Sanctification (Page 2)

Sanctification (Page 2)

Advice on Killing Sin

The definitive treatment on killing sin is a series of sermons John Owen preached on Romans 8:13 that eventually became Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers (1656). In the book, Owen has several pithy statements of advice on killing sin. “Be killing sin or it will be killing you” According to Romans 8:13, Christians are to actively kill sin in their lives. The reason is simple: sin is serious. If we do not kill sin, it will kill us!…

When Desires Aren’t Fulfilled

What do you do when God implants a desire to do something or have something and that desire is not fulfilled? For example, God gives you the desire to serve him as a pastor or missionary or engineer or military officer, and the desire isn’t fulfilled? Or, God gives you the desire to be married or to have children, and the desire isn’t fulfilled? How do you process these disappointments, especially considering Psalm 145:19, which states: “He will fulfill the…

Should We Follow Our Heart?

There is a modern-day way of life that says: “Follow your heart.” According to this philosophy, the way to happiness and freedom is to follow what your heart tells you to do. In a nutshell: if it feels good, do it. The problem is that this concept is fundamentally flawed for two important reasons. First, the philosophy of “follow your heart” is inherently inconsistent. No loving person would let a five-year-old eat an entire 64-ounce bag of tootsie rolls in…

Comfort and Christ

I inherited, for better or worse, cold blood and poor circulation. What I mean is that I often feel cold rather than warm. Consequently, I love warm weather . . . and space heaters! The other day while I was praying in my study, I literally laid right in front of my space heater, so my cold hands would warmup. Immediately, upon beginning my prayer, this thought crossed my mind: I am as pathetic as Jonah! If you remember the…

Don’t Reduce Sin to Acts

We often reduce sin to what we do or don’t do; for example, lie, steal, or cheat. Let me be clear: sin is what we do or don’t do. But sin is much deeper. Sin is who we are. We commit acts of sin because we are sinners. The famous fifth-century pastor in North Africa, Augustine, understood this well. In his Confessions, he recounts of how he stole some pears when he was sixteen. Listen to what he says: “I…

Do You Have a Right to Be Angry?

  What a penetrating question! Is it right for you to be angry?     Of course, if you’re familiar with the Bible, you might recall that God asked the prophet Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry” (Jonah 4:4)? Because of the context of this question, God was not expecting a response – the question was a rebuke! And the question also serves as a rebuke for us. Why? Because of the nature of anger. Anger is…

Human Growth and Christian Growth

I was listening to a show on Minnesota Public Radio discussing character development in Young Adult fiction. They said that for a Young Adult book to sell, the character(s) have to experience genuine harm and difficulty, yet show growth in the midst of the trial. In real life, human beings grow and change. Human nature changes: it’s our nature. To be human is to change. We change our viewpoints and values, concerns and character, and interests and ideas. Unlike God…

Five Reasons God May Delay in Answering Your Prayer

God always answers prayer. Period. Yet, he does not always answer in the way we would like. Sometimes he answers with a “yes” or “yes and even better.” Sometimes, however, he answers with a “no,” or “not yet.” Why does God answer with a “not yet?” Why does he delay in answering prayer? Puritan Richard Sibbes helped me to see four reasons God may delay in answering prayer. I’ve added a fifth. To try your faith. Like the Canaanite woman…

What Is Forgiveness?

Because we live in a fallen world, sinning against others and being sinned against, we are in constant need of forgiveness. Yet, we often misunderstand what forgiveness truly is. We think that forgiveness is a feeling, so we don’t forgive because we don’t “feel” very forgiving. We think that forgiveness involves excusing someone’s sin, so we say things like, “What you did wasn’t that bad; I’ve done it before, too”. We think that forgiveness means forgetting, so we don’t forgive…

Am I Growing in My Christian Faith?

A common question people ponder is how they know if they are growing in their Christian faith? Sometimes this question arises in those that are struggling with whether or not they are true believers. In Colossians 1:9-14, Paul gives a model for spiritual growth. He tells us what spiritual growth looks like, thereby showing us how we know if we are growing in our Christian faith. Paul prays for a filling of the knowledge of God “so that you will…

How Do You Handle Your Past?

Everyone has regrets. You regret sinful choices and stupid choices. Choices as small as hitting the snooze, and choices as large as the person you married, the career you chose, and the house you purchased. How are you to handle and think about those past decisions? You are to forget the past and remember the past. Paul tells us in Phil 3:13 that we are to “forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead.” The word “forgetting,”…

How Can I Grow In Faith?

We tend to read the Bible primarily individualistically.  Here is an example of what I mean. Paul writes in Rom 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  By default, we are apt to read this passage and think: faith comes when I read the word of God.  Or, more generally: faith comes through the Bible. The problem with thinking this is that Paul says something much more specific: faith comes by hearing preaching.  How do I know?  The…

I Got Saved Every Sunday

More than once I have heard a conversion story that basically stated, “I got saved every Sunday.” We sometimes dismiss this kind of story as stemming from bad theology or manipulative practices.  And while that may be true, in dismissing it, we swing to the other extreme, which is, “I am already a Christian; this sermon doesn’t apply to me.” But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.  In reality there is truth to “I got saved…

Killing Sin

Do you feel like you just aren’t gaining ground? Do you feel stuck on the merry-go-round of failure? Christ, the Holy Spirit, and His Word are what we need most to gain victory in killing sin habits in our lives. And like our recent post on Pride, there is a plethora of helpful authors who speak on killing sin in our lives (mortification). We’d like to give you a sampling quotes from these sources, compiled by our friend, Dr Stuart…
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