Today, I lost my cool, opened my mouth, said the wrong things and now I feel like a schmuck. Why don’t I just shut up when I get angry? My behavior today was another shining example of why I will never be a good Christian.
There is no such thing as a good Christian. Paul said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18).
God’s work of salvation, redemption and reconciliation has been completed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of my faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning death on the cross, I am not a good Christian, but a saved sinner.
Still I fight against the Spirit’s insistence that I obey the living God. Each time the Spirit opposes my sinful nature, my sinful nature opposes the Spirit. Paul said in Galatians, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (5:17).
Like Paul, I want to be obedient to God in Christ through the Spirit. I want to be less angry, and I want to shut up when I am mad. This transformation will happen only when I learn to surrender to the Holy Spirit before my sinful nature deceives me into disobedience to God.
Denise Larson Cooper has a passion for Christ and sharing His Word. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise currently works as a gymnastic coach.
Subscribe to Ordinary Days on iTunes!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ordinary-days/id1339262108
Check Out Denise’s Books!
Godnesia: Keeping God in Mind Each Day http://amzn.to/2GSquOD
Ordinary Days With an Extraordinary Savior – http://amzn.to/2mFGASB
Life Is a Metaphor: Recognizing God in the Everyday –http://amzn.to/2De1rU2
Dear Sister in Christ,
Please always remember that your struggle against sin is indicative of the fact that you ARE a good Christian! For a bad cHRISTIAN would be one in name only who has not surrendered to Christ and allowed the Holy Spirit to create such a struggle (i.e. the battle against sin within).
Such people do not acknowledge their sins as you are to others, let alone to themselves (?), for they are constantly trying to justify their actions instead of confessing their faults and being totally dependent on trusting in the Lord to remove them! The “good ones” among us, like David and Paul, fight and struggle against their sinful natures after Christ has reclaimed Lordship in their life. They are completely reliant on Him and His grace for everything, even their obedience!
It’s a mind job to be sure, and one that doesn’t relieve us of all responsibility, but it does place us firmly in His school of trust for the rest of our lives. Rely on Him and His strength, and beg Him to help you get better one stifled tantrum and ill-gotten word at a time, and He will help you do so like He does for us all.
I have also found it useful to realize that our bad habits have developed over a lifetime of poor choices, so why should I or anyone else expect them to dissipate overnight?! It’s like getting in shape when we’re out of shape or changing a habitually bad diet, it takes patience and perseverance with His grace.
Take the way of “The Little Flower” (Saint Teresa) to heart and make small manageable changes that can and will show you regular success! That will motivate you to get better-and-better without losing heart or the motivation to do so! It’s like starting with getting strong enough to do one pull-up before expecting to do a set of ten or twenty.
Be kind and reasonable with yourself and He will help His divinity to increase as your sins decrease. It’s work, but so is everything that’s truly good and beautiful (from a character standpoint)! As for the temper and mouth issues, He helped me crack my mouth, and improve my temper, after focusing on the burning ember from Isaiah. Give it a read and pray for the same gift!
He’ll get you there as long as you stay in the fight. In Christ, Andrew