Like a city that is broken into and without walls
Is a man who has no control over his spirit. (Proverbs 25:28)
How many times have we heard someone say something like this in reference to a recurring point of failure: “I just can’t seem to help myself”? How many times have we said that very thing ourselves? That was one of my go-to mantras regarding my own failure before I became a new creation in Christ. I would fall and then repent, and then I would pledge to do better, only to fall once again and start the whole cycle anew! Another way to say it is, “Why do I keep giving in to the temptation?” We say we want to do better in regard to our temptations, yet we continue to fall. This is like being in a fortified city, only to have the walls breached because we have no self-control—like we have no choice in the matter. We may not have a choice as to the things that tempt us, but we always have a choice as to how we will respond. Always! Let us think about that from a kingdom point of view rather than from our own human point of view.
If we are new creations in Christ, we know that—according to God’s Word—with each and every temptation, God provides a way of escape. Did you catch that? With every temptation, He provides a way of escape. What if your house was on fire and someone says to you, “Hey, your house is on fire! Come this way and I will help you get out!” and you respond with, “But I just can’t seem to help myself! I am going to stay in this fire because I just cannot help myself!” That would be foolishness, would it not? Yet, we do the same thing with our inability to avoid giving into temptation.
Let me suggest a better way: When temptation comes—and it will—would it not be better to stop and ask the Lord, “Lord, You say that with every temptation, You will provide a way of escape. I need to see the way right now, Father. Will you show me?” It is in that simple act that some significant kingdom work is done.
In such a moment of seeking God for the way of escape, we acknowledge the reality of the temptation. In the simplest way I can explain from my personal experience, the enemy is trying to get me to focus on me. And where is the believer supposed to fix his eyes? On Jesus! There is power in understanding this because the power of this statement is derived from John 8:32 which tells us that Truth will set us free. My personal belief is that the first step toward Truth is our own honest confession. To own my thoughts is to step toward God in honesty. To step toward God in honesty is to let go of the thought and give it to God. In so doing, I effectively transfer ownership of the stinkin’ thinkin’ to Jesus. It is in that moment that I receive Truth to see the way of escape and receive the grace to head for the escape route.
Here is another practice I have incorporated into my response to temptation. Every temptation can be seen as either an encounter with the enemy or as an opportunity for intimacy with Christ. Rather than addressing the enemy, I choose to address the Father with this question: “What is it, Father?” In moments of temptation, I assume that the Lord has something for me that the enemy is trying to kill, steal, or destroy. By asking that question of Father I effectively refocus my thoughts from the enemy to the Lord. Intimacy with Christ is acknowledging the temptation but using said temptation as a catalyst to transparency with Jesus. Nothing is hidden. Shame and guilt are dealt with. I am reminded of who and whose I am. Life in Christ is used to replace death with the enemy.
The way of escape for me is as simple as turning my point of view from negative to positive by practically looking for ways to take my eyes off of me. Not only do I focus on intimacy with the Lord, but I begin looking for godly intimacy with others in a practical way. When I am down or depressed, I look for someone in need of encouragement. In that simple act of acknowledging the needs of another, my eyes are focused away from me and are fixed on Jesus and the needs of another. And the most amazing thing happens: my need for encouragement is met supernaturally! Could it be that this was exactly what the enemy was trying to thwart with the initial temptation? When I am sad, I look for someone to comfort. When I am financially needy, I look for someone to bless with some sort of provision. When I am confused, I look for someone who needs peace in their life and take steps to help guide them to peace. You get the idea. Meet the needs of others who face the very things you face, and Jesus will meet you both there in the moment, providing for the needs of those you bless and providing the way of escape for you. Just get your eyes off of you!
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)
Where does faith come into the mix? At every step of the journey! We know according to Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” What I have come to realize is that this is the most simple of definitions, but that simplicity is packed with the power of the resurrection. With our faith in Christ, we are to walk in that faith with diligence. Diligence is persistent work or effort. We are to work at our faith persistently. We are to be stubborn in our faith, not allowing distractions to sway us from its path.
In addition to walking diligently, we are to apply moral excellence to our faith. Moral excellence is simply born out of our new nature. It is who we are. We are morally excellent. We just need to learn to release it. Moral excellence is thinking virtuous thoughts. This is one more aspect of renewing the mind. In our old life, our natural way of thinking was toward the un-virtuous. When we were born again, our ability to think virtuously was granted. It is up to us to put off the un- virtuous thoughts and replace them with virtuous. Replace the profane with the holy.
To our moral excellence, we are to add knowledge. The knowledge the Word is speaking of here is to renew one’s mind with an ever-deepening knowledge of Christ. As always, the battle will be for your thoughts, and this is why you must decide where your worldview derives from. Do you require worldly/human-centered knowledge, or do you require God/Christ-centered knowledge to inform your identity and way of thinking? One leads to falling to temptation while the other leads to victory.
Here is where the Word of God gets very exciting for me in regard to walking in faith and in overcoming temptation. God’s Word tells us to add to our knowledge of God the willful act of self- control. He would not tell us to do so were it not possible. Self-control is mastering one’s own desires and sensual appetites. Let me blow your mind a bit here. The key to mastering my own desires is found in Psalm 37:4 which encourages us as follows:
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
The best way I have found to master my own desires and sensual appetites is to simply delight myself in the Lord through intimate worship. To worship God requires my entire being. To worship God requires my thoughts. It requires my physical body. It requires my emotions. It helps me get my eyes off of me—the real issue here—and to get them on Jesus! In so doing, I discover my truest, deepest, most core desires are met...in Him! Self-control begins and ends with Jesus.
The good news is that there is even more at our disposal in walking in self-control. God’s Word tells us to add something to our self-control. We are to add to it perseverance. Perseverance is patently continuing to walk in intimacy with Christ regardless of one’s circumstances. The world around us may fall apart, but He never changes. It is through perseverance—patiently continuing with God no matter what—that self-control is combined with God’s grace to keep walking through the storm.
Isn’t this amazing? The Word of God is a treasure trove of Truth that sets us free! In addition to adding perseverance to our self-control, we are to add godliness. Godliness is two-fold. It is the act of acknowledging God as God no matter what, and it is walking in the realization that we are His new creations. His children. Walking in godliness is simply walking in the reality of who and whose we are.
But we are not done yet. To our godliness we are to add brotherly kindness. Quite simply, brotherly kindness is regarding others with the same regard we hope to receive...even if we never receive it in return. What led me to personal repentance from stinkin’ thinkin’ in the first place was the kindness of the Lord and the kindness of others. To walk in brotherly kindness is to simply—yet again—walk in the reality of who and whose we are.
Last but not least, to our brotherly kindness we are to add love. The Word for love in this passage is the Greek word, agapé. It is the same word used in John 3:16 which tells us that God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son! This kind of love is the kind that lays down its life for another. Again, this means self-control involves getting our eyes off of ourselves and placing them on the needs of others.
Self-control is getting my focus off of me and placing my focus on God and others. To do so means my mind—the battleground, the walled city—will walk in wholeness and protection. It does not mean we will not be bombarded with stinkin’ thinkin’. It does mean that we can walk in power and victory no matter what! Self-control is part of who you are as a new creation. Believe and receive it...and walk boldly in it!
Dennis Jernigan
This is an excerpt from the Dennis Jernigan book, Renewing Your Mind: Identity and the Matter of Choice. It can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/Renewing-Your-Mind-Identity-Matter/dp/1613143737/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GZNXS5ELN5VZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AzdEHdBTMOTtUENfsWu4UA.iqW1r7w7iwlGizbjnBz1FgM45tDrmRp4AVQvUh0pUPk&dib_tag=se&keywords=renewing+your+mind+identity+and+the+matter+of+choice+dennis+jernigan&qid=1750857840&sprefix=renewing+your+mind+identity+and+the+matter+of+choice+dennis+jernigan%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1
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