Spiritual Warfare – The Transforming Power of the Gospel: Personality, Character and Discipleship – part 10

Posted on April 17, 2023 By The author

Key points from previous weeks:

Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40)
It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher (Matt. 10:24-25)

We’ve been looking at how our character is to be transformed by the Gospel and seen how, although our personality is at the centre of that (and may be relatively fixed by the time we reach adulthood – may need healing though), the process of becoming like Jesus is to be at work in other areas of our character.

The Gospel should transform our values and beliefs. We started with the area of “what do we value?” and “what do we believe about what we value?” as that is the primary motivation of our behaviour.

As our values and beliefs (not just what we believe, but what we act out in our lives!) are transformed by the values of the Lord Jesus, our character is changed more into His likeness. More than this, what we value and believe affects how we hear or read the Bible and Biblical teaching. Our responses are conditioned by our values and priorities. Take care HOW you hear Luke 8:18 (Passion: So pay careful attention to your hearts as you hear my teaching, for to those who have open hearts, even more revelation will be given to them until it overflows. And for those who do not listen with open hearts, what little light they imagine to have will be taken away.”)

We discussed:

Values of the World,
- money and what it can do for us
- Pride and the desire for social acceptance
Treasures in heaven
- Priorities
- knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
- Knowing God

What do we think about – God?

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us … the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” ― A.W. Tozer

We discussed the importance of thinking about God’s thoughts and understanding one’s identity in Christ, having the right thoughts about oneself is crucial; the importance of understanding one’s identity in Christ and how it affects behaviour and relationships with others; the need to see oneself as a saint and a child of God, and to have a correct understanding of God’s character.

We concluded by discussing the concept of adoption in Roman and Jewish cultures and how it relates to being adopted as sons by God. Being adopted by God is irrevocable and brings peace and security, and we praised God for this privilege.

What do we think about – ourselves

We need to think right thoughts – God’s thoughts! What God thinks about us is

Prov. 23:7 As a man thinketh in his heart so is he Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life.

Not just what we will be, but who we are now! Absolutely key. New identity in Christ 2 Cor. 5:17 –if anyone is in Christ, a new creation !

We are complete in Christ – filled up to our capacity with the fullness of God seen in Christ John 1:14, 16 we looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth… Out of His fullness, we have all received grace on top of grace. Eph, 3:19; 1:23

We are sons of God 1 John 3:1-2; John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:15-17; Gal. 5-7 – we go off the rails when we forget who we are! (Prince Harry?)

Now Saints by calling not sinners (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2,9; 61 times in NT)

Family Eph. 2:19; 3:14-15 – essential unit for resisting the creeping totalitarianism of our age

Community 1 Pet. 2:9-10 – Peter deals with who we are before going on to deal with what we ought to be. (1 Pet. 2:1-12)

What do we think about?!

When we have nothing else pressing upon us? Getting into good habits

Col. 3:1-4 Set your minds on things above Phil. 3:18-21; Rom. 8:5-9 – mind set on earthly things, or things of the Spirit? Look at the consequences!

So taking captive every thought (2 Cor. 10:3), Phil 4:8

Jesus example – meeting with God’s people Luke 4:16; Praying Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 6:12

Some good habits to form

1 Tim. 4:7 train yourself to be godly
1 Tim. 4:11 be an example to others in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith and purity
1 Tim. 4:13 devote yourself to reading of Scripture
1 Tim. 4:14-16 do not neglect your gift, be diligent, watch your life and doctrine
1 Tim. 6:11 flee from evil and pursue righteousness
2 Tim. 4:2 announce the Word, be prepared at all times (1 Pet. 3:15)
2 Peter 1:5-7 – Peter’s character wheel!!

Enemies of godliness

Legalism By the works of the law, no one can be justified (Rom.3:20) Often we apply the law to others! Loveless Legalism. This is the belief that we can please God and earn salvation or approval in the Christian life by measuring up to a list of external rules of conduct. Legalism focuses on rule-keeping as the road to holiness, and it neglects the essential heart relationship with Jesus and a response of love toward people.

Religion (closely related) true religion is to … keep oneself unspotted from the world Jas.1:27 Self-deprivation Or Asceticism. Some people have mistakenly thought that worldliness could be avoided if they lived in isolation or if they deprived themselves of ordinary human pleasures such as eating certain foods, relating to other people, wearing comfortable clothes, speaking with others, and experiencing married sexual relations. But holiness is not achieved by withdrawing from society or giving up the God-given good things of life; it is a matter of separating ourselves from the sinful, self- destructive, and God-denying elements of life.

Antinomianism (no law) All things are permissible – but not all things are beneficial! 1 Cor.6:12; 10:23 won’t be brought under the power, don’t build up. License. On the other hand, we must not fall into the error of thinking that we can sin because “God understands we’re only human.” Nor can we separate what we do in the body from our spirit. The New Testament addresses this wrong thinking (Rom. 6; 2 Pet. 2:17-19; 1 Jn. 1:6-7; 2:15-17).

Self renewal / self effort – you can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps! It is not try, but trust. Self-effort. We may mistakenly focus on trying to be holy by spending time in prayer, Bible study, Scripture memorization, church attendance, and worship, as if we are holy simply by doing all of these things. As good as they are, self-discipline and good habits are not holiness. God, however, wants us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Lk. 10:27). We must remember that all these activities are means to the end of knowing and loving God, not an end in and of themselves so that we can feel religious.

Passivity. Some people feel that the answer is simply to trust God and not try so hard. They say we are to just rest in Jesus and allow Him to give victory over sin. But the Bible never promises that we can gain “victory” in the sense that sinlessness can be achieved at a point in time in this life (2 Pet. 1:5-8; 1 Jn. 1:8-10; Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:14-25).

Emotionalism. Holiness is not a feeling that we achieve in a highly charged and very moving worship service or prayer time. During such times we may make strides toward loving God more and turn our affections away from that which is unholy, but holiness is not an emotion. Holiness is a way of thinking and living. Self control. Sound mind. Rightly directed Psalms e.g. Psa 103; Not controlled by 2 Tim. 1:7

Intellectualism. Gaining head knowledge about God and understanding Scripture is not a substitute for putting that truth into practice.

Perfectionism. This is the idea that we can become sinless here and now through a special work of God’s Spirit as we surrender our heart and life to God. The Bible never speaks of a two-stage view of the Christian life, in which we are saved and then experience another life-changing encounter with the Spirit that takes us to a higher level of perfection.

In Romans 7, the apostle Paul testified that the battle with sin was lifelong, and the best we can hope for is progressive improvement, not sudden perfection. Even the holiest person has impure motives and lapses of thought and action. In fact, it has been said that the more holy we become, the greater our awareness of sin. When the prophet Isaiah caught a glimpse of God’s holiness, he sensed his own unholiness (6:1-5). As we get to know God better, we will become more aware of our own sinfulness.

Self-satisfaction. To quote J. I. Packer again, “Modern Christians tend to make satisfaction their religion. We show much more concern for self-fulfillment than for pleasing our God” (Keep In Step With The Spirit, p.97). This is a gimmie-gimmie attitude toward our relationship with God, as illustrated by the teaching that promises health, wealth, and prosperity, and the thinking that God must meet our own expectations.

The Bible teaches, however, that holiness comes from dying to self and living for Christ:

“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11).

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Eph. 4:22).

Procrastination. We may fall into the error of thinking that we will give serious thought to this matter of holiness later in life, or at a more convenient time. But, to consider again what Peter had to say, we have no time to lose. The apostle Peter wrote, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief. . . . Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” (2 Pet. 3:10-11). Peter answered his own question with these challenging words: “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him. . . . But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (vv.14,18).

Imitation of Christ Not WWJD? We don’t have His mission! What would Jesus have me do in this situation! Dependence day by day

John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise.

John 8:28-29 I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things which please Him.

It is enough for the servant to be as his master

John 15:5 Without Me, you can do nothing

Pride Self-reliance and unbelief, which is actually belief in the wrong thing!

David Andrew Saffron Planet Monday evening: All unbelief is a form of self-reliance. We have, you need to turn it on its head in a sense, because as soon as we are unbelieving, it means we’re believing something else. Unbelief is not a neutral thing. As soon as we have unbelief in one regard, we’re believing in another regard. So there’s always some sense of belief going on. It’s just an illicit and an illegitimate belief. So self-reliance is a really, really big issue.

To exclude God is to separate ourselves from reality. Unbelief is not merely refusal to believe, as if all that is at stake is a set of ideas. Unbelief is actually self-reliance. Unbelief strikes the Creator dumb, and it strikes the creature deaf. To the unbeliever, it says, though heaven has never spoken, and earth has never heard.

C S Lewis: “A man is never so proud as when striking an attitude of humility.”

Pride is a major obstacle to knowing God. Lewis says:

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

Later, he says, “ . . . pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”

The end of the race

An Olympic marathon runner doesn’t just suddenly wake up one day to find himself receiving a gold medal. The process begins as a baby with a tiny but important first step followed by practice, practice, practice. Then, during the race itself, the marathoner can’t wander off course, take a 2-hour nap, or quit 15 or even 25 miles into the race. To gain the satisfaction of finishing well, he has to keep going all 26 miles and 385 yards of it.

It’s much the same when our goal is sanctification, or holiness. To become Christ-like and to finish well, we must take step number one, accepting His gift of forgiveness and holiness. We then need to focus our thoughts daily on the goal, patiently enduring and persevering. We have to keep our eyes focused on the finish line, the day we will meet face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ.

But remember, it’s not merely a matter of trying hard to be holy. Without the transforming, life-giving, and holiness-producing power of Jesus Christ working in and through us, we couldn’t make any progress toward holiness. That’s why we need to live the Christian life from start to finish by faith, depending on God’s ability, His power, His grace.

As we complete this study, my prayer for you is the same as that of the apostle Paul. He wrote:

May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it (1 Th. 5:23-24).

“Enemies of Godliness” excerpted from “Why would anyone want to be Holy?” (RBC Ministries 1996)

Discipleship, Spiritual Warfare, The Renewed Mind, The Weapons of our Warfare