Grace, Faith & Life

GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

THE FALLEN NATURE OF HUMANITY:

Genesis 1:1-3 (NASB)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Genesis 1:26-28 (NASB)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The second chapter of Genesis explains how Adam was created in God’s image. And that God breathed the breath of life into man. The soul consists of the ‘MIND, EMOTION and WILL’. Animals have this, but animals don’t consider where they came from or how they came to be. Animals don’t have the “breath of life” which God gave man.

The Bible and our personal experience indicate that man is ‘BODY, SOUL and SPIRIT’.

Man was created by God, in the image of God; created with free-will, the ability to choose among possible options.

Satan’s lie to Adam and Eve was that they would be like God. In other words, they would not need to fulfill the purpose for which they were created; they could be independent doing their own thing.

The third chapter of Genesis explains how Satan deceived Eve into disobeying God by eating of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God had forbidden. With the help of Satan, Man sinned himself into alienation from God.

GEN 3:1-30

Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the imagination of their mind. They wanted to be like God. Satan deceived them into thinking they would be like God if they would just do this thing which God had forbidden.

Because of this act, they did indeed acquire knowledge of good and evil. They were immediately afraid of God due to their guilt for having disobeyed. They tried to hide from God and put the blame on someone else.

They received some knowledge of good and evil, what we call conscience. But they didn’t receive any power over this knowledge of good and evil. The imagination of our heart is always identified as evil and confused.

Genesis 3 explains the results of their “sin” of disobedience. God withdrew His spirit. This resulted in what is known as the “fallen nature” of man. So this “fallen nature” is a person without the spirit of God.

It does not take much observation and experience to realize that the fallen nature is in general not just not good, it is very self-centered, devious, depraved and evil. It doesn’t take much thought to come to the conclusion when you observe what we do to each other, and how perverted the human mind is, not just with depravity but with power and right.

Adam was made in the image of God; but when fallen he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail, wretched, and mortal, like himself. Not only a man like himself, consisting of body and soul, but a sinner like himself. This was the reverse of that Divine likeness in which Adam was made; having lost it, he could not convey it to his seed. Adam lived, in all, 930 years; and then died, according to the sentence passed upon him, “To dust thou shalt return.” Though he did not die in the day he ate forbidden fruit, yet in that very day he became mortal. Then he began to die; his whole life after was but a reprieve, a forfeited, condemned life; it was a wasting, dying life. Man’s life is but dying by degrees. (Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary, WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “Chapter 5”.)

All the human soul has accomplished, with the help of the prince of this world, has been to accumulate things for a privileged few at the expense of many.

Without the Spirit of God to guide us, we are at the mercy of our fallen nature which controls and frustrates us in many ways. The soul of every Man is restless and searching. This restlessness is a deep spiritual desire to be reconciled to God.

St. Augustine wrote “Our souls are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

Rest is when our conscience and imagination are at peace, because who we are, and who we want to be is resting in the love and grace of God. The spirit in man longs to be reconciled to God, to return to our created relationship with God. But, not everyone recognizes this as their basic problem.

Many are blinded and controlled into thinking that someone or something in this world can fulfill this spiritual longing. Others think that being a Christian is to try to live Christ’s life the same way he lived it, when Christ is the only one who can do that. This is our imagination, conscience and pride working in us just as it did in Adam and Eve.

Romans 3:23 (NASB)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:18 (NASB)
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

The Bible describes this condition as being dead. What we need is LIFE not just salvation.

Only God and God alone can reconcile Man unto himself, fulfill our spiritual longing to rest in His love and grace, and give us His LIFE.

So, it is important for new Christians to learn and all Christians to understand, that God has reconciled us unto himself. That being a Christian is more than just getting our sins forgiven it is simply seeking to know, to experience, the fullness of the grace of God.

When we are “born again”, we become a new creation. We have a new nature, a new life. We are not only totally forgiven, we are reconciled to God by the death of Christ and we are also saved by receiving his life.

Romans 5:10 (NASB)
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

[Many of us don’t accept the fact that ALL of our sins have been forgiven, even those we haven’t committed yet so there is nothing for us to do except believe..]

Romans 6:6 (NASB)
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

So, forgiveness of sin is only half of the gospel. There is more to salvation than just forgiveness and escape from Hell. We have been born into a new life, the life of Christ.

All Christians need to come to this understanding, that their salvation is not only getting their sins forgiven and eternal life, but a personal relationship in the life of Christ, in their life right now.

Romans 7:6 (NASB)
6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

This is the grace of God. Grace is God, through His Word, acting in our heart and mind.

Being a Christian is a spiritual relationship with Christ not a religion, it is not something we do, it is who we are. Hopefully, this study will convey the meaning of these terms in a new and living way.

The most important thing for Christians to understand is that there is nothing for us to do except believe, and to understand what it means to live in this personal relationship with Christ living his life through us.

Many Christians are still looking for God’s will for their life, looking for something to do. They are still looking for meaning and purpose, based on performance – significance, fulfillment, satisfaction and acceptance.

God’s will for our life is for us to know (experience) the fullness of his grace. To understand who we are in Christ, we also need to know who we were before coming to Christ, who we are in the flesh.

We need to know what we are up against in this World and how, by the Grace of God, we have been given the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things pertaining to Christ, in order for Christ to live His life through us and free us from the bondage of this flesh. In this study we will be considering relationships of some very familiar terms.

BODY SOUL SPIRIT

MIND EMOTION WILL

CONSCIENCE IMAGINATION TEMPERMENT PRIDE

CIRCUMSTANCES SATAN WORLD

GRACE FAITH LIFE

TRUTH FREEDOM LOVE

We may not be able to figure it all out, but we can diagram it for discussion.

We will discuss:

WHO WE ARE

HOW WE THINK

OUR EMOTIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

HOW WE ACT AND REACT, BASED ON WHAT WE BELIEVE (THE ATTITUDE OF OUR HEART)

WHY WE ARE THINKING WHAT WE ARE THINKING AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.

AND WHAT WE OUGHT TO BE THINKING ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE HOW WE BELIEVE – AND HOW OUR MINDS ARE RENEWED BY TRUTH

All of this will be directed toward understanding the dynamics of what Paul was talking about in Romans 7:8-25, how we can come to know the difference between the spirit and the flesh.

Scripture is very clear in telling us that we ought to walk by faith. We walk in the spirit and not the flesh.

The Holy Spirit is to renew our minds with the mind of Christ.

We are to be in the World but not of the World. We are in a spiritual warfare.

Romans 7:18-25 (NASB)
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Romans 8:1-16 (NASB)
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

Isn’t this a pretty good description of what we are all up against, everyone of us?

Keep these in mind, as we develop the framework for this study.

This panel represents certain aspects of our mind, the nonvolitional aspects of the mind.

This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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FLESH Scripture

When the Bible speaks of “flesh”, it is speaking of the “fallen” nature of humanity.This nature is the basis for all humanistic religious philosophies and systems. Even Christian humanism which uses a biblical vocabulary, to establish a system which teaches “If it is going to be, it is up to me”. Understanding our human nature, is one of the primary requirements to come to an understanding of our condition before God.

The “flesh” is not just the wicked, immoral, deceitful and decadent part of the human nature. Some Christians have problems in this area, but most try to control the commision of willful sins and they probably do pretty well with not killing and then not so well on many other immoral acts.

The “flesh” is also the proud, self-reliant, independent, success driven human nature. This is the part which will motivate people to want to be a successful christian, to build a mega church, to be purpose driven, promote denominational programs and to win for God. Some leaders are driven by their flesh to try to motivate others to the same type of performance. These people may not even be Christians.

See the studies on;

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  • Old natrue and new nature
  • Guilty and dead – flesh and spirit

NATURAL  More about characteristics of a natural person.

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Following is a diagram of what all makes up this nature which we call “flesh”:

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IN US WE HAVE
The fallen nature of humanity.
Memory	everything we have done everything that’s happened to us
Knowledge	scripture, information learned experience
Conscience	knowledge of good and evil fear, guilt, excuses values, rationalization who we think we need to be
Imagination	envy, fantasy, superstition who we want to be our idea or expectation of God what we think others think of us
Self	temperment – – – – – self-image talent – – – – – – – – – – ability confidence – – – – – – performance
Pride	Independent, competitive nature self-sufficiency = unblief = sin pretending, deception

 In Scripture, this is known as:

FLESH

 

When we study everything which makes up our “fallen” nature, we see that this “flesh” is a lot worse than must of have realized it is.

You notice that this diagram does not show our spirit. Everyone is born in the image of Adam, without the spirit of God in them. Therefore, our spirit is “dead”, When we are “born again” we recieve the Holy Spirit and we have a “new” nature. But, we still live in this body of flesh and our flesh still wants to be in control.

1 Corinthians 2:9-14

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

John 3:6

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Romans 8:5

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:9

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Galations 3:3

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Galations 5:16-17

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

     17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

 

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This page last updated on May 5, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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IN THE WORLD WE HAVE – COMPETITION, CONTENTION, CIRCUMSTANCES AND SATAN

When we speak of the World Scripture

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Most people are trying to find meaning and purpose of life in the things of the World.

What ever we depend on for meaning and purpose will tend to control us.

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In the World, we have a lot of things with which we must contend. These are what we call circumstances, not all of our circumstances are listed here. In fact, the really bad stuff is not listed.

The World is not only our circumstances, but it is also our relationship with other people. We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can control how we let them affect us.

Each of these circumstances may or may not be a problem, they can be positive and uplifting for a while, or they can become difficult, frustrating and even frightening problems for us.

The book of Ecclesiastes describes every pursuit of understanding and satisfaction in this world as vain and unsatisfying. When we look to the World and things in this World for meaning and purpose, we are looking in the wrong place. We are looking for something, which only God can provide.

Each person’s circumstantial problem is different, each person’s spiritual problem is the same, no matter what the problem, the solution is always the same. The solution to the “fallen nature” of Humanity is the risen life of Christ.

IN THE WORLD WE HAVE
Circumstances
Family	parents, spouse, children relatives
School	teachers, homework, tests
College	professors, study, exams
Job	boss, work, peers
Church	pastor, people, religion, tradition
Friends	relationships, cliques, gangs
Media	sex, violence, advertising
Finances	money, things, security
Time	hobbies, memberships, leisure self – others
Health	self, family, others drugs, doctors, counselors
Experience	shopping, getting a loan marriage, moving, divorce death, accidents perceived blessings perceived problems

 

Besides the “Flesh”, what else are we up against?

How about our parents, or boss, can we put them in here, as affecting our minds, as part of who we are? Aren’t they always telling us who we are or who we should be? They tell us what to do, where we can and can’t go, how to behave. Parents and boss are in another category with everything else, which we have to deal with, called the WORLD.

In the “World”, we have all of these circumstances which are constantly affecting us either POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY [Examples] Circumstances are everything which are a part of your life. We are influenced by every situation. Things can be pretty good and we don’t think we need anything – we are in control. Then things go bad and what happens to our confidence and emotions and behavior? Circumstances (experience) all come in as knowledge, then along with our conscience, imagination and temperament, we think about them and they effect our beliefs, emotions and behavior.

Circumstances can consistently trigger the same response in us. We try to learn how to cope with all of our circumstances. Sometimes others learn how to pull our chain to get us to react in a certain way. The world always defines us by our weakest characteristic, or by some single event in our life, or by the biggest mistake, which we have made. God knows all of our shortcomings and always defines us as his children, as saints in Christ.

What else is in the World?

SATAN

Ephesians 2:2 2

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

What does Satan do? Gets us to believe a lie. Gets us to think on the wrong things.

Now all of this is our life, ala natural man/person.

What are some of the results?

– Happiness

— sometimes

– Stress

– Good times and bad times

– conflict

– hopelessness

– anxiety

Stress, unreliability and lack of any power within ourselves to really control any of this. In fact,in most cases, it controls us. The Bible describes this as being dead.

Topical Scripture

James 2:26

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 11:25

25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

1 John 2:15-17

15 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The Old Testament shows the futility of man trying to live by the law. The Old Testament speaks of Jesus Christ who will bring a new and living way. What is the solution to this problem? WE NEED LIFE.

1 Corinthians 15:21

21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Galatians 2:20

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

John 10:10

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

John 20:31

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Romans 5:17

17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

WHERE IS LIFE?

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This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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See  Scripture  related  to the mind and heart.

When the Bible speaks of the heart, it is not talking about the organ, but about the innermost part of our mind …?

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The Heart is a significant term in the Bible. The heart is described as being wicked and needing to be changed. The heart is regarded as the innermost part our mind or soul. It is the part of us which drives our body and soul, it is the seat of our desires, beliefs, motives and choices.

It is in the heart of man where moral and spiritual battles take place. The heart is not the spirit. The words used for heart are leb, lebab and kardia. The words used for spirit are ruwach and pneuma.

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Now we’re going to talk about how our mind works. All of the things described in the “In Us We Have” panel and in the “World” are what affects our thinking and is the information we have to think about. Another part of our mind is sometimes called our heart – heart and mind are used together a lot in scripture. The natural person can only apply what they have in their mind to determine what they ought to do for themselves and for others. (Values). This is the heart. The Bible says the heart of man is … Our heart is also called the eye of our understanding.

A part of our heart is what we have discerned as truth, our belief in what ever we believe in. – learning, education – politics – causes – money, job What we get involved in, is where our heart is. This is our self-motivation, why we motivate ourselves to do the things we do.

This may be who we think we are – our “identity”

Sometimes our identity is what we depend on to give meaning and purpose to our life. Whatever we depend on for meaning and purpose will tend to control us. (And eventually will usually disappoint us.)

Sometimes other things motivate us by deception. We are deceived into wrong thinking, which may cause us a lot of trouble. For example, If a parent constantly degrades and provokes a child, that child will learn to react in certain ways, which may even effect a child’s temperament.

WILL SELF-WILL FREE-WILL

Another concept or part of our heart is our “will”.

Will is how we use our mind to direct our thoughts and behavior, which is sometimes called self-will or free will. The will is an expression of our total self.

Our heart is how we will (choose) to think and believe, considering all of the information, facts and fiction shown in the panel representing our mind. We have freewill just like Adam and Eve. We also have something in the Flesh, which tells us we know right and wrong, we can be independent of God. Our will expresses THE ATTITUDE OF OUR HEART, toward God, toward ourselves, and toward others based on an intellectual process of sorting all of this out. Some people are known for being STRONG-WILLED; this “I want to do it my way” attitude is PRIDE.

Now remember this is all in our mind. We haven’t considered how all of this gets in there and how that affects us.

THINKING:

Thinking is another part of our mind. Thinking is cognition, perception, reason, and our intellect. A part of our mind, which processes information similar to a computer – and like a computer garbage in, produces garbage out. Thinking is the process whereby we draw conclusions which are the basis for our actions, beliefs, commitments, values, opinions, etc Sometimes with certainty, sometimes with doubt, sometimes we guess, sometimes we lie to ourselves and to others, sometimes we make decisions with a lot of anxiety. Sometimes perceived undesirable consequences to ourselves, or those we care about, will cause us to give more thought, to be surer before we say something or do something. Sometimes these perceived consequences would cause us to lie. Sometimes we wish we could take it back. Sometimes we just react – that is our temperament.

OUTCOMES:

Thinking produces certain results or OUTCOMES, which are:

ACTIONS, BELIEFS and EMOTIONS ‘

BELIEFS:

Beliefs are the continuous discovery of certain relationships between our mind (data) and our heart (desires) concerning expected consequences or outcomes, which guide our future thoughts and actions according to the power (commitment) or submission of our will. This is our “motivation” or “purpose of our heart”.

If data and discernment are insufficient, or beyond our comprehension, we may develop or accept superstition as the basis for our beliefs.

Why would someone choose to live in the darkness of the “soul” rather than the light of the “Spirit”?

Beliefs are things, which we should accept as being sound. But sometimes we are deceived and sometimes we seem to want to accept deception. There are degrees of beliefs. Strong beliefs are convictions. These are the basis for our “commitments” and “resolutions”. I think that we will all agree that we may have the will to state commitments and resolutions, but we rarely, “in the Flesh”, have the “power” to keep them.

A person without the Spirit of God living in them has only their conscience and self-image and knowledge of things to believe as the basis for their beliefs.

EMOTIONS:

Reactions to our fears, anger whether we have peace of mind or anxiety, worry and stress. These emotions are always a result of what we are thinking. If we are thinking these thoughts, we experience these emotions: jealousy, anger, depressed, happy. We have all learned how our nervous system works and how we can’t move an arm or a muscle without our brain causing it. Emotions are the same way. They are caused by what we are thinking at the time. Our emotions will change if we change what we are thinking. Confession is a good example of acting on our emotions. Even our body responds to what we are thinking. For instance think about eating a big bowl of nice ripe strawberries and cream and see what happens to your glands.

BEHAVIOR:

Behavior is what we do and what we say. Behavior is usually geared to obtaining a certain emotional response – if it feels good do it. Or, avoiding things, which produce undesirable emotions. For some, behavior is getting attention. They do things to be noticed and to get recognition.

Choosing is the basis for our behavior. We make choices based on our beliefs, desires, past experiences, expectations, intuition, discontent and disposition.

DOUBT:

Doubt is simply the lack of sufficient information to draw a conclusion, an uncertainty based on the information at hand, or information, which is not consistent with our experience, lies and misinformation, or unresolved conflicting information (CONFUSION).

MEMORY:

Memory has to do with association, relevance and soundness. We remember things, which we think we will use or which has some association with something, which we have already remembered. There is a ranking of relevance. Things, which are real relevant, we store on top or upfront and other things we kind of push to the back, sometimes unconsciously.

Memory is like a databank constantly being renewed. It is being renewed by our senses and by our thinking. That is why to have our mind renewed, we have to think about it. We read scripture and think about the truths in Christ, which are revealed to us. (See 1John 2:16, 27) This is the fallen nature of humanity. The flesh. The flesh has an insatiable desire for self-love, self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction and even self-condemnation.

Emotions, imagination and temperament, can all affect how we think and can affect what we believe. What we let control our lives. Left to our self, many of us get tossed around by our feelings. All of this, in one sense, makes up WHO WE THINK WE ARE as defined in terms of:

– OUR PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER

– HOW WE GET ALONG WITH OTHERS

– HOW WE GET ALONG WITH OURSELVES

It is important to remember that what we do and what we say is a result of our thinking. The things in our minds are not separate processes. They are parts of a whole, which interact with one another. When they get out of balance, it is manifested in different ways of controlling us, usually because we are focusing on the very thing, which is causing the problem. Everyone has different personalities and problems to deal with, but no matter what the problem, the solution is always in understanding the fullness of the grace of God. The solution to our problem is a change in focus away from the bondage of dealing with our problems with our imagination and conscience to understanding our relationship with God and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our mind.

Let’s talk a little more about how this works, in the flesh. What does the Bible say?

So what motivates us? Depends on a lot of things.

WHAT ARE ALL PEOPLE, AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE LOOKING FOR?

ACCEPTANCE	PURPOSE
LOVE	SIGNIFICANCE
UNDERSTANDING	SUCCESS
SECURITY	RECOGNITION
TRUTH	5c CUP OF COFFEE (good things out of our past)
HAPPINESS	FREEDOM FROM ALOT OF THINGS

WE CALL THIS MEANING AND PURPOSE.

Our search for meaning in life is extremely complicated. Sometimes we think we have it for a little while and then it is gone.

In this world and in our mind, we have trials and tribulations our search for meaning is a search for hope and meaningful relationships. Because everything seems to work against us much of the time, we may look for these things in people, places and things. These relationships are ways of winning in terms of our temperaments, character and flesh.

Because everything is so unreliable, and because of our unrealistic expectations everything effects our emotions, we become controlled by our emotions, our worry over the future and anger over the past.

When things are good, we feel good and we can cope. When things are bad, everything is bad, things are worse for us than they should be and we don’t understand why. So what happens?

This is where everyone starts, IN THE FLESH. Who are we in this? What is really you? Is it – your self-image – your will – your temperament – your ability or specialty – your personality – your reputation Are you really who you think you are?

Sometimes we think who we are is what we’re good at. Sometimes a person is known by their most prominent characteristics. In some respects, why you do what you do is who you are. We may be known by our TEMPERAMENT or our emotions – how we react to things.

What we do is our behavior, why we do it is the attitude of our heart, our motives. We are programmed to win. The World expects us to win. Our temperament and self-image govern how we play that role. A pro football player has an extremely aggressive winning attitude, not just against the other team, but also as an individual to make the team. This is why we cannot judge others. We can judge their actions, but not their motives, this requires looking on the heart, which only God can do.

All of these things of which we are made are imperfect and unreliable. Your emotions are unreliable because they are usually based on your imagination, conscience or temperament.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS:

Most of what the WORLD tells us is unreliable. This is all unreliable because it changes all the time. Whether we want it to or not it changes. And yet, we can’t change it even if we want to. Think about it. It can be or is in control of us most of the time. How can we expect to know who we are in all of this? Sometimes we think we have it for a little while, then things change and its gone. What does this do to our emotions and behavior? In one sense rest is the lack of worry or anxiety. Are we at rest?

All of this is a part of the mind. There are a lot of different functions and compartments of the mind, which no one really understands. This is OUR SOUL our MIND, EMOTION and WILL it is OUR SELF the FLESH.

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This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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Thinking and believing – Scripture

In our natural nature, what we depend on for meaning and purpose in life will tend to control us. In other words, most of our thoughts and actions will be influenced by that dependence. This is the attitude of our heart. Matthew 6:21

• Our job
• A hobby
• Other people or a click or group we want to be part of
• Drugs
• Getting Knowledge
• Keeping up appearances

When we allow certain aspects of our life to become the meaning and purpose for our life, then that may become our “identity”. It is who we, or others, think that we are. Of course, this is always a self-centered life style, which will eventually become disappointing and unfulfilling. Unless there is something illegal or immoral in the pursuit, it is only when any one thing becomes dominant that it can become a problem. In today’s society, illegality and immorality are seen as less and less of a problem, because secular society is not wise enough to judge itself.

When we are born-again, this does not change. We still make choices about what we depend on for meaning and purpose. Choices about the attitude of our heart. But, now we have a new dimension, a spiritual dimension, and the Bible to guide us. The Bible is right again. The best and most fulfilling meaning and purpose in life is to show love to others in God’s name. John 13:35

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 In the self-controlled life, we act based on how we feel, actions follow emotions.

In the Spirit-controlled life, emotions follow actions, we act on what God has put into our heart and spiritual emotions follow that.

Faith is responding to what God puts into our heart, as we walk.

(There is a big difference between what God puts into our heart and what someone else puts into our mind.)

Life is everything from God and nothing from us.

FAITH AND WALK CHART

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The HEART &

FREEWILL

| 

THINKING

 |

OUTCOMES
Beliefs	self, Satan, World (Flesh) grace and life (Spirit)
Emotions	self-controlled Spirit-controlled
Behavior	what we say what we do
Doubt	not enough information
MEMORY

 

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This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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Thinking and the Heart, the difference between the Heart and Soul.

The psychological problems of man are inherent in the nature of the “heart and soul” of man as they think about the problems of their life. Not all “problems” need professional help. In fact, not many do. We all experience the disappointments, frustrations and emotions of life. Discontent, worry and “quite desperation” seems to be the “normal” experience of life. When we get behind, it is difficult to catch up. When we get down on our self, it is difficult to get back up. Sometimes we “feel like” we don’t know where to turn, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are sick and need therapy in terms of professional psychological help. We may just need encouragement and instruction in how to evaluate our feelings and control our thoughts, wisdom. And above all, we need to have hope and a proper self-image.

In Biblical concepts, man is more than just a thinking machine. The Bible says we are body, soul and spirit. Scripture deals with more than just mind, emotion and will in terms of the “heart”. The heart defines the nature of the individual. It is more than just personality. It is what motivates us, it is our identity and self-image. In Biblical terms, the “flesh” or “soul” is used to define the nature or predicament common to all men. “Spiritual life in Christ” defines the nature of the person who has been born again.

Many Christians are defeated in their Christian life and experiencing the same psychological problems as no Christians. All of us can benefit from understanding how the Bible relates to secular psychological processes. Many Christians should be competent to counsel others, in terms of discipling, and teaching them how to think and control the emotions of the “flesh” and how to improve our self-image and outlook by presenting the Biblical model of the contention between the spirit and the flesh and explaining what that means in terms of the attitudes and desires of the heart.

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Thinking and the Heart:

Heart is where decisions for our self-identity and our relationships are made.

Self-identity is:

• Who you think you are.
• Who you want to be.

To yourself

To others

To God

Self-identity produces what I will call the attitude of our heart. The attitude of our heart is what we have already established as self-identity or beliefs. Our thoughts and actions are based on this attitude until some new information comes along and changes it.

The attitude of our heart has a lot to do with what we believe will give meaning and purpose to our life. What or who we depend on for meaning and purpose will tend to control and motivate us. Therefore it needs to be reliable.

How do we know the attitude of our heart? We express it when we say “I am ….”.

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Thinking and the attitude of the Heart:

The heart of man is defined as; the innermost part of his being. It is the part of us which drives our body and soul, it is the seat of our desires, beliefs and motives for making choices. The heart is where the mind, emotion or spirit convinces the will to act. (Go for it.)

The heart is our attitude which is a preprogrammed (trained) basis for making decisions and for acting and not acting the way we do. The heart has been programmed by our thinking based on a mixture of positive and negative emotions, imagination, reason, and on spiritual and relational experiences, and on self-image. Nothing happens until we think about it. When we “think” we are defining our desires and beliefs (attitude) and actions (will) concerning everything which has come into our mind. This thinking defines who we are and establishes how we are going to think about things in the future. This is the attitude of our heart. This attitude is revealed in our temperament and our behavior.

What we depend on for meaning and purpose in life will control the attitude of our heart. In the self-controlled life, we act based on how we feel, actions follow our emotions. In the spirit-controlled life, emotions follow actions, we act on what God  has put into our heart and spiritual emotions follow that.

This attitude of our heart defines and is a product of our self-image which is based on the presuppositions (beliefs) developed relative to our self-identity. This is who we think we are (beliefs). We also call this “where we’re coming from”. Our beliefs will be tested. When they are, they either become stronger or they change. Romans 5:1-5

Self-image is also defined by who we want to be. Who we want to be is based on our desires, perceived abilities and confidence in our self to achieve the goal. This requires motivation. If we have set the proper goals based on a proper self-image, it should be gratifying to work it out. If not, it will be drudgery and we will probably burnout.

The basis of a proper self-image is value, integrity, consistency, progress and confidence in knowing who you are and who you want to be. Value is when a person believes in themselves. They believe their beliefs, ideas and potential have value.

Desires come from what we think will give meaning and purpose to our life. Ecclesiastes is about a preacher who found no satisfaction in the pursuit of material and metaphysical things. There are as many specific things which define meaning and purpose as there are people, some general concepts are as follows:

• Progress toward a goal or improvement over the past
• Relationship with another person
• Performing a function well
• Fame, reputation and recognition
• Acquisition of things
• Knowledge
• Controlling others
• Winning

Desires and beliefs can be motivational or nonmotivational. In other words, we may express a belief or desire without having to act on it. We may want a new house or a different job, but until we are motivated to act it is simply a desire, which may be born out of wishful thinking or daydreaming.

The mind is a big mess. It certainly needs to be renewed. The will is stubborn, strong, fickle and weak. Say what? That is to say the will is impotent. Paul describes this weakness in the seventh chapter of Romans. The will doesn’t do anything by itself. It must be motivated by the heart (mind). We may have good intentions which we never fulfill. (The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak). Sometimes we may claim that we believe something and then, when the chips are down, deny it, as Peter did. When we deny our beliefs, which is like denying who we are, we mess up our minds. We do things inconsistent with who we believe ourselves to be and then we experience feelings of guilt..

Without some kind of anchor and basis for evaluating our desires and beliefs, they may be totally unrealistic.

The mind is immeasurably more complex than any model, but an accurate representation of a process of the mind may be developed for a particular process. We can conceptualize a lot more than we can comprehend. When we comprehend something we may agree and believe or disagree and not believe. We put thoughts together to form concepts and to comprehend ideas and information. We put words together to communicate concepts. Believing has to do with the reliability of the object of our belief. We need to accept what is true and reject what is false. We need to be able to say no to our thoughts.

The attitude of the heart is either self-controlled (mind)(I will do it my way)or spirit controlled.

We don’t have to act on our attitude, but if we don’t we won’t realize our potential. We will never be who we want to be. We become impotent and discouraged. But this can change as we learn to think right and use scripture to teach us truth.

Motivations of the Heart, Will Power:

Motivation implies action. It can be doing or refraining from doing. It sometimes takes more will power to not do something which we want to do than it does to do something we don’t want to do. Most of the time we do not exercise will power because we usually do the things which we want to do.

Will power is:

• motivated desire
• motivated by responsibility for our beliefs
• motivated by social consequences
• motivated by the life of Christ (Holy spirit) in us

(Things which cause lack of motivation and impotence are covered later.)

We are motivated by the desires of our heart and sometimes the desires of significant others. Basically, we do what we want to do.We may also be motivated by our beliefs, but they must be really strong beliefs, otherwise I think beliefs only support or temper our desires.

We all want to be something to somebody. We all want to have value. We all want things and we want recognition. We all want to “be happy”. As our Constitution says, “we have an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness”. Some of us are constantly driven toward these pursuits. There are many obstacles to this pursuit both external and in our minds. Many people are overcome by these obstacles. What do we need to overcome these obstacles? What does the Bible say about us?

We all want things and recognition. We value recognition. Sometimes we strive for recognition and build unrealistic expectations, then when we don’t get it we are disappointed and discouraged. The Bible says we are like this. We are driven by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. What are some of the things which we will do to achieve our goals? Will we lie? Will we hide things? What happens when we are blocked from pursuing our goals?

Dissatisfaction will produce a desire for change. Hope will motivate us to change. Expectations of the desired outcome will motivate us to try to make it happen. Dissatisfaction motivates us to seek opportunities for change.

Being purpose driven, is having your eyes on the goal or results. If we go out with the purpose of winning the world for Christ, then we are probably going with an improper motive. If we understand our life in Christ, we will be a witness as we go without any directed purpose other than just the joy of knowing who we are and what that means. When we focus on the goal, we tend to make our own plans for getting there. We promote techniques for accomplishing this rather than maturing people to understand the fullness of God’s grace. We talk about motivational and organizational things rather than spiritual.

Decisions and Choices:

Decisions and choices are made as we think about opportunities and temptations. We seek opportunities for change when we are dissatisfied. At other times opportunities and temptations are unexpected. Some people believe God controls our opportunities by opening and closeing “doors”.

When we make choices and commitments, we are limiting our options. We are defining ourselves. Identity develops in stages and it changes. We adopt and change our beliefs and commitments. The condition of the heart is always in a constant state of flux. To be what we want to be is a matter of what we let control us. What are some things which control our heart? Do we want to be in a constant state of flux or do we want to be established and consistent? What is reliable? How much risk, responsibility and assertiveness are we willing to take for our lives? There is always responsibility with meaningful commitments. Sometimes we need a sanctuary. What are some of the sanctuaries which we use? Deferring decisions is not a good form of sanctuary. Sometimes we prefer the security of the way things are rather than the insecurity of change.

We make decisions and choices and develop beliefs to actualize ourselves based on “who we think we are” and “who we want to be”. We are constantly thinking within the frame work of this self-identity. When we think that we are failures or have failed in living up to these expectations, then frustration, anxiety and guilt take over. We experience these emotions when our thoughts are controlling us rather than us controlling our thoughts. How do we control our thoughts? Seek the truth and it will set us free. “Bring every thought captive to Christ.” We must understand how our mind works in order to keep it under control. We must be aware of and honest about our condition.

Decisions and commitments to beliefs are always based on choices, some are easy and some are very difficult. There is a big difference between understanding the mental process of making good choices and applying the principles to our reality. We need wisdom to make good choices and we need initiative to act on those choices. “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Hope is the spring board of action.

Most of the time, our choices are based on rational considerations concerning expected outcomes or consequences of our choices. It is, therefore, important to be realistic about expected outcomes. We rationalize and fool ourselves a lot in this area.

How we make decisions is also determined by evaluation of risk and benefit relative to the strength of my desires, beliefs and present state of mind. There are many sources of information on which we base our decisions. Some is reliable and some isn’t. It is up to us to sort it out. Our training, previous experience, desires, beliefs, concept of our self, biological capability, knowledge, emotions, imagination, conscience, opinions, advice and comments of others all come in to play when we make decisions. Our relationship to everyone is involved; relationship to our self, others and God.

Choices are also effected by rationalizations when we do things which are contrary to our better judgments. Lust and desire will override wisdom. The flesh is to be controlled by the Spirit. God said He would give us the desires of our heart.

The following chart can be used to show typical gaps between who we think we are and who we want to be.

SELF-IDENTITY	WHO WE THINK WE ARE	WHO WE WANT TO BE
TO OURSELVES
TO OTHERS
TO GOD

Applying Principles to Reality:

How does this model work? The model is to reveal the gap between who we think we are and who we want to be. The gap is what we need to know and do to become what we want to be.

Who we think we are is based on our evaluation of ourselves, our beliefs, what we have done and our self-image. We usually make decisions based on who we believe ourselves to be. When we do things inconsistent with whom we believe ourselves to be, we experience some form of guilt feelings and we want to hide. The threat of being found out will then keep us in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

Sometimes we develop a problem with self-image by which we make ourselves impotent. Because of a poor self-image, we will tend to limit our responsibility for and interaction with our life. We are angry, anxious and fearful. This is usually brought on by patterns of wrong thinking about some type of failure or undesirable event in our life. There are various levels of anxiety which take hold of us from just being discouraged, to depressed to serious neurosis. When this happens things seem hopeless and we make ourselves impotent. We have no hope about who we want to be, because we no longer know who we are. Hope is what needs to be restored. Hope based on right thinking and a proper self-image.

Who we want to be should not be just human potential and striving, it is an established and settled identity. It is who I am when everything I try fails. It is who I am when I encounter difficult circumstances which are beyond my control.

The difficulty in applying these concepts to reality is in learning to deal with ourselves and others as subjects rather than objects. When applying techniques, we tend to think of it as programming a computer rather than a person’s life. All techniques tend to deal with subjects as objects. We try to make all generalities apply to all specifics. Every person is completely unique in the way they think and apply their thoughts. There are no two people exactly the same. In fact each individual is different at different times. Like raising children, what works for one doesn’t work for another; our state of mind changes.

One of the symptoms of a poor self-image is to relate to others as objects. When we relate to others as objects, we want to be an object ourselves. A poor self-image creates an illusion of worthlessness or failure, so we can’t let people get too close to us.

Narrowing this gap, makes us feel better about ourselves. But to narrow the gap we must first be willing and able to see things as they are. (Integrity) Second, dissatisfaction and/or hope should produce a desire for change. Third, beliefs and wisdom should guide the decisions and choices which we make.

Hope and wisdom produce a confidence which is the basis for a proper self-image.

The following conditions hinder the process:

• Dysfunctional thinking
• Lack of purpose (established beliefs, trust, who we want to be)
• Lack of hope (motivated desire)
• Lack of wisdom (spiritual will power, desirable outcomes from reliable decisions, truth builds confidence, confidence builds positive self-image)
• Lack of internal integrity (consistency in who we think we are, both public and private, honest sharing of yourself with others)

As Christians we are called on to bear one another’s burdens, to minister to one another in love, and counsel brothers and sisters who go astray. We are encouraged and expected to be evangelistic. We are to tell others about Christ. We are better at this than we are at helping others with problems, especially emotional and family problems. Since psychiatry and counseling are professions we feel inadequate to get involved in these areas, so we refer Christian brothers and sisters to secular counselors, or so-called Christian counselors who use secular techniques. The Bible is the greatest source book for helping people with their problems which there is. As Christians, we are supposed to already have the caring attitude which would motivate us to help others in any kind of need. We have the Holy Spirit who is supposed to be our comforter and guide. The actual counseling is not any different than discipeling which we are also called to do. So we have the commandment, the nature, the scripture and the Holy Spirit, what else do we need?

Prayer:

How does this work for prayer? Don’t we pray for God to intervene in some miraculous way to change this? Shouldn’t we be praying for wisdom to make the choices we need to make?

Should we pray for God to give us a mate?

Or, should we pray for God to give us a good sense of humor and make us more likeable?

Or, should we pray for the wisdom to make choices concerning how we want to be?

If we think we are in control of everything in this we will not see a need.

“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”

How do circumstances work in this model?

The I ams are generally stated in terms of positive; successes and talents or negative; failures and social taboos. Many times our I ams are based on the you ares of others. The anchor of our identity should be in our relationship with God. The wisdom which we receive from that will carry us through any other identity crisis.

Some basis of identity

• Relationship
• Economic function
• Hobbies
• Health
• Successes
• Temperment
• Education
• Personality
• Emotions
• Talents

Illustration:

I am not a criminal.

What is a criminal? According to the law. According to me.

Law has speed limits. Do we always agree with the law?

I want to be a friend.

What makes a friend? We need to be fun to be around. That doesn’t mean funny. We need to be giving not taking.

Decisions are fueled by desire and/or wisdom:

Desires are fueled by:

• Pleasure
• Emotions
• Rationalization
• Lust

Wisdom is fueled by:

• The Word
• Counting the cost
• Information
• Wise counsel
• Discernment
• Integrity

Indecision is fueled by:

• Doubt
• Poor self-image (lack of confidence)
• Lack of motivation (indifference)
• Lack of Hope
• Fear of consequences
• Lack of accepting responsibility
• Satisfaction the way things are

 

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This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice   

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 Sound Mind

What are some characteristics of a sound mind? Secular psychology would agree to most of the following as characteristics of a sound mind. Read the related Scripture references and you will see that these characteristics are simply paraphrases of what is written in Scripture.

God not only promises us that His Word is the true source of wisdom and truth, but many Scriptures have to do with right thinking. 2Tim 1:7 James 3:17 Prov 9:10 Isa 11:2

[1]   Develop an attitude of being other-centered rather than self-centered. A self-centered mind is not sound. It will be controlled by the lust of the flesh (having things) and the pride of life (winning, being better than someone else). ( Secular psychological counseling models are based on self-centeredness.) 1John 2:16 Matt 22:37-39 1Pet 1:22-23 Php 2:1-5

[2]   Do not expect others to be perfect. Matt 7:3 Col 3:13 Rom 3:23 Mat 19:17

[3]   Be a responsible decision maker rather than impulsive and irresponsible. Learn to recognize temptation for what it is. 1Cor 10:13 Eph 2:2-3 2Pet 1:3-4 James 1:15

[4]   Establish a rational and spirit-directed state of mind rather than the irrationality of emotional thinking. Guilt, regrets, enmity, bitterness, hatred, envy, fantasizing (“if only”), jealousy, covetousness, anxiety and fear have no place in a sound mind. Establish your spirit-directed beliefs and relationships so that you will not be easily persuaded by false doctrines and unrealistic desires. Gal 2:20-3:3 2Tim 2:26 Eph 6:10-18 Gal 5:22-26 2Pet 1:5-12 Php 4:8 Rom 14:19-23

[5]   Desire to be competent and reliable rather than always wanting to have a good time and avoiding responsibility. Joy will come from overcoming, in Christ, your challenges and from helping others to overcome theirs. Eph 4:17-24 Rom 8:5-6 James 3:13

[6]   Do not always expect instant gratification or recognition for what you do. 1Tim 6:5-11 Heb 13:5 Php 4:12

[7]   Make a commitment to learning as the means to fulfilling your goals and responsibilities related to performance, prosperity and relationships. 2Pet 1:5-12 Prov 2:10 1Tim 4:6

[8]   Be challenged by adversity rather than defeated. Rom 5:1-5 2Cor 4:8-9 Rom 8:23

[9]   Be the same to yourself and to others and be consistent with your beliefs. James 1:2-8 Eph 4:14 Col 2:7-8

[10]  Examine your self frequently in terms of the attitude of your heart and the state of your mind. Don’t try to suppress emotions and fears by thinking about the things which are causing the emotions and fears. This only makes them worse. We need to think about the things which oppose these thoughts and try to resolve the issues which are causing the fear. 2Cor 13:5 Php 4:4-9 James 4:7

[11]  Listen to who God says you are rather than what you think or anyone else says. Rom 8:1 Rom 8:17 1Cor 2:5-14

[12]  Look to God for the wisdom and hope to persevere. Allow God to renew your mind by directing your heart toward Him. Heb 4:12 2Cor 4:16-18 Prov 2:1-11 James 1:5 12 Rom 5:3-5  8:28 Heb 12:1-2

These should be used in one part of Bible based nouthetic counseling.

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Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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Psychotherapy and Biblical Counseling Concepts:

The psychological problems of man are inherent in the nature of the “heart and soul” of man as they deal with the problems of life. Not all of these problems require “professional” help. In fact, not many do. We all experience the disappointments, frustrations and emotions of life. Discontent, worry and quite desperation seems to be the “normal” experience in our life. When we get behind it is difficult to catch up. When we get down on ourselves it is difficult to get back up. Sometimes we “feel like” we don’t know where to turn. But that doesn’t mean that we are sick and need therapy. We may just need encouragement and instruction in how to evaluate our feelings and control our thoughts. And above all we need to have hope and a proper self-image.

The premise of this essay is that the Bible is a better source for determining the psychodynamics of man and a better basis for counseling than any of the philosophies, theories, methods and models developed and used by secular psychologists.

In Biblical concepts, man is more than just a thinking machine. The Bible says we are body, soul and spirit. Scripture deals with more than just the mind, emotion and will in terms of the “heart”. The heart defines the nature of the individual. It is more than just personality. It is what motivates us, it is our identity and self-image.

In Biblical terms, the “flesh” or “soul” is used to define the nature of the predicament that is common to all men. “Spiritual life in Christ” defines the nature of the person who has been born-again.

Many Christians are defeated in their Christian life and experience the same psychological problems as non-Christians. All of us can benefit from understanding how the Bible relates to psychological processes, how we think and how to control the thoughts and emotions of the heart and improve our self-image and outlook. Many Christians should be competent to counsel others by presenting the Biblical model of the contention between the spirit and the flesh and explaining what that means in terms of the attitudes and desires of the heart.

What I am presenting here as Biblical counseling concepts is not techniques for evaluation. It is not trying to determine causes nor is it trying to determine a particular problem. There are as many problems as there are people. The problems are all the same; we are all human. We are all driven by thoughts and feelings, which we don’t understand and sometimes can’t control. What is being presented is the Biblical solution to the predicament of mankind and how it applies and is corrective in all situations.

I am not advocating the integration of psychology into Biblical counseling. I am saying that there are scriptures, which can be applied to the mental/emotional problems of life in a different way than the traditional Puritanical and Calvinistic homiletics based on the theological hermeneutics taught in seminaries. (“Christianity” lost a lot when its leaders moved away from being a pastor/teacher in a small group and into the seminary.) The expository paraphrasing of scripture in a “this is that” explanation may also be used to refute the psychological way to those who may have been treated by psychology.

On the other hand, there are some Para Christian groups and demagogs which have perverted the gospel into a religious psychology which actually speaks to the lust of the flesh and the pride of life by exploiting the imaginations and superstitions of the mentally destitute and keeping them in bondage to a religious system..

This is not that.

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Secular psychology uses terms like id, ego, superego, mind, emotion, volition, consciousness, subconscious, self and self-actualization and above all paying client to define the nature of man.

The Bible uses some of the same words, but significantly does not use many of them and also has other terms which most of psychology will not admit. The Bible uses body, soul and spirit; mind emotion and will; conscience, self, flesh, imagination, sin and heart. The Bible makes a distinction between the soul and the spirit. The words translated heart are …. They are also translated as … Describe other usages…..

It is clear in the Bible, that the “heart” is the key to why a person believes what they believe and does what they do. The heart is more than just rational brain function. It is even more than “mind” and “soul”. It is not the spirit and certainly not the “flesh” or the conscience. It is not our will power because that is impotent. The heart is how we process (evaluate) and use or reject everything, which we experience or imagine. The attitude of our heart is the source of what we rely on for directing our behavior and thoughts.

• When the attitude of the heart is self-centered, then …
• When the attitude of the heart is toward the world, then …
• When the attitude of the heart is toward God, then …

God is not able to help you if your spirit is closed to Him.

The Biblical function of the heart has some parallels in secular psychology, for instance…. But there are no parallels for a spirit, which is regenerated by being born again, or for divine revelation. In psychology, this is simply religion.

Although the goals of some psychological therapy and Biblical counseling are in some ways similar, the methods and the basis are obviously quite different. The secular solution is in self-understanding and self-control while the Biblical basis is in understanding a spiritual relationship in Christ. Possibly the best concise description for what could be the goal of both is a “sound mind”. The Bible also calls this “renewing the mind” which is an ongoing process in a spiritual relationship with God. The Bible tells us in many ways how to have a sound mind. The Bible also advocates nouthetic counseling and we are admonished to edify one another. Nouthetic counseling is admonishing another in right thinking and edification means “instruction and encouragement in moral improvement”. This counseling is toward an understanding of how the heart, mind, emotions and will work with the spirit of God in them, and an understanding of their relationship to and identity in Christ.

Some psychological therapy is toward a reduction in moral standards as apparently a means of reducing guilt feelings. Others reduce guilt feelings by placing blame on something or someone else. Some psych. therapy is toward a change in understanding (thinking) and behavior. This is that “sound mind”, but the Bible says that we are incapable of having this without spiritual insight, instruction and encouragement. In other words, a sound mind comes from our relationship with God and scriptures.

In any counseling situation, it is difficult to explain why some people snap out of it and others don’t. It may be a chemical imbalance or a physical impairment, or it may simply be the lack of hope, lack of confidence and lack of wisdom.

I think the advocates of the integration of psych. and Biblical counseling believe it is necessary because…

Most people’s idea of Biblical counseling is to simply get a person to understand their “identity in Christ”. If we ignore our problems and just remember who we are in Christ, then we will not “experience” our mental/emotional problems. We have “turned them over to God”. This is exactly why many Christians turn to secular counselors for their serious everyday problems of living, because they have not been given any instructions on how to deal with their thoughts and anxieties with wisdom and a sound mind. It doesn’t need to be that way. The Bible is full of instructions for dealing with the problems of living.

There is a variety of what I call “Christian superstitions” which are based on a misapplication of Biblical phrases which tend to give people a false expectation of God.(See paragraph on perpetrators.) Some believe Christianity is simply a principle of life, others believe it is the presence of God. Some believe God directs every step they take by opening and closing doors, others don’t understand that, and others will pretend they believe that even though they don’t. Some believe God saved them from physical harm when they had a close call.

Some live their Christian life expecting rewards and avoidance of problems when they do right and circumstantial punishment if they don’t. In other words God acts (responds) according to what they do. This is the exact opposite of faith.

We all want to seek God’s will in things specific to our life, but we don’t really know whether it is God directing us or just our own mind or Satan tricking us.

Just consider the “sound mind” which I talked about earlier. What are some characteristics of a sound mind? Secular psychology would agree to most of the following as characteristics of a sound mind. Most of these characteristics are expository paraphrases of scripture.

1. Develop an attitude of being other-centered rather than self-centered. A self-centered mind is not sound. It will be controlled by the lust of the flesh (having things) and the pride of life (winning, being better than someone else). (Most psychological models are self-centered.)
2. Do not expect others to be perfect.
3. Be a responsible decision maker rather than impulsive and irresponsible. Learn to recognize temptation for what it is.
4. Establish a rational and spirit-directed state of mind rather than the irrationality of emotional thinking. Guilt, regrets, enmity, bitterness, hatred, envy, fantasizing (“if only”), jealousy, covetousness, anxiety and fear have no place in a sound mind. Establish your spirit-directed beliefs and relationships so that you will not be easily persuaded by false doctrines and unrealistic desires.
5. Desire to be competent and reliable rather than always wanting to have a good time and avoiding responsibility. Joy will come from overcoming, in Christ, your challenges and from helping others to overcome theirs.
6. Do not always expect instant gratification or recognition for what you do.
7. Make a commitment to learning as the means to fulfilling your goals and responsibilities related to performance, prosperity and relationships.
8. Be challenged by adversity rather than defeated.
9. Be the same to yourself and to others and be consistent with your beliefs.
10. Examine your self frequently in terms of the attitude of your heart and the state of your mind. Don’t try to suppress emotions and fears by thinking about the things, which are causing the emotions and fears. This only makes them worse. We need to think about the things, which oppose these thoughts and try to resolve the issues, which are causing the fear.
11. Listen to who God says you are rather than what you think or anyone else says.
12. Look to God for the wisdom and hope to persevere. Allow God to renew your mind by directing your heart toward Him.

These should be used in one part of Bible based nouthetic counseling.

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Beliefs and Self-identity:

The efficacy of our self-identity will depend on the reliability of the source of the information on which we are basing our self-identity. Spirit – Flesh – Circumstances. If we are making decisions based on spiritual wisdom, they should be reliable. If we are making them according to the flesh or circumstances, we are in trouble.

If we believe that God has created us for some intelligent purpose, then knowing this purpose is of utmost importance. Without knowing this, we will always be incomplete. Is God’s will for you different than it is for me?

Decisions may be made and beliefs formed, but until they make a change or cause action what difference does it make. Everyone is aware of his or her potential. Not everyone is willing to accept responsibility for it. Sometimes that is really hard to do, because it seems so hopeless. That is when Christian brothers and sisters should be able to help. Only one person is responsible for whom we are, ourselves.

Compartmentalization means we have multiple public and private persona based on the significance of the relationship. In other words, we play different roles with different people. We may also do secret things when we are by ourselves. Secular psychology may call this multiple personalities as if it is something, which has happened to you. That it is who you are and it is not your doing.

Compartmentalization has to do with integrity or being honest with ourselves. If we are honest, then we can be the same to ourselves, to others and to God. When we’re not, we will experience guilt and we will want to hide some of those things, which we are allowing ourselves to be. When we hide things we cannot be at peace. Identity based on Christ should eliminate the need to hide things. If it doesn’t we have even a greater discrepancy between who we are and who we want to be. Denying our potential always produces guilt.

Contentment is when we believe who we think we are and who we want to be are the same. (Abiding in Christ)

There are other considerations of identity;

Who we really are.

Who others think we are.

Who God says we are.

Dissatisfaction without wisdom to choose will produce lack of confidence, anxiety (inability to choose and act, that is the lack of wisdom), and fear of failure. Many of our problems derive from superficial foundations. We become anxious due to fear of the future.

KierKegaard, called this anxiety, “sickness unto death” which is simply an inability to make choices which will produce the change to be who you want to be. This produces neurotic suffering, despair and hopelessness. We live in a period of psychological and spiritual disorientation and confusion. We don’t know the difference between our spirit and our mind. We don’t know how God guides us spiritually. So, we make God responsible for everything in our lives when we ….

A person in this condition needs to see hope and to learn how to deal with the reality of their situation and not just talk about it or continue to use it for self-pity. Many thoughts will crowd in to confuse us and to undermine our beliefs.

Rollo May said, “Only when the person himself has some hope of getting relief from his suffering and despair and of receiving some help in his problems will he undertake the painful process of investigating his illusions and uncovering his defenses and rationalizations.”

This assumes the person no longer wants to be controlled by their thoughts (self-pity/punishment) and admits they need help and wants to be helped. This takes courage to affirm. Realization of self-worth “I am somebody” should be understood in terms of how God sees us.

The following chart can be used to show typical gaps between who we think we are and who we want to be.

SELF-IDENTITY	WHO WE THINK WE ARE	WHO WE WANT TO BE
TO OURSELVES
TO OTHERS
TO GOD

 

Applying Principles to Reality:

How does this model work? The model is to reveal the gap between whom we think we are and who we want to be. The gap is what we need to know and do to become what we want to be.

Who we think we are is based on our evaluation of ourselves, our beliefs, what we have done and our self-image. We usually make decisions based on who we believe ourselves to be. When we do things inconsistent with who we believe ourselves to be, we experience some form of guilt feelings and we want to hide. The threat of being found out will then keep us in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

Sometimes we develop a problem with self-image by which we make ourselves impotent. Because of a poor self-image, we will tend to limit our responsibility for and interaction with our life. We are angry, anxious and fearful. This is usually brought on by patterns of wrong thinking about some type of failure or undesirable event in our life. There are various levels of anxiety, which take hold of us from just being discouraged, to depressed to serious neurosis. When this happens things seem hopeless and we make ourselves impotent. We have no hope about who we want to be, because we no longer know who we are. Hope is what needs to be restored. Hope based on right thinking and a proper self-image.

Who we want to be should not be just human potential and striving, it is an established and settled identity. It is who I am when everything I try fails. It is whom I am when I encounter difficult circumstances, which are beyond my control.

The difficulty in applying these concepts to reality is in learning to deal with ourselves and others as subjects rather than objects. When applying techniques, we tend to think of it as programming a computer rather than a person’s life. All techniques tend to deal with subjects as objects. We try to make all generalities apply to all specifics. Every person is completely unique in the way they think and apply their thoughts. There are no two people exactly the same. In fact each individual is different at different times. Like raising children, what works for one doesn’t work for another. Our state of mind is constantly changing.

One of the symptoms of a poor self-image is to relate to others as objects. When we relate to others as objects, we want to be an object ourselves. A poor self-image creates an illusion of worthlessness or failure, so we can’t let people get too close to us.

Narrowing this gap, makes us feel better about ourselves. But to narrow the gap we must first be willing and able to see things as they are. (Integrity) Second, dissatisfaction and/or hope should produce a desire for change. Third, beliefs and wisdom should guide the decisions and choices, which we make.

Hope and wisdom produce a confidence, which is the basis for a proper self-image.

The following conditions hinder the process:

• Dysfunctional thinking
• Lack of purpose (established beliefs, trust, who we want to be)
• Lack of hope (motivated desire)
• Lack of wisdom (desirable outcomes from reliable decisions, truth builds confidence, confidence builds positive self-image)
• Lack of internal integrity (consistency in who we think we are, both public and private, honest sharing of yourself with others)

What is reliable? It is reliable if we can claim it no matter what. Where does reliable wisdom come from? If you could tap into one source for wisdom, what would it be? What are some characteristics of wisdom? (Age, rational, proven reliable, soundness, consistent)

How do we deal with things, which are beyond our control?

It is important to have the various identities in proper order. For instance, what if we believe we are an alcoholic and a child of God? Believing we are alcoholics when we want to be a child of God is not good thinking.

A racecar in a garage is not fulfilling the intelligent purpose for which it was created.

What are things people identify with as meaning and purpose? What is primary for fulfillment or enjoyment? What motivates us?

Christian and counseling:

As Christians we are called on to bear one another’s burdens, to minister to one another in love, and counsel brothers and sisters who go astray. We are encouraged and expected to be evangelistic. We are to tell others about Christ. We are better at this than we are at helping others with problems, especially emotional and family problems. Since psychiatry and counseling are professions we feel inadequate to get involved in these areas, so we refer Christian brothers and sisters to secular counselors, or so-called Christian counselors who use secular techniques. The Bible is the greatest source book for helping people with their problems, which there is. As Christians, we are supposed to already have the caring attitude, which would motivate us to help others in any kind of need. We have the Holy Spirit who is supposed to be our comforter and guide. The actual counseling is not any different than disciplining, which we are also called to do. So we have the commandments, the nature, the scripture and the Holy Spirit, what else do we need?

When we counsel people, we need to be with them in a personal way. We need to get to know them as more than just an object. Don’t just give them a book and say, “here read this”. Nor can we just be rational, explain what their problem is and tell them “to just snap out of it”. The goal of really being there is getting to know them and let them know you, in order to build a trusting relationship. We would do this by edifying them and encouraging them to realize that they are valuable and that there is hope. They need to know that God wants what is best for them.

We all use defense mechanisms to avoid imagined and real threats and feelings. Some of them are not bad in themselves. It is only when they control us and make us impotent that they are bad. Most of the time people simply need caring support and scriptural guidance on knowing how to think, how to evaluate and control their thoughts instead of letting their thoughts control them.

Biblical counseling is the better way.

Psychologists are looking for a cause and effect relationship in a nonphysical environment. The brain is organic and physical in function, but the mind is metaphysical limitless and free in abstract thought and spiritual relationship. Subjectively solving our own dilemmas all of our thoughts are controlled by this rational-irrational process of abstract and creative thinking within the limitations of the particular biological organs ability to store, recall and process. SRP is governed by the system unique to each individual. This subject is neither reliable nor consistent in response for determining cause. It can be sensible or nonsensical. All of it is unpredictable even in a “normal” mode.

A study has shown that personal qualities of the therapist/counselor are more important than techniques.

Current process is a function of previous process, which has been stored.

Bad training:

Early and too often later training gives children the impression that they are not supposed to make decisions and choices. This is a form of rejection, which will cause resentment, rebellion and repression. Children should be taught how to make responsible choices and be allowed the freedom to act on those choices. Parents generally just say no or just tell them what to do, because that is easier than it is to take the time to learn how to train them to make decisions. When parents use this approach they are treating their children as objects.

Adult Christians who grew up in a restricted environment may relate to God in the same way. They are afraid to make choices, afraid they will not be in God’s will.

Repression is fear of freedom and lack of self-respect and confidence.

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This page last updated on March 8, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org

 GRACE, FAITH and LIFE
A Personal Statement of Christian Faith and Practice

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IN CHRIST WE HAVE

The Way of Salvation and Christian Life.

[1]  We were all born spiritually dead in our sinful nature. (This means that everyone is born with the sinful nature of Adam.)

    Ephesians 2:3 Romans 3:23 Romans 6:23  

[2]  What do spiritually dead people need?

    John 3:16-21  

[3]  Does the law give life? 

    Galatians 3:20-25 Romans 7:10

[4]  Does forgiveness of sins give life? 

     Romans 5:9-10 Colossians 2:13-14 John 3:36 

[5]  Our newness of life comes from Christ.

     John 5:24 Ephesians 2:4-5 Galatians 3:13-14 Galatians 2:19 2 Corinthians 3:6 Romans 7:6

[6]  How do we walk as Christians? (Not by the Old Covenant commandments, but by the New Covenant of love and Christ in us.)

    John 15:9 Galatians 5:1 1 John 5:3 2 Corinthians 3:6 Matthew 11:27-30 Colossians 2:2-10 

[7]  We are new, a new creation;

We were sinners and dead to God,

     Ephesians 4:17-18

 but now, we are a child of God and alive in Christ.
     Titus 3:4-7 2 Corinthians 5:17  

[8]  Why do many believers still want to live seeing themselves as continual sinners (saved by Grace), rather than as a new creation with newness of life? (Sin can no longer condemn us.)

     Romans 8:1-2  

[9]  Do any legal terms have anything to do with our enjoyment of our life in Christ? Doesn’t our joy come from knowing who we are in Christ, not what we should do for Christ?

     Titus 2:11-14 Colossians 2:20-23

[10] Isn’t abundant life being filled with the joy of knowing who we are and sharing that with others rather than a set of legalistic terms to try to keep? We simply abide in His life not a set of rules or legalistic terms. His life and Word teaches us.

     Galatians 5:13-14 Ephesians 5:16-19 Colossians 1:26-29  

[11] Trying to make Jesus Lord of our life by our performance or by cleaning up our flesh is not walking in newness of life.

[12] There is nothing left for us to do except believe (abide), have a teachable spirit, and yield to the truth as the New Covenant of Christ lives in us. That is the offense of the cross. The flesh is offended by the cross. The flesh, left to its own desires, is a doer. Significance, for the Flesh, is based on performance and commitment. The Flesh will want to live according to the Old Covenant commandments. The Flesh will always try to be obedient to its own conscience. Unfortunately, much teaching mixes Law and Grace, by adding Grace as an afterthought and therefore most of the teaching speaks to the Flesh.

     Romans 5:1-2 1 John 2:2 Galatians 5:16-17 2 Peter 3:18 Galatians 3:1-5 Romans 11:6 1 Peter 3:15

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Following is a diagram of the various attributes which we have as Christians:

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IN CHRIST WE HAVE
A New Nature
Sins Forgiven
Eternal Life
Holy Spirit
Unconditional Love
Hope and Adoption
Spiritual Gifts
Wisdom
Truth	Understanding God’s Word Meaning for our life
Freedom
Fruit
The Risen Life of Christ	The only perfect life as revealed by the Holy spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

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This page last updated on May 5, 1997.  Print This Post

Copyright © 1996 Daniel R. Boliek www.gflstudy.org