Pharisees were spreading rumors that Jesus was demon possessed. (Mrk.3:22ff) This is probably the worst insult Jesus could have ever been given, since ALL his life, ALL he did was good. So to be called the most evil thing known to man, would not only be a lie, but totally disgraceful and humiliating.
How did Jesus respond? Did He lash out in anger? NO. Did he harbor resentment or bitterness toward these men? NO. Did He call them names? NO. In love He calmly spoke to them personally about that facts and that it was not even logical to make such statements based on the facts of His life. He said, I will forgive you, but if you make such statements about the Holy Spirit, they won't be forgiven you.
Look to the life of Christ, He is our perfect example of living a humble grace filled victorious life.
If we don't respond exactly like Christ, then we can be sure we are not humble and will not receive the grace of God to overcome sin. ONLY the humble receive His grace (power) to overcome any problem. (Jam.4:6,7)
Pride keeps us enslaved to anxiousness, worry and fear, for pride keeps us from truly trusting God in every area of our life (I Pt.5:7). Mankind would rather trust in his own puny efforts and resources, than in the Almighty God of the heavens.
Pride keeps us from a prayer life that is totally dependant on God, since a proud person really doesn't believe they need His help at all times. If we saw ourselves as we truly are, as God sees us, we would see our need to be in constant communication with our Lord for guidance and wisdom. We would gladly follow the Lord's command to "pray without ceasing" (I Thess.5:17) and to "continually come to the throne of Grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.4:16).
Pride is evident when we are grumpy, moody or in a bad attitude. Why? Because pride in the Christian seeks very subtly to please self, and when self isn't pleased, we get grumpy, angry and moody.
Pride is the cause of discouragement, unthankfulness, depression, envy, jealousy and all forms of anger, like annoyance, frustration, and impatience, etc. Why? Because pride loves self and can't stand to see anyone get more blessings than they get. Pride doesn't tolerate others imperfections since it views itself as having "made it" in that area. Maybe you have had victory over that particular sin, whereas some one has not. Is that a reason to look down on them in contempt and pride?
Spiritual pride looks down at others, criticizes others, blames others, nit picks at others and speaks evil of others. Do you ever think or speak evil of others, even if it is true? This comes from a heart of pride.
When the prophet Isaiah met His Holy God in Isaiah 6, he could only say, "Woe is me for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips... For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isa.6:3-5) This was a PROPHET standing before His God, not some ordinary man.
When a man truly meets God, He first shows us His Holiness and our root of sin, which is PRIDE. He does this so that He can save us from ALL our sin. That is why the Holy Spirit was given to us. It was so He could convict us of OUR sin, so we could see it and repent from it before it destroyed us (John 16:8-11).
That's why the FEAR OF THE LORD is such a HUGELY important theme and has such a great emphasis throughout the word of God. In Prov.8:13, God defines the fear of the Lord for us.
"The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth I hate."
To fear God means we hate the evil in our OWN heart, first. We hate the evil of pride and arrogance in our OWN heart, first. We hate the way of evil, meaning the way that our evil deceiving heart makes a path of evil by defending, justifying and even excusing this evil. We hate evil finally by seeing OUR perverted evil words as an abomination to a holy and loving God.
And Yes, the Fear of the Lord is a prominent New Testament concept as well. For in 2 Cor.5:11, Paul says "knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade men..."
It is so EXTREMELY important, that without it, we cannot start on the path of becoming Holy (2 Cor.7:1).
Remember, the 1st promise of the New Testament is in Mt.1:21 - "You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."
The second thing that keeps us from seeing our sin is - Comparing ourselves to others, instead of to Jesus Christ. If we compare ourselves to others, then we have reason to boast and to glory in our self righteousness and NEVER see our self as God sees us.
We can always find others that are worse than us. If we compare our self to others, we have no reason to repent. Luke 18 talks about two people who were praying to God. One of the men (a Pharisee) compared him self to others and because of that comparison, thought he was righteous before God and therefore also viewed others with contempt. This man did not know God.
The other man (a tax gatherer) instead was comparing himself only to God. He therefore saw himself the way God saw him and cried out "God, be merciful to me, THE sinner." (Lk.18:13)
As a result, this man was justified, because he humbled himself before God and saw himself as God saw him.
So, who do you compare yourself to, others or Christ?
So what is God's remedy for this plight of sin?
#1. Pray earnestly, honestly, trusting that God would show you YOUR sin. To pray in faith/trust is to pray with thanksgiving, thanking God that:
* Jesus Christ wants you to have the victory over sin, even more than we want it (I Thes.5:23; Rom.8:37),
* Jesus Christ has provided EVERYTHING we need for victory over sin (2 Pet.1:3; Eph.1:3), because "while we still helpless, at the right time Christ" provided the right solution and resources for mankind. (Rom.5:8)
* Jesus Christ will give us victory over sin, It's just a matter of time. If we love the truth about our self, (II Th.2:10) our sin, self deception, our pride and then patiently, faithfully and carefully follow Him. Personal holiness is His will for us (I Thess.4:3) and God promised it WILL be accomplished in us who trust him completely. (Rom.6:11,22; 8:37-39; 1 Cor.15:57; 2 Cor.2:14)
To pray in faith/trust with thanksgiving means we pray and thank Him as if He has already done it. That's why we close our prayers with "Amen". "Amen" means so be it, it is done. Trust means that we believe God has already done it!
Do you really want to know the truth about yourself? Do you want God to show you your sin, so He can save you from it?
Think of Sin as spiritual sickness or disease and holiness as spiritual health. Do you want spiritual health or spiritual sickness? If you were physically sick, you would go immediately to a doctor who could pinpoint and prescribe a remedy for your sickness, right? Why don't we want God to show us our spiritual "disease" and heal us from this deadly disease which is FAR worse than ANY physical disease?
#2. Go to the Word of God and see the tremendous price God paid for YOUR sin. See what YOUR sin cost God and Jesus Christ. See the terrible penalty and consequences for YOUR sin. Look at the life and character of Christ in the scriptures to compare your life to His life to see your sin. Remember, ALL unChristlikeness is sin (I Pet.2:21; 4:1-2)
Only when we see the tremendous cost of our sin, will be begin to realize how important it is that we repent and turn from ALL of it. Jesus said "He who is forgiven little, loves little." (Lk.7:47) If we think that we only have a little sin that God has forgiven us from, then we will love and value Him little. It ALL depends on how we see OUR sin.
#3. Do a simple word study on these key terms - Pride, the Fear of the Lord and selfishness. Look up ALL these terms in a concordance to get the full picture of the importance of dealing with these ROOT issues.
NOTHING will change until you deal with the ROOTS of sin. If you have tried to please God and NOTHING has changed, this is the reason. You have only been trying to snip off the bad branches on the outside of the tree. Jesus said, to have good fruit, you need to make the tree good first (Mt.7:17-21) It is ONLY then that we can become DOERS of the word and not hearers ONLY who delude themselves (Ja.1:22).
EVERYTHING in the Christian life starts first on the inside. We can't do anything our self, but must ask God earnestly and persistently to give us His Spirit and grace (spiritual power) to have victory over sin. As we do this, we also seek to humble (Jam.4:6-7) and die to our self daily as we specifically apply His Word in obedience to our life.
So, how do you apply all this? There is ONLY one way to apply this material. You must ONLY look to the life of Christ. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in this world, facing ALL the trials and temptations we face, yet without sin. (Heb.4:15) He is our perfect example to follow.
Study His life, His attitude, His responses to bad circumstances, His thinking, His love for others, His hatred for evil, His total dedication to do the will of the Father. Then ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to live EXACTLY like Christ.
What will you ask the Lord for TODAY, tomorrow and for eternity?
Are you sure you know what it means to be born again?
You are welcome to print this or share it with a friend, but only in it's entirety.
Does this describe you?
No continual deep joy in your life, no sacrificial love for others, no peace & contentment, no harmony at home with spouse or children, you are frequently angry, unkind, impatient, frustrated, depressed, discouraged, anxious, bitter or fearful and know you are constantly defeated by sin?
Could it be you have a Faulty Foundation?
As I've studied God's word over the past 30 years, here's what the Lord has shown me about victory in the Christian life. He can show you to, since it's all in the Bible. But only if we study God's Word seeking the truth to change our life, not just make us more knowledgeable or to make us feel good. Christ said, "Keep seeking, asking, craving, begging and you will find." (Lk.11:9)
God does not reveal Himself to the casual curious wanderer. He only reveals truth to those who are desperate for His help! "You will seek me and find Me, when you search for Me with ALL your heart." (Jer.29:13)
Jesus said "If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who trusts in Me as the scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'." (John 7:37)
If you are satisfied with your life the way it is, then you are not thirsty for what God has to offer, for God is only interested in changing your self centered, self righteous life to a life that is Christ centered and willing to sacrifice everything for Him and His kingdom. God only gives an abundant life to those who seek only Him. (John 10:10)
That's why Jesus said when asked "Lord are there a few who are being saved? He said, "Strive (literally agonize) to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." (Lk.13:24f)
Why must we strive and agonize to enter the narrow door? Mankind doesn't want to forsake all for Christ, he wants to bring his stuff with him. To get through this narrow door to Christ, you must give up attachment to EVERYTHING. "No one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Lk.14:33) By giving up everything, we show that NOTHING is more important than Christ and His Kingdom.
Real Christianity, based on the teaching and life of Christ, is based on certain foundational elements. If these elements are present, the Christian life is wonderful and leads to an "abundant life" that Jesus talked about. If these elements are NOT present in your life, then YOUR life will likely be miserable.
The Bible tells us that there are 3 major elements or characteristics in the life of a truly saved person. These are THE ESSENTIAL foundational characteristics that God implants in EVERY follower of God. Putting it another way, if these characteristics are NOT in YOUR life to some degree and increasing, then it is doubtful that we were ever truly saved from sin in the first place.
I'll be explaining what they are, why they are important and how to become the person God wants you to be. Remember, with God, there is ALWAYS hope and forgiveness, not matter how bad you have messed up your life.
Here is a quick summary of the 3 characteristics:
1. Concern over YOUR sin and YOUR relationship to God.
2. Hunger for God, for Jesus Christ and the things of God.
3. Faith & trust in God and His Word.
Let's look at these truths in depth:
1st Characteristic: Concern over YOUR sin and YOUR relationship with God.
When someone is "born again from above" (John 3:1-21) into the family of God, ALL things become new. You literally become a new creature, a different person. (II Cor.5:17 says - "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.")
You have a new relationship to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is your loving heavenly Father who loves you as much as He loves His Son, Jesus Christ (John 17). He sent Jesus Christ to die a horrible death for YOUR sin, so you could be right with God. God is completely righteous and does not tolerate disobedience and rebellion against His commands. (Eph.5:6)
For example Jesus said that the greatest command in the Bible was to "love the Lord your God with ALL our heart, and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind. This is the great and first commandment." (Mt.22:37)
Look around today or at any time in history. Does mankind love God with ALL his heart, mind and soul? NO! Man instead loves HIMSELF supremely. He loves the things that please himself, like money, toys, pleasure, sex, power, prestige, etc., etc.
Lets not deceive ourselves, you and I are at our CORE entirely SELFISH. This is what we MUST be saved from!
The essence of sin is living for self! "He died for all, that all who live should no longer live for THEMSELVES, but for HIM who died and rose again on their behalf." (II Cor.5:15)
So, since we have disobeyed His commands, disregarded His standards, and rebelled against His wishes, we could NEVER become acceptable in His sight. It is ONLY when we gratefully accept His payment (the death of the sinless Son Of God, Jesus Christ) for our enormous sin that we can receive His UNMERITED gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
"For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly... But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom.5:6-8)
This new relationship is based on total honesty about YOUR sinful, wretched and hopeless condition before a holy and loving God. You have been totally honest with God about the condition of your inner life; your sinful thoughts of lust, anger, hatred, pride, greed, worry, covetousness, un-thankfulness, and your incessant SELFISHNESS.
You see yourself as TOTALLY helpless and incapable of doing ANYTHING to merit or earn God's favor in any way, because "all of us have become like one who is unclean and ALL of our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment." (Is.64:6)
Now that you have this new saving relationship with God, He gives you an even greater desire to see YOURSELF as He sees you. So you continually ask the Lord to help you see YOUR sin, YOUR selfishness, YOUR un-Christlikeness so you can have victory over it by the power of God.
You seek to immediately confess YOUR sin because it displeases and grieves your heavenly Father, not just because it causes you some discomfort. You seek to make restitution with others you've sinned against, just like Zaccheus in Luke 19:1-10.
Notice this is the only time Jesus ever made this statement - "Today salvation has come to this house..." (Lk.19:9)
Why? Because it was clear to Jesus that Zaccheus was a changed man. His immediate actions of repentance and restitution demonstrated that he had a new heart, a new desire and motivation!
Zaccheus was no longer concerned about himself, his money and his reputation, but ONLY pleasing God!
Your whole focus of life is like that of Jesus Christ's, whereby He sought to please and obey His Father at EVERY point in His life. (Heb.4:15-16) A truly saved person is not only aware of their sin, but concerned over whether they have real daily victory over each and every sin. They seek to recognize that sin that offends their holy heavenly Father, and quickly confess and repent from it, seeking the grace (power of God) to overcome it and do righteousness.
Before we go any further, let's define these important terms and concepts from the Bible.
Total Honesty in Acknowledging my sin. This is a BIG issue. If we miss it here, we will become only good Pharisees and hypocrites.
On the cross with Christ were two horrific sinners both guilty of terrible crimes. One went to hell and the other went to paradise with Christ. (Lk.23:39-43) What was different in these two criminals? The one criminal was proud and wouldn't admit that he deserved his penalty for his crime. The other criminal, said - "we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds." He was totally honest about his sinful condition. He didn't justify himself, he didn't excuse himself, nor did he minimize his sin. He just called it for what it was.
Yes, it's that simple. The man that Christ said would be with Him in paradise was just honest about his crimes and his sin. He acknowledged to Christ that he was indeed guilty for his crimes and deserved the punishment he was receiving, whereas He (Jesus Christ) was not deserving of this punishment. This man was welcomed into paradise simply because he had humbled himself before God and was totally honest about his sinful condition. Are we honest about our true condition?
In the days of Christ, the Pharisees had superior Bible knowledge, but did not want to see, acknowledge and repent of their sin. That's why Jesus called them hypocrites and white washed tombs. (Mt.23:25-28) To clean ONLY the outside of the cup and not deal with the filth and sin on the inside is the ultimate hypocrisy. Man can see only the outside, whereas, God can see the inside of mans heart. God can see your motivations, your desires and your thoughts. (Heb.4:13)
So, if we ONLY deal with the symptoms of our sin which manifest themselves on the outside and never deal with the ROOT causes of our sin which reside inside our heart and mind, then we will NEVER have any real victory over our sin.
So, what are those ROOT causes that will keep us from seeing our sin and keep us from having real victory over our sin? PRIDE
The Bible clearly identifies our PRIDE as a deep ROOT of sin that also keeps us from seeing our sin and confessing our transgressions. Not only is pride the cause of ALL our sin (Prov.16:18 - "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling."), pride is the great blinder of mankind (Ps.36:1-4). Pride was the main problem of the Pharisees who were the most religious people who lived in the time of Christ (Mt.23).
Pride keeps us from being totally honest about our life and our sinful ways. (Rom.1:18-32)
Pride evidences itself in mankind as being self absorbed and interested PRIMARILY in pleasing SELF. Complete and utter selfishness is mankind's GREATEST sin problem. (2 Cor.5:15) That's why Jesus Christ is our example of living as a man on this earth like us, and NEVER pleasing Himself (Rom.15:3).
A proud man thinks that he is good and righteous before God, when just the opposite is true. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that mans' righteous and good deeds are filthy rags, not just his bad deeds. How do you really see yourself before a holy God?
A proud man thinks highly of himself. When God truly works in the heart of a man to save him, He will see himself as the WORST of sinners (Lk.18:9-14). The apostle Paul, one of the most spiritual men that ever lived, at the end of his life, viewed himself as THE FOREMOST of all sinners (I Tim.1:15). Do you really think of yourself as the worst of all sinners, or are you better than most?
We, like the proud religious Pharisees of old, think we are better than most others and therefore look down at others with contempt who are not as "good" as us. (Lk.18:9) If we look down on another for anything, or think we are better than another in any area, we are demonstrating that there is a root of pride in our heart. See Matt.20:12 where workers are upset that the Lord for He had "made them equal" to themselves. These men had thought that since they had worked longer and harder than they others, they deserved better treatment than the others.
We think we should get the glory and praise of men for our own achievements, when Jesus NEVER sought the glory for what He had done, but instead sought only to glorify the Father (Jn.5:41,44). We live in a day where man thinks and acts like he is god, unfortunately, he is only acting like the god of this world - Satan.
Satan is the embodiment of pride, for he said - "I will ascend..., I will raise my..., I will make myself like..." (Isa.14:13-14), whereas Christ who was the most humble person who ever lived said "I do NOT seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me." (Jn.5:30)
Satan and mankind say, "I will do what I WANT when I WANT to do it." ONLY Christ and His disciples say and live by this theme - "NOT my will, but Thine be done." (Mt.26:39)
If we have this same prideful Satanic attitude, it only shows we have NOT had a saving encounter with the God of the Bible. YES, this is very serious. The main reason that God sent His Son to this world, was to save man from sin, pride and SELFISHNESS. (Rom.6:6-11; 2 Cor.5:15)
But you may be saying, "I'm a Christian, how do I have PRIDE?
Pride keeps us from humbling our self before God and man.
"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives His grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting ALL your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you." (I Pet.5:5-7)
Do you seek to exalt yourself above others, or do you joyfully humble yourself before others? Do you get annoyed, upset or pout when others don't treat you as you think you should be treated? When you are treated as a nobody, does it bother you? Do you resent it when others treat you as beneath them? How about when others look down on you, or make fun of you, does it bother you? Then you are proud.
These things NEVER bothered Jesus Christ, for He had the heart of a lowly servant! (Ph.2:3-7)
If you give advice, and others scoff at it, or ignore you, how do you respond? If that person comes to you again asking for advice and ignores it again, how will you respond? How did Christ respond when this exact thing happened to him every day? He did whatever good He could at that time and blessed them and was never offended that the person didn't heed His message.
Remember, Jesus own brothers and sisters didn't believe in Him for most of His life. (Jn.7:5) They likely didn't listen to his advice, didn't follow His example and certainly didn't treat Him with the respect He deserved. But he never resented them or treated them differently because of how they treated Him.
For example, the Pharisees were spreading rumors that Jesus was demon possessed. (Mrk.3:22ff) This is probably the worst insult Jesus could have ever been given, since ALL his life, ALL he did was good. So to be called the most evil thing known to man, would not only be a lie, but totally disgraceful and humiliating.
How did Jesus respond? Did He lash out in anger? NO. Did he harbor resentment or bitterness toward these men? NO. Did He call them names? NO. In love He calmly spoke to them personally about that facts and that it was not even logical to make such statements based on the facts of His life. He said, I will forgive you, but if you make such statements about the Holy Spirit, they won't be forgiven you.
Look to the life of Christ, He is our perfect example of living a humble grace filled victorious life.
If we don't respond exactly like Christ, then we can be sure we are not humble and will not receive the grace of God to overcome sin. ONLY the humble receive His grace (power) to overcome any problem. (Jam.4:6,7)
Pride keeps us enslaved to anxiousness, worry and fear, for pride keeps us from truly trusting God in every area of our life (I Pt.5:7). Mankind would rather trust in his own puny efforts and resources, than in the Almighty God of the heavens.
Pride keeps us from a prayer life that is totally dependant on God, since a proud person really doesn't believe they need His help at all times. If we saw ourselves as we truly are, as God sees us, we would see our need to be in constant communication with our Lord for guidance and wisdom. We would gladly follow the Lord's command to "pray without ceasing" (I Thess.5:17) and to "continually come to the throne of Grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb.4:16).
Pride is evident when we are grumpy, moody or in a bad attitude. Why? Because pride in the Christian seeks very subtly to please self, and when self isn't pleased, we get grumpy, angry and moody.
Pride is the cause of discouragement, unthankfulness, depression, envy, jealousy and all forms of anger, like annoyance, frustration, and impatience, etc. Why? Because pride loves self and can't stand to see anyone get more blessings than they get. Pride doesn't tolerate others imperfections since it views itself as having "made it" in that area. Maybe you have had victory over that particular sin, whereas some one has not. Is that a reason to look down on them in contempt and pride?
Spiritual pride looks down at others, criticizes others, blames others, nit picks at others and speaks evil of others. Do you ever think or speak evil of others, even if it is true? This comes from a heart of pride.
When the prophet Isaiah met His Holy God in Isaiah 6, he could only say, "Woe is me for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips... For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isa.6:3-5) This was a PROPHET standing before His God, not some ordinary man.
When a man truly meets God, He first shows us His Holiness and our root of sin, which is PRIDE. He does this so that He can save us from ALL our sin. That is why the Holy Spirit was given to us. It was so He could convict us of OUR sin, so we could see it and repent from it before it destroyed us (John 16:8-11).
That's why the FEAR OF THE LORD is such a HUGELY important theme and has such a great emphasis throughout the word of God. In Prov.8:13, God defines the fear of the Lord for us.
"The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth I hate."
To fear God means we hate the evil in our OWN heart, first. We hate the evil of pride and arrogance in our OWN heart, first. We hate the way of evil, meaning the way that our evil deceiving heart makes a path of evil by defending, justifying and even excusing this evil. We hate evil finally by seeing OUR perverted evil words as an abomination to a holy and loving God.
And Yes, the Fear of the Lord is a prominent New Testament concept as well. For in 2 Cor.5:11, Paul says "knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade men..."
It is so EXTREMELY important, that without it, we cannot start on the path of becoming Holy (2 Cor.7:1).
Remember, the 1st promise of the New Testament is in Mt.1:21 - "You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."
The second thing that keeps us from seeing our sin is - Comparing ourselves to others, instead of to Jesus Christ. If we compare ourselves to others, then we have reason to boast and to glory in our self righteousness and NEVER see our self as God sees us.
We can always find others that are worse than us. If we compare our self to others, we have no reason to repent. Luke 18 talks about two people who were praying to God. One of the men (a Pharisee) compared him self to others and because of that comparison, thought he was righteous before God and therefore also viewed others with contempt. This man did not know God.
The other man (a tax gatherer) instead was comparing himself only to God. He therefore saw himself the way God saw him and cried out "God, be merciful to me, THE sinner." (Lk.18:13)
As a result, this man was justified, because he humbled himself before God and saw himself as God saw him.
So, who do you compare yourself to, others or Christ?
So what is God's remedy for this plight of sin?
#1. Pray earnestly, honestly, trusting that God would show you YOUR sin. To pray in faith/trust is to pray with thanksgiving, thanking God that:
* Jesus Christ wants you to have the victory over sin, even more than we want it (I Thes.5:23; Rom.8:37),
* Jesus Christ has provided EVERYTHING we need for victory over sin (2 Pet.1:3; Eph.1:3), because "while we still helpless, at the right time Christ" provided the right solution and resources for mankind. (Rom.5:8)
* Jesus Christ will give us victory over sin, It's just a matter of time. If we love the truth about our self, (II Th.2:10) our sin, self deception, our pride and then patiently, faithfully and carefully follow Him. Personal holiness is His will for us (I Thess.4:3) and God promised it WILL be accomplished in us who trust him completely. (Rom.6:11,22; 8:37-39; 1 Cor.15:57; 2 Cor.2:14)
To pray in faith/trust with thanksgiving means we pray and thank Him as if He has already done it. That's why we close our prayers with "Amen". "Amen" means so be it, it is done. Trust means that we believe God has already done it!
Do you really want to know the truth about yourself? Do you want God to show you your sin, so He can save you from it?
Think of Sin as spiritual sickness or disease and holiness as spiritual health. Do you want spiritual health or spiritual sickness? If you were physically sick, you would go immediately to a doctor who could pinpoint and prescribe a remedy for your sickness, right? Why don't we want God to show us our spiritual "disease" and heal us from this deadly disease which is FAR worse than ANY physical disease?
#2. Go to the Word of God and see the tremendous price God paid for YOUR sin. See what YOUR sin cost God and Jesus Christ. See the terrible penalty and consequences for YOUR sin. Look at the life and character of Christ in the scriptures to compare your life to His life to see your sin. Remember, ALL unChristlikeness is sin (I Pet.2:21; 4:1-2)
Only when we see the tremendous cost of our sin, will be begin to realize how important it is that we repent and turn from ALL of it. Jesus said "He who is forgiven little, loves little." (Lk.7:47) If we think that we only have a little sin that God has forgiven us from, then we will love and value Him little. It ALL depends on how we see OUR sin.
#3. Do a simple word study on these key terms - Pride, the Fear of the Lord and selfishness. Look up ALL these terms in a concordance to get the full picture of the importance of dealing with these ROOT issues.
NOTHING will change until you deal with the ROOTS of sin. If you have tried to please God and NOTHING has changed, this is the reason. You have only been trying to snip off the bad branches on the outside of the tree. Jesus said, to have good fruit, you need to make the tree good first (Mt.7:17-21) It is ONLY then that we can become DOERS of the word and not hearers ONLY who delude themselves (Ja.1:22).
EVERYTHING in the Christian life starts first on the inside. We can't do anything our self, but must ask God earnestly and persistently to give us His Spirit and grace (spiritual power) to have victory over sin. As we do this, we also seek to humble (Jam.4:6-7) and die to our self daily as we specifically apply His Word in obedience to our life.
So, how do you apply all this? There is ONLY one way to apply this material. You must ONLY look to the life of Christ. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in this world, facing ALL the trials and temptations we face, yet without sin. (Heb.4:15) He is our perfect example to follow.
Study His life, His attitude, His responses to bad circumstances, His thinking, His love for others, His hatred for evil, His total dedication to do the will of the Father. Then ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to live EXACTLY like Christ.
What will you ask the Lord for TODAY, tomorrow and for eternity?
Are you sure you know what it means to be born again?
You are welcome to print this or share it with a friend, but only in it's entirety.
