As God calls His people, He enables them (through His Spirit) to make considered decisions concerning living His way of life by obeying His commandments.

Spiritual conditioning involves prayer, study, meditation on God, and occasional fasting, refining our judgment of—and hence our response to—trying situations.

What does Scripture say about free-moral agency? Are we human puppets on a string, manipulated from above? How does free will relate to God's sovereignty?

Though fasting deprives the physical body of nutrition and strength, a proper, biblical fast adds conviction and depth to the inner, spiritual man.

Lonesome Dove contains the story of a cowboy who fails to perceive the line between right and wrong, and for his lack of moral sense, he pays with his life.

We must make choices over our entire lifetime. God does the heavy lifting in terms of giving the choices and the solutions for us, but He will not choose for us.

Paradoxically, becoming a slave of righteousness — maintaining the narrow way — leads to freedom, peace of mind, and ultimately, God's Kingdom.

Misguided theologians have tried to create a false dichotomy between grace and works. We do works of obedience to build character, not to earn salvation.

Many people divide sin into physical and spiritual sins, but the Bible clearly says that all sin is lawlessness.

Progressives tend to believe that human nature is perfectible and evolving. Conservatives tend to believe that human nature is evil and must be controlled.

The urgency to live righteously, striving for godly character is a continuous, ongoing, and vital pursuit not concluded until our death and resurrection.

We must put our lives, treasure, and honor on the line, picking up our cross daily, declaring our independence from carnality, evil and bondage to sin.

Liberty without guidelines will turn into chaos. We will be free only if we submit to the truth. All authority, even incompetent authority, derives from God.

As long as we are slaves of sin and following the dictates of our lusts, we have no free moral agency. God liberates us from sin so we are free to obey Him.

Obedience to God's laws brings great benefits. By living within the framework of what God has revealed, we receive the reward of developing godly character.

We must fill our lives with peace, repenting, changing our attitude, and voluntarily yielding to God before we can produce the fruits of righteousness.

Being reared in a democratic nation sometimes complicates our relationship with God; God's government is actually a sovereign, benevolent dictatorship.