Deep Dive into Self-Confrontation: A Manual for In-Depth Biblical Discipleship by John C. Broger - You Can Change Biblically (Part 1)
Lasting personal change and spiritual growth, according to biblical discipleship, is achieved exclusively through God's plan centered on Jesus Christ, fundamentally rejecting any self-oriented approach.
The necessity for this divine plan stems from man's spiritual problem: humanity is hopelessly separated from God, spiritually dead in sin, hostile to God, and powerless to overcome sin's hold. Man’s efforts fall short because his way is the old self-nature, focused entirely on pleasing, relying on, exalting, and fulfilling the self. These self-contrived solutions are unacceptable substitutes for God's truth, and human wisdom is deemed foolish and inadequate to know God.
Therefore, biblical change begins with the necessary first step: receiving salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This involves recognizing one's helplessness, repenting of sin, and believing that Jesus paid the full penalty for redemption. By grace through faith, the individual receives eternal life, forgiveness of sins, experiences a spiritual new birth, and becomes a new creation.
Following salvation, the path to maturity involves a continuous process of change: putting off the practices of the old self-nature and putting on the new nature. This spiritual growth requires denying self and following Jesus and undergoing a mental transformation by renewing the spirit of the mind. The goal shifts from pleasing self to living for Christ and pleasing God in all things.
This sustained growth is possible only because the believer is empowered to change through Christ. The Word of God is the sole source for finding God's solutions, claiming total sufficiency to solve all of life's problems. The disciple achieves lasting growth by living in faithful and loving obedience to the Bible, demonstrating their change by practicing biblical love.
Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian
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