Tag Archives: Self-will

Proven Character

Leave a reply

When the topic of transformation in our life comes up, we typically think in terms of something much less extreme than what God has in mind. In our humanity we resist genuine change, simply as a matter of course. We cling to doing things our own way because the crux of the matter is our self-will. So when sin crops up, we react by trying to patch it up in one way or another, rather than taking the time and effort to get to the root of the problem.

We behave this way because it’s painful to root sin out. Yes, we want to change; at least we give lip-service to it. But when it comes right down to it, we usually are more comfy staying right where we are—superficial change, yes; genuine transformation, no.

 

 

 

Scripture makes it very clear that God is interested in something a whole lot deeper. He wants to live His life in and through us, to bring us to a place of spiritual health and maturity where He can use our life to radically impact the world. And it’s impossible for Him to do this without first transforming our character through the renewing of our mind.

What  character have to do with it? Well, the definition of character largely answers that question. Character in the Greek means proof of genuineness, trustworthiness. It’s not surprising, then, to find it translated in at least one place as “proven character.” (Romans 5:3-4)

Law Exposes Sin

Leave a reply

While it is obvious that God’s intention for law was both to curb sinful behavior and provide direction, its main purpose was to expose sin. Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:7: “I would not have come to know sin except through [law].” Law identifies and exposes sin because it sets the standard of God’s righteousness (His holiness) against that of our own self-centered, sinful motivations and behavior. So law can be thought of as a gauge of sorts, because it contrasts God’s righteousness with our own lack thereof.

But this begs a very pertinent question: did sin exist before the first law was ever given? Yes it did; at least man’s predisposition to sin did. But in the absence of law, sin laid dormant in Adam. Adam was created perfect, but being created perfect also meant being created human. And being human, he was subject to the chronic weakness of self-will. But Adam’s inherent self-will—and the sin which is the natural outcome of that weakness—was not recognized for what it was until law came on the scene to expose it.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

Self-Will Twisted

Leave a reply

The gift of self-interest has become twisted. What began in a more perfect world as a healthy motivation to support and enhance life has degenerated in this fallen world into a power struggle—man against his fellow man in an egotistical attempt to improve his standing in life.

Satan is well aware of this weakness in our nature. So he uses it to dominate man, taking him down the road to self-destruction in an endless cycle of immorality and greed.(Ephesians 4:19) The truth is that self-will can never be satisfied devoid of relationship with God, and it’s desperately sad that so many have been blinded to this reality.

Man’s first taste of the bitterness of self-will was experienced by Adam. The fall of man is a very sad beginning to human history, but is also interesting because it says so much about our nature. Many Christians view Adam as being a perfect man—someone very different from man as we know him today. The fact is he was a perfect man. He was created sinless in a sinless world, which is the reason God could inhabit his being so freely and completely.

Yet this raises a question as to what the true definition of human perfection actually is. I think Adam was human in all the ways we’ve seen man’s nature to be in the foregoing chapters. What perfected his humanity was his relationship with God, and the fact that he dwelt in fellowship with God in a sinless world.

The Gift of Self-Will

Leave a reply

What is self-will all about? Surprisingly, self-will, which is embedded in self-interest, is actually a gift of God. But how could something potentially so ugly be a gift of God? It’s because life here on earth demands that we either take care of ourselves or die. And God has placed in each of us the compelling drive to live. We hang on to life with all we’ve got! This can clearly be seen in the way man tries his utmost to enhance and extend his life in any way possible. Only the hopeless cause life to abruptly end, or allow it to simply waste away.

And added to this powerful need to cling to life is man’s yearning for significance. Significance is another of God’s gifts essential to our being because our need for meaning and purpose provides the underlying motivation for reaching toward God’s purpose for us. We possess an inherent need to feel important—to have a healthy sense of self-worth. This need is rooted in the fact that we truly are valuable, yet often unaware that it is so.

Laying Aside Our Old Self

Leave a reply

          We’ve been given a choice, haven’t we? In laying aside the old self by an act of our will—in turn putting on the new self—our opportunities become limitless. Why? Because the new self has been created in the likeness of God. And since we are created in the likeness of God, we have within us a foundation of righteousness and holiness of the truth. The power to make positive choices is wholly dependent on one essential qualification: Christ’s indwelling presence (Romans 8:10). Walking out our faith, then, in the reality our new self comes about by making up our mind to do so, while relying totally upon what God has already provided through His overcoming power.

            God has given us an irrevocable promise: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”(13) So why aren’t Christians falling all over themselves trying to make sure His promises come to fruition in their lives? There’s a very good reason why: it all comes back to the problem of self-will. And until we really understand the implications of a heart being led by the innate presence of self-will, our chances of living in all that God has so bountifully provided are greatly hindered.

(Excerpted from “Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself”)