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.

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.

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.

God does not do things uselessly, and certainly does not need our physical goods. Being a living sacrifice produces successful living.

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.

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.

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.

Mainstream Christianity espouses the pernicious doctrine of, 'Let go and let God,'" which releases us from any obligation to overcome and build character.

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.

We have two conflicting natures: a downward-pulling carnal nature versus a divine nature imparted by God's Holy Spirit, continually at odds, seen in Romans 7.

We must don the whole armor of God, using His spiritual weapons to bring every thought into obedience to Christ, destroying the enemy's footholds.

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

Even though individuals do not necessarily practice spiritual fasting for physical reasons, the physical benefits supply types that teach us spiritual things.

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

It is impossible to cultivate self-control unless one uses God's Spirit to reprogram the desires of the heart from self-centeredness to submission to God.

If we allow the old, carnal man to dictate how we speak or make other decisions, we will trouble the household of God and inherit nothing but the wind.

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

God has providentially given us trials to build character, proving beyond a doubt that we believe Him and have a burning desire to be at one with Him.

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.

Jesus, Joseph, David, and Abraham all endured considerable trials before they qualified for their offices. We must make our calling and election sure.

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.

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.