Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
How “flesh-free” is your life?
A “flesh-free” person is centered in Christ, just as the spokes of a bicycle wheel are
centered in the hub. Absolutely everything that comprises one’s lifestyle must be centered in
Christ. Vocation, location, goals, priorities, loves, alliances, commitments. Money, fashion and
style, friends, leisure time and recreation pursuits, everything we view, read, say, listen to.
Is your entertainment flesh free?
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Examine:
The content of the videos, movies and television programs you watch
The style and content of the music you listen to;
The atmosphere of your favorite restaurants and other places where you spend your
leisure time;
The values you absorb watching or participating in you favorite sports;
The amount of time you spend in these kinds of pursuits.
Is your pursuit of possessions flesh-free (clothes, electronics, automobiles, house,
hobbies, etc.)?
Examine:
 The appeal to your pride in being “socially correct” with the people you wish to impress;
 The stumbling-block you are to others who are trying to impress you in the same way.
 The sexual appeal to others in the way you dress.
 The values you absorb when studying the latest fashion, lifestyle, sports, and consumer
magazines to make sure you are current.
Are your friendships “flesh-free”? Examine:
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The content of your conversation—sexual, crude, materialistic, or obsessive;
The physical contact with others—arousing desires in them and in you that cannot
righteously be gratified;
The “iron sharpening iron” influence on each other for godliness (living as though God is
all that matters) or for worldliness (living as though this world—our world—is all that
matters);
The attitudes that are fostered—authority versus rebellion, order versus chaos and
disorder, and so forth.
Restraining the flesh by imposing restrictions on ourselves or others is important but
that doesn’t make us holy. The actual production of spiritual fruit in us is the work of the Spirit
of God alone.
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
B. God’s recovery program from a life lived in the “flesh” is sanctification. Everything
else is spiritual quackery.
Memorize: “Sanctification is the process whereby the Spirit of God takes the Word of God
and changes us to become like the Son of God.”
God’s goal is to make us like Jesus. Only when a believer looks like a humble servant of
the Father does he look like Jesus, of whom the Father said, “Behold my servant, whom I have
chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is will pleased” (Mat. 12:18).
Remember: hot water activates what is in the tea bag or coffee bag!
Circumstances, testing, temptations, and problems only reveal what is actually in your
heart. Jesus said, “Out of the heart comes …..” We can’t blame the hot water for the taste in
the cup. The pressures around us merely draw out of our heart what is already in it. We cannot
shift the blame for any bitterness, anger, despair, deception, cruelty, and so forth we display
when we are under pressure. The pressures merely expose how unlike Christ we really are.
(Berg, 4) The hot water of suffering revealed the nature of the hearts of Paul and Silas: they
sang praises.
Remember: The things we learn from our family, culture, and peers to want are called “desires
. . . of the mind” in Eph. 2:3. They are created by the way we think.
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The field of advertising depends upon this ability of man to learn to desire something.
Desires that are learned can be unlearned.
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Fashions that were once desired by teens a decade ago are no longer desired by today’s
teens. The desires changed when the thinking changed about the importance or
desirability of the fashion.
The flesh is that part of us that tries to usurp God’s control and replace it with our own way.
Although nothing we wrestle with is new to mankind, no one has desires in exactly the same
mixture as the next person.
The rebellion of our own way manifests itself differently in each of us. That is why we can
observe someone whose own way is different from ours and wonder, “Why would any one
think that is so important? It doesn’t make any sense.” It doesn’t make sense to us, but it
makes perfect sense to the other person.
To determine your own way answer the questions:
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
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Anthropology
Unit #4
I feel most secure when ________.
All I want to have/be/do is _______.
The thing I worry about most is _______.
The thing that keeps me awake at night is ______.
I go into a panic when _________.
I get most angry when ________.
I tend to get very discouraged when _____.
All of us are very flexible in the ways we rebel. God exposes the rebellion of our own way by
placing us in “hot water.”
Sometimes God gives us a command we won’t obey to expose our self-centeredness. God said
to Jonah – “Go to Nineveh.”
Idolatry – obsession with and dependence upon anything other than God to make life
meaningful (make it work).
Focus Questions:
1. What is God’s “recovery program” for a fleshly life?
2. Give the definition of “sanctification” I gave you in class lectures.
3. How does the illustration of “hot water” and a “tea bag” relate to life? (Ans. Hot water only
activates what is in the tea bag. In like manner, temptations and problems only activate
what in really in our hearts.)
4. True or False. Desires that are learned can be unlearned.
5. What term did I give to that part of us that tries to usurp God’s control and replace it with
our own way?
6. What is unique about “the rebellion of our own way”? (Ans. Each of us rebel against God’s
control differently because “our own way” differs a bit from other people’s “own way.”
7. True or False. All of us are very flexible in the ways we rebel.
8. How does God expose the “rebellion of our own way”?
9. What is the definition of “idolatry” I gave you in class lectures?
C. WE CAN LIVE VICTORIOUS OVER TEMPTATION
1 Corinthians 10:13: says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common
to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
a. Your temptation is not unique. Many other people have faced the same or worse
and not given in to sin.
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
b. God only allows you to be tempted up to your load limit. He will not allow you to
be tempted more than you can bear. Therefore, if you give in, you did not have to.
c. God expects you to flee temptation. 2 Tim. 2:22 - "Flee youthful lusts" - you are to
stay far away from your area of weakness. Romans 12:21 says, "Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good." Romans 13:14 says, "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make
not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." This means if you have a weakness in an
area, stay far away from the sources to temptation in that area!
d. James 1:13-15 gives the process of temptation.
1) Something gets your ATTENTION.
2). You feel ATTRACTED toward something. James 1:14 says, “But every man [person]
is tempted, when he [or she] is drawn away of his [or her] own lust (strong desire), and enticed.
We can be tempted only by that which appeals to us. The word "lust" simply means a "strong
desire". It does not in itself refer to bad desires. It simply means a "strong" desire. There is no
sin attached to the first two steps (attention; attraction).
a.) The avenue of approach by which we are tempted may be:
1. God-created desires – biological, mental, spiritual, emotional, or social
2. Acquired desires – either through experience in sin before you were saved,
or through the pressure and influence of the worldly society in which you
live.
3. Unsurrendered areas of your life – they provide a beach-head for Satan to
mount His attack against you.
4. Inherited propensities and weaknesses from your forefathers. (Exod. 20:5:
“Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me.”
5. From lack of awareness of how Satan works. (2 Cor. 2:11 – “Lest Satan
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his divices [plots,
what he has in mind for you].” Eph. 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes, tricks, cunning
attacks] of the devil.”
b.) Temptation is biblically classified as an enticement to “love the world.”
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
The biblical definition of the "world" or "worldliness," when used in a negative sense, is
"any attitude you adopt or action you take that is not in harmony with God's written word."
Memorize this definition: “worldliness is any attitude you express or anything you do that is
not in harmony with God’s written Word.”
There are three basic avenues the "world" (Satan) uses to gain your attention.
1. “The lust of the flesh" - any strong desire felt by the body
2. The lust of the eyes" - any strong desire of the mind which is stimulated by
means of something we see.
3. “The pride of life" - any strong desire in the realm of ambition, success, or
the acquisition of goals (learning, wisdom, position, prestige, material
things, security, etc.).
James 1:14 says that devil knows what appeals to us and then tries to "entice" us. The
word "entice" means "to bait" like one does a fish. The devil will offer us a way to fulfill the
strong desire in a wrong way (either through the imaginations and fantasies of our minds or
through actual participation in unbiblical activities. If we refuse to give in, either in our minds,
or in our bodies, we have not sinned. To feel a strong desire for something that is wrong is not
sin.
3) A mental ASSENT or mental refusal. Sin, according to James 1:15 occurs only when
we assent in our mind that we will/ or wish we could choose to do wrong - the word
"conceived" is the moment sin occurs. “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head,
but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” Thoughts are like birds. You do have
control what you knowingly allow to remain in your mind.
e. God wants us to learn how to live victoriously over all willful sin.
Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
D. A PRESCRIPTION for Overcoming Temptation
Locate areas of WEAKNESS in your life.
1. CLEANSE your life of things that lead to temptation. Remove all stumbling stones. Romans 13:14
2. CREATE barriers along paths you know lead to temptation and failure. Don't go past the
magazine rack if it is your area of weakness. Don't have a radio, a VCR, DVD player,
computer internet service, or anything else (like fattening foods) around you if you
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
can't control it.
3. COMMIT to full obedience.
4. CLAIM the promises of God. Pray these promises regularly to God.
Learn how to RESIST temptation. - Luke 22:40 - "pray that ye enter not into temptation."
1. PREVENTION prayers - to keep us from entering Satan's arena. This acknowledges our
weakness and God's greatness. Mark 14:38 - "Watch and pray lest ye enter into
temptation."
2. PROTECTION prayers - Luke 11:4: “lead us not into temptation” - when in temptation,
to keep our mind focused upon Christ and His glory. This acknowledges a renewal of
commitment to full obedience.
3. FLEE the scene - if at all possible. 2 Timothy 2:22.
4. RESIST the devil - James 4:7: “resist the Devil and he will flee from you” - by using
Scripture you have memorized. If a mental battle, choose to place your focus away
from the temptation upon something good and wholesome. Phil. 4:8.
E. Properly deal with FAILURE (sin).
1. REPENT if you fall. 1 John 1:9; 2:1-2. Victory is attainable - failure is not inevitable. You
do not have to keep on falling.
2. ANALYZE why you fell. Did you override the Spirit's checks? Do you need to ask
someone's forgiveness? Is there bitterness in your life? Hidden resentment? Is there
anger because you failed to keep all your rights yielded?
3. Remember: willful disobedience is always the product of thought.
WE MUST MEMORIZE AND MEDITATE ON SCRIPTURE TO RENEW OUR MINDS
Romans 12:2 says, "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind. The memorization of God word renews our mind and gives us strength
to live for God.
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The TRANSFORMATION of the mind. Be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind."
Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
A. The MEANING of being transformed.
1. Metamorphous - a total change. We are to change our outward appearance and
behavior to match what we are within. Used of Jesus in Matthew 17:2 (transfiguration). His
outward human appearance changed to reflect the divine glory within.
2. The renewal of your mind, how you think, is crucial.
B. The METHOD of being transformed.
1. By the Spirit of God. - 2 Corinthians 3:18
2. By the Word of God. – Psalm 119:9-11; Col. 1:28; 3:16; Eph. 5:26
a. Psalm 119:11. This passage gives us the pattern. "Wherewithal shall a young
man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart
have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in
mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God wants us memorizing his word.
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If you are going to walk worthy of the life to which God called you, you must know the
word of God.
b. Colossians 1:28 - A life that please God comes from an understanding of
what pleases God.
c. Colossians 3:16 - “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
d. Colossians 3:2 - Have you "set your affection on things above, not on things
on the earth"?
e. Ephesians 5:26 - the cleansing of our minds and life by the Word of God.
The renewed mind is a mind saturated and controlled by the Word of God.
Do you spend as much time in the Word of God as you do in the attractions,
entertainment, and allurements of the world?
Have a set times to read the word and meditate on it. Carry cards with special memory
verse on them.
Ask yourself key questions as you read the Word. 1) What is this teaching me about
WHO God is, and WHAT he is like? 2) How does this affect my relationship with Him? 3) Is
there a command to follow? 4) Is there a sin to avoid? 5) Is there a principle to learn?
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
Have the right attitude toward truth. Some people don't want to know truth because
they are afraid it might inconvenience them.
Pray for and hunger for truth. Be willing to do His will.
1. By disciplining yourself for the purpose of Godliness. 1 Timothy 4:7.
Too many people feel that a disciplined life is a denial of doing the things they enjoy. To
discipline themselves is like putting themselves in a straight jacket. Just the thoughts of it
makes them feel like they won't be able to do anything!
Yielding to God does not equal unhappiness, or bondage or legalism!
But there may be a need to change your desires and the ways you have been used to
having fun. “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it
[Meaning = commitment brings our desires in line with his desires over a period of time so that
God can fulfill our desires. When our desires are in harmony with His desires, He can give us
our desires.]
Temptation is an important factor in the spiritual growth process everyone must go
through if we are to become spiritually mature and strong in the Lord, capable of being what
God wants us to be.
The purpose of temptation is always to trigger a choice and provoke a definite stand or
action.
Temptation demonstrates whether we have learned the lesson God wants us to learn,
or if it must be repeated.
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Like a child and a street. We teach our children not to cross the street alone.
Temptation comes into play the moment the child is given an opportunity to disobey.
There is no one around to see, and the street beckons, promising adventure. The
response to temptation will determine if the child can be trusted to play alone near the
street in the future.
Focus Questions:
1. What passage teaches that no one experiences temptations that are different from other
people?
2. What passage teaches that God will not allow anyone to be tempted beyond their ability to
resist that temptation?
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Christian Beliefs
Dr. Allan P. Brown
Anthropology
Unit #4
3. What is God’s advice when facing “youthful lusts”? Give the reference to support your
answer.
4. List the three steps of temptation given in James 1:13-15. At which step is sin involved?
5. What passage says that it is possible to be all that God desires us to be?
6. There are definite steps to take in overcoming temptation. One of these is to locate areas
of weakness in your life. What four steps did I recommend after you locate areas of
weakness in your life?
7. I gave you four steps to take in learning how to “resist” temptation. List the steps with
supporting scriptures.
8. If you do willfully sin, what two steps did I suggest you take?
9. What passage teaches that if we are not going to be conformed to this world we must be
transformed by the renewing of our minds?
10. What two-fold method does Scripture give for the renewing of our minds?
11. What is the one-sentence definition I gave you that describes a renewed mind?
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