Our key Bible passage today is Romans 8:7: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Our lesson today is titled “A New Master, Part 1”
Lucifer was the wisest and most beautiful angel ever created, but sin changed him into Satan, the enemy of God and the enemy of man. Sin separated Adam and Eve from their loving Creator. And sin turned men who were created in the image of God into slaves of sin and Satan.
Because He hates sin so much, God wants us to be delivered from its power. In our last lesson we learned that, in Christ, we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness. Sin has no right to reign over us, because we are no longer in the kingdom where sin reigns.
But sin has many ways of keeping us in its power and one of these is through “the flesh.” The flesh is our sinful human nature. It is what we are apart from God. One form of the flesh is Self. What does it mean to have Self on the throne of our heart? It means that we are self-centered, and that we want to have our own way.
How Did We Become Self-Centered?
The first man, Adam, was created in the image of God. He loved God and wanted to do His will. He was a God-centered man and God was King on the throne of His heart. But when Adam was tempted, he chose to disobey God. Adam took God off the throne of his heart and put Self there.
Later on, Adam died, but he passed his sinful, self-centered nature onto his children and to the whole human race. Adam produced a race of people like himself—a people ruled by Self. Man was created to love and worship God, but now he loved and worshipped himself. Instead of wanting God’s way, we want our own way. The Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, “…we have turned every one to HIS OWN WAY.”
When we are born again, another Person comes to live in our heart—the Lord Jesus Christ. But even after we are born again we still have that old sinful nature called “the flesh.” Self wants to continue ruling and this creates a problem, since both Christ and Self cannot rule. Every Christian must choose whether he will be ruled by Christ or by Self. Before we make this decision, let us see what our lives are like when we are ruled by Self. Here are some of the ways Self manifests itself in us:
Self-love: For many people, the person they love more than anyone else in the world is themselves. They want others to look up to them and honor them. No matter what happens, they look out for themselves.
Self-pride: For most people, who is the most important person in the world? Themselves! No name is so sweet to their ears as their own name. They brag about themselves and like to impress others with how important they are.
Self-pity: They feel sorry for themselves when things don’t go the way they want. They are easily “hurt.” They think that they have a much harder time than others.
Self-seeking: They are always wanting something they do not have. They complain and are dissatisfied with what they do have. This is another way Self expresses itself.
Self-righteousness: They like to talk about the sins of others and condemn them, but they don’t see their own faults. This is another thing they do when Self is ruling in their hearts.
Self-justification: They are one of those who will never admit that they are wrong? They always defend ourselves and blame others. This is a sure sign that Self is on the throne of their heart.
Self-consciousness: Self causes some people to push themselves to the front. Maybe they are not like this. Perhaps they are one of those who say that they cannot do anything. They say, “Let somebody else do it. I can’t do it well enough.” This is just another form of Self-centeredness
Self-will: They want their own way. They don’t like to take orders from anyone—not even from God Himself. When they are rebellious against God, they are controlled by Satan.
Self has many different ways of manifesting itself, but its attitude toward God never changes. Self will not submit to God or obey Him. The Bible says in Romans 8:7, “Because the carnal [fleshly] mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
In this lesson, we have seen how sinful it is to be ruled by Self. We are not only unhappy ourselves, but we make others around us unhappy also. When we are ruled by Self, we commit many sins. Even though we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness, sin can still raise its ugly head as long as we let Self sit on the throne of our life.
In part 2 of this lesson, we will look at how we can be delivered from the rule of Self.
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If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and I want to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
Until next time, May the Lord Bless You!
The Gospel Light Minute X 