Archive for Truth
The Sins of Self
Posted by: | CommentsThere are seven specific sins of self that are at the root of all that God wants us to crucify in our lives. The complete removal of these self-sins is the objective work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. It is the way God goes about conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ in this earthly life. God is not trying to create a hoard of tithers and evangelists who will attend Purpose Driven Life seminars so they can get what they want from God! God purposes His children to be like Jesus in motive and in thought so they may reflect Him in all they say and do. This requires the death of self and the crucifixion of the sins of self. The seven sins of self are:
Self Love
Self Seeking
Self Confidence
Self Righteousness
Self Enhancement
Self Defense
Self Pity
the following scripture needs to be burned into our minds and it needs to become a foundational truth in our Body of Truth.
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom 8:5-8) NASB
Five Points of Carnality: Jealousy
Posted by: | CommentsIs there jealousy in your life? Is there jealousy in your church? Is there jealousy in your home? If so, this is evidence of carnality. Jealousy is driven by a suspicion or a fear that others may be more loved, respected or accepted. Jealousy erupts into disagreement, argument and sometimes violent behavior. There is no place for jealousy in the life of a Christian. People who are jealous are convinced they have a right to be jealous. They believe they have been wronged or slighted or overlooked in some way. They also believe they can define right and wrong.
Jealousy is an emotion of sin and a pit that must be avoided if we are to grow in Christ.
Lies Power Sin
Posted by: | CommentsOur sin nature actually shapes the development of our Body of Truth. As we add things we believe to our Body of Truth, the self-seeking heart colors the way we interpret the events of our lives and the things we believe to be true. So, in the final analysis, the things we do are influenced by the things we believe, but the entire behavior machine is fueled by the sin nature which is at the root of our lost state.
When we are infants and children in the process of building our Body of Truth, there is a motive that sustains the process. Every person lives in a state of fear that somehow, someway, we are not going to get what we think we have to have to be safe and secure. So, we come to believe the lies that allow us to do things by our own power to get what we want, so we can be “safe”. Lies thrive within human selfishness and sin. Lies also power our rebellion against God. Until our self-seeking hearts are put to death the truth transplant we need will be resisted.
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.“ (Luk 6:45) NASB
A Wake-Up Call!
Posted by: | CommentsThrough Jesus Christ and His written word, God has revealed that he is a holy, righteous, just, loving God. But, He has also revealed that human beings are separated from Him by their sin and rebellion and have been judged for it. Unregenerate human beings exist in a condition of spiritual death. However, God has also revealed that we can be restored to life by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Once restored by faith, we are ‘born again’ to spiritual life that is eternal. The price of this redemption is that we repent of our sin and rebellion and accept His Lordship over all that we are and do. Men who create religions out of their efforts to define God always place men at the center and exalt themselves. The true revelation of God is a big slap in face for men who are lovers of themselves, who really want to be little gods themselves.
God Has Landed!
Posted by: | CommentsWhat would happen to some poor European docking his ship on our shores for the first time and having to confront an entrenched culture that had already determined who he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing? The preconceived notions and speculations would probably bear little resemblance to the reality of his presence. However, his presence would cause big problems for the leadership that had a big investment in keeping the traditional beliefs alive. Our newly arrived European would be in grave danger. The smart option would be to get back in his boat and leave!
This little theoretical concept is great way to understand the way man-made religions have been created throughout history and nothing has really changed about man-made religions in modern times. Humans haven’t come up with anything really new for thousands of years. They have merely couched their theories in different terminology and jazzed up the images to make them sound more intelligent and logical. All of their ideas are still based on human reasoning and logic and there is no divine revelation supporting any of it. Human, man-centered religions are all birthed from a belief that man can define God. In doing so, that belief sustains rebellion against the true God – the God of revelation and of life.
The Bible testifies that God has in fact landed on our beaches for the purpose of revealing Himself:
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…(Heb 1:1-3 NASB)
Defining Truth
Posted by: | CommentsThe idea that we can define absolute truth by our own thinking is a lie. Your initial reaction to that statement might be to disagree. You may believe you are quite capable of defining truth in your life. You may agree that even though your Body of Truth might need a makeover in certain corners, the idea that you are incapable of defining truth is ridiculous. If I was writing this from a secular perspective we might have something to argue about. However, this is not a matter of human or secular perspectives. I’m talking about spiritual truth; the things of God and the truth about ourselves as fallen creatures. It is spiritual truth that we are incapable of defining by human reasoning.
Spiritual truth must come by revelation and revelation alone. The Bible is that revelation and if you have not read it, the truth you believe you know is suspect.
Feelings and Choices
Posted by: | CommentsIt is the combination of belief and thought that produces the way we feel and this is where the human condition becomes quite perilous. Years ago, before I learned the things I now write and teach on this subject, I could think my way into states of utter panic, based on very little that was actually happening to me. Most of my thinking was dominated by things that had happened in my past, or might happen to me in the future. I had no idea how to remain emotionally in the present. Consequently, most of my thinking was wrapped up in anger and resentment over past injustices or a lot of fear about what might happen to me in the future. This kind of thinking created emotions not based on anything that was actually happening in my life at the time. The feelings I thought myself into became the monster that controlled my choices.
How much of your thought life is spent in the past or in the future. If you spend much time in either I imagine you are frequently angry or fearful. To change all that you have to live in the moment. That requires faith in God and trusting him for all you need. In the present moment is peace because God is found in the present moment.
A True Story
Posted by: | CommentsA young person is introduced to a “recreational drug” in high school. He ingests the drug, gets a good feeling and nothing bad happens. He comes to believe after several recreational use sessions that the drug is not harmful and he can control it. Then, he is introduced to harder drugs, such as crack cocaine or ecstasy. Still, nothing bad happens, so his belief that he is in control strengthens. Eventually, his need for drugs escalates and he suddenly discovers he needs more money to keep buying the drugs that help him function. He breaks into a home and steals computers, firearms and stereo equipment to sell and finance his drug habit. He gets caught. He stands trial. He is sentenced to five years in a penitentiary and he is only eighteen years old.
This is a true story about a young man my wife and I have known since he was fourteen years old. It all resulted from his believing several lies and that allowed him to surrender to an overpowering compulsion to take drugs because they made him feel good. He believed he was in control; he believed drugs were not harmful and he did not believe warnings about drugs applied to him.
For a number of years I conducted weekly substance abuse meetings at a prison. A thousand men were incarcerated there and all had similar stories to share about how they wound up in jail. They all believed lies that led them to tragedy and incarceration. Sadly, upon release, 75% of them return to prison within four years. I believe the 25% who do not return find ways to alter their Body of Truth and let go of the lies that got them jailed the first time. Those who can’t or won’t identify the lies they believe to be true, just keep on doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. Some say this is a definition of insanity. I’ll grant that it appears to be insane, but it’s really just the inevitable result of hanging on to lies that are not true, and allowing them to continue to control our thinking, our choices and our behavior.
The truth is found in Jesus Christ, yet so many do not want to look for Him.
Experiential Truth
Posted by: | CommentsIn our formative years we build what I call our Body of Truth (everything we believe) solely through our experience. As we grow and mature, reading and listening can become an agent for acquiring new truth, but even as adults we have a hard time allowing our experiential truth to be rooted out or displaced by other means. I define experiential truth to be this: That which seems to work because it allows me to get what I want and do what I want to do! I feel bad and want something, so I cry to get it. It works, so I keep doing it. Acquiring truth experientially is the most common way people get it.
Experiential truth seems to be self-validating but it is a slippery slope. Acquiring truth solely by experience is the kind most likely to cause us to believe a lie because our experience is influenced by the previous garbage we have allowed to infest our Body of Truth. Every lie we have previously believed corrupts our ability to process new experiences without putting a spin on them that makes them compatible with the previous lies we have accepted as truth. When a lifetime of lies has been stuffed into our Body of Truth without some sort of house cleaning, the results can be devastating.
By the time our Body of Truth is well formed it becomes the driving force for most of our thinking. For human beings, thinking is a full time job. We are always thinking about something. Our thoughts just seem to appear from nowhere. One thought leads to another and where our thoughts will end up is hard to predict. I can start out thinking about the weather and end up worrying about nuclear proliferation. The amazing thing about thinking is this: We can’t comfortably think in ways that conflict with the primary beliefs that live in our Body of Truth. Our thinking is literally controlled and shaped by the things we believe to be true.
The Problem of Sin
Posted by: | CommentsThe Bible reveals that sin is at the very center of the nature of human beings and is a terminal condition that results in spiritual death and separation from God. It is this revelation of the nature of sin that upsets the modern world that pursues relative truth and everchanging standards of morality.
In the Biblical history of the Hebrew people, the nature of man’s relationship to God is totally exposed. Human beings are left without defense before the awesome, transcendent God who claims to be the author of life itself. In the sin revelation, the message is clear that the best efforts of man are never enough to achieve righteousness or to be pleasing to a holy God.
Sin is probably the most hated word in the history of the human race, and one of the most misunderstood in our modern day. Many believe there is no such thing, and if there is, it does not present any problem for them in their relationship with God. The revelation of the serious nature of sin is an unexpected surprise, but lines up with the observable facts so evident in human history.
Nobody Wants This!
No human being in their right mind would have voluntarily created such a religious doctrine out of their own thinking, because they would have created an impossible problem to overcome by their own effort. In Hebrew theology, man always fails and no solution is provided that will produce a permanent, peaceful relationship with God. Man is portrayed as dust and beyond hope.
Man on his own would never have written it that way. Man would have created a theology by which he can triumph and appease God, thus fulfilling his dreams and desires. We do not see this as it is revealed in the history of the Hebrew people. We see sin, death and judgment. Man’s desire is to embrace ideas and concepts that will produce the results he wants. The things that man wants are found in naturalistic concepts of deity, and in bizarre idealistic theories. That fact indicates naturalistic religions are primarily functions of human thought, no matter how convincing the human explanations may sound.
How could man have created the Hebrew concept of God from his own thinking? To believe that he did strains logic, based on what we know about human character. The truth of it becomes clear when we can understand the concept of sin. The concept of sin is a foundational difference between the revelation of the Hebrew God, and the god-concepts of other religions. The uniqueness of the Hebrew revelation is in a personal God, and the revealed nature of sin which other theologies and secular ideas do not embrace. Sin is a hated concept and man wants to reject it as truth.
The doctrine of Sin indicates that man is a dead duck. The only way a person who thinks they are alive can come to understand that they are really dead, is by revelation. Because we are talking about spiritual death, it is a hard concept to grasp in a biological brain that thinks it is alive.
