Friday: Further Thought – Idols of the Soul
Through the centuries some people have argued for what is sometimes called “natural law.” Though it comes in many shapes and forms, the idea is that we can derive from the natural world moral principles that can help guide our actions. In one sense, as Christians who believe that nature is God’s “Second Book,” we could accept that there’s some truth to this. For instance, see Paul’s discourse in Romans 1:18-32 about what people should have learned about God from the natural world.
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
At the same time, too, we can’t forget that this is a fallen world, and we view it with fallen, corrupted minds. So it should be no surprise that we could come away with wrong moral lessons from nature. For example, one of greatest mortal minds in antiquity, the Greek philosopher Aristotle, argued for slavery based on his understanding of nature. For him, nature revealed two classes of people, one of which was as “inferior to others … as … a beast to a man.” So for them, a “life of slavish subjection is advantageous.” This is just one of many examples we can find of how worldly principles, values, and ideas conflict with those of God’s kingdom, which is why—regardless of where we were born and brought up—we need to study God’s Word and from it derive the morals, values, and principles that should govern our lives. Nothing else, of itself, is reliable.
Discussion Questions:
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1 Corinthians 15:33-34New King James Version (NKJV)
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Social environment influences inside, as well as outside, the church.
How often have you heard, while attending church, "Everybody makes mistakes", "Nobody's perfect", "We're only human." ???
Do these statements help you to be closer to Jesus and live better or not?
Are genuine Christians..only human?
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Pet 1:4
Genuine Christians share the divine person of the Holy Spirit in their make-up just like Adam and Jesus and every other genuine Christian. The Holy Spirit is the motivation of thoughts and feelings. This is how we become sons and daughters of God.
We must give permission for this to happen in any situation or issue. It is a dynamic relationship in which we always have a choice whether to live in this relationship.
The problem is that we may revert to our natural motivation, which is selfishness. Sometimes we revert to "natural" without noticing it. Then we fall when under temptation. This is why Jesus said that we should "Watch and pray" lest we fall into temptation.
True Christianity does require more than just keeping the law. The Spirit of God is required to give us the motivation of God's Love in order to help us keep the law of God according to God's character. Since Love is the foundation of God's law, His law cannot be properly kept without His Love.
Forgiveness, like true Love, comes from God and is not possible with selfish "natural" motivation. True and proper forgiveness requires us to give permission for God's Spirit to produce true Love in us, which is necessary for true forgiveness.
Words like, True and, Genuine make me think of
Matthew 7:1-5.
Indeed the Holy spirit is the motivation of thoughts and feelings,as paul says in Rom 12:1-2. And in John 16:13-26 talks about the future and that has something to do with thoughts. Isa 55:9-10 says our thoughts are not his thoughts meaning we have idols of the soul that we should remove by inviting the Holy spirit to renew our minds.
Isiah 55:9,10 Is asking can you describe in detail the composition of the atom and smaller particles in the universe and the elements and where they travel. What makes food that is reproduced to allow nourishment for our bodies? Our lives are a continuous mystery. God that created the world from nothing leaves us with guesswork and speculation. That is why God says his thoughts are higher than His thoughts and His ways are Higher than His ways, and the heavesn are higher than the earth.
If God can forgive and forget our transgressions why can't we forgive those who hurt us let s learn to forgive and forget the bible says let that mind which was in Jesus christ be in me for heart is deceitful lets pray that God renew our heart daily surly the holy spirit we live within us to guide us in this fallen world of sin.