Occasionally people email me asking for my opinion on various personal or church problems.   Last week I received the following email which I have reprinted below, followed by my response.

EMAILED QUESTION:

“Dear Sir, I am struggling with the way I think or feel on the inside.  I come off as a good Christian on the outside, but on the inside I have a lot of anger, some hate, and resentment.  I am not proud of who I am on the inside.

You preach on how God knows our true inner thoughts.  I am scared to death of disappointing God with my thoughts.  Some of my thoughts make me question if I am a true Christian.  I don’t act on any of these thoughts, but I’m very ashamed of my thoughts. 

I try to give it over to Him, and I pray for less of me and more of Him.  I fear that almost every minute of the day I upset God.  I beat myself up everyday, and it has taken a toll on my life, and my self esteem.  The more I read the Bible, and go to church the more I really get upset, discouraged and angry. 

What is your thought, and or advice?  I have only been a Christian for 5 years.  How do we live according to the Bible in today’s world?”

MY ANSWER:

Every Christian I know can identify with your struggle.  Our goal is to “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5.)   But the truth is, though we strive for perfection in the Christian life, we never reach it.  We have to deal with the reality of being bombarded daily with evil thoughts from the world, the flesh and the devil.

Here are some basic principles that I hope will be helpful…

Impure thoughts continue to surface after we become a Christian.  That’s normal – especially for a new believer.  Just as a toddler is more likely to stumble and fall, new believers are more vulnerable to wrong thoughts.  But get ready for a lifelong battle.  Even the Apostle Paul called himself “a wretched man,” confessing, “what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:15.)

So don’t beat yourself up over the fact that you have wrong thoughts and evil desires on occasion.  That’s what temptation is.  How you deal with those thoughts is crucial.

You are doing the right thing in restraining your behavior.  Some might suggest, “If you think it you might as well say it,” or, “If you feel it you might as well act out on it.”  No, the Bible  tells us the fruit of the Spirit is self control (See Gal. 5:23.)  We are not to be controlled by our carnal thoughts but the commands of Christ.

I’ve been a Christian for over 60 years.  While there are some temptations that no longer appeal to me, there are still battles in my mind.  For example, sometimes when I play golf and top the ball into the water, a four-letter word (from the high school locker room) still comes to mind.  Is the Lord pleased with that?  I don’t think so.  I’m still in need of grace.  But I think He’s pleased that I don’t let it come out of my mouth.

James wrote that one of the evidences of maturity is the ability to control our speech.  If sinful words didn’t ever come to mind it wouldn’t be a challenge to control the tongue.  Simon Peter advised us to, “Abstain from evil desires that WAR against your soul.”  We are in a lifelong battle between the flesh and the Spirit.

You can eliminate many wrong thoughts by disciplining what you see and hear.  We can avoid temptation by not going to activities, visiting websites or watching television programs that we know in advance will pollute the mind. (Maybe I ought to quit playing golf…or at least learn to quit topping the ball!)

Martin Luther once said that he couldn’t keep the birds from flying over his head but he could prevent them from building a nest in his hair.  You can’t prevent evil thoughts from flashing into your mind but you can learn to dismiss them quickly rather than entertaining them.

The best way to overcome evil notions is to drive them out with positive thoughts.  Philippians 4:8 instructs us to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.

The closer you come to Christ the more you are aware of your own sinfulness.  The Bible says, “Our righteousness is as filthy rags before God.”  When the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord in the temple, his first reaction was, “Woe is me, I’m a man of unclean lips.”  When Simon Peter saw Jesus in His splendor, his first reaction was, “Depart from me I am a sinful man O Lord.”

When people say, “I’m a pretty good person, it indicates to me they are comparing themselves to others instead of to Christ.  When we get close to the Lord we’re aware of our sin and our need of a Savior.  I think that’s where God wants us to be.  We’re humbled and realize we have to trust in Him and not ourselves.

Remember God’s grace is sufficient to forgive all our sins. 

First John 1:8-9 reads, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

The wonderful news is that the blood of Christ doesn’t just cover the sins we committed prior to becoming a Christian.  He forgives our present transgressions.  The song, “It Is Well with My Soul,” has this marvelous line, “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought – My sin, not in part but the whole, has been nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.  Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

When we come to understand that God loves us and accepts us in spite of our sinful thoughts and actions, we become increasingly appreciative of the cross…and His amazing grace!  When we trust God’s grace, it is immensely liberating.  We can say, “I’m so imperfect, but I’m really thankful for God’s amazing grace.”  We are much more likely to overcome evil thoughts and improper behavior with that kind of joyful attitude than we are by imagining that we have to earn God’s favor by our perfection.  

The more you grow in Christ, the more your life will be dominated by the mind of Christ.  As you mature in Christ and the Holy Spirit gains more control, you’ll discover those evil thoughts are not as frequent or as dominant as they used to be.

I think one of the best things about heaven will be that we will no longer be dragged down by the flesh.  In the meantime, we can make the effort to grow in the way we think and behave, and to thank God daily for His saving and transforming grace.