Purity Workbook

IRON SHARPENING IRON

A M I N I S T R Y O F T H E G O S P E L F O R L I F E

PURITY

WORKBOOK

Building Godly Buddyships for Equipping,

Purity, Nurture, and Accountability

JAY WEGTER

The Gospel for Life, 2006

FOREWORD

It is an inestimable blessing to be entrusted with the ministry of training faithful men (2 Tim 2:2). During my years of disciple-making I have found that among dedicated Christian men, there is a need to ‘raise the bar’ so to speak in the area of purity.

Sometimes as Christians, we think we are doing fine in the purity department because we are ‘100 paces ahead’ of our pagan neighbors. But there is a danger in letting ourselves off the hook if our standard is based upon moral comparisons.

My pastor, John MacArthur, illustrates this tendency toward moral comparison by way of a visual example. Suppose you are standing twenty steps above those below you on an escalator; you may be above them; but since the escalator is descending – your direction is still down.

If we measure our moral purity by contrasting ourselves with pagans instead of Christ; we will find that less and less is required to be morally superior to those around us. The purpose of this Purity Workbook is to provide a clarion call to Christian men to return to Scripture as the standard of moral excellence.

Why the need for a purity workbook instead of a purity textbook? One of the main reasons is because it is far too easy to be a spectator in church today. The workbook approach to this topic of purity is proactive; it is designed to facilitate interaction; dialog; Bible studies; counseling; buddyships, and discipleship. God has called Christian men to be active ‘commandos’ in the cause of Christ; to be gospel witnesses, disciple-makers, and biblical counselors.

This world is a moral and spiritual ‘wilderness’ – the believer must be adept at wilderness survival. The success of any military campaign depends upon teamwork. When soldiers are on patrol in the desert; each member plays a vital part in wilderness survival; there is a division of labor (whether setting up camp, guard duty, morale, cooking, or training other men in wilderness survival; etc.).

In the Purity Workbook we commend close Christian friendships for the purpose of spiritual growth. We have designated these godly friendships, ‘buddy-ships’. Buddyships are not just for accountability, but also for nurture, equipping, and discipleship. They are characterized by mutual admonishment (Rom 15:14). Men in a buddyship know where their brothers are on the ‘maturity graph’ (Col 1:27, 28); therefore they are better able to assist them in reaching for the goal of spiritual maturity.

The fight for purity is one of the most pivotal battlefronts in a man’s life. It involves the most intense kind of soul warfare; it is a battle for the mind and the affections; it is truly every man’s struggle. Compromise at the point of lust indulged sabotages the whole endeavor of godliness. Massive energy must be exerted to enjoy a united heart lifestyle; but all progress is a function of grace (1 Cor 15:10).

The intent of the workbook is to bring together the central truths of divine grace as they apply to the conquest of ruling lusts and indwelling sin (faith, repentance, sovereign grace, co-crucifixion, Spirit enablement, etc.).

All the faculties of a man’s soul are engaged in the battle for purity (intellect, affections, conscience, and will). Our spiritual fight against lust is not simply sin avoidance – true progress will involve replacement behaviors; putting on the grace garments of Christian character (Col 3:8-25).

All of our progress is anchored in the love and grace of Christ, and His cross. We are conscious of being sustained by His grace as we persevere in our sanctification.

Our schemes to beat lust are vain apart from the cross. The cross of Christ is central in our strategy for purity. It is those who are humbled and broken by the sight of their sin, and the mercy of Christ who treasure the cross and stay close to the Savior and His finished work.

The saints who have gone before us have been overcomers. They have conquered and overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil by the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Christ has been their conquering weapon (Rev 12:11).

The Purity Workbook places an extremely high premium on the centrality of the Gospel and Scripture meditation. All true movement toward practical godliness is attributable to the transforming power of God’s Word. Only God’s truth can do the transforming at the depth where it needs to take place; at the level of our root drives.

Christ’s entire army is made up of former enemies, idolaters, captives, brain-washed sinners, condemned rebels, and criminals. We were once fugitives under the moral government of God; but now have been reconciled to God by the death of Christ.

Now that we are right with God; our sin is especially grievous; even treasonous – it represents defection to the camp of darkness. The success in our fight against evil is not measured by abstinence alone. There are deeper factors such as love and loyalty to our Master who laid down His life to make us His friends.

Our battle for purity must not be reduced to simply moral behavior modification. Even secular recovery groups can produce an impressive degree of outward moral change; all apart from the truth of God, the power of God, the Spirit of God, and the sovereign grace of God.

God is interested in the heart. He wants a man to consecrate himself as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1, 2). The Lord expects nothing less than the daily presentation of the members of our body to Him who loves us (Rom 6:12-19).

The religious establishment of Jesus’ day adhered to the Torah in an outward fashion; they achieved an impressive degree of moral conformity to the Mosaic Law. But, when Jesus confronted their spiritual pride and self deception, He told them that they had a disregard for justice and the love of God (Luke 11:42).

Jesus often quoted from the book of Deuteronomy. This fifth book of the Law goes much deeper than merely laying out imperatives for moral rectitude; it is the book of heart talk. It deals with a man’s thoughts and affections.

Moses brought his appeal for holy living to a climax when he said, Choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him (Deut 30:19b, 20a). To love God is to choose life. Success in the battle for purity turns upon the maintenance of our relationship with God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8). Purity of heart can only accomplished by abiding in Christ (1 Jn 2:28-3:2). The man who abides in Christ keeps his heart set upon the supremacy of Christ, and the hope of glory; therefore he purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 Jn 3:3).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This workbook is dedicated first and foremost to my lovely wife Michele. She is my best friend and counselor, a tireless worker; an incredibly creative homemaker. Not only is she a phenomenal mom and helpmate; she epitomizes graciousness, kindness, and compassion. She exudes understanding and empathy.

As a very ‘cerebral’ teacher, I’m often tempted to lay down the law, and then let the chips fall where they may. But, there is my wife in the background; with just a word or two, she brings a dimension of tenderness to the situation. During these moments, it is reminiscent of ‘beauty and the beast.’

Because my wife believes in me; it has kept me from quitting many times. I’m so grateful for her; I could not excel as a teacher without her loving companionship, faith, and compassion.

This book is also dedicated to the men who have been faithful in our buddyships. I could easily list ten or more Christian brothers who have enriched my life beyond measure through their friendship and fellowship. But there are four men whose friendship God has used in profound ways these last five years to encourage me and strengthen me. They are: Massimo Lorenzini, Jim Rogers, Noah Ressler, and Jesse Cook.

In addition, I want to express my gratitude to Paul Kern. He saw the need for the Purity Workbook. His enthusiasm for the project has been nothing short of inspirational. I am also indebted to him for his editing work on the manuscript.

I testify, along with all the saints, the Lord Jesus Christ is my life (Col 3:1-4). It is only by His sustaining grace and love that I have remained on the narrow way. He is the God of ‘ten thousand chances.’ It is only by His patience, longsuffering, and forgiving grace that this weak sinner has learned to reach up to Him for purity each day.

CONTENTS

Chapter One Getting the Genie back in the Bottle…………………………………………………. 6

Chapter Two Porn is Satan’s ‘Cruise Missile’………………………………………………………8

Chapter Three Living in Yahweh’s World…………………………………………………………....11

Chapter Four Why does God hate Lust?.…………………………………………………………....14

Chapter Five Lust and the Amputation Factor…………………………………………….……....17

Chapter Six Our Battle with Lust is a Faith Fight……………………………………………......20

Chapter Seven The Spirit Produces Supernatural Love…………………………………………......24

Chapter Eight Sustained by the Manifold Grace of God……………………………………………27

Chapter Nine Keep Repenting ‘Til Glory…………………………………………………………...31

Chapter Ten Prizing Christ…………………………………………………………………………33

Chapter Eleven Building a Track Record of Integrity………………………………………………..38

Chapter Twelve Meditating upon Scripture……………………………………………………….......42

Chapter Thirteen Bible Meditation is Swordsmanship…………………………………………………45

Chapter Fourteen Know the Benefits of Meditation…………………………………………………….48

Chapter Fifteen A Good Soldier has a Battle Plan……………………………………………………52

Chapter Sixteen

We are Brothers in Arms…………………………………………………………….57

C H A P T E R O N E

GETTING THE GENIE BACK IN THE BOTTLE

Within marriage, sex is beautiful, fulfilling, creative. Outside of marriage, it is ugly, destructive, and damning.

John MacArthur

The genie is out of the bottle

Near the end of WWII when the very first atomic bomb was detonated on the desert floor of the American south west, the watching team was amazed at the raw power they witnessed. Researchers marveled that the energy generated in a fraction of a second exceeded their calculations. The atomic age was born that day. There would be no turning back; the genie was out of the bottle. Scientists could never return to nuclear “innocence;” they had split the atom.

Eroticism in all its illicit forms can be compared to the splitting of the atom. For in sexual immorality a force is released in the human spirit that seeks to conquer and rule over a man the rest of his life. In that sense the battle to mortify sexual lust may be compared to, or designated, “putting the genie back in the bottle.”

So powerful is God’s gift of marital relations that it is the very “glue” that binds two into one; man and woman become “one flesh” (1 Cor 6:15, 16).

The research done on human sexuality by Masters and Johnson took the act of marriage out of the divine context proscribed by God. The researchers placed sexual relations into the general category of human behavior (they treated is it as amoral; as if it were an activity that could be grouped with eating or sleeping).

In seeking to demystify, or understand human sexuality, the researchers erased God’s definition of the act of marriage in the process. By treating God’s gift as merely a human behavior, the researchers made it ordinary, matter of fact – like the gratification of any other felt need.

Some would argue that the research they did between 1957 and the 1990’s assisted the medical treatment of sexual dysfunction. But their research also had an effect upon morality; it added momentum to the sexual revolution that was already underway. After all, if science could study human sexual relations in a laboratory (between unmarried participants); outside the context of the marriage covenant; then why doesn’t the public have the “right” to engage in sexual activity outside of any covenant considerations?

Scripture sets forth the act of marriage as God’s gift; a gift filled with divine mystery and wisdom; a gift so complex we cannot say we understand it fully.

To reduce marital relations to an anatomical function alone is to degrade God’s gift. There are too many strands that make up the act of marriage to reduce it to a physical/emotional behavior.

There is the strand of the marriage covenant (the first God-given ordinance – Gen 2:24); there is the spiritual strand (it has the power to make two into one flesh – 1 Cor 6:16); there is the strand of shared source (at creation the man was the source of the first woman’s body, ever since Eve – woman is the source of man’s body – 1 Cor 11:8-12); there is the strand of physiological differences as source of sexual desire and interest (“I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’ Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the fragrance of your breath like apples,’ – Song 7:8;); there is the strand of the love commitment (‘For love is as strong as death’ – Song 8:6; Eph 5:25); there is the strand of knowing the other person at the depth of their soul (‘know’ is a euphemism for sexual relations – Gen 4:1); there is the sacred strand of mutual authority over one another’s bodies (Scripture enjoins mutual surrender in the act of marriage – 1 Cor 7:4); there is the strand of finding completeness in one’s marriage partner (1 Cor 11:11; Gen 2:18).

One of the great tragedies in our culture is that the act of marriage has been trivialized. The wonderful mysterious cord that God has woven has been unraveled. The covenant strands and spiritual strands that bind the cord together have been discounted and often thrown away; while the erotic strand has been retained and worshipped.

In our culture, the act of marriage to a great degree has been severed from the higher, spiritual part of man’s being and reduced to an animal passion. As men, we know all too well that we are naturally sight attracted. That which titillates the senses runs ahead, and outpaces the spiritual. Our lower nature is easily magnetized by the erotic strand; its power to excite makes it appear that it can thrill; make a man feel alive; even vivify his masculine soul.

But Scripture tells us that when the erotic strand is unraveled from the sacred covenant cord of God’s making it cannot stand alone – it instantly becomes pornea (Grk.-- sexual immorality). It damages the soul of man; it is death. “Flee” is the biblical mandate; don’t trust your passions; don’t let them set the standard for your behavior (1 Cor 6:18).

One of the mightiest of God’s gifts, the act of marriage, when removed from the marriage covenant is perverted into sexual immorality. This is a profound truth set forth in Scripture; that by perverting a virtue (or God-given gift) a world of lusts and soul-destroying idols are formed and unleashed in the process.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read 2 Peter 2 in its entirety and list every form of ‘fallout’ that is a consequence of sexual impurity.
2. 2 Peter 2:18, 19 describes a lie about sexual immorality concerning freedom. Describe this lie about freedom in your own words.
3. Have you ever used this lie in your own compromises with lust? What truths of Scripture expose the damning nature of this lie (hint; 1 Thess 4:3-7).
4. In 2 Peter 2:14 lust does not remain static; either we put it to death; or it deepens into perpetual greed. Write a paragraph ‘devotional’ that describes this principle.

C H A P T E R T W O

PORN IS SATAN’S ‘CRUISE MISSLE’

For the past twenty years you and I have been fed all day long
good solid lies about sex.
C. S. Lewis

God’s precious gift of sexual relations, when ripped from its covenant context, becomes an idol capable of defacing the image of God. Man as the image of God was created to find his “integration” in God (by integration is meant his life, unity, harmony, and completeness).

They worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, Amen (Rom 1:25). Francis Schaeffer defines an idol as a false integration point.

When man takes his deepest needs to something in creation; it becomes an idol, or false integration point.

Ephesians 4:22 describes sensual false integration points as “the lusts of deceit.” This is significant to our argument; namely that the illicit objects of sexual lust are filled with deception. What they promise – fulfillment and satisfaction – they cannot deliver.

The deception factor is bound up in the fact that they do impart momentary pleasure; even excitement. The temporal pleasure is the “hook.” But a lust of deceit can never be transmuted into true satisfaction. A lust will always remain “bogus bread” that cannot do anything to nourish the soul (Is 55:2).

As a result, the sexual idolater (laboring under the deception that satisfaction can be found in lust) pursues the object of his lust with greater vigor and resulting bondage. The tragedy is that lust indulged trains the heart in greed (2 Pet 2:14).

The pursuit of sensual fulfillment “cuts a behavioral groove” so to speak; it can cause a person to practice every kind of impurity with greediness (Eph 4:19). (It’s like the shipwrecked man imbibing sea water to slake his thirst. The sea is wet and cold – those first gulps appear to give a moment of relief; but death follows.)

Man was made for God. The Lord alone can satisfy. When a man turns to a false integration point; it is like attempting to cram a 175 pound man into a one gallon garbage pail – he just won’t fit; it bends him, contaminates him, and crumples him up in the process. His Creator and Redeemer alone can fulfill him; and satisfy him.

When lusts born of self-love are pursued; it makes us ignoble – that is base and dishonorable (think about the man made in God’s image trying to cram himself into the garbage pail – he throws away his dignity in so doing). But when the believer is intoxicated with God; he is ennobled (his dignity and calling are affirmed and uplifted).

These truths are increasingly foreign to our culture. Our generation has moved off of its Judeo-Christian base into the quicksand of neo-paganism. We can use cell phones to text message each other; communicate by satellite technology, but as a culture, we’ve slowly descended into the worst kind of naiveté. We are increasingly oblivious to

the deleterious effects of sexual sin upon the soul and upon society.

Today men for the life of them are unable to find a strong enough reason NOT to live as sensual opportunists. Like a beast of burden with a ring in the nose, they can be led about by their lusts. They resemble detritus floating in sea; they are carried in and out by the tide; they do not have their feet on the bottom.

Men walk about in sleep mode. When it comes to moral purity; they are merely treading water; they are not swimming upstream. They do not have enough steel in their spines to rescue their brethren who have polluted themselves (Jude 20-23).

The cultural ethical barriers to sexual impurity are gone. The conditions necessary for the worship of sex are in place. Like a huge wrecking ball, philosophic naturalism has systematically pounded away at biblical theism until the floodgates of immorality cannot be held back any longer (Rom 1:24ff).

Recent statistics show that internet porn use has reached epidemic proportions: The National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families polled the students of five Christian campuses. 48% of the males currently used pornography and 69% said that they had accessed a pornography site while on campus.

A 1996 Promise Keepers poll revealed that 50% of the men in attendance had viewed pornography within one week of the event.

Rick Warren’s website for pastors (
www.pastor.com
) uncovered the following

statistic: 54% of evangelical pastors had viewed pornography within the year and 30 % within the last month.

Focus on the Family found that 46% of families said that pornography was a problem within the home (Focus Poll, October 1, 2003).

www.blazinggrace.org under “porn statistics” cites that cyberporn is a one billion

dollar industry that is expected to swell to 5-7 billion in the next five years.

These stats are disturbing; the evil one is making incredible inroads; fleshly lust is his strategy to undermine the moral fiber of spiritual leaders at home and church.

Satan is capitalizing upon the fact that we are living in a cultural moral vacuum. There is a kind of double speak that would scandalize our founding fathers; pornography is called free speech. Good is called evil and evil is called good (Is 5:20).

From the beginning God announced His plan to make man in His image. With this proclamation comes man’s entire identity and purpose (as the image of God, man is made to know, love, and serve God – to be as much like God as a creature can be).

Lucifer’s plot was to oppose God’s plan; the devil sought to do this by corrupting the image of God through lies and idolatry. Satan’s lie is not merely calculated error – it is a murderous weapon used to damn the soul (Jn 8:44).

Consider some of the elements of his lie: master-less freedom is attainable; one may break away from, and transcend creaturehood by seeking divinity; personal autonomy is realized by trusting one’s own reason above divine revelation; rebelling against God creates a new order and a new reality; one may choose right and wrong for oneself without divine consequences; the soul is self-determined and unconquerable.

Satan has passed on his own self-deception to the human race. He offered his own wicked epistemology to our first parents. Darkness flooded the soul as a result. Pseudo-freedom wed itself to all of the lusts of the world. Man, by his apostasy from God, set in motion moral and spiritual disorder. Forces of decay, corruption, and bondage took hold of the universe.

We must always remember the temporary nature of Satan’s kingdom. It is an immense kingdom; but it is built upon the foul stinking sands of human and angelic crime against heaven. When God finally deals decisively with the crime; every vestige of the kingdom will be gone (1 Jn 2:17).

For the present we are locked in combat. We still have a hell to avoid and a heaven to gain. It’s time we stop telling ourselves that porn is simply a secret forbidden, dirty little pleasure. Let’s call it what it really is – a cruise missile in Satan’s arsenal. It makes a man feel like a walking septic tank; it keeps dispensing disgust and self-hate; the man who uses it feels more like a drooling beast than the crown of God’s creation. Porn enslaves, degrades, and damns.

1 Peter 2:11 tells us that fleshly lusts wage war against the soul. Porn-fed lust has the destructive power to hollow out a man and make him a shell of what he was. The very faculties of soul needed for love, empathy, worship, tenderness, and responsiveness to God are enlisted for craving and greed instead.

It can fragment the soul and deface the image of God and make a man into a moral coward. It can neutralize a man spiritually – it so defiles the conscience that a man loses his ability to be fierce for the truth. It sheathes his sword and fills him with a sense of hypocrisy; it makes him ambivalent about ministry.

Christian men must tell themselves the truth about pornography; it is a satanic weapon that wages war against the soul. Porn is not merely about forbidden objects of desire – it is a worldview about the body; about sexual relations; about supposed rights; about the enthronement of lust. It is nothing short of war against the knowledge of God.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Our glory, boast, and treasure is our personal knowledge of God (Jer 9:23, 24). Explain why sexual compromise devalues our knowledge of God?
2. Read Romans 1:21-25. Write out your thoughts about the exchange of God’s glory for a degraded image (note what is lost: dignity and the knowledge of God).
3. Why does ‘worshipping and serving the creature’ open the door to degrading passions? (See Romans 1:21-25.)
4. Read Colossians 3:5. Identify the behaviors that amount to idolatry. Is sexual impurity a form of idolatry? Why or why not?

5. We are conformed to the likeness of what we worship – whether it is God, or an idol. Read Psalm 115:1-8, and 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18 and write out the conformity principle in your own words.

C H A P T E R T H R E E

LIVING IN YAHWEH’S WORLD

God so ordered His laws by His wisdom that the obedience of man should draw forth His goodness and prevent those smarting judgments which were necessary to reduce the creature to order that would not voluntarily continue in the order God had appointed.

Stephen Charnock

This is Yahweh’s world. He created it; He owns it; He rules it by His goodness and for His own good pleasure. God delights in the exhibition of His glory. The chief end for which all things exist, including knowledge, is the glory of God. The aim of all creation is that God’s glory and excellent perfections should be known, esteemed, loved, and delighted in by His creatures (Jonathan Edwards).¹

There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the Lord (Prov 21:30). It is impossible that God’s ‘glory purpose’ for His creation should be frustrated by human and demonic rebellion. That is one of the reasons why sin is spiritual insanity.

God’s precepts keep us from self-destruction. Yahweh’s commandments are the safeguard of love to God and neighbor. Wise travelers don’t fret at the guardrails along the highway – they are grateful for the protection they afford from the cliffs below.²

To fear and reverence God is to hate sin and turn from it. The proportion of our fear of God is revealed in our level of our hatred of sin – Ps 119:9-11; 53, 38, 45). It is the Word of God that produces fear of God. Wise is the man who immerses himself in Holy Scripture.

In His Word God tells us what is real, true, right, and rational. The message of Proverbs 1-9 is as simple as it is profound -- because this universe is Yahweh’s creation, there is a common ethical system for all humans – divine order permeates every part of the universe.³

To live wisely in Yahweh’s world is to live according to His justice; and not by fleshly desires, and amoral pragmatism (situation ethics). A life of wisdom is a life of conformity to God’s norm of righteousness.⁴

Obedience is to be universal – a whole life response to Yahweh. We are to please Him in all areas of life by respecting the divine order He has constructed in the world. Without this there will be moral failure and failure to please God.⁵

Proverbs 1-9 was given to us to allow us to recall during times of temptation the boundaries God has set. To be conversant with these boundaries helps the man who fears God to do what is right and what pleases God in times of temptation.⁶

When we embrace God’s blueprint and standard it is not simply an attempt to master a moral code – it is submission to God’s holiness; His loving purposes for us. It is submission to God Himself who is our Source of life.

The fool insists on directing his own life – he demands autonomy at all cost; even if it results in his eventual destruction. The fool makes personal freedom his chief value. By these rebellious choices his folly is evident; for he opposes his own welfare; he hurdles toward destruction as a result.

The wise man seeks what is best in Yahweh’s ordered creation by revering Yahweh; thus the wise man has skill in living within the world. By contrast, mockers disdain wisdom – they tear down with scoffing and pleasure-seeking what they don’t accept. The mocker is unteachable and suffers for it. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death (Prov 8:36).⁷

Proverbs has many warnings about illicit sexual activity. God’s will is our purity (1 Thess 4:3ff0. The Word has power to give us victory over the assaults of sexual temptation. Do not forsake her and she will guard you; love her and she will watch over you (Prov 4:6).

Wisdom is moral maturity. Wisdom is living life in Yahweh’s world as He intends that it be lived. Wisdom results in stability without fear of harm or misfortune. When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet (Prov 3:24).⁸

The highest goal of wisdom is the knowledge of God (Prov 3:32). To fear Yahweh is to receive and live by His knowledge and wisdom. God’s purpose; His design in the world is to make us like Him in holiness.⁹

It is impossible to make a fool out of God (Gal 6) – the sowing and reaping principle is built into the very fabric of the universe. Moral cause and effect is ineffable – the wheels of God’s justice grind slowly but they grind exceedingly small. God’s justice is more comprehensive than a sinner can possibly imagine – it extends to the thoughts, intents, and secrets of the heart (Heb 4:12; Rom 2:16).

In a moral universe sin is irrational -- this is Yahweh’s world; that’s why secret sin is a lie lived out – there are no compartments in our lives that are not in Yahweh’s world.

David prayed that God would protect him from men who lived the lie that reality exists apart from Yahweh’s world. Arise O Lord, confront him, bring him low; deliver my soul from the wicked with Thy sword, from men with Thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life; and whose belly Thou dost fill with Thy treasure; they are satisfied with children, and leave their abundance to their babes (Ps 17:13, 14).

The original lie in Eden was not only a slanderous prevarication about God’s goodness; it was also a radical distortion of the nature of reality. The lie suggested that sin tears one free from Yahweh’s moral government and creates a new reality in which the creature is autonomous. The gospel is given to cast out this lie. The gospel keeps transforming us by the power of its truth.

The redeemed operate like SEAL team members – they are always on a mission of search and destroy. They never rest in their effort to take every lie captive (2 Cor 10:3-6). The godly man wouldn’t dream of giving a lie safe haven in his mind any more than he would place a sign on his front lawn inviting thieves to ransack his home.

I hope you are getting the point that sin is spiritual insanity – sin indulged in is soul suicide – it never fails to start the death ‘time clock’ running. It ultimately deals out the paycheck of death and separation from God (Rom 6:23).

The human soul was created to worship and adore; to be an enthusiastic spectator of excellence. In our souls we are always worshipping, drinking, eating, sowing, and building. If not worshipping God, then idols, if not drinking from the water of life, then from stagnant cisterns, if not feeding upon the Bread of life, then eating bogus bread, if not sowing righteousness, then thorns, if not building upon the Rock, then upon sand.

All of our soul’s activity amounts to sowing; we are moving toward an inevitable harvest. It’s a comforting or disturbing thought that a harvest is coming that is far greater in magnitude than what we have sown. Will it be fruit; delicious, nourishing, beautiful, fragrant, and glorifying to God? Or, will it be thorns; ugly, cursed, painful, and useless? (See Romans 2:1-16).

Joshua warned the people of Israel against a half-hearted, half-completed conquest of the Canaanites. If the Canaanites are not subdued and vanquished, they will multiply and become thorns in your sides and thorns in your eyes (Josh 23:13).

A thorn is excruciating enough in one’s foot. I can attest to that; I had a six inch section of cactus impaled on my toes while running on the beach in Mexico. But to have the needles of thorns stuck in the eye makes one cringe at the thought.

(We know Israel’s history; their failure to remove the Canaanites became their downfall. With their own eyes, the apostate generation of Israel saw their sons and daughters slain or taken into slavery. What a thorn in the eye that was!)

The wise man loves and reveres God; therefore he lives sensibly and righteously in Yahweh’s world.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Proverbs 1:7 and describe your own level of fearing God.
2. Have you ever viewed God’s commands as the safeguard of love to God and neighbor? How would this perspective assist in resisting temptation?
3. Scripture tells us to pursue wisdom as our greatest treasure. God’s wisdom protects us from many dangers. Find and list these dangers (See Proverbs 2:1-22).
4. Obedience to God’s commands is submission to His holy character. Would your walk with God be more consistent and personal if you viewed obedience in that manner?

5. Read Proverbs 3:1-8; 6:16-19. Support from Scripture that wisdom is not only mastering the art of living; but also learning what God hates, and what God loves.
6. Do you regard your own soul’s activity as constant sowing? Read Galatians 6:7-9. Do your convictions regarding the law of harvest give evidence that you fear God?

C H A P T E R F O U R

WHY DOES GOD HATE LUST?

Once suspicion of God and His goodness and justice is allowed to enter into a man’s mind; the floodgates of sensuality are opened.

Oswald Chambers

In order to lust with abandon, I must first tell myself a lie about God’s goodness. Sensual lust grows out of the ancient lie that God is withholding some good from the creature (Gen 3:5). When lust is indulged, it taps into the ancient lie that God is not infinitely good to His creatures; therefore man has a ‘right’ to be fulfilled by sin.¹⁰

God hates lust because it alienates the soul from His goodness. He also hates lust because it is easily the biggest obstacle to godliness. Mental lust works against righteousness because lust is an avenue for the expression of overt sins of the body (Jas 1:13-15).

The practice of lust, like all other sin, is the practice of lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4). When a person gives in to lust; he circumnavigates truth by reasoning that he has the right to make myself happy in violation of God’s clear commands.¹¹

When we choose to fill our soul with a substitute for God it is a terrible loss. We’re made to find our joy in God; when we trade the truth of God for a lie it is tantamount to idolatry and it inches us toward destruction. God loves us; therefore He hates lust because it is destructive to the creatures made in His moral image.¹²

The purity principle is rather simple: purity is always wise and smart; impurity is always foolish. Because the laws against impurity are derived from God’s character, purity is utterly rational.

The order of the universe is permeated with God’s laws of moral cause and effect. Punishment is built into the sin itself. The wrath of God is revealed against those who war against the knowledge of God by their deeds. (Rather than doing damage to God’s commands, the transgressor breaks only himself when he flies against the immovable granite divide of God’s laws.)¹³

This is a moral universe ruled by a holy God – sin indulged in carries its own penalty; it warps the personality. Scripture says of the sexually immoral; they receive in their own persons the due penalty of their error – Romans 1:27.

Lust deforms the soul as it deepens a man’s presumption and boldness in sinning. Addicts always think they can get away with it; they manifest no fear of God. The Psalmist says of the hardened transgressor, He has said to himself, “Thou wilt not require it” (Ps 10:13).¹⁴

Perhaps you can think of books or messages you have heard about the addicting power of illicit sensuality. Certainly the principle of diminishing return (that lust cravings demand ever greater stimulation) has been preached extensively.

But we need to remember that lust indulged does more than simply produce a longing for more intense input. Lust indulged also de-sensitizes us to the wickedness of sin, and it deepens self-centeredness in the process. God hates lust because it fills a man with damnable self-love (2 Tim 3:2-4).

As an artist I have a four drawer file of references for my drawing and painting ideas. In one of my files I have an etching of a snake that has begun to eat its own tail. The image depicts a snake that has swallowed itself up to half the length of its body. I keep this in my file cabinet as a reminder that self-love brings death.

Lust weakens the conscience because we have to bribe and bypass the conscience in order to sin presumptuously. We lie to the conscience in order to indulge in lust; it gradually enfeebles the conscience and makes it increasingly like scar tissue (1 Tim 4:2). When God diagnosed ancient Israel’s descent into wholesale idolatry, He listed one of their symptoms of their hardness as an inability to blush (Jer 6:15).

Lust is mental surrender to sexual temptation – when we allow lust to rule us it functions as an obsessive controlling force. The more lust is fed; the more of a tyrant it becomes. Lust indulged makes way for more sin – it spoils our duties.

One sin harbored unfits us not only for worship, but also for suffering. When we carry the weight of a guilty conscience we won’t carry the cross of Christ – we won’t deny lust and we certainly won’t lay down our lives for Christ. God says kill it – Romans 6:12).¹⁵

God sees secret sin; we will not escape His justice. For nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light (Lu 8:17). Bosom sins; pet sins; sins we still clutch onto trouble our conscience the most – they are the most difficult to give up. The world permits and excuses them; even glories in them; this makes it all the more difficult for the Christian to declare holy war against them. They provoke God because they deform His image in the soul of a man.

One sin lived in means the heart is not sound if that sin holds and rules a man. Satan targets our integrity. Hypocrisy is extremely dangerous. A double life undermines our sincerity. It can obscure the work of God’s grace in us – our assurance can suffer.

The devil’s goal is to make a hypocrite. Hypocrisy not mortified leads to a disconnected life that separates the facts we claim to believe from our moral values. Hypocrisy constitutes a radical disconnect from the truth we say we believe. Our behavior reveals what we really believe (Jas 2:18).

The Scriptural order is -- believe the truth; do the truth; love the truth. Hypocrisy is a falseness that betrays Christ. When we have a double heart it erodes our hope; we easily lose our comfort in the hour of trouble. When we are eaten up by the world – we lose our hope perspective (1 Jn 3:21). When I stoop to feed on garbage – I won’t be in a position to find my deepest satisfaction in God. Your soul was made for communion with angels; cast out earthly-mindedness and recover your hope (1 Jn 2:15).¹⁶

God hates lust because it wages war on the soul (1 Pet 2:11). Jesus said if you don’t fight lust you won’t go to heaven (Mt 18:9). Lust is sexual desire minus honor and holiness. It is the sex drive removed from honor toward another human and missing reverence for God. The source of lust is our evil desire by nature. Lust is an unholy desire – when we sow to it, the ‘payoff’ is that we lust even more. Lust robs us of freedom and joy – when we are controlled by our sensual appetites we are ‘jailed’ and enslaved (Phil 3:18, 19; Jn 8:34).¹⁷

Lust comes in on the heels of lies that argue for compromise. Lust lies try to convince us to drop our guard and leave off watchfulness. God accepts little sins; I’m human; it’s my body; it won’t affect me; the sex drive is not totally controllable; illicit pix won’t hurt me; there aren’t any consequences; the pleasure promise is better than the God promise; fulfilled lust satisfies; I can get away with it; purity is fanaticism that will keep me from enjoying beauty.¹⁸

The lustful man sees the omniscience of almighty God as a disturbing intrusion into his pursuit of pleasure. It is reminiscent of the statement about the wicked in Job 21:14 – who say to God, “Depart.”

God hates lust because it is contrary to all His purposes to make us eternally happy by making us holy like Himself (Heb 12:12-14; 1 Jn 3:2, 3).

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read 1 Peter 2:1-3. What conditions are necessary to profit from the Word of God?
2. A saved person is one who has tasted the kindness of the Lord (v. 3); and who grows in respect to salvation (v. 2). Why does lust impede progress toward maturity?
3. Consider how foolish it is to give one’s self to lust. When you face temptation; tell yourself that you will not play the fool, nor choose to be a dupe of Satan. Read Proverbs 26:11. Picture habitual lust in terms of the graphic metaphor in this verse.

4. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-4. Consider the hideousness of lust as you answer the following question. Why does love of self and love of pleasure cancel out our love for God?
5. Habitual lust pushes a professing believer toward hypocrisy. Read 2 Timothy 4:2. What does hypocrisy do to the conscience?
6. Read 2 Peter 1:1-11. Is it possible for a person to have lively hope and genuine assurance if he does not have moral excellence? (See v. 5). Why or why not?
7. Next time you are tempted to think lustful thoughts toward another person; think of that person’s spiritual needs and pray for them. Thank the Lord that He has let you taste His kindness (Titus 3:4-7).

C H A P T E R F I V E

LUST AND THE AMPUTATION FACTOR

If you neglect doing violence against your sins now, there will be no help for you after death. When men shall open their eyes and see into what a damned condition they have sinned themselves, oh now what would they not do! What violence would they not use if

there were the possibility they might be saved!

Thomas Watson

Jesus proclaimed that lust must be put to death if we are to avoid missing heaven. And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands and two feet, to be cast into eternal fire (Matt 18:8ff).

So serious is matter of our eternal destiny that our Lord compared the decisive action we must take against sin to amputating a body part. The amputation factor highlights the exertion necessary, and the pains we must take, to remove stumblingblocks from our lives.

We must make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom 13:14). How grave is the issue? In order to drive home its seriousness, Jesus tells us that the body member that is making us stumble; whether foot, hand, or eye, will do us no good in hell.

Picture yourself as an amputee hopping on one foot; now think of how much trouble it would be to commit the same sin again. There is no substitute for forsaking sin. We are to eliminate the old occasions of temptation by casting away all provisions for fleshly lust.¹⁹

Lust indulged is an obsessive controlling force that operates as a tyrant and master when it is fed. If it is not put to death; it will slay us eternally. Romans six tells us that there are but two masters in this life; sin and righteousness. We daily and hourly present our bodies to one master or the other. The daily presentation of our body is not a private matter; for how we use our body is a public declaration of who our true master is.

Those who are headed for heaven are those who have been freed from sin and enslaved to God – they make it a daily habit to present their bodies to God. The result of a lifestyle of presentation to God is sanctification and the outcome eternal life (Rom 6:22). This means that eternal life is both the believer’s possession and destination; but he reaches the destination by a life of enslavement to God; by a life of presentation of his body to God. The amputation factor reminds us that we may have to take radical steps in order to mortify sin.²⁰

The presentation principle taught in Romans 6 teaches us that our possession of eternal life depends upon which master rules our body. Scripture tells us that the body is for the Lord (1 Cor 6:13). New Age spirituality deceives people with the lie that what is done in the body does not greatly affect the soul and spirit.

It is a deadly concept (as old as ancient Gnosticism) that religious convictions are held in the privacy of the mind and the heart; but are not necessarily connected to the use of the body. The Bible tells us that the reverse is true; lusts radically affect the soul of man. They wage war against the soul (1 Pet 2:11). At the judgment seat of Christ each person will be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10).

Countless professing believers are living a ‘disconnect’ between what they say they believe and how they structure their lives. For them the truths of Christianity do not form a unified view of all reality. Scriptural truth claims are all too often relegated to an ‘upper story’ category that is segmented off from personal behavior and values.²¹

There is nothing casual about sexual lust and sexual immorality. In our generation sexual immorality is viewed casually because the sensual deeds done in the body are viewed as relatively inconsequential.

According to Scripture, we bring our soul in its entirety to our sexual conduct. The body is linked to the soul; and no more so than in sexual behavior (1 Cor 6:15-20). It is a great distortion to reduce sex to a casual act; for the soul is involved in our sexual activity. The body is not disconnected from the human spirit; the body is the very instrument of the human spirit.²²

Therefore our sexual conduct, whether pure or impure, is not something we happen to do; it what we are in our character and in our soul. It is no wonder that the misuse of our sexuality wreaks havoc, violence, and deformity upon the human spirit. In light of the above the amputation principle makes perfect sense.

When Christ set forth the amputation factor, He was driving home the point that this brief life is a battle for the eternal soul. Paul told Timothy that he must take pains in his ministry because so much is riding upon the proclamation and application of God’s Word (1 Tim 4:15).

The battle for the soul was continually in Paul’s mind. He wanted to imbue upon Timothy that this warfare would require an all out effort. He told Timothy to suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim 21:3). It is another way of expressing the amputation factor. Timothy’s faithfulness would have eternal implications for the spiritual condition of his hearers.

Unfaithfulness is deadly; it hurts those around us. When we indulge in lust it spoils all our Christian duties and makes way for more sin. Lust blows us off course; it can shipwreck the conscience and keep us from navigating a straight course toward glory.

A good soldier prepares himself for hardship. But lust unfits us for suffering; a conscience carrying guilt won’t carry the cross of Christ. The man who won’t ‘amputate’ his lust certainly will not lay his life down for Christ.²³

Holy ‘violence’ in our quest for heaven involves the resolution of the will; the vigor of the affections; and the strength of endeavor. Puritan Thomas Watson’s observations on amputation are most penetrating. Because the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit; the pampering of the flesh is the quenching of God’s Spirit (Gal 5:17). Says Watson, the affections are violent things: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? (Ps 42:2).²⁴

The wise Christian, (the man who is running the race with endurance), begins the self-examination of his soul as if it were the Day of Judgment. He is ruthless in his honesty because he knows that self-love works against objectivity. He knows that his salvation depends upon taking pains in self-examination. By contrast, the false professor seldom examines the state of his own soul; he is too busy spying on the faults of others.²⁵

To those weaned on cultural Christianity’s ‘easy-believism’, Watson’s words sound eccentric to our ears. Listen to his description of the amputation factor in action: But if we [are to] get to heaven, we must force our way; we must besiege it with sighs and tears, and get the scaling ladder of faith to storm it. We must not only work, but fight.²⁶

Lust is easily the biggest obstacle to godliness; therefore amputation – cutting off occasion for all lust, is paramount to our spiritual safety, progress, and usefulness. We cannot overestimate the urgency of the matter at hand.

We ought to treat sexual lust (and its accompanying pornographic stimuli), as our worst enemy. Think of Satan using porn in an attempt to drag your soul into hell. In order to gain the victory, you will have to call upon the Lord countless times and resist the devil’s temptation with all your might.

Now let’s think about the words used by our Lord when He set forth the amputation factor; and then personalize our combat by adding additional terms: In order to gain the victory over the enemy of my soul, I will dig in; hack my way; chop, pluck out; I will cut off all occasion for sin. I will deny myself and I will trust and praise my way to freedom; and I will stay free in Christ my Champion.²⁷

Like Timothy, we must flee from youthful lusts. We must have a working knowledge of our armor and our spiritual weapons. When we are serious about the amputation factor, there will be no gaps in our armor. Then, like Timothy, God can use us to assist others. We must guard ourselves and be pure if we are to be useful in the battle for eternal souls (2 Timothy 2:21, 22).

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Last year a solo Utah hiker was caught in a rock slide. His arm was pinned beneath a huge boulder. He cut off his lower arm with a knife in order to live. What provisions for lust are still present in your life? How will you ‘amputate’ them so as to live free?
2. Read Romans 6:12-23. During your quiet times with the Lord this week; compose a prayer that expresses your resolve to present your body to the Lord each day.
3. Sometimes we are so complacent about sin that it is only suffering that shocks and surprises us. Read Lamentations 3 and 4. Locate each verse which connects judgment, suffering, and destruction with sin.

4. Read Jude 4-13. List the judgments reserved for those who sin presumptuously, yet profess to know God. In light of this text, how dangerous is it to treat grace as a license to sin?
5. Read 2 Peter 1:4-7. What changes would have to take place in your life for this description of Christian character to describe your life?

6. We ought to offer holy violence in our battle for purity and sanctification. Jesus told His followers that those who truly apprehend the infinite value of eternal life seize the kingdom by holy force (Mt. 11:12). Does that kind of passion characterize your walk?

C H A P T E R S I X

OUR BATTLE WITH LUST IS A FAITH FIGHT

Faith takes God without any ifs. If God says anything, faith says,
“I believe it;” faith says, “Amen” to it.
D. L. Moody

Faith is central to our victory; every failure in our fight against lust always begins with a crisis of faith however small. When we turn away from Christ in order to be satisfied in other things it is unbelief; we are disobeying the command to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1). Faith therefore is a vigorous principle that maintains an appetite for God in the heart.²⁸

The fight of faith is the battle to stay satisfied in God. When we battle to stay satisfied in God; we take our thirst and desire for satisfaction to all He is toward us in Christ Jesus. Whenever we fail in our battle for joy in God, our repentance ought to be immediate and not delayed. When we repent we are turning from self as a source of satisfaction; we return to Christ Jesus for our enjoyment.²⁹

Finding our pleasure in God goes even deeper than death to self, and self-denial. The reason for this concerns our ever present thirst for contentment. We could draw a straight line, like a graph, between contentment and coveting. At one end of the graph is contentment in Christ; and at the other is coveting. To the degree we cultivate contentment in Christ; our hearts will be guarded from coveting (and lusting). Contentment is the overflow of joy that comes from godliness (1 Tim 6:6).

In one sense faith is our only fight. The reason for this is that our battle is all about whose promises we will believe. Lust makes a promise -- that by indulging in sexual images we will be happier. In fact it is the promise offered by lust that is the power of temptation. It is always about the prospect of happiness – what will make me happy?

Faith in God’s Word beckons me to trust in God’s promises. Jesus tells us that He is able to satisfy our soul thirst now and forever (Jn 6:35). When we bring our desire and our faith to Christ’s promise; we believe the promise of God more than the promise of lust. Trusting God makes us conquerors; how we need to preach this to ourselves; especially when lust’s false promises are screaming at us in full crescendo.³⁰

Maurice Roberts reminds us that the soul of man was made to worship, to adore, and to pursue happiness; even to crave. If the soul cannot reach spiritual joys, it will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction. The soul of man refuses to live as a desert.³¹

If the believer goes any length of time without tasting the love of Christ, and when Christ ceases to fill the heart with the sense of His presence and with satisfaction; the soul will go in silent search of other lovers (such as lust). This is why seeking satisfaction in the Lord is so important to our sanctification.

The experience of biblical enjoyment of God is not abnormal or extraordinary, but part of our inheritance (Eph 1:14). “Earnest” or initial payment is not confined to the doctrinal, or theoretical. The “down payment” of our inheritance strongly implies that the enjoyment of God is to be expected, looked for.

What is the love of Christ in the heart? It is the experience of the love of God being shed abroad in the heart (Rom 5:5). This is an actual experience. It is God making His love wonderfully real to us so that we are made profoundly aware of it. It is the impression upon the human spirit of the love which God has for us in Christ.

This experience is accessible by meditation on the Word or God and by prayer. Our daily duty and privilege is to seek this experience from Him until we are joyful partakers of it. To taste this once is to not be satisfied nor rest content, but to seek to have it again and again. Jonathan Edwards referred to the delight in God he experienced in his devotions as ‘sweet entertainment’.³²

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He makes His wonderful love real to us. This gracious communication to us in this life by the Spirit generates felt joy and exhilaration in connection with the consciousness that one is a child of God. This experience is not confined to the N.T. God is my exceeding joy (Ps 43:4). Taste the goodness of the Lord (Ps 34:4). “Tasting” is experiential; it is the ecstasy of the Spirit poured out in the heart – that we might pant after Him, thirst for Him, desire to appear before Him, and long to enjoy His lovingkindness forever.

The godly expect this ongoing “tasting;” it is not just mental understanding, but heart-warming experiences. It is felt enjoyment of the love of God (Ps 63:2-7).³³

Are you convinced that the experience of Christ’s love can be felt? Then go to God in prayer for it. Go to the throne of grace for the choice favor of tasting, so as to be made aware (subjectively conscious of) the love God has for you in Christ.

We are to treat God with the awe His majesty deserves – lowness, contrition, self-abasement; yet not with detached politeness. He expects us to wrestle with Him as Jacob did, casting ourselves at His feet and making mighty demands according to His will.

Such concentration in prayer demands undistracted focus and an unhurried, settled mind before His felt presence. The believer rises from his knees at times with joy inexpressible at the prospect of having received the unforgettable impression of Christ’s love upon his spirit.³⁴

Spiritual decline sets in when we lack the commitment to take hold of God and when we fail to pursue delight in Him. Without a commitment to take hold of God in the above way, there is a danger of learning to tolerate living away from the experience of the love of Christ. Our corruptions work against daring to draw near. We tend to retreat into the shadows away from Christ for months on end until we become strangers to the inward enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart.

A spiritual chill comes over the soul – callousness insulates the spirit from intimacy with God. Worldliness and tolerated lusts, like cracked paint layers, coats the soul and makes the believer accustomed to feeling nothing. Busy-ness for God may continue. But it is dangerous to live without the heart-warmings that are all important to spiritual well-being.

Guarding time with the Lord in which we seek Him passionately births new triumphs over sin. To pray well is to have studied well (Luther). Nothing must be permitted to weaken our cultivation of fellowship with Christ. All of our outward duties need to be re-molded to be a means of fellowship with God.

Abiding in Christ is our number one priority – we are to live unto God, upon God, and for God. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21). To be effective we must excel at fellowship with Christ. Faith in God’s promises is vital; I must believe that God holds me in His heart of love and that He desires my fellowship.

Our daily orientation is one of reckoning self dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:11). When we reckon ourselves dead to sin; we are believing the power and authority of God’s Word – for Scripture exposes and defuses the lies that lust’s temptations bring to us. The action of Scripture is like a sharp knife that cuts away the sugar coating from the lust to expose the deadly poison beneath.

The truth of God is our weapon in the fight of faith; God alone will make our future happier. When we believe this; we are wearing our spiritual armor. Temptation’s titillation comes at us with a leading edge offer of immediate gratification. The dangerous toxins of lust are concealed beneath the thin layer of ‘candy’. Sin’s power to seduce is wrapped up in its lying offers. The believer is protected from the solicitations of sin when, by faith in the Word, he rejects lust’s offer of satisfaction through indulgence.³⁵

Trust in God’s promises is the very pulse of our Christian walk. It is the first line of defense against straying into lust. God has saved us for a life of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control. It is God’s Spirit who empowers us to live the life of a new creature (2 Cor 5:17).

When, by daily presentation, the Spirit controls every part of our lives; including our sexual desires; we are navigating the narrow path spoken of by Christ ( Mt 7:13). The Law of liberty speaks to our faith telling us that only the Spirit-guided, Spirit-controlled life that is the genuine life of freedom and fulfillment (.³⁶

All of our progress in sanctification is faith-driven. Faith in God’s Word keeps us moving in a God-ward direction. At salvation God graciously placed us in Christ giving us a perfect positional righteousness. All of our resultant practical righteousness grows out of our positional righteousness by means of faith (Col 3:1-5).

The Holy Spirit produces in the believer an entirely new disposition which loves Christ and desires His approval more than self-recognition and self glory. It is an entirely new life that severs us from the old; it’s a perspective based on faith in God’s promises.

Self love always asks, “What would please me?” Love toward God, produced by the Holy Spirit, asks, “What will please God?” This new disposition is produced by the aid of God’s Spirit (Gal 3:3). Because Paul could see by faith beyond the horizon of this world; his one unifying life ambition was to be pleasing to God (2 Cor 5:9).³⁷

Happiness in God is a learned behavior. What we are by nature and what we did before conversion must be unlearned. It is a radical concept utterly foreign to the natural mind that the Christian finds his greatest happiness in God making him holy. The godly man finds his happiness in what God is doing in the saints. He has delight in God’s blueprint. The believer’s faith takes hold of God’s love as it is expressed in His sanctifying purposes.

Faith in what God is doing in his life produces security, peace, and happiness – the man of God rejoices at being enclosed by God’s loving purposes. This is an absolute puzzle to the non-Christian. The natural man marvels that the believer has learned to live upon the acceptance that God’s will is best. The maturing Christian is happy with what God wants.

As the believer grows he maintains that happiness in God even if his wants are delayed or thwarted; he is happy to want what God wants, to love what God loves, and to hate what God hate. His contentment in God is always growing (Heb 13:5: Ps 62:5).³⁸

In Christ’s school of happiness the very first lesson to be learned is deny self (Luke 9:23). Natural reason begins and ends with self. God’s truth about the secret of satisfaction is a paradox. For nothing satisfies without God and without God in it. Everything we attempt to feed the soul without God in it will prove to be bogus bread (Is 55:2). Jesus taught that He alone makes people truly happy (Jn 6:51; 7:37; 10:10; 16:24).

The growing Christian learns to know his own heart; his affections are the barometer of where he is headed. His heart is the revealer of where he is looking for satisfaction; and what he is trusting in. He is able to see from a distance where his desires are becoming different from God’s desires. When his heart is restless and in danger of truant affections; he notices and takes appropriate action; he renews his diligence in seeking happiness in God; he feeds his faith on God’s promises.³⁹

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read 1 Timothy 6:6. Why does discontentment work against godliness? What is the solution? (Hint, see Col 2:6, 7).
2. Meditate on a portion of Scripture that speaks of God’s love and grace to you in Christ (Eph 1-2; Col 1-2; Rom 5-8, etc.); ask God to manifest His love and goodness to you.
3. In your prayer time today, ask God to examine your heart and show you your need for renewed faith and zeal in seeking Him. Read and meditate upon Isaiah 55 with the expectation that God will respond to your seeking.

4. Faith in God’s promises imparts sanctifying power. Meditate on the promises of Romans 6 with this goal in mind: “I will reckon the promise that I am dead to sin and alive to God; and I will place this promise in my arsenal of spiritual weapons.”
5. Happiness is God is a spiritual discipline that must be learned. It is foreign to what we are by nature. Study Hebrews 13; then write a short devotional about learning to find all your contentment in the Lord.
6. Read again what Jesus said about true discipleship (Luke 9:23-26). Have you always thought of these requirements as great personal sacrifice instead of the source of true happiness? How does self-denial bring true happiness?

C H A P T E R S E V E N

THE SPIRIT PRODUCES SUPERNATURAL LOVE

At the very center of love is light. That is not a true love which sacrifices doctrine and principle. God has never acted in love at the expense of light.

W. Graham Scroggie

When the believer is abiding in Christ; he is walking by means of the Spirit (Gal 5:16-18). In our prayer life we seek to remove all that interferes with our fellowship with God and obedience to Him. Through confession and repentance we renew our obedience. We could refer to this step as being rightly adjusted to God’s Spirit – that is we make certain we are not grieving and quenching the Spirit by condoning sin (Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 5:19).

It is the Holy Spirit who produces the Christian life (Jn 14:16-18). Jesus said apart from Me you can do nothing (Jn 15:5). Christ’s Spirit enables the believer to put sin to death (Rom 8:12, 13). And the Spirit provides the enablement to bear the fruit of Christian virtue (Gal 5:22-24).

The Holy Spirit sustains the believer at a level of obedience that lifts him above dominion by fleshly sins; so that there is no sin ruling in his life (1 Jn 3:5, 6, 24). The Spirit produces a supernatural capacity to be devoted to others in genuine Christian love. Consistency in this area does not happen over night; it is produced in a believer as he grows in maturity.⁴⁰

Lust is a selfish passion that wants to view others as objects of fleshly desire and craving. The lusting man is thinking about what he can get; not the Christian love he can give. The divine enablement of the Spirit leads the believer to replace getting and taking with giving and serving (Gal 5:13). Lust can’t wait to get; love can’t wait to give.

The ‘wine of heaven’ is to have the matchless love of God flowing through you unhindered to others. The obedient believer cultivates that love so that he increasingly identifies himself with the interests of others.

The growing Christian walks dedicated to that love – he sees the people around him more and more as God sees them. It is impossible to affirm the eternal value of others; and then lust for them at the same time; the two are mutually exclusive. As the Christian matures, he is less provoked and less irritable. He is less easily offended by others and he has less lust.⁴¹

If ruling lusts are to be conquered, the Christian man must move toward unselfishness or there will be no lasting change. Christ commands His own to live unselfishly; to live by the Royal Law (James 2:8). Getting the upper hand on lust will only take place if go beyond abstinence to love.

There must be a change in which we desire God’s love passing through us to others. 1 John 4 unfolds the divine pattern for supernatural love among the brethren. We love only because God in Christ loved us first. Thus our love back to God, and our love to others is ultimately reflexive love; it is the believer’s response to God’s love.

As we receive God’s love, we are fitted to love others. God’s love is therefore an equipping, enabling, and empowering love. God’s love is instructive; as we receive God’s love He is actively teaching us to love others (1 Thess 4:9; Eph 5:2). God’s love is liberating – it sets us free from the prison of selfishness (James 2:8, 12).

To love with God’s love (of His nature) is only possible if God’s Spirit resides in you. Those born of the Spirit are made capable by the Spirit of supernatural love. God showers His people with His love and He expects us to express His love to others. Communing with Him fits us for the expression of His love (1 Jn 1:5-7).

God’s love is demonstrated in sending Christ to be the propitiation for our sins. As sin bearer, Christ averted God’s wrath from us to Himself. The highest expression of God’s love is Christ bearing the penalty for our sin in His own Person (1 Jn 4:10).

God’s love is self-sacrificial – it is given to those who are lying under divine wrath; it is extended to those who are polluted, unlovely, morally deformed, unclean, repulsive, and unattractive. Wonder of wonders, God is not repelled; His love is drawn out to them in their helpless, polluted, and rebellious condition (Rom 5:10, 11).

Have you seen yourself as among those who are unworthy (deserving only God’s judgment)? And yet you are amazed to find that God did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for you; then God has set you apart to manifest His love to others.

Christ’s love is a constraining, controlling, motivating love (2 Cor 5:14). No one can comprehend God’s love UNLESS he first receives it through the mercy and grace of Christ. Only then is he able to transmit and express it to others. We must first be made (by God’s Spirit) objects of this exotic manner of love – feeling it experimentally – before we will be able to love others in the same way.

While still in your sin and deformity, God’s love was drawn out to you. He lavished his love upon you – making you an object of His mercy and compassion. Only those who have tasted this redeeming love are capable of passing it on to others (we love, ONLY because He first loved us).

In order to love supernaturally, we have to love our brother or sister as God sees and loves us. That means you love them on the account of God having loved you – though He saw you as polluted and perishing. To identify our love with God’s love, we must be able to have deep compassion on the evil-doer and earnestly long for his salvation. That is only possible if we ourselves know we were former enemies of God who have been reconciled solely by the blood of Christ.

In sending His Son to be the propitiation for my sins that I might live, God has effectively (in my case) removed every obstacle to a love relationship with Himself. And He has fitted me for a fervent love of the brethren (1 Pet 1:22, 23).

Abiding in Christ is our response to God’s love. God constantly offers Himself to be enjoyed by us in His Son. By habitual abiding and dwelling in God; and by loving the brethren, we give evidence that He dwells in us.

There is a necessary relationship between abiding in Christ and loving the brethren: 1.) By the new birth and the indwelling of the Spirit, we gain the knowledge of God’s love. 2.) As we walk in the Spirit, we rely on His love; we abide in Him and learn that God’s nature is love. 3.) We discover that to live in God means to love the brethren.

By faith God dwells in us; where God abides, there is love, hence it follows that love is a function of faith. As sons of God we now have a new faculty of loving – it’s a love that goes forth to people as they are attractive to God, not us. In other words, we fall back on God’s love. If we love, it’s only because “We have known and believed the love which God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16). It is faith alone that works by love (Gal 5:6).

In our communing with God we consent to be loved by God on Gospel terms. We lay our hearts open to a full frank acceptance of the love that first loved you – consent to it – THEN from that love will spring up love in you that will make your communion with God without fear and your love of the saints a joy.

We don’t work up this love. Our love to God and the brethren is reflexive** – it is the Spirit engendered response to receiving His love – the love embodied in the Son whom He sent to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10ff).

God’s way of assurance, hope, and boldness is by faith in the Gospel, by the witness of the Spirit, and by God’s love** passing through us to others. When our lifestyle is characterized by abiding in the Father’s love, we will be without fear (1 Jn 3:18-24).

We’ve seen that to live in God is to live in love. God desires to bring His love in you to maturity. As we abide, we experience the holiness of God’s love and our desire for obedience, and for love to the brethren increases. To aspire to this is to replace the selfishness of lust with the spiritual fruit of love.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you believe it is accurate to say that a person who is willing to be ruled by lust is not experiencing God’s love? Explain your answer.
2. Read 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15. In this text, is the person controlled by Christ’s love delivered from selfishness? If yes, explain why.
3. Read John 13:34, 35. How does obedience to Christ’s command to love one another empower us in our fight against lust?
4. Read 1 John 4:7-21. Locate every divine promise in this section. How would faith in these promises assist us in loving others?

5. According to 1 John 3:18-24, what strengthens our confidence that we are loved by God, and accepted by the Father; and that He hears our prayers?

6. If you look only at your weakness and remaining selfishness, you may not to attempt to love as Jesus loved. Would you have more courage to love if you were confident that the Holy Spirit was ready to manifest God’s love through you?

C H A P T E R E I G H T

SUSTAINED BY THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD

Mercy pleases Him. It is no trouble for Him to exercise mercy. It is His delight: we are never weary of receiving; therefore He cannot be weary of giving; for it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive; so God takes more content in the one than we in the other.

Robert Harris

God’s grace transforms. Transformed living through the grace of God gives us an entirely new view of our body. His grace allows us to view our body as a living sacrifice for the Lord (the body is for the Lord – 1 Cor 6:13; Rom 12:1, 2). Grace produces a transformed lifestyle that issues forth in action. (Transformed living stands in stark contrast to mental assent to correct doctrine; faith in the truth is far more than mere agreement with orthodoxy.)

God’s sovereign grace manifested in forgiveness draws a straight line to consecration. In consecration we keep giving ourselves back to the Lord. We need to think our way through this because we live in an age of cheap grace in which salvation is merely the bestowal of a clean slate.⁴²

God wins our reverential fear through forgiveness – those truly forgiven fear God. If Thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared (Ps 130:3, 4). Those who receive God’s forgiving grace turn from self and emptiness to all God is for us in Christ.⁴³

At the moment of salvation, God set us apart for an eternal relationship with Himself. This setting apart of the believer unto God (sanctification) was once for all accomplished by the work of Christ (Heb 10:10, 14).

Consecration is our response to God’s gracious work of cleansing, acceptance, and hope. To be consecrated is to be set apart (sanctified) for a relationship with God in Christ. Our new status in Christ is expressed in a lifestyle of living separated unto God, as His possession. Grace produces the consciousness that we are God’s possession. Christ died to devote the Church to Himself in an exclusive and permanent relationship.⁴⁴

God’s grace redeems. God’s redeeming grace sets us free from sin, our former slave master. Redemption is more than forgiveness; it is the impartation of a life. God’s grace places Christ’s life in us; His holy personality is expressed through us by His Spirit (Gal 2:20). This new life, characterized by transformed living, issues forth from regeneration and redemption (2 Cor 5:17).⁴⁵

It’s important to understand that sanctification (transformed living) is a particular relationship to God which has been given; it is not, in its essence, something attained. According to Romans 6:22, the “fruit” or “benefit” of being enslaved to God is sanctification.⁴⁶

Grace-enabled; grace-motivated transformed living is all about the presentation of our body to God; this is our reasonable service of worship (Rom 12:1). The use of our body apart from God is equivalent to rebellion.⁴⁷

This new life and vitality is within the freedom of God’s loving rule – we must define it that way. The joy, satisfaction, happiness in God that results from living under His loving rule is a huge factor in resisting temptation. Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light; there is no other way to be delivered from the temptation of sin, and the wearying burden of sin’s guilt (Matt 11:28-30).⁴⁸

We are never static in the grace-growth process. The growth of grace in us is evidenced by doing what is good and right – as we grow this becomes increasingly easy, sweet, sensible, and rational to us. Grace is our blessed teacher; we learn from God’s delivering grace how to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age (Titus 2:11, 12ff).⁴⁹

God’s grace empowers. Grace gives us the power to say ‘no’ to sin. Because grace unites us to Christ (connecting us to Christ’s life, truth, resources, and love); grace gives us the courage to trample on the world’s offers; it gives us the holy willpower to smash the idols of our heart.⁵⁰

The misuse of God’s grace is a serious matter – warnings abound concerning grace-abusers; the biblical conclusion is uniform; they are false brethren (Jude 4). Clear thinking in this area is needed – Satan whispers, “You’re under grace; small sins are no big deal.” God’s Word tells us that grace brings transformed living and separation from sin; grace supplies the power to deny sin (Titus 2:12).

Grace gives us everything we need for life and godliness. To have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you is to escape the corruption that is in the world by lust (2 Pet 1:3, 4). To receive God’s grace is to be a son of light; dwelling in the kingdom of light; walking in the light (1 Thess 5:5-11; Col 1:13, 14).

God’s grace sustains. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). The sustaining power of God’s grace gives us the heart to get up and run with endurance after we have fallen. Those who have struggled with impurity are often beat down by the waves of shame, guilt, and self-hate that break over them.

God’s grace lifts our heads; the Lord in grace comes to us with infinite compassion. He convinces us to go on because His grace is bigger than our guilt, shame, and self-recrimination. God’s grace is the answer to our fear of unending failure. His grace overcomes our desire to give up. His grace puts us back in the race (Heb 12:1-3).

For the true believer, He is the God of 10,000 times 10,000 chances. He is always ready to meet us at the altar of His crucified Son if we are serious about dealing with our transgression. How we need to learn to run to the atonement; and have our hearts strengthened by grace (Heb 13:9-15).

If God has given you His grace – your life will be characterized by what John Piper designates as future grace. In other words countless installments of divine grace will be there to meet your need of strength, provision, and protection. We are to live our life banking upon His promise of tomorrow’s grace (Phil 4:4-9, 19). Like the children of Israel in the wilderness waiting for manna; we must learn to trust Him for tomorrow’s grace; even while it is yet out of view.

To build your life on God’s grace is to ground your life upon God’s ‘Amen’ to us in Christ (2 Cor 1:20). Christ’s wounds on our behalf have opened an unending fountain of grace. Yes to future grace is yes to God’s yes to you in Christ.⁵¹

When we exercise faith in the sustaining grace that God promises; it will make us strong, free, generous, and pure. Our obedience is to be done in reliance upon the fact that God’s promised provision of grace to us is certain.⁵²

God’s grace sanctifies. At justification, all the benefits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are given to the believer. Justification is our entrance into the exchanged life (Christ’s life for my life; His power for my weakness, His righteousness for my sin, etc.). The faith that justifies becomes a very powerful principle of obedience. The faith that delivers from hell delivers from lust’s rule over us.⁵³

God’s grace brings freedom, fulfillment, and fullness. His grace connects me to Christ as my completeness and source of life (Col 3:2-4). The moment a person is joined to Christ; the process of conformity to Christ begins (Eph 1:4). As the Christian strives to obey – he has the assurance that God is behind all the change in his life because God is the ultimate source of our change.⁵⁴

What kinds of changes are produced in a man by divine grace? A work of grace humbles a man. It changes his heart; it convinces him that godliness is the purpose of the new creation. It makes him strive for a clear knowledge of God. It causes him to strive for personal integrity; it produces self-denial; it motivates a man to seek for assurance; to avoid complacency and presumption. It clothes a man with fear and trembling concerning the things God threatens and promises. Grace makes a man distrust his own heart – holy suspicion of one’s own heart makes a man careful – as careful as a man would be who protects a warehouse of gasoline or gun powder from sparks.⁵⁵

Grace causes us to know self; to stay familiar with the state of our souls; to feel the first signs of truancy rising up in the heart. Thus as we grow in the knowledge of self our prayers improve in effectiveness and transparency. We learn precisely where our desires are different than God’s desires.⁵⁶

God’s grace renews. Renewal means going back to the beginning and expressing each day what it means to be a new person in Christ. What renews us in Christ is faith in God and His promises. The Spirit’s ongoing gracious task is to renew my mind through the Gospel. As we daily feed upon the Gospel we find that there is a fresh incentive to live as a new person in Christ.

The believer is being renewed to the image of Christ. Christ is both the “architect” of the new man, and the “goal” (pattern, blueprint or template) for the new man (Col 3:10).

Sanctification means living as a new person in Christ (Col 3:5-10). Certain attitudes belong to the old self, and certain attitudes belong to the new self. Renewal involves putting on the attitudes of the new man (Col 3:5-10).⁵⁷

Mind renewal through the Gospel puts our focus back upon what God is doing in us. God never backs off from His purpose to conform us into the image of His Son. Renewal each day means we are to live as a new person in Christ. We are to reject the sins that are totally out of place in God’s people.

Our daily task of living to reflect the holy character of God, and living under righteousness (justification) is our preparation to live with God forever. When the N.T. describes God’s grace, with that description of His grace comes an explanation of the believer’s identity in Christ, the believer’s mandate to be conformed to Christ, the believer’s relation to the Body of Christ, and the believer’s destiny in Christ.

These grace-based spiritual realities are a powerful incentive for Christian living. Thus the Gospel gives us “kingdom values” that are joined to our hope of resurrection life. Take Christ as your life, your completeness, your confidence before God, your righteousness, your favor, your security, your destiny, THEN live accordingly as a new man or woman in the sphere of Christ.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Romans 6:15-18. How are we to handle physical and emotional “needs” which seek to usurp Christ’s reign of righteousness over us?
2. Read Romans 6:17. To be “obedient from the heart” means that the believer is united in mind, heart, affections, and will concerning the Gospel and its ethical demands. When fighting for purity, what does it mean to obey God from the heart?
3. The Christian will have to frequently reason with himself concerning the nature of true freedom (submission to God). Discuss how the Gospel is our “life mould” for genuine liberty in Christ. (Hint, see Col 2:6; 2 Cor 6:14-7:1; Titus 2:11-14).

4. Do a study on the conditions necessary for enjoying God’s grace from Psalm 25.
5. If you lack caution regarding temptation; go back again to God’s forgiveness. Write out a devotional about the attitudes produced by divine forgiveness.

(See Ps 130:3, 4; Ps 86:5, 11, 12; Col 2:6, 7).

6. Read Galatians 2:20. Grace is not a heavenly ‘commodity’ that exists separate from Christ. God’s grace flows from Christ who is in union with the believer. Explain why this biblical view of grace argues for deeper reliance upon Christ?
7. Read Titus 2:11-14. Do you think of God’s grace as primarily forgiveness? How does this text change our entire thinking about grace? What fruits are guaranteed to be found in the life of a person who has received God’s grace?
8. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9. When you consider tomorrow’s temptations, do you wonder if you will be strong enough; or do you place your hope in God’s grace?

C H A P T E R N I N E

KEEP REPENTING ‘TIL GLORY

God commands all men to repent. Christians have enough to repent of daily; and if they are not in a penitent frame, they justify impenitent sinners.

Edward Payson

Repentance is a revolution in the soul; an insurrection if you will in which a new King is installed and the reign of self and its idols is toppled. Repentance is nothing short of a revolt in the will and the affections; this revolt must take place before a person can hate his sin. Anything short of revolt is a truce or a détente arrangement with sin.⁵⁸

Repentance describes the transforming of a person from one who does his own (carnal) will to one who does the will of the Father. In true repentance a man’s will is brought in line with God’s will. Lifestyle changes emerge as a result.

Repentance is more than a solemn resolution to do better. It involves not only deep conviction over the need for change; but also a sense of powerlessness that self possesses the needed resources necessary to bring about the needed change. Hope is only in deliverance the Savior brings.

Those who try by themselves to maintain the upper hand over sin have never seen their broken, helpless condition. The desperation factor in which helplessness is truly admitted is a function of mourning over personal sin with deep sorrow (Mt 5:4).⁵⁹

When repentance is genuine; there is resolve that extends into tomorrow’s disposition toward sin. We must cultivate hatred toward the sin that issues forth in removing the provision for sin; and in what precise steps we will take when tempted.⁶⁰

Repentance is a return to pleasing God as our highest priority. True repentance always begins with a change in our relationship with God; and not simply a change in our behavior. Otherwise the result is only outward. Behavior modification that is not based upon a change in our walk with God is often nothing more than self-concern or Pharisee-ism. (Genuine striving for moral excellence is a function of loving God; seeking to please Him; and caring for our relationship with God.)⁶¹

When a believer repents, it very often follows on the heels of divine discipline. God scourges His own to break them out of sinful complacency (apart from which apathy may remain in areas in which sin rules him). Christ Jesus instructs those He disciplines to be zealous and repent (Rev 3:19).

When we truly repent we show zeal. Sin is like a spider that sucks the life juices out of us. We need zeal to fight our way out of the web of apathy instead of resigning ourselves to it. When we repent, we stir ourselves by the strength of conviction that has made its deep impression upon the heart (2 Cor 7:9-11).

God’s discipline can be radically humbling. The man adequately humbled will repent. There is no repentance until we are low enough to remove our excuses and freely acknowledge our guilt to God (Ps 51).⁶²

Confession of sin ought to be inseparably joined to repentance. When the two are joined; the desire to abandon our former ways is cast into concrete patterns of new behavior. When you confess sin; check your level of commitment and desire to change; knowing that it will involve persistence in the face of difficulties. Your commitment is to forsake the sin. Forsaking sin involves the self-denial spoken of by Christ.⁶³

Form your repentance into a prayer. Speak to God what He says about your sin. Confess to Him that your sin involved taking or using instead of giving and loving. Express to God that you are grieved over the sin because God is against it and you love Him and want to serve Him and please Him.

Confess that your sin is abominable to God and that you hate it as well. Express to God your desire to repent – pray to Him your plan to keep this sin from happening again. Ask Him to confirm your plan to avoid the lust’s trap. Thank Christ for taking the full penalty for that sin, and for His ability and willingness to empower your change.⁶⁴

There are three elements consistently found in substantial change born of true repentance: 1.) it is brought about by the ministry of God’s Word; (teaching, exhortation, rebuke, encouragement, discipline, etc.). 2.) It is blessed by the Spirit of God; The Holy Spirit is the unique factor in the change process (even when a biblical counselor, pastor, or discipler is involved as an agent in the change). 3.) The change brings the repenting believer closer to the likeness of Christ.⁶⁵

The biblical perspective on substantial change born of repentance may be stated as a four-step process. It is God working through His Word that brings about the altered behavior (2 Tim 3:14-17): 1.) Teaching, 2.) Conviction, 3.) Correction, 4.) Disciplined training in righteousness. Where there is substantial change; each of these steps constitutes a non-negotiable prerequisite to the step that follows.⁶⁶

The Holy Spirit continually impresses upon the believer the obligation to put sin to death (Rom 8:12-13). The call to ongoing repentance is an ever repeated response to ever newly repeated summons of God.⁶⁷

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Luke 15:11-24). Did the Prodigal’s repentance involve regret only? What aspects of his repentance expressed hatred of sin and his new life direction?
2. True repentance is ‘God-ward’ – and not just an attempt to manage a guilty conscience. Read Psalm 51 and locate each ‘God-ward’ phrase.
3. Half-hearted repentance is not true repentance. Read 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 and identify each attitude that communicates passion or zeal.
4. Have you adequately considered that it is only by the Word of God that you will be able to change your behavior? Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and explain the role of Scripture in repentance.

5. The ability to repent is a function of God’s grace. Repentance does not make us acceptable to God; only in Christ are we accepted. How is faith in Christ’s mercy essential to the believer’s repentance? (Hint, see Matt 26:75; 1 Jn 2:2; Heb 4:15, 16.)

C H A P T E R T E N

PRIZING CHRIST

Many continue little children and weak in faith, because they do not presently attain a solid acquaintance with the Person of Christ.

William Romaine

When we experience the love of Christ, the overflow is willing obedience (2 Cor 5:14). When our hope is set upon the Lord, the Holy Spirit sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5). Nothing is a more powerful deterrent to sin than the experience of God’s love to us in Christ.

Christ’s love brings a firm intention to avoid what is wrong. His love causes us to see our new life as His own life in us (Gal 2:20). Therefore I am to view my life as a vessel in which I carry the treasure of His life received, and His life expressed through me (2 Cor 4:7).⁶⁸

True discipleship involves a cross-shaped yoke – self-will dies there daily (Gal 5:24). This is God’s plan for my life – to live a cross-centered life. As I carry His cross, my old self dies; my sin is put to death (Col 3:5). The happiness of the abundant life is the result of prizing Christ, and following as His disciple who finds His yoke easy.

Churches are filled with people who have not yet decided to follow Christ. So many set backs in the war against sin may be traced to our double-mindedness and ambivalence about following Christ.⁶⁹

Our decision to follow Christ always begins with the apprehension that having Him is priceless. Our choice to begin prizing Christ is based upon our perception of Him as our infinite treasure. This truth is set forth in several parables.

In the parable of the treasure in the field (Matt 13:44), and the pearl of great price (13:45, 46), the buyer sold all in order to gain possession of the desired treasure. Christ cannot be our treasure if we treasure something more than Him.

When we cherish the beauty and glory of Christ in the gospel, our behavior will reflect the fact that Christ has first place in our affections. Prizing Christ is the key to personal holiness.

Cherishing the supremacy of Christ is a decision; by an act of the will we must pursue Him with passion. Embrace Him, behold His beauty, consent to be loved by Him, prize Him above all else.⁷⁰

There are conditions for enjoying the matchless blessings of grace that we have through Christ. We must keep turning from self and emptiness to all God is toward us in Christ. We won’t experience the blessings of grace if we bring our thirst to the world’s stagnant cisterns (Jer 2:13). To prize Christ is to regard Him as our Source Person – as our fountain of living water and abundant life.

We are to follow Paul’s example of prizing Christ. Each day as he rose from sleep he calculated the infinite blessings of knowing Christ. Then he would gladly count all things as loss for the privilege of knowing Christ (Phil 3:8).

In his biblical meditations, the Apostle practiced prizing Christ. He poured over the dignity of his object of desire; the Lord Jesus; and reckoned his former gain to be loss in order to gain Christ. It is clear from Philippians 3 that we must part with what our hearts regard as treasure on earth in order to have Him.

“Prizers of Christ” part with their lusts; Christ has become their greatest treasure and their greatest joy. To prize Christ is not to complain or to spare any pains to get Him. It is not a casual endeavor like the hobby of a Saturday painter. The soul must follow hard after God (Ps 63:8).⁷¹

Delighting in God produces the willingness to count all things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. Jonathan Edwards draws out the relationship between delight in God and counting all things as loss: The saint who has tasted God manifesting Himself as Father, discovering to you His glory and love; lifting up the countenance of His favor upon you would rather have this, though in poverty, than anything the world can offer.

God is pleased at all times to give such discoveries of His glory and of the excellency of Christ. The intent of such encounters is to draw forth from the heart the conviction that (beyond the shadow of a doubt) the believer is willing to count all things as loss for the excellence of knowing Christ (Phil 3:7, 8).

If you are to be satisfied that you have the true love of God by the witness of His Spirit, LABOR to grow in grace, seek to have such experiences again and frequent. Press forward, seeking acquaintance with God, have the principle of grace strengthened.

What is our response to God’s love? Prefer God to all things on earth. Be sure that your heart is wedded to God above all other lovers. Deny, forsake, sell all, take up your cross, run with endurance, fight the fight of faith, bring your body into subjection – sincerely choose God above all things competing for your affections. Press toward the mark, toward the upward call of God (Phil 3:12-14).⁷²

The world’s offers are directed at man’s self love; self love is the destroyer of man’s original happiness. Self-love is an intruder and destroyer of original happiness. Henry Scougal offers the following counsel in order to be lifted above self-love: Let us often withdraw our thoughts from this earth, this scene of misery, and folly, and sin, and raise them toward that more vast and glorious world, whose innocent and blessed inhabitants solace themselves eternally in the Divine Presence, and know no other passion but an unmixed joy, and an unbounded love.

Consider how the blessed Son of God came down to this lower world to live among us, and die for us, that He might bring us to a portion of the same happiness; and think how He hath overcome the sharpness of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers, and is now on the “right hand of the Majesty on high,” and yet is not the less mindful of us, but receives our prayers, and presents them to His Father, and is daily visiting His Church with the influences of His Spirit just as the sun reaches us with its beams.⁷³

There is nothing more powerful to engage our affections than to find that we are beloved of God. Scougal again admonishes us to raise our thoughts above the mundane: But when we once come to conceive aright of those pure and spiritual pleasures, when the happiness we propose to ourselves is from the sight, and love, and enjoyment of God, and our minds are filled with the hopes and forethoughts of that blessed estate. Oh how mean and contemptible will all things here below appear in our eyes! With what disdain shall we reject the gross and muddy pleasures that would deprive us of those enjoyments, or any way unfit and indispose us for them!⁷⁴

Moralistic preaching is powerless to evict the idols of the heart. The moralist seems to be oblivious to man’s created nature. He tries to dispossess the heart of its idols without cooperating with the heart’s created mechanism; for the heart is created to love and hold with affinity that which it regards to be excellent. Nature abhors a vacuum in the affections.

The natural man loves nothing above the horizon of this world. Therefore it is absurd for the moralist to pass sentence on every inmate of the natural man’s bosom without substituting another love in its place. It is totally unnatural to leave nothing in the room of the heart.⁷⁵

The love of Christ in the Gospel makes a man “revolt” against his former love of the world. How does one obliterate present affections? A moral revolt must take place in the affections that causes a man to rebel against his love of the world. The love of God and the love of the world are rival affections. They are irreconcilable; they cannot dwell in the same bosom.

The heart with only the world yet in front of it cannot reduce itself to a desert wilderness. The heart is constituted so that an old affection is only expelled by a new one. A radical change must take place in man’s character for him to love God more than the world (1 Jn 2:15-17).

The “crucifixion” of the old man is a most fitting description of this radical change. Only the cross can produce a change this deep. Paul attributes to the power of the cross the fact that the world is crucified to him and he to the world (Gal 6:14).

In the Gospel God is displayed so that we may love God, have confidence in Him, and approach Him through our Mediator. He shines His glory on us in the face of Christ; freely grants full pardon and gracious acceptance. The Spirit of adoption is poured in; we are delivered from the tyranny of our former desires.

Justification by faith produces the sinner’s change – and the greatest moral and spiritual achievement. It is simply not enough to display the destructive consequences of sin and the folly of temporal and illicit pleasures; displaying the deceitfulness of the heart, the follies of society, and the stench of corruption will not eradicate these inmates from the heart.⁷⁶

Only a faithful expounding of the Gospel testimony can avail against heart idols. The tidings of the Gospel is the only instrument that can expel the love of the world. The recesses of our nature can only be conquered by being made new creatures in Jesus Christ. The display of God’s wondrous economy is the only way to reclaim a sinful world to Himself.

By feeding their affection for God, believers keep their hearts in love with God; they shut out the love of the world; they place no confidence in the flesh; they renounce earthly things (Jude 21). Only a new affection can expel the impulsive power of the old affection (the love of the world).

Unbelief cannot see (so as to feel) the love of God in sending His Son into the world. But one Spirit-enabled, amazing look at God’s love in sparing not, His tenderness, and the sufficiency of the atonement causes the sinner to pass from a state of nature to godliness.

People keep old affections because new ones are out of view and beyond sight because of unbelief. God’s truth in the Gospel raises new affections. Regeneration opens up loveliness, glory, delight, and joy in the things of eternity.

True discipleship is driven by delight in the Lord in the Lord Jesus Christ. Doctrine and demand (the demand of true discipleship) are brought together by desire and delight; that is how a true disciple is made! Without desire and delight, the religious professor will never rise to devotion to Christ; he will remain in a state of legal working, legalism, antinomianism, or dead orthodoxy.

The Christian’s battle to live as an overcomer is the successful effect produced by the greatness of the cause – the cause of our success is a moral resurrection (by means of the new birth) to the truths and precepts of Christianity. The glorious and wonderful object displayed in the Gospel pacifies the sinner’s conscience and purifies his heart.

It is the love of the world that continues to mar the heart and the conscience of the unregenerate. Only a pure affection can cast out the impure affection. The love of evil is expelled by the love of God.⁷⁷ The following section is adapted from John Piper’s excellent series, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ.

Christ is like the sun in our solar system. His majesty is like the blazing glory and gravitational pull of the sun; the orbits of the planets are held and guided by His preeminence.

When Christ is central in our lives; the ‘planets’ of our desires and goals and labors are ordered by Christ and put into their proper orbits. Prizing Christ has the effect of placing all our other ‘priorities’ into their proper relation.

When we are captivated by the supremacy of Christ and ravished by all that God is toward us in Christ; then our hearts are enlarged to take in more of our Lord. The more that happens, the more the soul is broadened and captivated with the majesty of the Lord.

As we grow in that direction; God is big; and lusts are small -- sexuality, with its ‘little’ thrill, assumes its proper size and orbit in our life; sexual lust increasingly loses its power over us.

Now, by contrast, the believer still dominated by sexual brokenness and lust is giving evidence that he has a ‘small soul.’ Little souls make little lusts into big and powerful forces that dominate like a tyrant.

The solution to this pervasive problem is drawn from our created purpose; the human soul was created to find unending satisfaction in Christ; for in Christ God gives us Himself. Only the supremacy of Christ is big enough to enlarge the soul.

Our problem today is that churches are full of folks with little souls. The evil one knows this; he is opportunistic; he is using the world to send tsunami waves through the back door of the church – we’re awash in lust and sexual addiction. There is a clear reason for this.

We were created for soul-staggering grandeur. If our hearts and minds are disconnected from that majesty that is the supremacy of Christ; then it is not surprising that hearts have settled onto trivial things. If the heart is not staggered by the supremacy of Christ, then it will tend to reach for the greatest natural high it can get – sex.

It is only the knowledge of God in Christ that can bring biblical order to our sexual lives; but it is not merely the knowledge of a scholar; it must also be the knowledge of a lover. In fact we don’t know God as we ought until we go from scholar to lover of God.

The deepest cure for sexual lust is to be emotionally staggered by the supremacy of Christ. The sheer weight of Christ and eternity constitutes the gravity of what life is all about. So heavy is that weight that to have felt the tiniest portion of it makes it almost emotionally impossible to go to the internet to view porn.

To the degree your heart and mind are awakened to the glories of Christ’s supremacy, your power potential for purity is ever greater. Our moral regimes and strategies to fight lust have a note of futility about them.

For the heart was created to have an object of desire; to pursue satisfaction with all its might. You were created to see, to savor, and to find your satisfaction in the supremacy of Christ; you must know this in order to be pure.⁷⁸

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. When we perceive that we have unmet needs; it can beat down the door of peace. We are most vulnerable to temptation at that time. Read Phil 4:4-7. Explain how the peace of God is able to “guard the heart and mind?”
2. Incorporate Colossians 1-2 into your quiet time this week. Locate every mention of God’s grace in Christ, and then turn each of them into a prayer of praise to God.
3. Read the parables about selling all to attain the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 13:43-46). In both parables what was the deciding factor that caused the buyer to sell all?

4. In order to delight in God, we will have to be assured that He has fully forgiven us; and that He no longer condemns us. Read Colossians 2:8-20. List and describe each action of God that is tied to your forgiveness.
5. Love for Christ fortifies us against the world’s offers. Only Christ’s love can make a man revolt against his former worldly lusts. Read aloud one or more chapters from Ephesians 1-3; put in “I,” “me,” or your name in the text as you read.

6. Your strategies and schemes to fight lust will see only temporary results if you neglect to make the supremacy of Christ your focus. Read Hebrews 1-4 and write a short devotional about Christ’s perfect suitability to be your Savior.

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

BUILDING A TRACK RECORD OF INTEGRITY

If the biographer gives me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.

William Carey

When Eugene Peterson wrote Long Obedience in the Same Direction he was highlighting the fact that progress in practical holiness is a cumulative process. It is a lifelong journey of patience and resolve measured in decades, not months.

The good news is that as we navigate in the same direction over the long haul; obedience becomes increasingly easy, sweet, and sensible. As we grow in grace, our lives are increasingly characterized by doing what is good and right.⁷⁹

None of this is possible apart from the cross because all of our desires by nature oppose the Spirit’s work of self-denial and enslavement to God. What we need is a track record of faithfulness; not only to prove the genuineness of our faith, but also so that our character will be molded into the pattern set in 2 Peter 1:5-7.

A track record of faithfulness consolidates our efforts; instead of scattering our efforts. Steve Gallagher gives an excellent illustration of the value of a track record of faithfulness. When the soul of a believer feeds upon the lewd fantasies of porn, it has the effect of tearing up the ‘wiring’ in our soul; as a result nothing in the soul works correctly. (Consider how porn affects one’s walk, witness, prayer life, conscience, relationships, etc.) But, by the grace of God, when a believer begins to establish a track record of faithfulness to God and His Word, the wiring is slowly ‘repaired’ – it begins to work properly again.⁸⁰

To whole-heartedly embrace purity requires training and discipline. We have to train ourselves to go to the Word of God and take hold of God’s promises. We’ll have to fight past the feeling that the promises might not work and nothing will change.

To paraphrase Puritan Thomas Hooker, we must always remember that it is not our faith that makes God’s promises powerful; it is the other way around! Take your weak faith to the Word of God and watch your faith grow.⁸¹

How true that is – so often we maintain a low optimism that God will act on our behalf. We secretly doubt that God will step into our lives with transforming grace; even though His promises confirm that He will do so. It is our responsibility to cultivate hope in God instead of doubt. We have to train ourselves to take hold of eternal life (1 Tim 6:12-14).

An important building block in our training is what Jerry Bridges refers to as the discipline of grace. By ‘preaching the gospel to ones self’ the believer learns to overcome his natural reluctance to trust. It requires training and discipline to consistently believe that God desires to magnify His grace in His dealings with us.

As long as our focus is inward, our awareness of our failure toward God tends to kill our expectation that He desires to bless us. The temptation is to fixate upon our ineligibility for blessing. But when we go to Christ and keep believing that He is our qualification for God’s eternal blessing and favor; then our hope and optimism toward God’s promises will increase (Col 1:12).

As we feed upon His promises (with Christ as our righteousness); we will find that our spiritual momentum increases. Like the competitor who gets his second wind; we will pick up our pace and begin running again with endurance (Heb 12:1-3). Our obedience becomes consistent as we trust in God’s present and future grace.

Doubt about God’s love and care opens up gaps in our spiritual armor. Pessimism about God’s favor and blessing is an access point for temptation. Scripture warns that a heart of doubt and unbelief is evil in God’s sight (Heb 3:12). Doubt can open the door to self-pity and a desire for sensual comfort.

When we allow ourselves to be controlled by doubt about God’s heart of grace toward us; the false promises and solicitations of sensuality become most intense. The temptation is to see God’s character through the lens of our circumstances, instead of through His promises.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom 13:14). The act of putting on Christ is the initial part of the same command as denying opportunities for the flesh. We have already put on Christ at salvation (Gal 3:27).

When the believer puts on Christ; it is an act of faith that says, “I will wrestle in faith to see God through His promises to me. I will be who I really am in Christ. I will submit in faith and obedience to the Lord who loves me. His Word is reality; His commands are the loving rule of my life.” ⁸²

The key to a track record of faithfulness is tied to learning replacement behaviors. By discarding the behaviors of the old man and putting on the behaviors of the new man we are increasingly delivered from the holding power of our old ways and habits. This puts us in touch with an entirely different dynamic than merely trying to abstain from sin. There must be a positive effort to put on the new biblical behaviors in place of the old ways that have been discarded. If there is to be lasting change – the two actions must be joined -- put off, put on, cannot be separated (Col 3:8ff).

Righteousness does not grow in a vacuum. God gave us His Word to train us and discipline us in the new ways. When we exercise faith and obedience toward Christ in submission to Him; we are willing to be disciplined and trained in the righteousness set forth in the Scriptures.⁸³

A track record is vital to our spiritual warfare. Some of our spiritual victories are won by violent wrestling with temptation in the ‘evil day’ (Eph 6:13). Most of the time victory is the cumulative effect of little acts of obedience. As one pastor quipped; at times we run, sometimes walk, sometimes crawl; even sit. The important thing is that we are facing the same direction – toward the Lord and the glory to come.

The man who fears the Lord faces the right direction; he turns away from evil (Prov 8:13). His gaze is fixed straight ahead (Ps 119:101, 102; Prov 4:23-27).

If we are going to establish a track record of faithfulness, it is vital that we review often the high stakes in this warfare for souls. We are in trouble if the enemy of our souls takes the fight more seriously than we do. Satan is out to rob the church of her purity. He knows that men who allow sensuality to rule them will be neutralized in the fight for eternal souls.

Satan uses the lies of lust to take Christian men out of the battle and make them casualties. It’s heartbreaking to see Christ’s soldiers sitting idle in sick bay with a shipwrecked conscience.

Israel’s history teaches us that immorality and murder are ‘twin sins’. In ancient Israel apostate Jews descended so far into idolatry as to sacrifice their children to the idol Molech. Sexual immorality is not a ‘victim-less’ crime; in time it always gestates into a culture of murder.

The worship of sex in our own country has resulted in abortion on demand. America has lost her conscience; 1,370,000 abortions a year are performed in our nation. Sexual immorality strips away compassion. Like the idolatrous Jews, Americans are shedding innocent blood in the abortion industry (Ps 106: 38, 40).

The spirit of Molech is with us today. The sanctity of sex and the sanctity of life are joined – if the sanctity of sex is lost so also will the loss of the sanctity of life.⁸⁴

When men give themselves over to sexual lust there may not be actual violence against their children; but without repentance, there will be spiritual damage. The father enslaved by lust cannot lead his household spiritually.

In a sense sexual sin causes a man to ‘sacrifice’ his children – because there is immeasurable loss when children are robbed of the holy character and instruction they need from dad.

A track record of faithfulness qualifies us to lead spiritually and to be a constant influence for righteousness to those in our sphere. The stakes are high; our temporal battles have eternal consequences.

The soldier of Christ in training knows that faithfulness adds up and so does compromise. The more compromise there is with lust; the more vulnerability to other forms of sexual temptation. Our actions either strengthen or weaken the conscience. Excuses for sexual sin have the cumulative effect of weakening and de-sensitizing the conscience.

The man with a track record of faithfulness has been strengthening his conscience for a long time. The godly man disciplines himself to discern good and evil. As a result his senses are highly trained to distinguish between the two (Heb 5:14). A conscience this well-trained does not mystically appear under one’s pillow after much prayer; it is the result of years of practice.

The spiritually mature have good discernment and foresight – they can see temptation at a distance (1 Cor 2:15, 16). Therefore they do not stumble and trip into a snare. They strive to keep their garments clean (Rev. 16:15; James 1:27). A strong conscience makes a man brave, heroic, and happy. He correctly regards his Lord as his divine partner in the fight and not merely as the all-omniscient observer.⁸⁵

Christ’s warrior practices spiritual disciplines for the sake of others. He avoids the kinds of compromise that would take him out of the fight. He knows that his track record keeps his training up to date; he is prepared to help others spiritually at a moment’s notice.

Purity makes a man’s spiritual vision keen. Like night vision goggles; he can see the plots of the enemy at a distance. And he has an ever greater apprehension of eternal realities. Lust does the opposite; it clouds spiritual vision.

When a man sows to his lust; he finds it difficult to see above the horizon of this earth. It makes him live by sight instead of faith. God becomes vague, almost unreal. Lust makes God disappear. It makes a man loosen his grasp of Kingdom values – he lives less and less for eternity.⁸⁶

David Wells summarizes the issue in this way: the cost of retaining our knowledge of God is ongoing repentance.⁸⁷ We keep meeting God at the altar of Christ crucified; then we deal decisively with our sin. Our reverence for God is founded upon the immovable conviction that God cannot be mocked; whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Gal 6:7). When a man attempts to cover his sexual sin; he won’t be able to cheat the law of the harvest.⁸⁸

A day is coming when our harvest will be public knowledge – if not in this life – then on the day when the secrets of men’s hearts will be revealed (Rom 2:16). Sexual sin will be exposed and proclaimed from the rooftops (Lu 12:2, 3). The godly man is ever aware that he sows in one of two fields – either to the flesh unto corruption and death, or to the Spirit unto life and blessedness (Rom 2:4-10).⁸⁹

A track record is vital. Holiness is not a mystical state of mind – it is a harvest. Through the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life we sow to the Spirit by the power of the Spirit. The significance of the harvest cannot be overstated. The delay in reaping can make us forget this principle. At times the Holy Spirit mercifully lets us glance back to view the vast amount of geography we have covered in our journey. He shows us how far he has taken us in order to encourage us to keep on going in the same direction.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read 2 Timothy 2:14-26; 3:14-17. How does your commitment to being trained in righteousness demonstrate your submission to Christ?
2. Read Hebrews 3-4. If a believer is ignorant of God’s ways (namely that God frequently tests our faith to strengthen it); that ignorance can lead to an evil heart of unbelief. What is the solution to this doubt problem according to Hebrews 4?
3. Does the believer who deals decisively with his lust (by true repentance) have the assurance that God will forgive his sin and forget his sin? (See Micah 7:18, 19.)

4. Read Jude 1:20-25. The Christian is required to build himself up on his most holy faith. Write a short devotional on how this is to be done (include a section on the use of Bible promises).

5. In your prayer time this week, ask God to search your heart (Ps 139:23, 24). Ask God to clearly show you how much value you place upon a track record of faithfulness. What steps of repentance will you take if your track record is deficient?

C H A P T E R T W E L V E

MEDITATING UPON SCRIPTURE

If I have observed anything by experience, it is this: a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace according to his thoughts and meditations upon the Person of

Christ, and the glory of Christ’s kingdom, and of His love.

John Owen

The contemplation of the truth is our primary weapon in the battle for the mind. Meditation has a goal: to induce trust, loyalty, devotion, surrender, obedience, delight, and love to God; and, all the while deepening our knowledge of God, our love of His truth, and our conformity to it.

The child of God welcomes the power of God’s Word as it exerts its renovating work upon the heart and life. By contrast, the natural man keeps what he knows of God’s truth confined lest it intrude upon his carnal goals.

In the heart of the unsaved man, truth does not reign as king; it stays imprisoned so that it won’t disturb the pantheon of idols that reside there. The difference between the heart of the regenerate man and the heart of the unregenerate man is manifested in the relationship it bears to God’s Word.

Says Stephen Charnock, only the person with saving grace has joy in the object of meditation. Only the saved can take pleasure in the operations in his soul about God. The heart of the regenerate man is a sanctuary of truth. Like the clean animal in the O.T. which chews its cud, the regenerate man ‘chews’ truth.

Meditation on Scripture is for the most part a lost art among the majority of today’s professing Christians (I. C. Herendeen). Therefore it is worth while to begin with a definition of meditation. J. I. Packer’s definition is extremely helpful: Meditation is the activity of calling to mind and thinking over and dwelling upon and applying to oneself the various things that one knows about the works, ways, purposes, and promises of God.

Meditation is done consciously in the presence of God, with the help of God for the purpose of communion with God. When the believer ruminates on Scripture it is active and dynamic. The meditating Christian often will argue with himself; reasoning himself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into clear apprehension of God’s power, grace, and goodness.⁹⁰

When the saint meditates; he is anything but passive; he is busy building a case for obedience and tearing down the beginnings of any argument for distrust of God. Scripture meditation bears little resemblance to how the world would define it. Scripture meditation is intensely relational; the saint literally falls deeper in love with his Maker and Redeemer.

Meditation moves the Word of God from the mind to the heart; from the academic to application. It is a revitalizing spiritual discipline that we need to exercise daily. The reason for this, is that the decay of true religion generally begins with the cooling of our affections to the precious things of God.

In addition, because our natural minds are hostile to God’s gracious will; our minds need constant reorientation by the Holy Spirit.⁹¹ When we meditate, we are taking in the Word for the Spirit to utilize in our lives. The Spirit makes use of the Word implanted; the Scripture is the divine material by which He is pleased to transform us day by day (1 Pet 2:1-3; James 1:21-25).

When believers meditate, they are always about the business of weighing the temporal against the eternal – therefore they are willing to suffer loss and deny themselves. Frequent meditation is required to do this weighing.⁹²

Meditation is required of every believer because every Christian is called to mind renewal by the Word (Rom 12:1, 2). Mind renewal is essential if the believer is to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only (James 1:22-25).

Hebrews 4:12 lays before us a pivotal principle; the Word only profits us when it is mixed with faith. In Hebrews 3-4 unbelief and disobedience are used synonymously.

During meditation the Word is mixed with faith and fastened upon the understanding, the conscience, and the affections so that the truth of God dominates exceptionally in our lives.

When the saint communes with God through meditation; he is trusting God’s Word. As a result, God’s love controls more and more of his decision making. We must come to know God experientially if we are to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Most Christian men are not experiencing the intimacy, communion, and fellowship with the Lord that their hearts long for. Part of the reason involves how our discretionary time is used in our over-scheduled lives. Our normal tendency is to relax, recharge, and refresh by choosing some mode of recreation or amusement that lets our mind ‘cruise’, or be somewhat passive.

Certainly pastimes are needed – but to meditate on Scripture requires an uninterrupted time slot wherein we may focus with prayerful concentration. Drawing near to God requires all of our soul’s faculties and concentration; it cannot be done successfully while we are engaged in some other activity such as exercising or landscaping the yard.

In our multi-tasking world we are always trying to catch up on unfinished projects. At first blush, meditation does not appear to pay enough dividends to justify the time spent. No doubt this is why it is increasingly rare.

Meditation is necessary in order to enjoy the kind of intimacy and closeness to God to which we are called. There are but two ways to draw near to God: by prayer and by meditation (William G. T. Shedd). Meditation is a necessary labor and a pleasurable discipline to be able to take delight in God.

The reward of regular meditation is that we find God to be our chief treasure, to be trustworthy, and to be our highest good. Heart warming communion with God is not possible apart from the Scripture practices of prayer, worship, and meditation.

These three disciplines are closely related. Scripture meditation feeds and stimulates both prayer and worship. Meditation is our contact point for communion with God; and it is the very essence of growth in our knowledge of God.

Those who meditate upon Scripture who are blessed with divine disclosures; God is pleased to manifest His presence where the true knowledge of Him is known, loved, proclaimed, adored, and exalted.

By the mind-renewing power of meditation we submit our minds to the mind of God. We are lifted above subjectivism to concrete thoughts of God.

The effect is always to humble us as we contemplate God’s greatness and glory against our sinfulness and smallness. Meditation teaches us to think in the presence of God (Ps 19:14).

Whatever occupies the mind and heart will engage the will. Thoughts and deeds follow affections. There is no way to pass victoriously through this world of seductive idols without meditation (Ps 119:9-16). We may tell ourselves that we please God because our lives conform outwardly to His moral commands: but the real evidence in the soul of the saint is meditation (Ps 1).

Our love to God is evidenced there first. Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear (Mattt 13:16). The meditating saint uses these faculties planted at regeneration for the purpose of meditation.

The godly man meditates so that he might praise God and tell of all His works (Ps 45). He considers the exploration of God’s wonderful works to be his blessed vocation in life. Those who do not meditate upon the Word of God will be blown away as chaff when the winds of judgment blow (Ps 1).

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Why do you think the Christian needs his mind renewed so frequently? (See Ephesians 4:17-24.)
2. In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, a genuine believer is described as someone who has received the love of the truth. How does meditation give evidence that one loves the truth?
3. Meditation involves stillness before God. Read Psalm 4 and determine what changes you could make in your quiet time in order to meditate in stillness.
4. Read Psalm 145:1-13. How does meditation assist us in communicating the works of God to others? In Psalm 145, locate each mention of the Psalmist’s determination to worship God and make Him known (i.e. “I shall,” “I will,” etc.).

5. How would you rate your level of desire for greater intimacy and communion with the Lord? Did this chapter give you useful information on how meditation will help you draw nearer to God? What principles do you intend to implement?

6. The mind assumes the form of the mold into which it is poured. By meditation the mind is ‘poured’ into the mold of God’s truth. Write a short devotional on Romans 12:1, 2.

C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N

BIBLE MEDITATION IS SWORDSMANSHIP

The man in whom the Word dwells has become like God; and is fair without striving to seem so. This is real beauty.

Clement of Alexandria

Maturing Christians meditate upon Scripture – this involves building a case for obedience and building a case against disobedience. Here is the great difference between merely reading Scripture and actually meditating upon God’s Word. When the believer meditates on the Word; he literally preaches to himself the will of God; the wonders of God; the ways of God; and the works of God.

Meditation on the Word equips us to obey God’s commands. Scripture constantly joins divine commands to the benefits of obedience. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (Ps 1:1). And Scripture spells out the consequences of disobedience. He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (Prov 13:20).

To meditate upon Scripture is to familiarize oneself with the benefits of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. The growing believer learns to mentally wrestle and argue through the imperatives of Scripture. The divine “logic” for obedience must become the believer’s logic.

We must learn to love the truth in order to be conformed to it. The Christian worldview is incredibly demanding. We must know the reasons for self denial; for daily taking up our cross.

Hebrews 6:11, 12 tells us that we must show the same diligence as the saints who have gone before us – so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. We can only run the race set before us with stamina if we fix our eyes on Jesus and lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us (Heb 12:2).

The lusts that seek to hold us are animated by lies. Scripture refers to these lie-driven lusts as the lusts of deceit (Eph 4:22). The secret to overcoming the controlling power of lust is in deconstructing the lies that drive sensual lust. But this is precisely where we are lazy thinkers. We hesitate to actually exert the mental energy necessary to out-truth the lies behind the lusts – but we must do this in order to succeed.

The world has always offered itself as genuine source. I think of my experience with an advertising firm. Ad writing was about finding and uncovering felt needs – and then matching the product to those desires with the promise of satisfaction.

God tells us that if one is a friend of the world; he is an enemy of God (James 4:4). To be a friend of the world is to believe the lie that the world is one’s true source. So antithetical are God and the world in terms of source; that to regard the world as source is to be an avowed enemy of God.

The lie that sensuality can be source is the first lie we will have to deconstruct in our meditation. When we are exercising faith in God we are relying upon Him as source. God and the world maintain an inverse proportion as to trusted source – to the degree that God is our source; the world will not be our source (and visa versa).

We must preach the truth to ourselves with enough conviction to drown out and expose the lie. The Christian man must be on the offensive in this matter. He has no choice. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret (Eph 5:8-12).

Here is the truth; sensuality serves no constructive purpose outside of the context created by God. A man must tell himself that illicit eroticism can do nothing for him. There is no food or drink there – it is empty. All it can do is stir up animal passions that will make him slither and crawl instead of soar the heights with his God. If a man stoops to sip from the eroticism cistern; he will lose sight of his lofty and privileged calling as the image and glory of God.

We grieve to see photos of Brazilian orphans sniffing glue in the alleys of Rio de Janeiro (we are saddened because their effort to escape emotional pain brings upon them greater suffering). God grieves when He sees us sniffing the glue of erotic pleasure outside the covenant of marriage.

When a man’s faculties of soul are given over to sensuality; there is an accompanying deadness that sets in. The very aspects of the soul that are needed for empathy, compassion, sacrificial love, and tenderness toward God are shut down by sensual abandon.

However sweet the stolen waters of sin seem to be in the mouth and to the taste, they will be gall and wormwood in the belly, bitterness in the latter end. All the corruption that is in the world came in by lust (2 Pet 1:4). And all the lust is deceitful (Eph 4:22).⁹³

This pattern of lust operating by deceit is only broken when work is done in the recesses of the soul. The lie must be excavated, exposed, and refuted through Scripture meditation. As a defender of the institution of marriage, the Christian man will have to preach to himself the boundaries God has erected to safeguard the sanctity of the act of marriage. Tear down the temple of lust with truth in order to build the edifice of purity.

The meditating believer must make sure that what God has safeguarded (sacredness of marital relations by the high walls of marital fidelity) we guard as well in our thoughts and desires. We are to reason our way through these issues with solid biblical thinking formed during meditation (Prov 5).

Happy is the man who knows the ways of the Lord; and wise is the man who knows the modus operandi of sin. Iniquity has a kind of life of its own – it brooks no competitors; accepts no truce. It wants complete dominion.

The cuckoo lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. The cuckoo chick upon hatching pushes all the eggs of the natural mother out of the nest so that all the parents’ food and energies go completely into raising the alien parasite chick.

Sin behaves in a similar manner. It seeks to eliminate any competition for its host’s time, talent, and affection. Wise is the man who knows that sin never abides in a static position; it is either being conquered; or is conquering. We either overcome it or are overcome by it.

Sin can’t wait to initiate a coup; a hostile takeover. It will slander God in order to sustain its existence. It will publish the most horrific lies about God in order to seduce one sinner by its promised charms.

Sin gets its foothold by our doubting God. This is why it is so important to watch over one’s heart with all diligence (Prov 4:23). Our spiritual loyalty or treason begins with our thought life. It’s hard to surpass this bit of prose for illustrating the importance of thoughts: Sow a thought; reap an action; sow an action; reap a habit; sow a habit; reap a character; sow a character; reap a destiny.

R. C. Sproul reminds us, right now counts forever. Or as one pastor quipped, today you are becoming what you will be five years from now. This is why meditation is indispensable to our arsenal.

The maturing Christian has learned to be a physician to his own soul. He knows the particular kind of distemper that he is prone to fall into. He knows how to preach to his own heart. He sees temptation at a distance; he is aware of his vulnerability. He knows the appropriate biblical remedies for each disorder; whether laxity, guilt, presumption, self-righteousness, or discouragement.

Most of all he has learned to feed his soul on the precious things of God through meditation. He is in touch with his deepest longings; He attaches them to God. He goes to God each day for delight. He feeds on grace so that he will never lack courage to run to God for new installments of love, acceptance, mercy, and grace (Heb 4:16).

He nourishes his soul on the excellence of heavenly things; the things above (Col 3:1-2). He knows that to behold God’s glory by faith puts resolve in the will; it enables a man to trample upon all the world’s offers. Therefore he is intentional; he keeps going to Scripture to meditate upon God’s glory.

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. If you are in the habit of simply reading the Bible, meditation will be a bit challenging at first. Try beginning with a narrative portion of Scripture: read the account of Lot (Gen 13-19); identify each compromise in Lot’s life that led to greater sin.
2. Read Psalm 1; then build a case for obedience in your own life based upon the principles you uncover. Focus on what is necessary to bring promised blessing.
3. Do you recall the last time you were tempted sensually? What was the lie behind lust’s offer? Dissect the lie from Scripture and expose its false promise.

4. Through meditation we gain a greater mastery over our thoughts. Carefully study Psalm 119. Write down several meditations regarding the thought life of the believer.
5. In meditation we feast on the Word so that our desires our brought in line with God’s will. Read Proverbs 5. Write a short devotional about God’s plan for the sanctity of sexual relations. How does exalting purity (in God’s plan) safeguard us from lust?

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

KNOW THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

To meditate on the life of Him by whom we have eternal life, is the very life of life.

Christopher Sutton

Meditation is the Scripturally appointed doorway to worship (Ps 19:14; 104:33; 77:11-15). In reality, there is no true worship unless some meditation is taking place. Meditation brings spiritual order to our disordered minds.

When we wait upon the Lord while contemplating His glory, grace, and majesty; we find our strength and passion for God’s glory renewed. The Spirit is pleased during these times to write upon our hearts the impressions made upon us by God’s Word. These become the content of our worship.

Meditation develops our ability to talk to God in prayer (Ps 143:5-9). When, by meditation, we fill our minds and hearts with the glories and the perfections of the God who loves us; we will be better able to commune with God in prayer.

Meditation focuses especially upon our relationship with God as it is settled in Christ. Our contemplation of Scripture should frequently turn to God’s goodness to us; and His heart disposition toward us (Ps 63:6-8).

When the true knowledge of God in the new covenant fills our hearts; we will be better able to present our petitions before Him in boldness and trust.

Meditation equips us to profit from the affliction and trials God sends (Ps 115:75-78). When the Word of God dominates our thinking; we will be far more inclined to cooperate with God’s training; we will see His discipline of us as an expression of His care.

In Hebrews 12, God commands us to avoid the wrong responses to divine discipline (Heb 12:3-13). (See also Deuteronomy 8). When we value His discipline; we will steer clear of these ‘avoidance responses’ to God’s chastisement.

Meditation promotes ongoing repentance (Ps 119:9-16; 223-27; 75-80; 97-106; 112, 113). The Psalmist attributes his obedient walk to the keeping power of God’s Word; for Scripture keeps illuminating the path God wants us to walk.

Our progress in following Christ as His true disciple involves the spiritual discipline of ongoing repentance. Meditation fortifies our ability to practice biblical self-confrontation (self-examination, contrition, and penitence in light of Scripture).

Through meditation we are able to make penetrating applications of Scripture to our lives. The Spirit then shines a spotlight upon areas of behavior that need to be conformed to the truth of God’s Word. We look to the Lord for the power to change.

When we appeal to Christ our merciful high Priest; He willingly gives us fresh measures of grace and mercy through His Spirit and enables us to walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him (Heb 4:14-16).

Meditation assists us in remembering and communicating the Lord’s works (Ps 145; 77:11, 12). Meditation empowers our testimony so that we can speak of the works of God as a matter of course in our conversations. Meditation is the best way to be prepared to be useful to the Lord in witnessing, counseling, teaching, and encouragement.

Those who meditate upon Scripture are best equipped to speak, pray, and reflect upon God’s Word in a spontaneous manner. How many Christians would give a fortune to hear their fathers express wonder and awe at the works of God! The next generation must hear of the works of the Lord from their fathers so that they as well might place their confidence in the Lord (Ps 78:5-8: Deut 6).

Meditation greatly enhances our ‘spiritual sight’ (Eph 1:15-23). The clearer your view of who God is toward you in Christ; the more strength you will have against sin. Nothing is a more powerful influence in your life than to know you are beloved of God (and to feel that in your whole soul).

Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers; that the eyes of their heart would be enlightened (1:18). His prayer was for the insight needed to grasp certain grace truths that are revealed by the Spirit.

The Spirit reveals, but we must have our souls’ faculties enlightened in order to receive and grasp what He reveals. The heart of the saved man sees what the five senses cannot see. To see with spiritual eyes is to have one’s perspective tuned to eternal things.

In our generation we reflect too little on the future and almost never upon eternity. This is why we need urgent help from God in order to be able to know the hope to which we have been called (v. 18). Only then will we be able to navigate with eternity’s values.

Believers been called out of darkness into His marvelous light for a purpose that is unfathomable apart from the Spirit’s illumination. Here is the divine purpose of our call: that we may gain the glory of Christ (2 Thess 2:14).

Meditation sharpens our gaze upon the glorious hope that lies before us. The more our hope is fixed on the final goal and outcome of redemption, the more straight and resolute will be our walk towards that goal.

At the consummation of redemption there will be the enjoyment of God in Christ communicating Himself to us forever. It will be eternal love attending us; our existence will turn upon Christ who was given to be our life, light, and blessedness; this will endure without cessation. In glory, the redeemed will enjoy God and please Him perfectly.

This vision of God will be the consummation of our knowing God and will give us full delight and joy forever: “In your presence is fullness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16:11).⁹⁴

How we need the eyes of our heart enlightened to comprehend these spiritual realities. In glory, the Church will be a spotless reflection of the character of the Godhead – God’s communicable attributes will have reached maturity in her – she will be as much like God as a creature can possible be.

Meditation enables us to see all of life as preparation for the next life. We get so hung up basing our intrinsic worth on temporal things that we are unable to see and reason spiritually. Meditation helps enlighten the eyes of our heart; fixing in the mind that the only thing we will take with us from this life is our relationship with God.

All our abiding in Christ now is preparation for living with God (1 Jn 2:28). Our [present] communion with God lies in his giving Himself to us and our giving ourselves and all that he requires to Him.⁹⁵

When we meditate upon who God is; it is always who God is toward us in Christ. It is always Christ’s perfect suitability. It is always Christ who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor 1:30). As we live upon Him; we are enabled to live for Him – this lifestyle readies us to meet Him.

Meditation helps us keep appropriating Christ for all our needs. God is exalted when you keep taking Christ for the reasons God gave Him. Listen to what Owen says in his book, Communion with God:

We must assure ourselves that there is nothing more acceptable to God than to keep our hearts filled with Him as the eternal source of all that rich grace which flows out to sinners in the blood of Jesus. Our resistance to walking close with God stems from the fact that we do not behold and receive His love. The more we see God’s love by faith, the more will we delight in Him.⁹⁶

What Owen describes can only be seen with spiritual eyes through meditation on the Word: God’s giving of himself as an all-sufficient God, to be enjoyed by his creatures, to provide for all their needs out of Himself, is only revealed in Christ. In Christ, God is in covenant with his people to be a Father to them. In this covenant he has promised to lay out Himself as the one who alone can meet the needs of his creatures.

Going to Christ as one’s sin bearer is the believer’s daily work. Christ calls the believer to daily lay the burden of their sins upon him. By faith the saints are to see God laying their sins upon Christ. This is what it means to know Christ crucified. Believers draw near and take from Him that righteousness which he has wrought for them, so fulfilling what Paul taught (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ is delighted that his saints should always hold communion with him by giving him their sins and receiving His righteousness. We commune with Christ when we keep taking Him to be our righteousness.⁹⁷

Meditation keeps the cross of Christ fixed in our sights (Heb 12:1-3). All true holiness in the sight of God is traceable to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross once seen is death to every vice; for only by the slaying of Christ, our sin-bearer, is the old man put to death, and the principle of true morality ‘installed’ in our lives.

God does not produce a harvest of holiness by the fear of His wrath. He has a more excellent way. The true and only way of getting rid of sin is through divine forgiveness. The testimony of God’s wrath against a man’s sin – satisified in the propitiation – cleanses the conscience at its deepest part (Heb 9:14).

This is absolutely essential to a holy life. God only makes a man holy by removing terror and guilt through the forgiveness purchased by His Son’s cross. The effect of this deliverance is the planting of a new principle in a man; a new impulse to walk in the light (1 Jn 1:7; Luke 1:74-79; 7:47).⁹⁸

God has a divine order for making men holy -- First pardon from sin; THEN holiness. Peace with God precedes the process of being conformed to His image. The Apostle Paul describes the man with the holy walk as rooted in love (Eph 3:17). The ‘root’of true holiness is peace with God, and the ‘soil’ of true holiness is God’s free love to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Moral likeness to God is not produced by sheer will power and exertion. To be conformed to Christ in holiness requires that we keep beholding His glory (2 Cor 3:18).

We cannot look upon Him with adoration and delight UNTIL we know He has ceased to condemn us. And we cannot trust Him with our lives until we know that He is gracious to us. And we cannot be transformed into His image until we have received pardon from His nail-scared hands. This is why the cross must be central in our focus. For only through the cross do we see God’s heart toward us. Only through the cross do we see clearly our relationship with God as it is securely settled in Christ.⁹⁹

Those who find the cross (by God’s sovereign grace) are are held securely in the hands of Christ (Jn 10:28, 29). This conscious sense of peace and stability drives practical holiness. The cross removes a man’s doubt and suspence regarding eternity and the safety of his soul. Those progressing in holiness are rooted in grace – their advances in holiness cannot be separated from a pervading consciousness that they are recipients of the forgiving love of God.¹⁰⁰

Meditating upon the finished work of Christ at Calvary imbues the mind with the truth; God regards us as dead to sin and alive to Himself. When the cross is our contemplation, it helps us see ourselves as God does. This is vital to our conquest of sin; for the cross secures and guarantees our present and ultimate victory over sin.¹⁰¹

When we stay near the cross in our thoughts; we stay holy and useful. The cross has secret power. It is what makes us conquerors. By means of the cross we overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. By means of the cross we imitate Christ.

You may sit under the best Bible preachers in the world; but in order to be transformed by God’s truth; you must meditate upon Scripture for yourself; and not depend solely upon the teaching of gifted men. Just as others cannot eat, drink, and breath for you; so also others cannot assimilate the Word for you. So steep your soul in the word of the cross – then you will find strength for service; endurance to run the race; joy from intimacy with the Lord; and glory to ravish your soul.¹⁰²

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Use the Psalms in your prayer time this week. Read Psalms 90 and 91. Turn your meditations on these two Psalms into worship.
2. Read Hebrews 12. Meditate upon the benefits of God’s fatherly discipline. In what ways could your response to divine discipline be brought in line with this chapter?
3. You’re not really meditating until you are being examined by the Word. Genuine meditation not only leads to worship; it produces biblical self-confrontation. Use Colossians 3 in your meditation. Where is the Word confronting your behavior?

4. Read Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21. Personalize these prayers to make them your own. Ask God to deepen your spiritual perception of grace and glory.

5. Have you ever considered that by taking Christ for the reasons God gave Him, we are having communion with God? Read Revelation 3:14-22. What would the Laodiceans have to recognize before they could have communion with Christ?
6. Read 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:6. Write a devotional about gazing upon the glory of Christ; and what it accomplishes in the believer’s life.

C H A P T E R F I F T E E N

A GOOD SOLDIER HAS A BATTLE PLAN

In heaven we shall appear, not in armor, but in robes of glory. But here these [armor pieces] are to be worn night and day; we must walk, work, and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.

William Gurnall

In my last year in high school our wrestling team won the league championship. I’ll never forget the strategy sessions from our coach; a most intense man. He told us, “Men, champion wrestlers practice counter moves in their minds; this gives them maximum readiness; once in a match, they always have a number of good counter moves to choose from. In competition, countering with the right move gives them the edge over the opponent.”

The willingness to decide ahead of time how you will handle temptation can make all the difference. It can give you the edge for victory. On our wrestling team the men who had not prepared mentally with various counter moves were often the one called for stalling during a match. By contrast, the men who had practiced with several counter options per move were a pleasure to watch; they generated non-stop moves that overwhelmed their opponents.

The ‘virtual’ warrior prepares for the fight with ‘battle imagery’. Randy Alcorn shares one of the mental devices he uses to fight the temptation to leer at a sexual image. He pictures a barbed fishhook piercing his tongue and tearing his lips as he is reeled in by the enemy’s temptation. Needless to say; if we really believed that suffering is the unavoidable consequence of sin, we would prepare ahead of time to steer clear of compromise.¹⁰³

It is always easier to avoid temptation than to resist it. The biblical command is flee, escape! (2 Tim 2:22; 2 Pet 1:3-4). Don’t stick around to ‘test yourself’. Don’t stall or wait around to see what your opponent will do next. Know your counter move; step away from the occasion for sinning; eliminate the provision for the flesh. Decide ahead of time to do this. Find a passage of Scripture that imparts particular strength to you and memorize it for the purpose of quoting it during temptation.¹⁰⁴

Conquering habitual sexual sin is like climbing a huge mountain. Its sheer magnitude is intimidating. We are tempted to think that victory is impossible. But the precious freedom and practical holiness that comes with the conquest is beyond price.

We must preach to ourselves the benefits of obedience. God does not command sacrifice for its own sake; but for the sake of its fruits. God is honored when you experience the fruits of purity; inexpressible joy, spiritual strength, freedom, and pleasure.¹⁰⁵

In preparation for the ‘climb’ we will frequently have to ask ourselves how badly we want to change. If we focus upon our sin the journey will be daunting. Conquest will only come if we keep our eyes on the Lord and make painstaking progress up the mountain.

As you make progress, the Lord will encourage you; He will give you glimpses of the ground you have covered and the altitude you have gained. He is for your godly manhood more than you can possibly know.¹⁰⁶

Like soil erosion, habitual sexual lust cuts deep grooves in which our thoughts are prone to travel. Sin continued in for long periods of time digs a rut. It sets up a stronghold or fortress which is not easily penetrated or dislodged.

Giving safe harbor to lust is reminiscent of stubborn Tobiah (enemy of the godly Nehemiah). In Nehemiah’s absence, lenient Jews permitted Tobiah to prepare a room for himself in the temple of God. Worship was interrupted in order to accommodate the appetites of the intruder (Neh 13:4-7ff).

Lustful imaginings are also invaders; they ‘argue’ for access to our hearts that we might give them lodging; but when we let them in, they destroy our passion for true worship. In the case of the second temple, full worship was only restored after the wicked Tobiah was thrown out. We also have a destructive tenant to cast out; lust. The ‘eviction notice’ to resident lusts will be resisted vehemently; we must be firm.

But, they must be cast out so that new grooves can be cut; so righteous thoughts can take the place of old thoughts. In order to successfully war against an idol of the heart (so as to truly forsake it); we must cease to cherish it and desire it.¹⁰⁷

The dearest idol I have known, whatever that idol be, help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only Thee (William Cowper).

By meditation we enthrone God’s truth in the affections, conscience, and will. God bids men to reason with Him; to comprehend His airtight rationale for forgiveness and holy living (Is 1:18). Meditation rivets upon the intellect God’s ‘logic’ concerning sin, grace, and holiness. Scripture contemplation keeps raising the believer above the earth to see from the divine viewpoint; he becomes a discerner of all things (1 Cor 2:15).

The Word of God is our mightiest weapon. Take it with you – photocopy a passage you can turn to when tempted. You will discover that when you look at Scripture; the flaming darts of sexual temptation will lose their power.¹⁰⁸

Francis Schaeffer provides an excellent and memorable summary of God’s law. The first tablet of the law tells us that we ought to love God enough to live a life of gratitude (of habitually saying ‘Thank you’ to God). The second tablet of the law commands us to love our neighbor enough not to envy or covet.¹⁰⁹

This simple summary of God’s law, if obeyed by the Spirit’s enabling power, would keep us from indulging in lust. Purity is not an isolated virtue; it is a character quality that gives evidence of our victory over ingratitude and selfishness.

Gratitude is a mighty force against temptation. Ingratitude makes us vulnerable to temptation. As one divine quipped, “Self pity was the devil’s first sin.” So it is with us; ingratitude opens the door to self pity. Once we crouch in that demeaning posture of feeling sorry for ourselves, our defenses are down. Discontentment breeds coveting. There is hidden danger in complaining. When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness, their faith crisis began with grumbling (1 Cor 10:1-14).¹¹⁰

Counter discontentment with praise and gratitude. Praise is a mighty weapon against all kinds of lust (2 Chron 20). You were created to be an enthusiastic spectator of excellence. God must be your treasure and your ‘boast’. When we boast in Him, we will experience joy and strength (Jer 9:23, 24; Neh 8:10)

Our battle against controlling lust is not a battle against our sexuality; it is a battle FOR our sexuality. As men we need to tell ourselves the truth in this matter; for the evil one from the beginning seduced our first parents with the lie that God withholds what is best. The truth concerning our sexuality is that what God has made is good (Gen 1:31). What is our resolve? We will bow before God and bring our sexuality under His dominion. We will claim it for Him.

We do not fight against our sexuality (the desire to be with the opposite sex that He has planted in us). What we fight against is lust’s attempt to ruin our sexuality. Lust robs us of true freedom and joy. When we are controlled by lustful appetites, we are imprisoned in the process.¹¹¹

Our submission to God means that we will not let the desires of our body call the shots. Doing what feels good makes us a slave. Our culture is constantly enthroning feelings; as if we would lose our identity and uniqueness if we didn’t give expression to our feelings. Through restraint, self-control, and gratefulness we bow before God and claim our sexuality for holiness.

Your custom tailored strategy for defeating lust must take into consideration your specific weak points. When there is a large outbreak of sin in our lives; it is always due to the leapfrog effect of tolerating smaller sins. When we don’t guard against smaller sins, it is tantamount to making a provision for lust.

Our culture has a host of excuses for destructive behavior. One of the most common is, I just felt like it; or I just snapped. We know this is nonsense; sin outbursts are premeditated by a string of sinful compromises that are not corrected by repentance.

Know your lust “triggers.” Know the time of day, when you are most sluggish mentally, the places where you are prone to fantasize – the mall, friend’s house, internet, newsstand, channel surfing TV, renting R movies, mail catalogs. List the top three. Write down the time of day and locations where temptation is prone to lay in ambush.¹¹²

‘Debrief’ your battles as if you are a fighter pilot returning from combat. The Navy’s ‘Top Gun’ school produced many ace combat pilots. An important part of the training was replaying the videos of the dogfights. By this method, patterns of error were eliminated, and strategies for victory became second nature.

So also in your battles with lust, debrief your victories and defeats. Identify where you were passive; locate the points at which you did not implement your strategy; and determine why. The men who are experiencing success in the battle for purity are willing to practice new spiritual disciplines such as debriefing.

For many, journaling is a new discipline they have never tried. I find that recording my debriefing sessions in a spiritual journal is invaluable.

A journal provides an ideal place to record your progress in spiritual disciplines. By journaling, you can chart your progress; and you can develop the habit of writing sermons to yourself. It is an excellent way to blend Bible doctrine with daily living.¹¹³

Journaling is written meditation. There are few exercises better suited for self-evaluation and self-understanding in light of Scripture than journaling. Consider keeping a spiritual diary; you’ll find that it will overflow into your thought life and prayer life.

A spiritual journal promotes great thoughts of God; thoughts that are deep and high. When we put our impressions of God from Scripture into our own words, they become fixed in the mind. As a result, we can use them later for worshiping, counseling, encouraging, and witnessing (and resisting temptation).¹¹⁴

Nothing is more important in your fight against sin than your time alone with God. Solitude with God in your devotions instills eternal values into the soul. Nothing is more wonderful than to draw near to God and pursue intimacy with Him. Maintain close contact with God in prayer. Cultivate transparency before God in prayer, and learn to take refuge in Him (Ps 62:5-8).

It is during these times of solitude with the Lord that you will learn to surrender to the Shepherd of your soul (1 Pet 2:25; Heb 13:20, 21). And, as you submit to Him, you will learn to shepherd your own soul. This is the prerequisite to ministering to others.¹¹⁵

We must cultivate a clear conscience. Paul’s testimony, proclaimed before Felix, expressed his commitment to maintain a clear conscience (Acts 24:15, 16). Out of reverence for the Lord Paul kept short accounts with God. Paul feared God; he preached to himself the ineffable principle of moral cause and effect and the judgment to come. Paul was a careful with his conscience as the best accountant is with his books.

So closely and intimately do the Spirit of God and the conscience of the believer work together that the Puritans used to counsel, be kind to the Spirit. In other words; it is the Spirit who educates and sensitizes the conscience. When you heed Him; you are also heeding His promptings of conscience.

The conscience can make us bold or cowardly depending upon our diligence or lack thereof to keep it clear. Even one sin banging around and rolling around in the conscience (like a golf ball in an empty railroad car) can kill our confidence to go to God for love, favor, and acceptance.

When we seek to keep our conscience clear we are literally maintaining our relationship with the Lord. (We know He chose us and called us; when His commands control our behavior, we abide in His love (Jn 15:9).

Consider memorizing an acrostic that encapsulates your strategy. Stuart Scott offers a strategy that is easy to commit to memory; it forms the acrostic, FLEE:

F lee quickly, run from the temptation. Affirm your allegiance to God. Put on loving thoughts and actions. Distance yourself from any provision for the flesh (2 Tim 2:22). L ean

on God. Call upon Him in prayer for the strength to honor Him, and to remain loyal. Draw near to God; and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

E ntertain

right thoughts. Review the things for which you are grateful (Phil 4:8, 9). Recall the Scripture meditations you have had recently.

E agerly

continue to pursue love and righteousness. Don’t be tentative; engage yourself in giving and serving others (Prov 21:21).¹¹⁶

Robert Daniels employs the following strategy from Scripture. He advises men to have each of these verses memorized and ready for use:

R emember

that Scripture stored in your heart will help keep your mind pure. God requires that you keep your mind from pollution (Ps 119:9, 11).

R esist

the evil one when you are facing demonic attack. God promises that the devil will flee from you when you oppose his temptation (James 4:7, 8).

R etreat

when you are under attack in a worldly environment. Remove yourself from situations which stir up youthful passions (2 Tim 2:20-22).

R eckon

yourself dead to sin and alive to God. A simple prayer when tempted can be the difference for victory, Jesus you died for my sin; Satan you will not win, (Rom 6:10-13). Take

R efuge in God. When you are feeling raw, unmet needs beating down the door of

your peace go to God for refuge. Trust in Him at all times; pour out your heart before Him (Ps 62:8).¹¹⁷

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Meditate on Matthew 5:8. Why do you think that the promise of seeing God is reserved for the pure in heart? Read also Psalm 27:4. Explain why the longing to see the beauty of the Lord is the present experience of the faithful.
2. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-16. Write out a meditation about the Holy Spirit illuminating the mind of the believer to understand Scripture. What spiritual disciplines are necessary in order to have the mind of Christ, and to spiritually appraise all things?
3. Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-14. List the specific sins mentioned in these verses. Why are these sins often found together? Identify each command designed to protect the believer from these sins.

4. Read Acts 24:14, 15 in conjunction with 1 John 2:28-3:3. Explain the connection between a strong resurrection hope in God, and a vigorous lifestyle of maintaining purity and a clear conscience.
5. Under the law of Moses it was a woman’s responsibility to cry out if sexually accosted (Deut 22:21-30). Read Hebrews 2:18. Write a paragraph about Jesus coming to the aid of those who are tempted; and about your duty to call upon Him.
6. Begin memorizing the verses from one of the strategy acrostics at the end of this chapter; or select your own strategy verses and begin memorizing them.

7. Meditate on the armor described in Ephesians 6:10-19. Pull from this section of Scripture – specific ways to incorporate the armor in your fight for purity.

C H A P T E R S I X T E E N

WE ARE BROTHERS IN ARMS

A judicious friend, into whose heart we may pour out our souls, and tell our corruptions as well as our comforts, is a very great privilege.

George Whitfield

Form godly ‘Buddyships’ for the purpose of accountability, nurture, and edification. A ‘buddyship’ is a friendship with another Christian brother that is purposeful. A buddyship is formed with the understanding that both men will encourage spiritual growth in the other; it is the iron sharpens iron principle in action (Prov 27:17).

In a buddyship there is an agreement to be subject to the other man for the purpose of spiritual growth (Eph 5:21). There must be a high degree of trust without defensiveness; especially if you plan to benefit from mutual admonishment (Rom 15:14).

Godly buddyships are invaluable – form them with the express purpose of high accountability. Buddyships work best when you team up with men capable of issuing you a gentle challenge – as those who can totally relate to your struggle.¹¹⁸

Lust thrives on secrecy. It thrives upon covering the shame associated with ‘hidden’ sin. Buddyship accountability helps break this pattern.¹¹⁹ Find a Christian brother who has the same goals of purity; team up for the purpose of encouraging each other’s commitment to spiritual disciplines. When you bind with Christian men, consider it a spiritual boot camp where you will train yourselves in the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16).

You can organize your buddyship time around several regular activities: a.) Select a portion of Scripture to study independently; then study it together when you meet. b.) Discuss the spiritual battles that you have had that week. Share your strategy for victory, and your ‘debrief’ your battles with your buddy. c.) Pray together and encourage each other to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24).

Recognize that the battle will be most severe when you first begin the fight in earnest. There will be no purple hearts given out in heaven for being a pacifist in face of the evil one’s attacks. The devil does not flee until he is resisted (1 Pet 5:8, 9; Ja 4:7). If you have let him bully you with his lies; he will not relinquish ground without a fight.

As you dig in for a long battle, lock arms with your fellow soldiers in Christ; resolve to give up no ground in the fight; start by dealing with your apathy and complacency. Repent of your lack of zeal and earnestness. Confess where you have been passive in the face of temptation.

Cry to God for more of His grace and assistance; then move on to the next area. Spiritual discipline and training is like a marine in boot camp -- you’ll be going from the obstacle course to the firing range to lessons in hand to hand combat; you must eventually master them all (whether prayer, meditation, or resisting temptation). The way to establish a track record is consistency in little areas; in one area at a time.¹²⁰

If God’s cause is your cause; then you will use the best of your time talent and affection to prepare people to live with God forever. Godly buddyships exist for the purpose described in Colossians 1:27-29 – to present every man complete in Christ.

God gave Christ so that we would die to our own carnal cause and be resurrected to a new cause. You have been regenerated so that God’s cause will become your cause (2 Cor 5:14, 15). And what is God’s cause? He created the universe for His glory – and now in this church age, He is calling out, and preparing a people to live with Him forever (Titus 2:14).

God’s gracious cause is ultimate reality. To the degree God’s cause is your cause; you are in touch with reality. For at the very moment Christ appears it will be ‘game over.’ All other value systems other than kingdom values will be blown away as chaff and burned; they will disappear into oblivion and eternal darkness. Only those who have taken their orders from Christ will remain (Dan 12:3).

The more clearly we perceive our spiritual calling as men, the more we will rouse ourselves to answer the upward call (Phil 3:14). The Christian man is to be radically identified with Christ; so that the Lord’s cause is his cause. Do you long to see your brothers complete, or mature in Christ? Are you serving to that end? If so, God’s cause is your cause.

When Jesus called the disciples to follow Him; they left their nets. He told them that they would be fishing for men from then on. Isn’t it interesting; that in the Gospel age the dominion mandate (subdue the earth and make it fruitful) has been surpassed by an even higher mandate – fish for men; make disciples (Matt 4:19).

If you are a disciple of Christ; you are to use the Sword of the Word to bring ‘spritual order’ to the sphere in which you operate. You are to use your sword (the ministry of God’s truth) to promote and advance the Kingdom of God. You are to radically identify with your Lord; so that you take your marching orders from Him.

You are to be controlled by a transcendent cause (the eternal values spoken of in 2 Cor 4-5). You are to see yourself as a ‘commando’ for Christ and no longer a common man of this world. Your buddyships are for the purpose of advancing true discipleship.

Prior to accepting a pastorate in San Diego County in 1992, I was blessed with two prayer partners; we met and interceded for each other every week. We titled our buddyship group the ‘Triple Cord,’ after the passage that says, a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart (Eccl 4:12, 9-11). Our fellowship group was mightily used by God to heighten our level of commitment to Christ.

The prerequisite for using the Sword of the Word in the lives of others is that you are first a master at using the Sword of Truth on yourself. So evident must your loyalty be to Christ that your brothers seek out your company in order to gain courage for the fight. Know your place on the battlefield. In the time of Moses when the children of Israel were in the wilderness; each dedicated believer did his part in ‘wilderness survival.’

You are crossing the wilderness of this world. How will you assist your brothers in navigating through this wasteland of salt called the world? Will your life and words give them heart so that they are motivated to suffer for the sake of righteousness and eschew compromise? Admonish your brothers – Christ is our King.

You are to present the members of your body to the Lord each day. Your lifestyle is public knowledge in heaven – it is front page news. When you present the members of your body to Christ and righteousness; those around you will be able to see clearly who your real Master is (Rom 6:16-19).

Reason your way through these things – we are under the lordship of Christ; sin is insubordination. Let our minds turn to this the next time we are tempted to be slack in resisting sensual sin; “How can I counsel my brothers to strive after integrity if I permit sensual compromise in my own life?”

Our local church should be central in our plan for purity (Ephesians 4:15-16). Spiritual growth can only take place at the proper rate if we form close relationships with other Christians. Growth takes place in the Body of Christ as “every joint supplies.” That means that our social relations within that Body should be aimed at edification for the purpose of growth.¹²¹

According to Ephesians 4:15, 16, all growth comes from Christ, yet He enables the whole church to grow up into Him as interdependent members of His Body. In the body analogy, there are no passive members. Every single joint supplies its essential part to the overall growth of the body. In that sense, every member is a minister (4:12, 13).

Galatians 5:13 says, for you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Christ has called you to incredible liberty. You cannot fathom the amount of freedom you have in Christ. It is a freedom so lofty that it is dangerous if not immediately plowed into service.

We are not to practice our faith in a private or quietistic fashion. We must be intentional and proactive in our service to the Body of Christ. Your freedom can be dangerous if not channeled into love and service. We are members one of another – our fight for purity is a common fight (1 Pet 4:12; 5:8-11).

The Apostle Peter used the commonality of the fiery ordeal as strong encouragement to the individual. This is one more area in which our buddyships can be an excellent support as we help one another in our common ‘fiery’ trials.

Timothy was commanded to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1). Christ-centered grace was given to Timothy (and every believer) before times eternal (1:9). Timothy’s strength in the sphere of Christ’s grace will grow if he cultivates the gift which grace bestowed on him. Timothy was commanded to be continually strengthened in the divine help of which all who are joined to Christ are assured.

The surest way to be strengthened by grace is to transmit the truths of Scripture written on your heart to others. That is the context of Paul’s command to be strong in the grace of Christ—it is in a context of disciple-making; fulfilling the Great Commission.¹²²

The power of delayed gratification. The universe built upon the principle of delayed gratification. To live for self-love and pleasure is death (1 Tim 5:6). In God’s universe; the gift of pleasure is designed by God to be the byproduct of pleasing God and doing all things to His glory. All things; whether eating or drinking, are to be done to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).

We must know the lies of our culture; it is soul suicide to have it backwards. Our culture is deceived into thinking that pleasure can be an end in itself. To chase personal fulfillment and pleasure seeking by indulging lust brings unavoidable idolatry. Living for lust and pleasure is war against one’s soul (1 Pet 2:11).

Remind yourself that the strength you need for all other areas of self-control begins with the mortification of lust. The backbone of the godly man’s character is built upon the principle of delayed gratification. Without it, he is weak – like the city easily conquered (Prov 25:28).

New habits require radical resolve. When we lower our standards it only increases our appetite for more; when we raise our standards we are mortifying sin. Preach the truth to yourself; living for instant gratification sacrifices the future on the altar of the present. Jesus did not please Himself; yet willingly sacrificed His own comfort for the joy set before Him (Rom 15:1-3; Heb 12:1-3).

EXERCISES AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. If you do not as yet have a buddyship, pray fervently that God would help you team up with a Christian brother. If you have one or more growing Christian friends; take steps today to enter a buddyship in which you will have high accountability.
2. Read the account of Jesus’ temptation (Matt 4:1-11). Jesus’ encounter with the devil was not a ‘power encounter’; but a truth encounter. By His use of Scripture, Jesus ‘out-truthed’ Satan. Write a paragraph about following His example.
3. Read James 4:7 and 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is a very powerful spirit being; why does he flee when he is resisted?

4. Puritan Thomas Manton said the following: until we sin, Satan is like a parasite; but once we yield to temptation, he becomes a tyrant. Prepare a short devotional about resisting the devil. Share it in your buddyship.
5. Study Ephesians 4:7-16. In this section of Scripture, it is pastors and teachers who do the equipping; and it is the members of the body who do the ministering. Discuss within your buddyship the unique ways God has equipped each of you to serve.
6. Read Colossians 1:27-29. Do a lexical study (Vine’s Dictionary, etc.) on each key action word that describes how spiritual maturity is produced (teaching, admonishing, proclaiming, laboring, striving). How could you employ these in your serving?

7. God has given us many ‘legal pleasures’ – dining, recreation, friendship, marriage, the arts, etc. Read 1 Corinthians 10:31. Explain how this verse (do all to the glory of God) reveals what our motive should be when we participate in a legal pleasure. Why is this motive totally inconsistent with lust?

8. Read 2 Timothy 2:1-10. Timothy was to be strong in grace for what ministry purpose? Find each word in this section that suggests that Timothy will need stamina and perseverance in his ministry endeavor. Apply this to your own Christian service.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Articles on sexual purity from Eternal Perspectives:

www.epm.org/resources-sexual_purity.html

Ministries directed at Freedom from Sexual Lust:
Bravehearts: www.bravehearts.net
Pure Life Ministries: www.purelifeministries.org
New Life Partners: www.newlifepartners.org
Pure Intimacy: www.pureintimacy.org
Purity Exposed: www.purityexposed.org
Stone Gate Resources: www.stonegateresources.org
Be Broken Ministries: www.bebroken.com
Setting Captives Free: www.settingcaptivesfree.com/home

Website Filters and/or Website Accountability Sites:
BSafe Online (internet filter): www.bsafehome.com
S.A.F.E. Site: http://lmi.gospelcom.net/safe.html
Covenant Eyes: www.covenanteyes.com
X3watch: www.xxxchurch.org

Websites featuring articles by author Jay Wegter, and by evangelism pastor-teacher, Massimo Lorenzini:

Frontline Ministries is a ministry training website featuring articles and curriculum on
evangelism, apologetics, worldview training, ethics, and theology:
www.frontlinemin.org
The Gospel for Life is a grace renewal website for the recovery of ‘Gospel-centered
Christian living’. It features the ministry of Jay Wegter:
www.thegospelforlife.org

Contact information: Jay Wegter can be reached at jaywegter@gmail.com, or at his office:

661. 254-2105

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An experienced pastor and Bible teacher, Jay has a B.A. degree from Christian Heritage College and a Master of Divinity degree from The Master’s Seminary. His passion is to reform the church by a return to the doctrines of grace and their practical application for all of life.

Jay is a writer and speaker for Frontline Ministries at www.frontlinemin.org. He is also founder of www.thegospelforlife.org which is a church renewal ministry focusing upon the relationship of the gospel to sanctification. Jay speaks at Bible conferences, retreats, and workshops.

His areas of specialization are as follows: The dynamics of grace, Christian apologetics, worldview training, the practical value of justification, creation versus evolution, building redemptive marriages, and biblical manhood and womanhood.

Jay has taught presuppositional apologetics at Irpin Seminary in Kiev, Ukraine; and at Foothill Institute of Theological Training in Upland, CA. He is scheduled to teach Theology I and the Dynamics of Grace at The Master’s College Professional Studies program in the Spring and Fall of 2006. Jay is also a professional artist. His work can be viewed online at www.jaywegter.com

ENDNOTES:

1 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, (Banner of Truth, 1974) 1:104.
2 Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle, (Multnomah Publishers, 2003), pp. 28, 29
3 Daniel J. Estes, Hear My Son, Teaching and Learning in Proverbs 1-9, (Eerdmans, 1997), pp. 22-26
4 Ibid., p. 36, 38
5 Ibid., pp. 38
6 Steve Gallagher, At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry, (Pure Life Ministries, 1986), pp. 257, 258
7 Estes, pp. 44-47
8 Ibid., pp. 69, 75, 83
9 Ibid., pp. 84, 98
10 Oswald Chambers, The Philosophy of Sin, (London: Simkin Marshall), pp. 13, 14
11 Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988), p. 121
12 Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle, p. 12
13 Ibid., p. 16
14 Ibid., p. 17
15 Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture, (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1992), pp. 146-149
16 Ibid., pp. 100-103
17 Joshua Harris, Not Even a Hint, (Multnomah Publishers, 2003), pp. 38-41, 45
18 Ibid., pp. 152-158
19 Jay E. Adams, How to Help People Change, (Zondervan, 1986), p. xiv
20 Randy Alcorn, Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution, (Multnomah Press, 1985), p. 205
21 Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, (Crossway Books, 2004), pp. 19-21, 35
22 Randy Alcorn, Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution, pp. 178, 179
23 Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture, pp.243-245
24 Watson, Heaven taken by Storm, (Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1992), pp. 7, 9
25 Ibid., pp. 30-33
26 Ibid., p. 48
27 Mike Cleveland, Pure Freedom, (Focus Publishing, 2002), p. 131
28 John Piper, Future Grace, (Multnomah Books, 1995), pp. 27, 49, 68, 86
29 Ibid., pp. 94, 97, 224
30 Ibid., p. 334
31 Maurice Roberts, Thought of God, (Banner of Truth Trust, 1993), p. 57
32 Ibid., pp. 59, 60
33 Ibid., pp. 61-63
34 Ibid., pp. 63-66
35 Piper, p. 336
36 Harris, p. 57
37 Adams, pp. 128, 175, 176
38 Jeremiah Burroughs, Learning to be Happy, (Grace Publications Trust, 1987), pp. 17, 18, 24
39 Ibid., pp. 26, 30
40 Gallagher, pp. 243-245
41 Ibid., 267-270
42 Willard, pp. 6, 19, 23
43 Piper, pp. 242, 243, 248-252
44 David Peterson, Possessed by God, (Inter Varsity Press, 1995), pp. 32, 47, 48
45 Willard, p. 38
46 Peterson, pp. 103, 104

47 Willard, p. 85
48 Ibid., pp. 80, 81
49 Ibid., p. 115, 121
50 Gallagher, pp. 294-296, 306
51 Piper, pp. 104, 108
52 Ibid., pp. 49, 68
53 Ibid., p. 332
54 Adams, p. 15
55 Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture, pp. 212-215
56 Ibid., p. 30
57 Peterson, pp. 130-137
58 Gallagher, pp. 211-213
59 Ibid., p. 216
60 Harris, p. 136
61 Adams, pp. 67, 110
62 Ibid., pp. 112, 115
63 Ibid., pp. 156, 159
64 Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband, (Focus Publishers, 2000), p. 296
65 Adams, p. xiv
66 Ibid., pp. 12, 13
67 Peterson, p. 115
68 Willard, p. 121
69 Ibid., pp. 253, 259, 263
70 Piper, pp. 14, 204, 206
71 Watson, pp. 44-48, 51-53
72 Edwards, 2:106, 107
73 Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man, (Sprinkle Publications), pp. 92, 116, 117
74 Ibid., pp. 120, 128, 129
75 Thomas Chalmers, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection,” The Protestant Pulpit, Andrew
Blackwood, Compiler, (Baker Books, 1947), pp. 50, 51
76 Ibid., pp. 55-58
77 Ibid., pp. 59, 60
78 John Piper, Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, (Audio; National Desiring God Conference, 2004)
79 Willard, p. 115
80 Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle, p. 30
81 Thomas Hooker, The Poor Doubting Christian Drawn to Christ, (Maranatha Publishers), pp. 155-158
82 Adams, p. 177
83 Ibid., pp. 172, 173, 177
84 John O. Anderson, Cry of the Innocents, (Bridge Publishing, 1984), pp. 5, 6, 31, 44, 71
85 Watson, pp. 195, 198, 200
86 Stuart Scott, p. 292
87 David Wells, God in the Wasteland, (Eerdmans Publishing, 1994), p. 115
88 Alcorn, Christians in the Wake of the Sexual Revolution, p. 230
89 Harris, p. 159
90 J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (Intervarsity Press, 1973), pp. 18, 19
91 Peter Toon, The Art of Meditating on Scripture, (Zondervan, 1993), p. 31
92 Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections, (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1961), pp. 374, 375
93 Ralph Venning, The Plague of Plagues, (The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), p. 201
94 Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Zondervan, 1994), pp. 189, 190
95 John Owen, Communion with God, (The Banner of Truth Trust), p. 3
96 Ibid., p. 32
97 Ibid., pp. 87, 144
98 Horatius Bonar, God’s Way of Holiness, (Evangelical Press, 1979), pp. 49, 50
99 Ibid., p. 34

100 Ibid., p. 56
101 Peterson, p. 99
102 Horatius Bonar, pp. 58, 112, 113
103 Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle, p. 37
104 Ibid., pp. 53, 55, 57
105 Harris, p. 172
106 Gallagher, pp. 143, 147, 152, 153
107 Ibid., pp. 200, 211
108 Ibid., p. 254
109 Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, (Tyndale House Publishers, 1971), pp. 8-10
110 Gallagher, p. 265
111 Harris, pp. 41-45
112 Ibid., pp. 62, 64-67
113 Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, (Navpress, 1991), p. 195
114 Ibid., pp. 198, 199, 202, 203
115 Harris, pp. 195-197
116 Scott, p. 296
117 Daniels, pp. 223, 224
118 Harris, pp. 126, 133, 135, 136
119 Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle, pp. 80, 85-87
120 Harris, pp. 77, 78
121 Peterson, pp. 130-137
122 William Hendrikson, NTC, (Baker, 1957), pp. 245, 246