Tag: Pride

How can I overcome my sinful addictions? – Part 3

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

The truth is many of us are not experiencing this kind of freedom from sin that we looked at in the first two articles. Why? What prevents us from overcoming our addictions?

SELF-SUFFICIENT PRIDE (John 8:33-36). This is what hindered Jesus’ audience. Keep in mind that Jesus’ audience was comprised of believers (“many believed in Him… those Jews who believed Him” – John 8:30b-31a) and unbelievers (“you do not believe Me… why do you not believe Me?” – John 8:44-45). When Christ spoke to the Jews who believed in Him (John 8:30-32), many of the unbelieving Jews listened in and were offended by Christ’s words. Then “they answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?’ ” (John 8:33). Now this is a strange thing for them to say in light of the fact that they were currently in bondage to the Roman government. But that’s not what they mean. They are boasting of the fact that they are part of the Jewish ethnicity. They were convinced that God accepted them because they were descendants of Abraham.

This reminds me of when we lived in Dallas, Texas, in the 1980s and we would drive past Texas Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys played. That was a unique stadium. It is not like the Kingdome or the Superdome and other great stadia where football is played, because it is not completely roofed over. It has a big hole in the roof right over the football field. Spectators are protected but the players are exposed to the elements. When I asked why I was told, “So God can watch His favorite team!” That is the way the Cowboys feel about themselves: “God’s Favorite Team!” That is what these Jews felt, too: “We are God’s favorite people; God’s chosen race.”

This is the real problem. This is what most often keeps people from coming to Christ and finding the path to freedom: They assume that because they are born into a religious or Christian family, they will go to heaven when they die. After all they live in a Christian nation or their parents were devoted Christians, so that must mean they are Christians and therefore they feel they are already free. And they ignore their hurt and heartache.

This reminds me that when people take their sin lightly, they often take their need for the Savior lightly as well. Evangelist Billy Graham once said, “To you, sin may be a small thing; to God it is a great and awful thing. It is the second largest thing in the world; only the love of God is greater.” (Billy Graham – Angels: God’s Secret Agents).

But Jesus cuts through all that self-sufficient pride and says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34). Like many people in the world, these Jews were in spiritual bondage to sin and they did not even know it. When I preached this message in the provincial jail in the Philippines, I took some thread and began to wrap it around my forefinger and middle finger.

As I did this, I said, “At first, sin seems harmless. We feel guilty, but we tell ourselves, ‘everybody else does it,’ and so we justify our sin and we do it again and again. Plus, it’s fun. Sin feels good at first, doesn’t it? I’m not just talking about drinking and sex, but other pleasures such as telling somebody off when he was wrong or indulging in gossip that ruins somebody’s reputation. Those too are pleasurable sins. But what happens when we keep repeating those same sins?” I wrapped more thread around my two fingers. “They form habits within us that finally become unbreakable. No matter how hard we try, we cannot stop the sin.” I then tried to separate my fingers without success. “You finally decide to quit but you cannot. This is what happened to these Jews.”

Maybe it has happened to you and you have lost all hope of overcoming the addiction that has mastered you. Jesus says, “And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.” (John 8:35). These unbelieving Jews thought they were “sons” of God’s household forever because they were descendants of Abraham, but Jesus implies that they are only “a slave,” not a member of God’s household.

On the other hand, “a son,” a believer in Christ (cf. John 12:36), “abides forever” in God’s household and is set free from sin in his position (John 8:35b). “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36). Only by believing or trusting in Christ alone as our Savior can Jesus set us free from the bondage of our sin. Christ is inviting these unbelievers to believe in Him so they can be set free from bondage to sin positionally through His atoning death on the cross! Once they have Christ in their lives through faith in Jesus alone, they can begin to experience freedom from slavery to sin experientially as they learn to “abide” in Christ’s word (cf. John 8:31-32).

When I said this at the jail, I cut the thread wrapped around my fingers. These Jews (and all unsaved people) must make a personal decision to believe or trust in Christ alone because only Christ can set them free from bondage to sin in their position. God does not have grandchildren, only children who receive Him by faith alone in Christ alone (John 1:12). When you believe in Jesus, He makes you what He is – a son who remains in the house of God forever. And in God’s family, you can enjoy unspeakable pleasures and privileges for eternity!

In January 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was declared. This legal document said that all slaves were now free. But in the state of Texas, someone kept it a secret. They didn’t tell the people of Texas that they were free. So for a couple of years after the Emancipation Proclamation, they were still living like slaves. Texans were acting like slaves because no one had told them they were free. In fact, they were so glad that someone finally told them, they made that date a holiday, and African Americans celebrate Juneteenth every year. Thank God, someone told them! If no one had ever shared the good news, then they would have stayed in slavery much longer.

Over two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, signed our Emancipation Proclamation. He declared that we are free positionally from bondage to sin, but Satan is trying to keep it a secret from us. He is trying to keep us from coming to the realization that we do not have to stay enslaved to sin. We do not have to say, “Yes, sir,” to the devil’s control of our lives any longer. We can take the freedom that Christ has provided for us at the cross, and act on it. We can start living in the freedom that we have because we have now been made free in Christ. That is who we are, but we must choose to live like it.  

Prayer: My Lord and my God, I was once ignorant of my sin and my need for a Savior. Like Jesus’ unbelieving audience, I thought I would go to heaven because of my association with a Christian church and family. But neither my church nor my family could set me free from my bondage to sin. Only You could set me free from my sins positionally so I could become a member of Your household forever! Thank You for revealing this to me through Your Word and Your servants who shared it with me. Thank You that I am a permanent member of Your household by virtue of believing in Jesus alone, and now I have access to all the pleasures and privileges that come with it. Please help me abide in Christ’s Word so I may know the truth and be set free from the lies that enslave me to a lifestyle of sin. Please help me to see myself as You do – free from bondage to sin through Jesus’ atoning death – so I may act on this truth and experience the freedom it gives in my daily life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why do some disciples or followers of Jesus abandon Him? Part 2

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63

We have come to that point in John’s gospel where the majority of Jesus’s disciples drew back and no longer followed Him (John 6:66). We saw that one reason Christ’s disciples abandon Him is because His teaching is difficult to understand (John 6:60).  Today we will discover another reason why some disciples abandon Jesus. It is because HIS TEACHING IS DISTURBING (John 6:61-63).

“61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?’” (John 6:61-62). “Does this disturb you?” Jesus asks. “Are you disturbed by My claim to have descended from heaven? Would you still be offended if you saw Me ascend to where I was before?”

Christ then says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” (John 6:63a). The word “flesh” (sarx) is key to understanding these verses. Earlier Jesus said, “Whoever eats My flesh … has eternal life.” (John 6:54a). Yet here Jesus says, “the flesh profits nothing” in contrast to “the Spirit who gives life.” A literal eating of Christ’s flesh would not give life. Jesus is using the word “eating” to picture faith. We use figures of speech like this all the time. When we hear a message that is meaningful to us, we say, “I’m really eating that up or drinking that up.” Without the Holy Spirit, a person cannot understand Jesus’s claims and teaching. They cannot understand nor accept that Jesus is God who came down from heaven to give eternal life freely to all who believe in Him.

Jesus continues by saying, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63b).  The person who believes Christ’s words gains eternal life because God’s Spirit gives it to them at the moment of faith (cf. John 7:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5). When Christ says, “the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63a), He may be referring to the fact that our own human efforts can never earn eternal life. This was very offensive to those who thought that their own works could gain them entrance into heaven. 

In my years of ministry, I have seen “disciples” drop off. They have stopped placing themselves under the teaching of God’s Word on Sunday mornings, in small groups or discipleship. Why? Perhaps the teaching was too difficult or too disturbing to them. After all, we teach what Jesus taught – that eternal life is an absolutely free gift that is received by believing in Jesus, and some people are offended by that. They want to add to what Jesus has done by teaching that you must do more than believe in Christ for eternal life. So they leave to find a church that teaches a works-salvation rather than a faith alone-salvation.

Are we tempted to abandon Christ when His teaching is too convicting to our way of thinking or living? Are we offended by His grace which offers eternal life freely to all who believe in Him regardless of their past? Are we demanding that we live life on our own terms instead of the Lord Jesus’s terms? We cannot follow Christ as His disciples if we demand to be lord of our own lives instead of Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am often blind to my attempts to be lord of my own life instead of giving You that rightful place in my life. I can so easily justify being in charge of my own life with lies such as – “everyone else is doing it” or “I deserve this in light of how hard I have worked.” Please forgive me for being so arrogant and demanding. My pride is often triggered when I encounter Scriptures that expose my faulty thinking regarding Your grace toward others. Just because the Bible exposes my sinful thought patterns does not make it less valid or true. I need Your Word to expose the blind spots in my life. I need Your Word to analyze my thoughts, words, and actions. So often I analyze Your Word instead of letting it analyze me. Yes, it can be uncomfortable when I place myself under the scrutiny of Your Word, but it is also very necessary. Left to myself, I would be on a path of self-destruction. I need You to challenge me to yield to Your terms for living instead of my own. Thank You for loving me enough to do this. In Your name. Amen.  

Why does God allow Christians to struggle? Part 1

“14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” John 6:14-15

Some Christians are taught that once you come to Christ, you will not experience hardship or suffering. However, the apostle Paul would not agree with this conclusion. He writes, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29). Being a Christian does not exempt us from suffering in this life.

What about you? Have you experienced some storms in your life? The storm takes many different forms, and affects our lives in many different ways. But all storms contain some common elements: they usually come on rather suddenly, they take us by surprise, they tend to fill our hearts with fear, and they test our faith.

Think of some of the storms of life which have invaded your life or someone’s you know: the storm of illness – sudden or prolonged death – the death of a loved one – a child, a partner – especially one not expected to die; rejection – divorce, separation, abandonment; unfair criticism; emotional trauma – hatred, anger, resentment, bitterness; the storm of physical loss – loss of home, loss of job, loss of money, loss of security;  an accident, or some event which may change the course of your life in an instant of time.

You may wonder why does God allow Christians to struggle or suffer? Why does He allow me to suffer? Perhaps you have asked the Lord to use you for His glory, and life has suddenly become tougher for you. Take heart: the disciples of Jesus were not exempt from difficulties either. They, too, struggled. In fact, it was Jesus who sent them into the storm. Let’s look in John 6:14-21 to discover the lessons God wants us to learn about suffering. Why does God allow me to struggle?

TO ELIMINATE MY PRIDE (John 6:14-15). After Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people with a happy meal, the crowd perceived that Jesus was the Prophet whom Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18:15. “14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” (John 6:14-15). Now the crowd wanted to make Jesus King by using force. They were seeking a political leader with power who could lead them against the oppressive Roman government. They weren’t ready to trust Jesus as the Messiah-God, but they were willing to use Him to accomplish their own agenda. They focused on Christ as someone who could serve their physical needs, but they had no interest in Him spiritually.

But don’t we do the same thing? Have you ever become angry with God because He didn’t give you what you wanted? I don’t know if you have done that, but I have. I have been very upset with God sometimes because He did not do what I asked Him to do. I am ashamed to admit this, but it is the truth. This event in John 6 is given to teach us that this is not the kind of relationship that we are to have with God.

Jesus was not tempted to yield to the crowd’s desire to make Him King, but the disciples may have been tempted. After all, they saw the huge crowds following their Lord; they saw His miracles of healing and multiplication of food; and now the people wanted to crown their Jesus as King. So what does Christ do? Matthew tells us, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” (Matthew 14:22). Jesus sent them into the storm. Why does our Lord do this? Because He wanted to eliminate their pride – to keep them from thinking that they had something to do with His growing popularity.

The apostle Paul states, “So that I would not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me, a painful physical problem was given to me. This problem was a messenger from Satan, sent to … keep me from being too proud.” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NCV).  God allows struggles in our lives to keep us from thinking to highly of ourselves. Maybe you have battled an ailment for years that causes you pain and limits your ministry. You have asked the Lord to take it away, but He has chosen not to and it may be because this ailment keeps you from becoming arrogant and self-sufficient. It reminds you of how much you need the Lord Jesus every day just to do what He has called you to do.

Charles Spurgeon, one of the most powerful preachers in the Victoria Era, had a lifelong battle with depression. He viewed his depression as God’s instrument to keep him dependent on the Lord and more compassionate toward others who suffer pain. It was in his weakness that he experienced the compassion of Christ. Again and again, Spurgeon would speak about the tenderness of Jesus. He longed for any in his audiences who were discouraged or prone to give up, to approach the Lord Jesus for His gentle and healing touch.

It is through suffering that we not only draw closer to Christ, but He also draws near to us to walk with us through the storm. He is a compassionate and gentle Savior who knows how to comfort and console those who are alone in their pain. He also was alone in His pain when He died in our place on the cross. Through His sufferings, He was equipped to be our sympathetic High Priest (Hebrews 4:15). He understands our struggle and He invites us to come to Him in the midst of our storm (Hebrews 4:16).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, when I look back on my life, I see Your gentle and thoughtful orchestration of many storms in my life that were intended to take me deeper in my relationship with You. Some of those storms were much worse than others because of my prideful resistance to Your leading. Thank You for not giving up on me during those times when I was so stubborn. Without Your intervention in my life, my pride would have destroyed me. Thank You for sending me into those storms which eventually removed my pride and brought me closer to You. You are a good and faithful Friend. I am so glad I have You in my life. In Your name. Amen.

Using Numbers in Evangelism

“Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually.” Numbers 1:2

The purpose of counting every male 20 years old and above was to determine how many men were able to go to war for Israel when entering the Promised Land (1:3). This would help them determine the strategy to use against their enemies and could also provide encouragement for the people. But there is also a danger in keeping track of numbers. It can lead to pride such as when King David took a census for prideful reasons in 2 Samuel 24. 

It is not wrong to keep track of numbers in evangelism if it is done to bring God glory (I Cor. 10:31). God recorded the number of people saved early in the book of Acts to show His power and influence (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:36; cf. 6:1, 7; 11:21; 16:5). This can still encourage believers today to develop a bigger vision for what God can do in and through them. Let us not forget that each number represents a person for whom Jesus died. Each person is important to God. Plus, keeping track of numbers can enable us to develop the proper strategy for discipling those new believers. In addition, it helps you measure the effectiveness of your ministry. 

It is also important to remember the dangers of keeping track of numbers in evangelism. If pride is your motivation, then you are inviting God’s discipline on your life (2 Samuel 24). Pride can lead us to exaggerate numbers to make ourselves look good to others. So, ask yourself, “Why am I keeping track of numbers?” If it is to impress others or feed an addiction, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Our identity is not based on how many people come to Christ. Our identity is found in Christ alone (Ephes. 1:6; Col. 2:10). Our value and acceptance before God are based upon Jesus Christ alone, not our works. His grace determines our worth, not the results of a ministry.

(Adapted from EvanTell’s 2014 Evangelism Study Bible, p. 1340.)