Transforming Passions: Living Out Our Faith Authentically

Devotional

Day 1: Identity in Christ Transforms Our Desires

Understanding our identity in Christ is foundational to transforming our inner passions and desires. This transformation is not merely an internal change but one that manifests in our outward conduct, reflecting the beauty of our Savior. When we truly grasp who we are in Christ, our emotions and desires align with His will, leading to a life that glorifies God. This change is essential for our witness to the world, as it shifts the perception of Christians from evildoers to glorifiers of God. The order of being, feeling, and then acting is crucial in this process, as our identity in Christ should naturally lead to new passions and honorable conduct. [01:44]

1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV): "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

Reflection: How does your understanding of your identity in Christ influence your daily decisions and interactions with others today?

Day 2: Embracing Godly Passions

The passions of the flesh, rooted in ignorance, lead to sinful actions that wage war against our souls. However, by embracing the truth of the Gospel, we can cultivate new, godly passions that align with God's will. This transformation is not just for personal holiness but serves a greater purpose: to silence the ignorance of those who malign Christians and to lead them to glorify God through our good deeds. Abstaining from fleshly passions requires a conscious effort to replace old desires with new ones that reflect God's character and purposes. [02:43]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: What specific fleshly passion do you need to abstain from today, and how can you replace it with a godly passion?

Day 3: Honorable Conduct as a Witness

Our conduct should be honorable and beautiful, reflecting the beauty of Christ. This visible transformation can change the world's perception of Christians from evildoers to glorifiers of God. Maintaining honorable conduct, even when faced with slander and misunderstanding, is a powerful witness to the world. It requires a commitment to living out our faith authentically and visibly, allowing our good deeds to speak for themselves. This approach not only silences critics but also leads others to recognize the excellence of God. [03:56]

Titus 2:7-8 (ESV): "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us."

Reflection: In what ways can you demonstrate honorable conduct today that reflects the beauty of Christ to those around you?

Day 4: Proactive Engagement in Good Deeds

Engaging in good deeds that even the world recognizes as virtuous can silence critics and demonstrate the love of Christ. This proactive approach is more effective than conforming to worldly standards to avoid criticism. By actively seeking opportunities to do good, we can show the world the transformative power of the Gospel. This is exemplified in the pro-life movement, where Christians have silenced critics by establishing crisis pregnancy centers, demonstrating care for women and children beyond birth. [08:11]

Galatians 6:9-10 (ESV): "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Reflection: What is one good deed you can proactively engage in today that would demonstrate the love of Christ to someone in need?

Day 5: The Transformative Power of Good Deeds

The establishment of crisis pregnancy centers by Christians is an example of how good deeds can silence critics and demonstrate genuine care, leading others to glorify God. This is the power of living out our faith authentically. By consistently engaging in good deeds, we can show the world the excellence of God and the transformative power of the Gospel. Our actions should reflect our faith, leading others to see the beauty of Christ in us and ultimately glorify God. [10:19]

Matthew 5:16 (ESV): "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Reflection: How can you let your light shine today through a specific action that reflects the transformative power of the Gospel?

Sermon Summary

In this session, we delve into the profound connection between our inner passions and our outward conduct, as outlined in 1 Peter. The journey begins with understanding our identity in Christ, which shapes our emotions and desires. This transformation of our inner being is crucial because it leads to a conduct that is visible to the world, potentially transforming their perception of Christians from evildoers to glorifiers of God. This miraculous change is rooted in the order of being, feeling, and then acting. Our identity in Christ should lead to new passions, which in turn should manifest in honorable conduct that reflects the beauty of our Savior.

Peter emphasizes the importance of abstaining from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against our souls. These passions, rooted in ignorance, lead to sinful actions. However, by embracing the truth of the Gospel, we can cultivate new passions that align with God's will. This transformation is not just for personal holiness but serves a greater purpose: to silence the ignorance of those who malign Christians and to lead them to glorify God through our good deeds.

The challenge lies in maintaining this honorable conduct even when faced with slander and misunderstanding. Peter warns against conforming to the world’s standards to avoid criticism. Instead, he encourages proactive engagement in good deeds that even the world recognizes as virtuous. This approach is exemplified in the pro-life movement, where Christians have silenced critics by establishing crisis pregnancy centers, demonstrating care for women and children beyond birth.

Ultimately, the goal is not to avoid criticism by compromising our values but to live in such a way that our good deeds speak for themselves, leading others to recognize the excellence of God. This is the transformative power of living out our faith authentically and visibly in the world.

Key Takeaways

1. Identity in Christ Shapes Conduct: Our understanding of who we are in Christ should transform our passions and desires, leading to conduct that reflects His beauty. This transformation is essential for our witness to the world. [01:44]
2. Abstaining from Fleshly Passions: The passions of the flesh are rooted in ignorance and lead to sin. By embracing the truth of the Gospel, we can cultivate new, godly passions that align with God's will and lead to righteous conduct. [02:43]
3. Honorable Conduct as Witness: Our conduct should be honorable and beautiful, reflecting the beauty of Christ. This visible transformation can change the world's perception of Christians from evildoers to glorifiers of God. [03:56]
4. Proactive Good Deeds: Engaging in good deeds that even the world recognizes as virtuous can silence critics and demonstrate the love of Christ. This proactive approach is more effective than conforming to worldly standards to avoid criticism. [08:11]
5. Transformative Power of Good Deeds: The establishment of crisis pregnancy centers by Christians is an example of how good deeds can silence critics and demonstrate genuine care, leading others to glorify God. This is the power of living out our faith authentically. [10:19]
** [10:19]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:18] - Connection Between Passions and Conduct
[00:57] - Identity in Christ and Its Impact
[01:44] - Order of Being, Feeling, and Acting
[02:20] - Ignorance and Sinful Passions
[03:03] - Replacing Old Passions with New
[03:35] - Conduct Reflecting Christ's Beauty
[04:47] - Overcoming Slander with Good Deeds
[05:50] - Silencing Ignorance with Good
[06:28] - Avoiding Conformity to the World
[07:29] - Misunderstanding and Maligning
[08:11] - Proactive Engagement in Good Deeds
[08:48] - Example from the Pro-Life Movement
[09:58] - Silencing Critics Through Action
[10:39] - Conclusion and Next Steps

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1 Peter 2:11-12
1 Peter 1:14
1 Peter 4:3-4

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Observation Questions:

What does Peter urge believers to abstain from, and why is this important for their souls? ([01:20])
How does Peter describe the order of transformation from identity to conduct in a believer's life? ([01:44])
What is the purpose of maintaining honorable conduct among non-believers, according to Peter? ([03:56])
How does Peter suggest believers should respond to being maligned by the world? ([07:29])

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Interpretation Questions:

How does the concept of being "sojourners and exiles" influence a believer's approach to worldly passions? ([01:20])
In what ways might the "passions of the flesh" be rooted in ignorance, and how can embracing the truth of the Gospel transform these passions? ([02:20])
How can the example of the pro-life movement illustrate the power of good deeds in silencing critics and glorifying God? ([09:58])
What does it mean for a believer's conduct to be "beautiful" and how does this reflect the beauty of Christ? ([04:21])

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Application Questions:

Reflect on your current passions and desires. Are there any that you feel are waging war against your soul? How can you begin to replace them with godly passions? ([01:20])
Consider your identity in Christ. How does this understanding shape your emotions and actions in daily life? Are there areas where you struggle to let this identity lead your conduct? ([01:44])
Think of a situation where you have faced slander or misunderstanding because of your faith. How did you respond, and how might you respond differently in the future to reflect Christ's beauty? ([04:47])
Identify a specific good deed or act of service you can engage in this week that even non-believers would recognize as virtuous. How can this action serve as a witness to God's love? ([08:11])
Reflect on a time when you felt pressured to conform to worldly standards to avoid criticism. How can you stand firm in your values while still engaging positively with the world? ([06:28])
How can you proactively seek opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ in your community, similar to the establishment of crisis pregnancy centers? ([09:58])
What steps can you take to ensure that your conduct consistently reflects the beauty and excellence of God, even in challenging circumstances? ([04:21])

Sermon Clips

Father it's clear that as Peter moves from the level of feeling to the level of action huge things are at stake because he wants this to be visible to the world so that they actually move from a position of calling Christians evildoers to glorifying you because of our behavior so that's a miracle at stake here. [00:00:32]

I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions that of the flesh which wage war against your soul now we focused on that last time and argued that first comes a sense of who we are our being which was addressed in to 9 and 10 and now we come here to the level of feeling or passions. [00:01:06]

It's really crucial that we see that order who we are in Christ shaping how we have its affections and feelings and emotions and loves and passions in Christ leading to a kind of conduct which then the world will see that they may see your good conduct your good deeds and give glory. [00:01:44]

There's ignorant leading to sinful passions because passions aren't based in truth they're all flowing out of error which leads to conformity to those old passions or if we change this ignorant with new truth now which this whole letter is designed to give us then new passions will come into being. [00:02:31]

The best way not to be conformed to these fashions of the flesh is to kill them get rid of them and replace them with new passions of love for God and love for people and hoping fully in the grace that is being brought to us and earnestly desiring the Sunspear sincere spiritual milk the word. [00:03:10]

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable those of you like Greek Colleen beautiful beautiful keep your conduct beautiful you have a beautiful savior and bring your life into conformity to his beauty so that people can see that beauty so that here comes here comes the great purpose. [00:03:56]

When they speak against you as evildoers they may see something namely your good deeds and change their mind that you're not evildoers you're good doers and find the reason for that in God and thus join us in declaring the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. [00:04:55]

For this is the will of God that by doing good by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish people well what is that ignorant saying that ignorance is saying you are evildoers you Christians and he wants that to be silenced and he said silence it with good deeds. [00:06:02]

A big danger that has to be avoided here is saying well I guess we have to do whatever we need to do to keep the world from calling us evildoers to keep the world from aligning us that is emphatically not true and we know it from first Peter because here in Chapter four look look at how he's talking. [00:06:28]

He doesn't mean you join them in their sin he means proactively be involved in doing the kinds of things that even the world knows are good deeds there many things Christians are going to do and not do which the world are going to think are evil deeds but we overcome that at least for some of them by abundant good deeds. [00:08:11]

We were being accused of being evildoers indifferent to women and different to babies having racial privilege and so on so evildoers you pro-life people are evil you know today hardly anybody talks that way that there are other issues that they may say we're evil in doing but that criticism of not caring about women. [00:09:27]

In the last thirty years thousands literally thousands of crisis pregnancy centers have sprung up across the nation almost all of them run by Christians which means that good deeds have have silenced the ignorance of foolish people that's what has happened and therefore the aim here is not that we start being pro-choice in order to avoid criticism. [00:10:19]

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Transforming Passions: Living Out Our Faith Authentically

Devotional

Day 1: Identity in Christ Transforms Our Desires

Day 2: Embracing Godly Passions

Day 3: Honorable Conduct as a Witness

Day 4: Proactive Engagement in Good Deeds

Day 5: The Transformative Power of Good Deeds

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Transforming Passions: Living Out Our Faith Authentically

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