Archive for the 'Sanctification' Category

Page 2 of 3

This may be why you are feeling down: “Sin darkens the soul . . .”

Published on June 14, 2010 in Quotes, Recommended Reading and Sanctification. 0 Comments

If you’re depressed, sin may be part of the reason.  (But, sin is not the only reason – — see also Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure)

John Owen:

Sin darkens the soul.  It is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God’s love and favour.  It takes away all sense of the privilege of our adoption; and if the soul begins to gather up thoughts of consolation, sin quickly scatters them.

So, what do you do?  The title of Owen’s work helps us in the right direction.  We are to mortify or put to death sin.  (See What Should You Beat To Death with a Shovel in 2010).

John Owen:

But now let the heart be cleansed by mortification, and the weeds of lust constantly and daily rooted up (as they spring daily, nature being their proper soil), there will be room for grace to thrive and flourish, the graces that God gives will act their part, and be ready for every use and purpose!.

But, we need to know how to kill sin.  We can’t do it in our own strength, but only by the power of the Spirit.

For more, I recommend the abridged version of John Owen’s, The Mortification of Sin.

Keep punching, kicking and biting; When you’re teeth are gone, gum it til glory

Published on May 31, 2010 in Sanctification. 1 Comment

Trevin Wax:

Whatever you may think of the old-time evangelist, Billy Sunday, you’ve got to love this quote about fighting sin:

“I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll butt it as long as I’ve got a head. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old and fistless and footless and tootheless, I’ll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition!”

See also:

CNN considers the downside of “friends with benefits”

Published on April 20, 2010 in Sanctification. 0 Comments

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8

(CNN) — When Jennifer Nicholas sees television shows or movies where characters "hook up" or have sex with "friends with benefits," she cringes, because that’s how she got herpes.

"Getting an STD wasn’t even something that crossed my mind," said Nicholas, 39, who learned that she had herpes at age 22. "One day I’m at the doctor’s office and it was, ‘Surprise! You’ve got herpes.’ "

Experts in sexually transmitted diseases say they’ve become increasingly concerned about the trend toward having what they call "sexual involvement in nonromantic contexts" — the technical term for hookups or "friends with benefits" — because they’re especially likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases.

The concern is that that people who have nonromantic relationships tend to have several partners at one time — "concurrency," in sexual behavior lingo — in contrast to people engaged in romantic relationships, who tend to be monogamous for the duration of the romance.

"We’re concerned that concurrency is speeding up the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases," said Tony Paik, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Iowa who recently published a study on the subject.

"This is a direct route for spreading STDs. There are important implications here for public health," he added.

Would you rather be ruined than changed?

Published on January 31, 2010 in Quotes and Sanctification. 0 Comments

W.H. Auden:

We would rather be ruined than changed;

We would rather die in our dread

Than climb the cross of the moment

And let our illusions die.

What should you beat to death with a shovel in 2010?

Published on January 1, 2010 in Chris Brauns Radio Spots, Sanctification and Self Control. 2 Comments

Most of us know what it takes to kill something.  You have to be vicious. One day when I was mowing my yard I saw my neighbor run out of his garage with a shovel in his hand.  He ran into the flower bed by his house and began pummeling the ground.

I didn’t see for sure what he was hitting, but I have a working theory.  I think that while he was cleaning his garage a mouse or some rodent surprised him.  And, my neighbor who does not wish to share his garage with mice, much less be surprised by them, decided to pulverize his uninvited guest with a shovel.  My guess is he was trying to kill it.

I know that at any given time, there are many dead mice in the world.  But, I can assure you that none of them are deader than this one.  It met a violent end.

The Apostle Paul said that Christians should do with sin what my neighbor did with that mouse.  Paul said it baldly.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.(Col 3:5-6).”

My neighbor didn’t make friends with the mouse.  He didn’t try and reason with it.  He didn’t invite it into his home.  He killed the thing.

So many times we befriend things that belong to the earthly nature.  Maybe we don’t approve and yet we invite certain television programs into our home or look at the wrong things on the computer.  We cultivate materialism and greed.

But, the Bible teaches that we are to kill sin, not make friends with it.  Let’s pick up a shovel and beat it to death.  Because of such things, the wrath of God is coming.

*Reposted from October of 2007.

Devotions from the 10 Commandments

Published on December 27, 2009 in Prayer and Sanctification. 0 Comments

Justin Taylor gives a concise overview of how Luther encouraged people to pray through the 10 Commandments (See Exodus 20:3-17).  Justin then points to another link.

In A Simple Way to Pray, Martin Luther described how he uses the Ten Commandments as a guide in his prayer life:

I divide each commandment into four parts, thereby fashioning a garland of four strands.

That is, I think of each commandment as . . .

Read the rest here.

“Divine power to demolish strongholds” / “Let them truckers roll, 10:4”

Published on December 18, 2009 in Sanctification and Scripture Memory. 9 Comments

Here is a verse to memorize and a pathetic way I remember the reference.  Notice that I am offering extra credit for this assignment.

If there is some area that has a grip on your life (an addiction, pornography, eating, temper problems), then a verse to consider memorizing is 2 Corinthians 10:4:

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Meditate on the truth of this verse.  If you continue to allow some area to rule your life, then you are like a city with broken down walls (Proverbs 25:28).  Grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

Memory Tips

  • Put it on a 3*5 card – - reference on one side, reference and text on the other side.  No more than one verse per card.  Write down the date you begin. 
  • Repeat to remember.  The idea is systematic repetition with a goal of wearing a rut in your mind. Chris Verse Tally  If you say it enough times, you will remember it.  And, if you are struggling with sin in some area, you should be motivated.
  • Associate the reference with something familiar. I started memorizing this verse in June of 1992.  If you are from my generation (the C.B. era), and you remember the horrendously awful song “Convoy,” I had the 45, then the reference will be easy to remember: 10:4.

See also, aloud, and twenty verses from my short term file.

Extra Credit

As I did one year in my room with a record player, listen to the entire song Convoy 100 times so that you too will never forget the phrase, “So, we crashed the gate doing 98, I said let them truckers roll 10:4.”  Your IQ will permanently drop, but you will remember the reference of 2 Corinthians 10:4.

I’ve never liked change . . .

Published on December 9, 2009 in Recommended Links and Sanctification. 0 Comments

I’ve never liked change.  I gripe when Jamie rearranges the furniture.  Now, Amy Scott writes this and I’m feeling convicted.

Change happens whether you want it to or not. I understand this more than I used to. One day you eat dinner with a friend, and the next day she is in heaven. It snaps and whips before you know what happened.

I like things to stay the same because there is comfort in familiarity, even if that reality is imperfect. Summer, with both its heat and its glory, ends even if I do not want it to. And I hate that.

Just now that I’m comfortable in my own space, in the new life we’ve created in the hills where we live, it is time to pack some of our things. We leave next Friday. It is temporary, of course, like everything, but I bristle against the change just because. . .

Read the rest here.

Plantinga explains why discipline gives way to fluid creativity

Published on December 9, 2009 in Sanctification. 0 Comments

Cornelius Plantinga:

Just as in sports and music, discipline in spiritual hygiene has a point.  Anybody can play, but only a disciplined person can play freely.  Discipline is the basis and presupposition of both freedom and power.  A basketball forward who does a spin move in the lane and a concert pianist who rips off a fortissimo run in octaves need strength to do these things, but they also need fluidity.  They need what we might call powerful relaxation or relaxed power; they need strong fluidity or fluid strength.  They are playing, but ‘playing within themselves.’  Behind their masterly mix of power and freedom lie hours and hours of painful, sweaty discipline.  This is work for play.  People who practice spin moves eventually make them part of their game.  People who work for years on scales and arpeggios one day begin to play music (Cornelius Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, Grand Rapids (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 36).”

Are you willing to cooperate?

Published on October 15, 2009 in Chris Brauns Radio Spots and Sanctification. 0 Comments

This Sunday I will preach about the importance of memorizing Scripture.  Hiding God’s word in our hearts, is one of the best ways to cooperate with the grace of God.

Remember today that while God is a God of grace, you must choose to cooperate with His grace.

It is true that God is a God of amazing grace. He graciously dispenses His unmerited favor. He pours out His riches at the expense of the shed blood of His Son and offers them freely. This does not mean, however, that grace is automatically applied. You must choose to cooperate with that grace. We cooperate with God’s grace first by turning in repentance from your sin and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord. You must have saving faith in order to receive God’s grace.

But, cooperation with grace does not end there. For the Christian, growth or sanctification is as much by grace as is being justified or declared righteous in Christ. God dispenses his grace for growth through certain appointed means. We must choose to cooperate with those appointed means of grace if we are to grow as believers. God’s appointed means of grace include His Word, both preached and studied, worship, fellowship with other believers, and prayer. You will not truly grow as a believer apart from involvement in these appointed means of grace.

Let me say it to you this way, if you profess to be a Christian, but you are not plugged into a local church, if you are not hearing the Word preached, if you are not sharing and praying with other believers, then you are trying to live the Christian life in your own strength. Living the Christian life in your own strength, you will never know the victory that can be yours when work out your salvation through God’s strength and power.