Flesh, Mortifying

The half-time show of the recent Superbowl exemplifies the lust of the flesh and the eyes, and the pride of life. Each choice we make changes our brains.

Our outward works show what we believe, what we worship, and what we aspire to become. Apart from God, all human works activities are potentially destructive.

A key to overcoming our sins is learning when to deny ourselves. Christ plainly declares that those who desire to follow Him must deny themselves.

All the medieval 'seven deadly sins' could be categorized as a facet of lust. God designed us to have proper desires, just as His desires are always proper.

John Ritenbaugh, reminding us that God does not do things uselessly, and certainly does not need our physical goods, examines the role of the offering and sacrifice rehearsed at each Holy Day. The nouns offering and sacrifice derive from two separate Greek. . .

Christ warns that we must do everything possible to annihilate sin - surgically going right to the heart or mind: the level of thought and imagination.

Martin Collins exposes the pernicious doctrine extant in mainstream Christianity, as well as our previous fellowship: "Let go, and let God do it all for us," which releases us from any obligation to overcome and build character. In this deceptive. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting on an article in The Telegraph (UK), describes a cultural phenomenon known as "adolescent geriatrics"—when a senior citizen, ignoring the ravages of time, continues youthful styles, desires, and goals. Many 60. . .

Our pilgrimage to the Kingdom will not be easy; we will suffer fatigue from difficult battles with serious consequences. We fight the world, Satan, and our flesh.

Jesus commands His followers to take our cross and follow Him. Does He mean to carry a pagan symbol, or is there a deeper meaning to His weighty words?

How many of us go through life with our noses to the grindstone? Real life comes as a result of giving our own.

The most formidable foe in our spiritual battle is the flesh. We must mortify, slay, and crucify the flesh, enduring suffering as Jesus Christ exemplified.

Protestantism unthinkingly presents grace as "free." However, Scripture shows that God expects a great deal of effort from us once we receive it—it is costly.

David Grabbe, claiming that the command to take up the cross has been sullied, tainted, and moreover smeared by Protestant heretical syrup, insists that the venerating of the cross (explicitly violating the Second Commandment) pre-dated Christianity by sev. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh contends that conversion, like salvation is a process that begins at a particular event in time (after our repentance, baptism, and receiving of God's Holy Spirit) but requires a maturing period in which we, using God's Holy Spirit, mort. . .

John Reid warns of an impending time when Satan will provide us a "test act" to determine whether we will conform to the image of the Beast or face grave, life-threatening consequences. Likewise, God the Father and Jesus Christ have also provided. . .

The most dangerous battle at hand is against our own flesh, where we least expect treachery and where we have become the most complacent.

Our lives parallel what Christ experienced: crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and glorification. The death of self must precede resurrection and glory.

Only by using God's Spirit can we gain the self-discipline, self-mastery, and self-control to put to death the carnal pulls, giving us freedom from sin.

God has not set up us for failure, but if we can't control our inordinate pride, we could destroy our own chances of fulfilling God's purpose for us.

True Christianity is no cakewalk into eternal life, but a life and death struggle against our flesh, the world, and a most formidable spirit adversary.

Like the marriage covenant, counting the cost is the most serious part of the baptismal agreement, not something to be taken lightly.