jamdowner

Sin, like any other habit, good or bad, creates an appetite, and that appetite must be fed by what created it. If we continue to sin, unchecked, unrepentant, we move beyond guilt, to acceptance, then to the point of addiction - we can't stop even if we wanted to. The way out of enslavement to sin, I believe, must start with conviction by the Holy Spirit; admittance of enslavement and a desire to change; recognition that we can't do it in our own strength; and a process of restoration that must include establishing personal spiritual disciplines and accountability to mature, trustworthy Christians. We need to recognize that we are all human, we are all 'flesh', and so we are ALL susceptible to sin, even when we become Christians. If we are honest with ourselves and God about our own sinful tendencies, thoughts, desires, struggles, and even deeds done when no-one is looking, then we will be in a better place to demonstrate compassion to other Christians who struggle, while truly hating the sin. We learn to hate the sin because of its destructive impact on our lives and our relationship with the Lord. We continue to love the struggling Christian, refraining (or repenting!) from being judgmental, because we remember that we too are imperfect!

Christ Himself is without sin. By calling us into relationship with the Father through Himself, He calls us to live a life in which we resist temptation, struggle against sin, and experience freedom from the entanglement of sin. The practice of any sin, including sexual sin, is to undermine our relationship with the Lord, re-establish the bonds with sin that were broken by the blood of Jesus Christ, and become a slave once again to the Enemy. I think we have become complacent about sin for many reasons. Spiritual warfare isn't as obvious in our western culture as it is in other regions where the occult is mainstream, and Christians have to pay a price for being Christian. So we don't feel as though there is an immediate, spiritual consequence for our sin. We are also very individualistic, so the whole issue of accountability is pretty foreign to us. We all mind our own business, and we don't have to answer to anyone when we begin to embrace sin in our lives. We have become intimidated by the outright immorality of our culture. "Everybody's doing it". So who are we to say we are wrong and they are right? Sin is so accepted in our churches now that we have forgotten that there is an absolute standard, that God is not into relativism. We are complacent about sin because our relationship with the Lord is stagnant. If we were growing in a dynamic relationship with the Lord, we would be uncomfortable with our weaknesses and would be constantly struggling to overcome sin. The writer of Hebrews admonishes us that, in our struggle against sin, we have not resisted to the point of shedding our blood... That's a struggle indeed! (Heb. 12:4)

If we don't challenge unsound teaching / unscriptural doctrine, then the Christian faith will be overtaken by doctrines that will rob us of the power to overcome sin and to enjoy fellowship with the Lord. We will be seduced into lifestyles that enslave us to sin, rather than enjoying freedom from sin and the benefits of living a life that is pleasing to God. However, in challenging false teachers and false doctrine, we have to be careful of spiritual pride, or else we too will fall! We must be sure that we are not just 'rebels without a cause', bringing unnecessary division to the body of Christ. I also believe that our underlying attitude should be that of love.

As I make myself available to God, He will be able to impress upon me what His thoughts are, what He wants to say. If my attitude is that I will do what He wants me to do, then I will say what He wants me to say.

For me, the Scriptures are TRUTH, truth about God, the world, about me and my condition. I learn about human nature, I learn about God's expectations of me, about what He has done and is doing to help me meet His standards. In the 'darkness' of depression, or a bad day, or anything that throws me off-kilter, if I meditated on His Word, I am strengthened and encouraged. In the 'darkness' of my own sin, His word exposes it - brings it to the light - exposing my own heart/motives in the process, and shows me the way out - the light of His forgiveness and mercy. The light is all about Jesus, about God, about His Word.

Why does our culture avoid talking about death? I don't know about the USA, but in my culture, death is unavoidable, and we do talk about it. We are forced to confront it as family members, friends, associates, surrender their lives to illness, crime and violence, road accidents. Funerals are HUGE events. The problem is that our conversations don't necessarily transition from the issue of death to important issues of: where do we go when we die? How should the inevitability of death inform the way I live my life? Even though we are surrounded by death - or maybe, because of it - we continue to march merrily along the path of materialism and hedonism. How is describing your earthly body as a "tent" freeing and motivating? The 'tent' concept reminds me that the life I live on earth is NOT eternal life, that there is a life after this one. It adjusts my focus away from the here and now, the temporary, with its seductions and distractions, and points me towards God's eternity. When I breathe my last breath, I do not cease to exist, but I transition to eternal life - with our without the Lord. Sobering thought, yes? So I must use the earthly time I do have to live to please the Lord, to ensure my place with Him in the hereafter. The tent concept also adjusts my priorities. The western world's obsession with youth doesn't need to plague me, if I understand that my earthly body is just a tent. Though I will take care of my body, and be a good steward of the things the Lord has given me - talents, material possessions, family, etc., these things don't define me, because at some point, I will have to lay them down. The things that matter to the Lord - developing the fruit of the Spirit, and so on - become priority for me. What is the significance of Peter referring to his death as a "departure" or "exodus"? This underscores Peter's understanding that his death means that he will be spending eternity with the Lord.

Q4. (2 Peter 1:4) How can strong desires erode our faith and corrupt our lives? What strong desires can build our faith? What does a strong desire for God have to do with the "knowledge" of God, or "knowing" God? How are God's promises and evil desires at odds with each other? How does one build and the other erode our faith? Strong, evil desires, when entertained, lead to gradual enslavement to evil, and a corresponding moral and spiritual decay. Not only do we drift far away from God, we end up turning our backs on Him, as we begin to refuse to allow the light of His goodness and purity to penetrate our darkness. Strong, good desires also leads us to idolatry, as we begin to worship the "gift instead of the giver". Our attention becomes focused on God's good gifts instead of on God Himself. A strong desire for intimacy with the Lord will help to build our faith. As we know God more, our desire to know Him grows; and as our desire to know Him grows, we are propelled to spend more time knowing and surrendering to Him. We can't lay hold of God's promises while at the same time actively and persistently giving in to evil desires. God's promises are conditional on our surrendering to Him, e.g. "...I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. The the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 15:16). So, God's call is unconditional, but we must choose to surrender to Him if we want to lay hold of His promises, and of Him.

I am both encouraged and convicted by 2 Peter 1:3. - God has made provision for me in every single area of life: spiritual/moral; emotional/psyschological; physical/material/intellectual. He is truly the ultimate, comprehensive source to whom I should turn for everything. - My relationship with Him was initiated by Him. He chose me not because of my worth, but because of His love and mercy; because He could. So I can't earn His love any more, or any less. He calls me to respond to Him, not to prove myself. - But His call to me is to take Him up on His proposal - to develop an intimate relationship with Him. This is the only way I will experience His provision for my life to the extent that He desires for me.

When I read "...faith as precious as ours", I initially understood it as a description of the faith shared by the author and the readers, not as a comparison of the readers' faith level with that of Peter.

Hi! I'm Nicky, from Jamaica. This is my 2nd study from Dr. Wilson in about...hmmm...3 years? It's been a while! So, I'm really looking forward to this.