88300.T Jesus’ Resurrection and You II

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According to eyewitnesses, a man named Jesus Christ demonstrated his power over death. They tell us that after he died on a cross and was buried, Jesus suddenly appeared to them alive on the third day. Then he was seen by other followers, including 500 people on a single occasion. Soon word spread everywhere that Jesus had risen from the dead.

But could Jesus’ resurrection simply be a 2000-year-old legend? Or is it based upon verifiable historical evidence?

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then the foundation for the Christian Faith would forever be destroyed.

Is the Resurrection of Jesus a Myth?

One person who wanted to know what happened was an English journalist and skeptic, Frank Morison, who began research for a book to prove that Jesus’ resurrection was a myth. However, as he examined the evidence, Morison’s views changed as well as the theme of his book. What was it that changed Morison’s mind as well as his book?

Morison discovered Jesus’ death was verified by both Jewish and Roman historians.

Morison then wondered if the disciples had conspired a plot to make it appear Jesus had risen. However, there are three main problems with that theory:

First, the tomb was secured by a large stone and a 24-hour trained Roman guard. It would have been impossible for the disciples to roll the stone away and remove Jesus’ body without notice.

Second, the resurrection plot would have died out as soon as someone discovered Jesus’ body, yet that never happened.

Third, the disciples changed from being cowards into men who were willing to be tortured and martyred for proclaiming the risen Jesus.

It was the dramatic transformation in the disciples’ behavior that convinced Morison the resurrection really happened.

What Would a Jury Decide?

Another scholar who wrote about evidence for Jesus’ resurrection was Dr. Simon Greenleaf, founder of the Harvard Law School. Greenleaf wrote the rules of evidence still used in our legal system today. Applying those rules to the events surrounding Jesus’ death, Greenleaf concluded that any honest jury would render a verdict that Jesus’ resurrection really happened. As with Morison, it was the sudden change in the disciples’ behavior that persuaded him. He writes,

“It would have been impossible for the disciples to persist with their conviction that Jesus had risen if they hadn’t actually seen the risen Christ.”

Jesus’ resurrection convinced his disciples that he was the Messiah who had died for our sins. He was “the only way to God,” and “the resurrection and the life.”

They now knew Jesus alone had the power over life and death, and they gave their lives proclaiming him as the risen Lord.

So, what does Jesus’ resurrection mean to you and me today?

The apostle Paul, who had also initially been a skeptic of Jesus’ resurrection, explains its impact on our lives.

“For Christ has completely abolished death, and has now, through the Gospel, opened to us men the shining possibilities of the life that is eternal.” (2 Timothy 1:10, Phillips)

In other words, Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the door for us to have eternal life with Christ. But, there is an obstacle preventing us from going to heaven. The apostle Paul explains.

“You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.” (Colossians 1:21, NLT)

The obstacle to us having eternal life with Christ is that we have sinned and rebelled against a holy God. Although God loves us beyond our understanding, his perfect justice requires payment for our sins. The penalty is death.

Why Can’t God Just Forgive Our Sin?

Many wonder why an all-powerful, loving God can’t just forgive us without punishing us for our sins. Why does he demand justice?

Imagine entering a courtroom and you are guilty of murder. As you approach the bench, you realize that the judge is your father. Knowing that he loves you, you immediately begin to plead, “Dad, just let me go!”

With tears in his eyes he responds, “I love you, son, but I’m a judge. I can’t simply let you go.”

Presenting the evidence against you, he bangs the gavel down and declares you guilty. Justice cannot be compromised, at least not by a judge. But because he loves you, he steps down from the bench, takes off the robe, and offers to pay the penalty for you. The penalty is death.

This is the picture painted by the New Testament. God stepped down into human history, in the person of Jesus Christ, and was crucified on the cross for us. Jesus is not a third-party whipping boy being punished for our sins, but rather he is God himself. Stated more bluntly, God had two choices: to punish us for our sin, or to receive the punishment himself. In Christ, he decided to pay the penalty for us.

In other words, God’s perfect justice is completely satisfied by the death of his Son, Jesus Christ. All of our sins—no matter how bad they are or have been—are completely paid for by the blood of Christ. Paul writes,

“Yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22, NLT)

But wait a minute, you say, “Don’t I have to do good deeds to get into heaven?”

The Gift of Heaven

Since eternal life is a gift from God, you and I can’t do anything to earn our way into heaven. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, explains God’s amazing grace.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

For a gift to be ours, we need to actually receive it. Like any gift, you can choose to accept or reject Jesus Christ’s pardon for the penalty for your sins. This was made clear by the apostle John.

“This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” ( John 5:11-12, NCV)

It’s Your Choice

To become a Christian you must place your faith in Jesus’ death for your sins on the cross, and trust in his resurrection for your eternal life. It is a choice that you alone must make. No one else can do it for you.

You must honestly admit you have sinned and want the forgiveness Jesus Christ offers you. The apostle John tells us that,

“If we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable—he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil.” (1 John 1:9, Phillips)

John tells us that whoever receives Jesus Christ becomes his child.

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12, NIV)

You can receive Jesus right now by asking him to come into your life and forgive your sins.

If you haven’t ever invited Jesus into your life, simply pray the following words. But remember, it’s not the words you say but the attitude of your heart that is important.

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank you for giving me eternal life. I receive you as my Savior by faith, and desire you to be Lord of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.”

If you have made this commitment to Jesus Christ, he actually entered your life. He will help you to become the brand-new person he created you to be. He is freeing you to experience a life of meaning, purpose, and power.

What is your response?

No, I did not invite Jesus into my life.

Yes, I prayed and invited Jesus into my life.

Yes, I prayed and rededicated my life to Jesus.

No, I have already invited Jesus into my life.

88010.T The Gift of Heaven II

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If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven?

Jesus explained that heaven is not an automatic destination. He said: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14, BSB).

Jesus taught that there are only two destinations after we die. One is in heaven with God forever, and the other is in hell separated from God for eternity.

Is there really anything more important than knowing where you will spend eternity?

Jesus asked this profound question: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Mark 8:36–37, NIV).

God’s deepest desire is that people will spend eternity in Heaven someday. The apostle Paul explains that God our Savior, “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2: 4, ESV).

However, we can forfeit heaven through unbelief or ignorance when we do not accept God’s incredible offer of forgiveness.

God is very interested in the choice you will make that will decide your eternal destination. In fact, he wants you to know that you can spend eternity with him.

John, one of Jesus’ disciples, said, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13, NIV).

This means that, before you die, you can know where you will spend eternity.

The major religions of the world offer no guarantee that you will go to heaven when you die. They teach that a person must do good deeds and follow a list of rules to please a distant God and then maybe attain salvation. But there is no guarantee.

These religions are focused on what we do. “Do this” or “do that” and maybe you will get into heaven? They do not provide assurance that you will be permitted into heaven. It is only because of who God is and what Jesus has done for you, that you can be confident you will enter heaven.

Would you like to know how you can be certain you are going to heaven?

First, you must understand the barrier that prevents you from being with God when you die.

Romans 3:23 declares, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

Sin is any thought, word, or deed that violates God’s moral standards. If you’re honest, you know there have been times in your life when you’ve missed the mark. Your thoughts and actions weren’t what they should be. That is sin. And because God is infinitely holy, one sin is enough to separate you from him for eternity.

Many people try to bridge the divide between them and God through good works, or sacrificial acts. Or by being faithful members of some religion. But the Bible is clear that it is impossible to earn our entrance into heaven by anything we can do.

Jesus told his followers: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48, ESV).

But none of us are perfect. No matter how hard we try, we continue to fall short. So, what do we do? Fortunately, God has a solution.

Romans 6:23 promises, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

Death, or separation from God, is the natural result of sin. But God, knowing our impossible situation, found a way to bridge that divide. Out of his deep love for us, God sent his son, Jesus.

“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NET).

Jesus came to earth to reveal the very heart of God through his actions and his teachings. And he voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross to pay the penalty for us.

As the infinite God-man, Jesus took upon himself the punishment we deserve because of our sin. He became the perfect sacrifice, our substitute.

“God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NLT).

Author Randy Alcorn wrote: “God … so much wants us not to go to hell that he paid a horrible price on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to.”

So heaven is not something we earn, but an incredible gift we are offered. It is not based on our deeds but on our personal relationship with Jesus.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NIV).

On the cross, Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30, NIV). The Greek word translated “it is finished” was normally written across certificates of debt when they were canceled. It means “paid in full.” When Jesus died, he paid in full our debt of sin.

And Jesus’ story doesn’t end with the grave.

Three days after his crucifixion, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, just as he said he would. He conquered death, opening the way to heaven for all who trust in him.

Jesus proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26, NIV).

So how do we experience this eternal life?

According to the Bible, there is only one way to heaven. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLT).

The Bible promises “But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children” (John 1:12, NET).

The apostle Paul explains, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, NIV).

Believing in Jesus means placing your total and complete trust in him for your salvation. But you need to choose to receive Christ and follow him.

A criminal can be offered a pardon for his crimes by the governor, but if he rejects it, that pardon has no effect. In the same way, Jesus offers us a complete pardon for all our sins and the gift of eternal life, but it does not go into effect unless we accept it.

Are you ready to receive this free gift now?

God has given every person the freedom to choose their own destiny. He didn’t have to do that. He could have created us to be robotic people programmed to love and obey him, but then our compulsory love would be meaningless. God wants us to love him freely, so he gave us the right to choose.

Will you choose to accept God’s amazing offer of forgiveness and eternal life? Or will you decide to reject it? Choose wisely because you are determining your eternal future. Don’t put off this crucial decision.

The Bible explains, “Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony … God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:10–12, NIV).

God knows your thoughts and motives, and he wants you to come to him because he dearly loves you and wants you to spend eternity with him.

To receive God’s forgiveness and start a new life with him, you must believe that Jesus is God, that he died for your sins and rose again, and that he wants to come into your life.

If you have never invited Jesus into your life, you can simply pray the following words. However, it’s not the exact words you say, but the attitude of your heart that is important.

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank you for giving me eternal life, which you made possible by your death and resurrection. I receive you as my Savior by faith, and desire you to be Lord of my life. I give you the right to make me into the kind of person you want me to be.”

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, pray it now or pray something similar using your own words.

If you have made this commitment to Jesus Christ, your life with him here on earth has started and will continue with him in heaven!

He will help you to become the brand-new person he created you to be. He is freeing you to experience a life of meaning, purpose, and power.

What is your response?

No, I didn’t pray the prayer.

Yes, I prayed the prayer and invited Jesus into my life.

Yes, I prayed and rededicated my life to Jesus.

No, I have already invited Jesus into my life.

88200 40 Days of God’s Love II

“God, I want to experience more of your love.”

Take a 40-day devotional journey with God.

Download your free devotional book now!

Encounter God’s Love in a Fresh, Powerful Way.

Tap into the wisdom shared in “40 Days of God’s Love.” This enlightening guide is a daily adventure with God— guaranteed to engage your heart. It is a Spirit-led process giving you the joy-filled assurance you are accepted, treasured, and adored by God. 

He wants you to live knowing that you are valued and cherished—no matter what you have done or where you are at in your relationship with Him.

“40 Days of God’s Love” is a Transformative Journey. 

  • Rekindle Your Heart: Discover God’s unwavering love—a love that accepts you fully, cherishes you deeply, and brings lasting joy and peace to your soul.
  • Embrace Love Over Legalism: Learn how love, rather than relentless striving to do ‘good’, is at the heart of our relationship with the Divine.
  • Refocus Your Vision: Look at life with fresh eyes to see the intricate beauty of creation and the everlasting love that God showers upon all living things.

This journey isn’t just about spiritual discovery; it’s about transformation.

Imagine waking up each day for the next 40 days, infused with a deeper sense of love and a clearer understanding of your purpose within the grand spectrum of creation. What a profound impact that could have for you!

May the Holy Spirit illuminate your vision, revealing God’s true nature—a boundless love reaching out to embrace you.

He created you to know His heart for you — know His love for you.

Do You Want More?

Check out the various resources in this free JO App web version.

>> Forever Loved

>> Find What You Want

>> Select a Devotional Series

>> Read the NET Bible

>> Discover Tips for Growth as A Believer

Read 40 Days of God’s Love in this JO App web version!

88100 Tips for A Happy Marriage II

Get Your Free Books

Download your copy of “Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Wife

David Chadwick reveals eight principles in his book to show a special kind of love to your wife that will bring a new level of fulfillment to your marriage.

Download your copy of “Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband

Marilynn Chadwick reveals eight principles in her book to honor your husband so you and he will both experience new heights of fulfillment and intimacy.

These free books are a gift to you from Moments of Hope Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

Do You Want More?

Check out the various resources in this free JO App web version.

>> Godly Relationships

>> Find What You Want

>> Select a Devotional Series

>> Read the NET Bible

33081 Your Sin Diagnosis: The Personality of Sin

The Personality of Sin

Have you ever wondered why you are more vulnerable to certain types of temptation than to others? Have you ever wondered why your sin diagnosis looks different from that of a friend or a family member? Why does your problem happen to be with this sin and not that?

Each of us has a unique personality, and our personality type predisposes us more to certain kinds of sin than to other kinds. By understanding our personality type, then, we can better predict what kinds of temptation might most easily waylay us. We all are born with a sin nature, but the way in which our innate sinfulness is manifested will vary based upon at least three areas affecting our personality.

The first factor is our family environment—what kind of home we grew up in. It may seem that our childhood was a long time ago. But because childhood experiences happen at a formative time in our lives, they can exert an influence upon us for the rest of our lives, whether for good or for ill. They help to determine our sin diagnosis.

A second factor helping to determine our particular tendencies to sin is our individual temperament. The many factors of temperament can influence how our sin nature expresses itself.

A third factor that affects our sin diagnosis is the impact of external events. You have been through a unique series of experiences in the course of your years, and they have contributed to making you who you are. How have these experiences affected your spiritual health? External events build upon the foundation of family environment and temperament to set the pattern for sin susceptibility.

“Know thyself” is an ancient maxim of philosophy. It is good advice in many areas of life, not least in applying the soul prescription to your sin problem. Take some time to ask God for insight into yourself, to think through your personality history, and to get the opinions of those who know you best so that you can use your personality as a clue to your sin diagnosis.

As we continue in our investigation of sin sickness, we will learn that if we do not deal with our sins early on in their development, they have a way of gathering more sins and worse sins. They snowball. Or maybe it is more like an avalanche!

The Problem with “Little” Sins

Often there is an accumulation and the escalation of sin in a person’s life. A good example of this type of pattern would be in the life of King David.

When we think of David and sin, our minds often jump immediately to Bathsheba. But perhaps David’s first sin in that period of his life was irresponsibility, as he chose not to go to war with his troops. Then he entertained lust as he ogled the bathing Bathsheba. This led swiftly to adultery when he had sex with the neighbor woman. Then he practiced deception in trying to get Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, to sleep with her so as to account for her pregnancy. Finally, he arranged for Uriah’s murder. (See 2 Samuel 11:1-15 for the whole story.)

That’s how little sins grow into big ones. For David, the sequence of events led to a dramatic change for the worse in his fortunes. His family life and kingship were never the same again.

Many of us are like David, thinking we can safely dabble in little sins. Foolish! Sin is sin. It is always serious. It always erects a barrier between us and God. And any sin can become a beachhead for others, affecting not only ourselves but also others in a myriad of harmful ways. The ripples of sin spread and grow.

Dabbling soon becomes outright indulgence. Invariably, if a Christian has seemed to take a sudden fall into sin, a closer inspection will show that the person had for some time been flirting with sin before openly courting it.

If you want to keep your sins from multiplying like cancer cells and growing like monsters in a nightmare, you need to act soon and act decisively. The earlier in the process of sin growth you act, the easier spiritual healing will be. However well developed the sin in your life has become, whether your sins are “small” or “large,” it is best to act today rather than tomorrow. Never forget the way that sins have of getting worse and more numerous.

Since we never get past the danger of temptation, we never get past the need for vigilance and prevention of those sins to which we are prone.

Select the right arrow (below) to continue reading Chapter 8. You Sin Diagnosis.

33082 Your Sin Diagnosis: Becoming a Recovering Sinner

Becoming a Recovering Sinner

Trying to live a holy life is a complex proposition. It is not as simple as deciding to obey a few rules and then doing it.

While temptation may change its aspect or approach us from a different angle, it never goes away. It is like driving a car. Whenever you drive a car, you are continually subjecting yourself to the risk of an accident. In the same way, just by going through life, you are continually subject to temptation.

Every day, we are an invitation for temptation. The temptations we give in to reveal our peculiar weaknesses. Then they produce the sin symptoms that comprise our particular diagnosis at a particular time.

It would be easier to resist temptation if sin were not so attractive. With most sins, we are not talking about something that seems awful; we are talking about something that could potentially feel wonderful. Many times, to do the wrong thing is more agreeable than to do the right thing. So even though we know that the right thing is best for us in the long run, we choose the fleeting pleasures of sin anyway. It is only when we realize the true destructiveness of sin that we are willing to seek change.

A complete cure for sin will come only at our glorification after death. In this life we will never stop struggling with sin—we will never entirely settle the matter.

Yet there is cause for hope. Salvation opens the doors to God’s resources, and so the Spirit can substantially defeat sin for us in this life as we obey God’s commands.

Remember this: we can get to a point where we never again repeat a sin that was once a regular habit for us. It really is possible to win over a sin. We may never be free from the temptation again, and we likely will fail God again in another way later on. But as we deal with our sins one after another, we can experience victories over each of them in turn and over time raise our level of holiness. You can get past your sin, even if the possibility of slipping back into it never quite goes away.

It is a mystery why some people struggle with certain sins. Equally, it is a mystery why some people have an easier time than others in leaving sins behind. Sometimes God immediately takes a sinful desire away, while at other times He lets us struggle against the desire. In every case we can be confident that it is His will for us to resist temptation and that He is present with us to help us in remaining pure.

Be not proud of yourself. Neither be hopeless, since God is at hand. Prayerfully, develop a list of your sin symptoms in your mind through prayer and self-reflection, then plan to treat them all through the power of the Spirit. Perhaps you will add to your list later as you learn more about yourself, but for now the list gives you places to start.

To help you in your struggle against sin, we would like to give you a way of mentally organizing the universe of sins.

Select the right arrow (below) to continue reading Chapter 8. You Sin Diagnosis.

33083 Your Sin Diagnosis: Introducing the Sin Families

Introducing the Sin Families

Sins tend to gather in what we call “families”—groups of related sins. If you have a problem with drinking, for example, it is a part of the overindulgence family, which includes such sins as gluttony, drunkenness, drug abuse, shopaholism, and the overuse of media. All such sins relate to indulging too much in some kind of substance or experience.

But overindulgence is just one example. We have come up with ten sin families, each with its own parent sin. The “parents” include such foundational sins as pride, anger, and sexual immorality. In the families headed by these parent sins there may be found several other related sins.

Of course, describing sins in families this way is somewhat artificial. It would be possible to come up with a different list of sins and to arrange them in a different way. Furthermore, there is overlap among the families. Violence, for example, might be considered to partake of both anger and divisiveness (two different “parents” in our scheme). Real life is not as cut and dried as our list of sins may appear. Nevertheless, we believe our sin families represent a helpful way of looking at the universe of sins and figuring out where our particular sins fit in.

The sin families are listed in the column to the right. Think about all the sins that are troubling you now. These make up your own hit list of tenacious sins. Plan to deal with them all, if not at the same time, then one right after the other Regardless of the areas that concern you, your success in finding freedom from sin habits depends on how honest you are prepared to be with God and yourself. It is true that in this life you will never cease struggling with temptation. Nevertheless, as you deal with the sin in your life, tell yourself, I will face my problems head-on. With all my strength, I will seek out God and His will for my life. I will settle for nothing less than ever-advancing progress toward becoming more like Christ. God will honor your authentic attempts to draw near to Him, and as you do, you will find that He is already there.

33072 Step 5. Preventing Setbacks: Expecting Victory

Expecting Victory

Athletes know that if you go into a game believing you are going to win, you will play much differently than if you think you are going to lose. It is the same with sin habits. We must expect victory over the sins that beset us and expect victory in establishing new habits of holiness.

Of course, the contest with sin is no game—it is deadly serious. And our confidence about replacing sin with godliness is no mere exercise in positive thinking. Rather, it has a solid basis, because our confidence is not in our own powers of self-control but in the power of God to change us as we cooperate with Him.

This is what I (Bill) have long called “supernatural thinking.” By that term, I refer to hope that may seem like bold ambition but that is actually a reasonable and faithful response to what God has revealed in His Word. Thinking that we are capable of defeating a serious sin problem on our own is foolish—down deep we know how weak we are. But if the Scriptures are correct in saying that God is all-powerful (He is), and if they are correct that He has promised to help us if we will ask (He will), then we have every reason for a bold faith that sees victory where others would expect defeat.

When the teenage David went down to the field of battle to face the giant Goliath, David said that his victory would come from the Lord. “It is His battle, not ours,” shouted David to the enemy. “The Lord will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:47). Moments later Goliath was lying dead in the dust, no doubt looking much smaller than before. One plus God is a majority against any foe.

Tired of fighting against sin? Remember, the battle is the Lord’s. With His help, you will prevail. He will help you eliminate the troublesome sin from your life. And as you continue to pray and surrender your will to Him, He will fill the empty place in your life (the one formerly occupied by the sin habit) with a new virtue habit. This kind of complete victory can be yours.

“Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”
(Romans 8:37).

Applying the Five Steps

Healing from sin is the goal we are after, and the five-step process we have outlined is how to get there. To review:

  1. Adopt a correct view of God. Make sure you have biblical convictions about God’s character and how He acts toward you.
  2. Revise your false beliefs. Use the Bible to identify your mistaken convictions about yourself, other people, and how life works.
  3. Repent of your sin. Pray the five prayers of repentance: (1) “I am wrong.” (2) “I am sorry.” (3) “Forgive me.” (4) “Cleanse me.” (5) “Empower me.”
  4. Defend against spiritual attacks. Depending on the Holy Spirit, choose to overcome the world’s values, consider the flesh’s desires to be dead, and resist the Devil’s schemes.
  5. Flee temptation. Escape from sin by focusing on your relationship with God, latching on to God’s promises, establishing safeguards, and expecting victory.

This is a process that enables us to achieve greater holiness, no matter how much we have struggled with a particular sin in the past. But theory is always one thing and application another, isn’t it? For all of this to really matter to you, you need to apply it to your own sins.

Next we will consider how each of us needs to diagnose our own sin sickness and apply the soul prescription to it.

Select the right arrow (below) to continue reading Chapter 8. You Sin Diagnosis.