Weekly Lesson 35

SERVE SELF (FLESH) OR CHRIST

After becoming a Christian, sooner or later, we make a shocking discovery. We discover that sin is still with us. Besides Satan, we have an enemy in us called “the flesh.” The flesh is very sinful. The “flesh” is not my body itself, but the sinful nature that dwells in my body.

The main characteristic of SELF is rebellion against God. SELF says, “I will do what I want to do!” Where did we get this spirit of rebellion? We got it from Adam. Satan said in his heart, “I will have my way!” Then Adam rebelled against God and said in his heart, “I will have my way!” Now it is us who say in our heart, “I will have my way!” By nature, we are all like this.

The Bible says, “we have turned every one to his own way”, (Isaiah 53:6).

When we were saved, another Person came to live in our hearts. The Lord Jesus Himself came to live in us. We were so happy. Maybe we thought our life would always be happy and peaceful. We may have thought we would always want to please God and obey Him.

But we soon discovered that SELF wants to continue ruling in our hearts. Christ has the right to rule, but SELF still tries to rule us. We must choose whether we will be governed by Christ or SELF. When SELF is on the throne of our hearts, we will live the self-life. We will have many sins in my life. Let us think about some of these sins.

• The sin of pride
Are you ever proud? Do you think mean or unkind thoughts of other people? Do you think, “I’m better than that person”? Do you think, “I should have first place”? This is the sin of pride. Have you ever heard the phrase “Proud as a Peacock”? You see, the peacock is a very proud bird, always strutting around and showing off.

• The sin of selfishness
Are you ever selfish? Do you ever say, “That’s mine! I’m not going to share it with you.” Do you want the best and the most for yourself?

• The sin of bad talk
Do you ever say bad things or listen to dirty stories? Do you gossip or say bad things about other people? The Bible says, “Let no corrupt communication [no bad talk] come out of your mouth.”

• The sin of lying
Do you tell lies? Jesus said that Satan is “the father of lies.” This means that all lies come from him. When we tell a lie, we are acting like Satan. Satan used a serpent to deceive Eve and persuade her to disobey God. He uses lies to get us to do wrong things.

• The sin of anger
Do you ever get angry with someone and want to hurt them? Do you want to “get back” at those who have hurt you? This is a form of anger called “revenge,” and God hates it. Do you lose your temper and say mean and hateful things to others?

• The sin of rebellion
Do you ever get into trouble because you do things that you know you should not do? Perhaps your parents or teacher tell you not to do something, but you go ahead and do it anyway. This is the sin of rebellion.

• The sin of complaining
Do you ever fuss and complain when you are told to do a specific job? Maybe your mother wants you to wash the dishes, or your father asks you to do something around the house. You fuss and complain and drag it out, doing it very slowly.

SELF is our biggest problem! When we allow SELF to be on the throne of our hearts, we will have these terrible sins that we have been discussing. If we are doing these things, then we are living the self-life instead of the Christ-life. Many people are genuinely saved; they have taken the Lord Jesus as their Savior. But they are not happy. Why are they not happy? They are not happy because they are allowing SELF to rule in their lives. No child of God can ever be happy living the self-life. We can only be happy only when we are living the Christ-life.

Are you living the SELF-life or CHRIST life? 

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication

Christ Centered Champions

Christ Centered Champions

We are more than champions through him who loved us. Romans 8:37