In what ways does your selfish sin nature seem to control you?
When you consider that both your brain processes and your selfish sin nature are working in partnership with one another, what does that mean for you?
The forces of the human sin nature and Divine Spirit nature constantly argue their point against each other. It is why we must surrender our selfish will and submit even our thoughts to the Holy Spirit of God. It is in the reigning in of these thoughts and intentions, and saying to God, “Please take each thought of mine captive that, by nature, presents an argument against the truth of the life I can live controlled by You.” It is human reasoning that seeks to rationalize and justify selfish thinking and behavior that is in effect rebellious against the Spirit of God in our life. When ambivalent (resistant) human reasoning contradicts the control of God in our minds, and as we submit to such “rational” justifications for our selfishness, we invite into our thinking and circumstances the will of an evil adversary who wants so much to steal our joy and kill us. We are in a spiritual war. If we fight it in our human strength we’ll lose each time. We must fight the enemy with spiritual weapons.
Jesus makes it strikingly clear that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot pursue the things of God and also the material things of humanity at the same time. He is challenging our motivation. He is asking the question, “What is at the heart of what you are driving at?” Is your human pursuit controlling you? Are you enslaved by it?” He isn’t just asking this question to the person striving to attain more and more. He is also asking the question to the one who is worried for their sustenance. “Does your worry own you?” Jesus implores us to understand that if God is committed to making sure the birds are fed, and the short-lived wildflowers are beautiful, how much more does He love us? He sent His only Son to earth to die for us.
This NLX 101 lesson has calculated all of the truth concerning the disadvantages of the human sin nature and asks the questions striking at the sensibility of participants to help them arrive at the conclusion that we are in effect powerless to fix ourselves and solve our problems on our own. As long as they we not God, we need God.