Bringing Thoughts Into Captivity Part 5

VIII. As noted earlier, perception can be as powerful to direct our thoughts as reality. Faulty perceptions of God and one’s own “strengths” are common self-deceptions that need to be cast down or brought into captivity. A. Some examples of self-deception are: 1. Thinking that overindulgence of food or drink is a trivial matter or that you are immune to the deceptive power of alcohol. PRO 20:1; 23:20-21; LUK 21:34. 2. Thinking that we can excite natural lusts with impunity. PRO 6:27 c/w 1CO 6:18. 3. Thinking we are wise in this world. 1CO 3:18-19. 4. Thinking the unrighteous will inherit God's kingdom. 1CO 6:9-10. 5. Thinking we will not be corrupted by evil communications. 1CO 15:33. 6. Thinking we are something we are not. GAL 6:3. 7. Thinking we will not reap what we sow. GAL 6:7. 8. Being hearers of the word but not doers. JAM 1:22. 9. Thinking that religion excuses an unbridled tongue. JAM 1:26. 10. Saying we have no sin. 1JO 1:8. 11. Thinking that there will always be tomorrow to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. PRO 27:1; JAM 4:13-14. B. If you have deceived yourselves in any of these areas, do not try to cover it up with euphemisms, excuses, blame-shifting, etc. 1. Confess it to God and seek His forgiveness (1JO 1:9), renouncing the self- deception and any attempted cover-up. 2. Remember that it is the acknowledging of truth that leads one from Satan's captivity and makes even his thoughts at work in us captive to Christ. 2TI 2:25-26. 3. When carnal thinking begins its sales-pitch that sounds better than the will and interests of God, remember Peter and Jesus in MAT 16:21-23. C. When we realize that we have been deceived by Satan, including our own self-deception, and that we could have changed long before we did, this can bring the guilt of all those years of wrong thinking and doing. 1. Satan may use this guilt to spur us to justify the wrong rather than face it. This is another deception which must also be countered with truth. 2. God's answer: “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end” (PRO 19:20). IX. Beware of thinking too highly of men’s opinion of you. A. This applies to the opinion of men who errantly find fault with you because of their ignorance or false bias. JOH 8:48; 1CO 4:3. B. This applies to those who seek men’s praises more than God’s. JOH 12:42-43. C. This applies to the false praise of flattery which may be personal or religious. PRO 29:5; MAL 2:17; 3:15; EZE 13:22 ct/w 1TH 2:5. D. It is this very error that is causing such spiritual, emotional and psychological trouble among social mediaholics, particularly younger people. 1. Beware of celebrity (the condition of being extolled or talked about). 2. Measuring one’s worth by faulty comparisons is not wise. 2CO 10:12. 3. The value system of corrupt and ignorant men is a poor measure. LUK 16:15; PSA 12:8; PRO 28:4. 4. “But honour is like the shadow, which, as it flees from those that follow it, so it follows those that flee from it.” (Matthew Henry) E. The person who is striving to do well and doesn’t worry much about his own popularity is likely to end up the more respected and better rounded. 1. Recognize that doing good to and for others may not initially win popularity with men but that is not the point. The point is, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant...” (MAT 25:21). 2. Also, present rejection may not be the end of the story. ACT 2:22-23, 36-37; PRO 28:23. 3. True love does right regardless of popularity. 2CO 12:15; 1CO 13:4-7. 4. NOTE: Men, even carnal men, tend to have a secret admiration of those who walk uprightly although envy may overrule their admiration. DAN 6:3-5. F. We do well to strive to have a good report in this world, especially in the opinion of people of good faith and character. ACT 16:1-2; 1TI 3:7; 3JO 1:12. G. A life of service to the rule and model of Jesus Christ gains heavenly and earthly approval. ROM 14:17-19; ACT 24:16. H. A godly life may seem futile or even generate false accusation and a lack of popularity. 1. But godliness has promise of this life and the life to come. 1TI 4:8. 2. God will vindicate it in due time. PSA 37:5-6; ISA 66:5. 3. In the meantime, pray for your troublers. MAT 5:44. 4. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in.’ Aim at earth and you get neither.” (C.S. Lewis) I. Beware also of the value of your own opinion of yourself and your capabilities. 1. One could because of an unbalanced perspective or a faulty standard be given over to the control of pride (3JO 1:9-10) or of a false burden that forbids his fullness. COL 2:16-23. a. Beware of super-righteousness which can be destructive. ECC 7:16. b. “There may be over-doing even in well-doing, a being righteous over-much; and such an over-doing as may prove an undoing through the subtlety of Satan.” (Matthew Henry) 2. We ought not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. ROM 12:3; PSA 131:1. 3. If you have to commend yourself, is it because God or men aren’t seeing you as you would like to be seen? 2CO 10:18. 4. Every good gift, talent or promotion comes from God Who can take it away to humble us (and then we must learn to process the humbling without resorting to dark thoughts). JAM 1:17; 1CO 4:7; PSA 75:4-7. 5. The best Christians need occasional humbling. 2CO 12:7.