What's Going On Inside of Me? (Part 1)

Over the past month or two I have been thinking a lot about the intricacies of a Christian's response to temptation. What's going on inside of a Christian when he is on the warpath against sin and slaying the dragon of temptation with the greatest of ease? On the other hand, why does the same Christian who slayed the dragon so easily last week, encounter a seemingly weaker dragon this week and fall prey to it? What changed? Was it simply a behavior change? Did his thinking falter? Is it a mind thing? Did his desires change? What happened?

As I thought about this more and more I began to have a really strong desire to illustrate this somehow. I thought that if I could get it on paper and see it for myself, it would help me do a better job of guarding my heart with all diligence, and fleeing temptation. It might even be a help to others, so what follows is my initial attempt.

Before we even begin to discuss temptation I think we must conclude what a Christian looks like from the inside out, and what makes him different from a non-believer.


The Unbeliever


Here is our first chart, this is my proposal of what a non-believer looks like from the inside out:





Let me explain. First off you can see the gray heart of stone at the core of the unbeliever. God has not replaced this heart of stone with a heart of flesh. You see that surrounding the heart is nothing but sinful flesh. The green circle is the intellect and will. The intellect makes active decisions to choose what the will desires most. The will, will always desire the overflow of the heart, which in the case of the unbeliver is always to please their sinful flesh (Romans 3:10-18, Romans 8:8, Romans 14:23). The blue circle then represents actions and behavior. The unbeliever acts on the sinful choices made by the intellect through the will representing the sinful desires of the heart.


The Believer

Below is chart #2. This is my proposal of what a believer looks like from the inside out.

You can see right off the bat that the believer above looks different. There has been a change on the inside. The gray heart of stone has been replaced with a red heart of flesh (Eze. 36). You can also see an area of white surrounding the new heart. These are new affections found in the believer as a result of the new heart. The believer can now seek after God, do good and please God. Unfortunately the sinful nature is still there represented by the black circle. The good news is that the heart is no longer surround by or in bondage to it. However, because of the curse of sin the flesh will always be battling agaist the Godward affection in the believer.

Here is an example of what the battle looks like and the subsequent results:

This is what takes place when the beleiver falls prey to the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). The affection for God is [temporarily]overcome by the sinful flesh. This results in the intellect making the active decision to choose what the will wants and the will wants to satisy the flesh (the overflow of the heart). Therefore the subsequent behavior and actions sinfully carry out the intellects active decision to choose what the will desires most which was to satisfy the sinful flesh which was an overflow of the heart...whew, that's a keyboard full.

Now let's take a look at the bright side:

This is what it looks like when the Christian wins the battle against the flesh, when by the Spirit he is putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13). You see that heart is overflowing with affection for God which leads right into the will and intellect. The intellect then actively chooses what the will desires most which is to please and make much of God. The subsequent actions and behavior are then an overflow of the will to please God which is an overflow of the Godward affection of the heart.

So what say you? Is this really how it works, is it biblical or just philosophical. Does it make sense or is it wacky? I'm going to wait to post part 2 which actally deals with the response to the temptation until I see if what the meta thinks of part 1.

Perseverance of the Saints - Affirmations and Denials

A colleague and myself were tasked to come up with a set up affirmations and denials regarding the doctrine of perseverance today. This is a draft of what we came up with and I would be interested to get your input.

Perseverance of the Saints

A. We affirm that true believers will persevere in the faith to the end of their earthly lives. (Matt 10:22, Heb 3:14, Matt 24:12-13, Gal 6:9, Col 1:21-23)

We deny that those who are true Christians can fall away permanently and end up in hell.

B. We affirm that professing believers who do not persevere to the end of their earthly lives were not true believers. (1 John 2:19, Matt 7:22-24, Luke 18:9-14)

We deny that those who fall away and stay away were ever genuine believers. (1 John 2:19)

C. We affirm that God is the One Who preserves Christians. (John 6:35-40, John 10:27-40, Phil 1:6, Jude 24-25, 1 Peter 1:3-5)

We deny that Christians preserve themselves in their own power. (Eph 2:8-9, Phil 2:13)

D. We affirm that there are biblical passages that appear to contradict this teaching by warning against apostasy. (Heb 2:4, Heb 6:4-9, Heb 10:26-29, Heb 12:4, Matt 10: 32-33, 1 Cor. 15:1-2, 2 Peter 2:1)

We deny that these passages actually contradict this teaching. Rather, there are exegetical explanations for these passages that do not contradict the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

E. We affirm that these warning passages are legitimate warnings against apostasy that should be taken seriously by all believers. These warnings are prospective and are designed to elicit faith that perseveres to the end. (Phil 2:12, 2 Cor 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10)

We deny that these warning passages are not applicable to believers and can, therefore, be ignored. (Acts 20:27)

F. We affirm that the elect are saved through perseverance, not apart from it. (John 15, 2 Peter 1:10)

We deny that the cliché, “once saved, always saved,” is sufficient to adequately describe this doctrine.

I'll be interested in your feedback.

Piper on Fighting Lust

This is an excellent article by Piper on fighting lust. I have copied it in its entirety below.

A N T H E M Strategies for Fighting Lust

By John Piper November 5, 2001

I have in mind men and women. For men it's obvious. The need for warfare against the bombardment of visual temptation to fixate on sexual images is urgent. For women it is less obvious, but just as great if we broaden the scope of temptation to food or figure or relational fantasies. When I say "lust" I mean the realm of thought, imagination, and desire that leads to sexual misconduct. So here is one set of strategies in the war against wrong desires. I put it in the form of an acronym, A N T H E M.

A – AVOID as much as is possible and reasonable the sights and situations that arouse unfitting desire. I say "possible and reasonable" because some exposure to temptation is inevitable. And I say "unfitting desire" because not all desires for sex, food, and family are bad. We know when they are unfitting and unhelpful and on their way to becoming enslaving. We know our weaknesses and what triggers them. "Avoiding" is a Biblical strategy. "Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness" (2 Timothy 2:22). "Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Romans 13:14).

N – Say NO to every lustful thought within five seconds. And say it with the authority of Jesus Christ. "In the name of Jesus, NO!" You don't have much more than five seconds. Give it more unopposed time than that, and it will lodge itself with such force as to be almost immovable. Say it out loud if you dare. Be tough and warlike. As John Owen said, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you." Strike fast and strike hard. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" ( James 4:7).

T – TURN the mind forcefully toward Christ as a superior satisfaction. Saying "no" will not suffice. You must move from defense to offense. Fight fire with fire. Attack the promises of sin with the promises of Christ. The Bible calls lusts "deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22). They lie. They promise more than they can deliver. The Bible calls them "passions of your former ignorance" (1 Peter 1:14). Only fools yield. "All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter" (Proverbs 7:22). Deceit is defeated by truth. Ignorance is defeated by knowledge. It must be glorious truth and beautiful knowledge. This is why I wrote Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ. We must stock our minds with the superior promises and pleasures of Jesus. Then we must turn to them immediately after saying, "NO!"

H – HOLD the promise and the pleasure of Christ firmly in your mind until it pushes the other images out. "Fix your eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 3:1). Here is where many fail. They give in too soon. They say, "I tried to push it out, and it didn't work." I ask, "How long did you try?" How hard did you exert your mind? The mind is a muscle. You can flex it with vehemence. Take the kingdom violently (Matthew 11:12). Be brutal. Hold the promise of Christ before your eyes. Hold it. Hold it! Don't let it go! Keep holding it! How long? As long as it takes. Fight! For Christ's sake, fight till you win! If an electric garage door were about to crush your child you would hold it up with all our might and holler for help, and hold it and hold it and hold it and hold it.

E – ENJOY a superior satisfaction. Cultivate the capacities for pleasure in Christ. One reason lust reigns in so many is that Christ has so little appeal. We default to deceit because we have little delight in Christ. Don't say, "That's just not me." What steps have you taken to waken affection for Jesus? Have you fought for joy? Don't be fatalistic. You were created to treasure Christ with all your heart – more than you treasure sex or sugar. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph. Plead with God for the satisfaction you don't have: "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). Then look, look, look at the most magnificent Person in the universe until you see him the way he is.

M – MOVE into a useful activity away from idleness and other vulnerable behaviors. Lust grows fast in the garden of leisure. Find a good work to do, and do it with all your might. "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" (Romans 12:11). "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). Abound in work. Get up and do something. Sweep a room. Hammer a nail. Write a letter. Fix a faucet. And do it for Jesus' sake. You were made to manage and create. Christ died to make you "zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14). Displace deceitful lusts with a passion for good deeds.

Fighting at your side,
Pastor John