One of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is complacency. Contentment in Christ is to be sought after and celebrated. Complacency in Christ, however, is very different.
Christian contentment means that no matter what happens, you are fully satisfied in Jesus. Christian complacency means that no matter what happens, you are fully self-satisfied with your current personal effort in pursuing Christ.
Key Bible Verses: Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1, Romans 16:17, Romans 14:4
One of the defining marks of a true Christian is a disdain and discernment for sin. When the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and as we grow in our walk with Jesus, we become more discerning to the sins both in us and in others. This is a great gift that benefits a heart seeking after God, but with each gift we receive comes a temptation to use it wrongly. So how do we use our discernment according to the Bible?
How to Use Discernment the Right Way
Discernment over sin should, of course, primarily be used to aid the believer in confessing and repenting of their own rebellion. For how are we to help others see clearly if we ourselves still have planks of sin in our own eyes (Matthew 7:1-5).
God’s grace is a free gift which we cannot earn or lose due to our own actions. God saves, justifies, blesses, and loves us all because of his undeserved grace. And yet, it seems our obedience and personal effort to be pure are directly related to our spiritual power, especially in prayer. Here are three facts about the biblical connection between prayer and purity.
Impurity Cannot Steal Our Salvation, But It Does Hinder Our Power in Prayer
Sin does not cancel the grace of God. However, sin hinders are experience of God’s grace. When we become a Christian and then we sin, we will never be in jeopardy of losing our salvation. Once we are truly brought into the family of God, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). If, however, we forsake God in word or deed to such a degree that it shows we are not saved, this simply means we were never truly saved to begin with. It does not mean we lost our salvation since this is impossible according to Scripture.
Struggling to pray? All true Christians want to pray more than they do. But all Christians, if they are being honest, go through seasons where praying is a challenge. To help overcome this barrier to prayer, it helps to ask, “How did Jesus pray?”
By studying Jesus prayer time in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46), we can discover at least four practical things Jesus did in prayer.
And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” -Mark 14:32-26
The Bible’s warning on temptation is as clear as can be. It is not a matter of “if” we will be tempted; the Bible always talks about temptation in the context of “when you are tempted.” Therefore, like Jesus, we must prepare in advance through prayer before the moment of temptation is upon us.
If you are stuck in a rut spiritually, Psalm 19 provides a blueprint for connecting with God. It provides the three staples every Christian should regularly engage in to stay spiritually awake.
There are many other devotional practices which can and should be done to connect with God, but Psalm 19 gives these specific three which will help us immensely in staying alive and sensitive in our relationship with God, protecting us from spiritual ruts.
Psalm 19 is broken into three sections. Psalm 19:1-6 explain how nature is God’s mouth piece. Psalm 19:7-11 describes how the word of God also speaks but actually instructs the human heart. Lastly, Psalm 19:12-14 is a personal prayer from the heart to God for holiness.