Augustine's Conversion

Augustine describes his encounters and life of sin in his early life as attributable to his own lost state and the foolishness of his own sinful heart. He doesn't really blame any particular set of circumstances, though he does mention that his father cared little for anything aside from for his education, and the hope that he would become an important and well known orator.  He mentions that his mother did try to be a good influence on him, but he dismissed her invitations to Christ as her simply being a foolish woman.

Augustine came to be bonded into several sins, the primary sin that held him seemed to be sexual sin; the sin of fornication. He also practiced thievery with his friends, once stealing fruit from a tree, and then essentially discarding it as he simply stole for the thrill and debased pleasure of stealing. Augustine of course eventually breaks free by turning to Jesus Christ for salvation, and repenting of his sins.  With the power of Christ at work within him, he found new power to resist sin and live holy and pure. He is overjoyed which shows in his writings to have found freedom from sin and the incredible love of Jesus.

You could possibly consider Augustine's perspective on sin as a net positive in the fact that it drives the sinner to conviction, regret, shame, and emptiness. With the increasing realizations that sin provides no lasting fulfillment, the sinner increasingly becomes open to the love of Jesus that offers freedom from the shackles of sin. Sin leads the sinner to Christ, one might say.

The 2 Cyclical Realities of Prevenient Grace & Sanctification

The appeal made by the Holy Spirit to each human on Earth is cyclical. A pattern repeats over and over, through an increasingly severe process of prevenient grace that draws us to Christ. But the fudge factor and the massive variable in entire system God has set up is the free will factor.  This factor is explosive in it's ability to gum up even the most simple equations within the universal system.  It's the equation that just refuses to be balanced or understood. And it affects what we perceive as injustice in the system, though it is simply a highly unfortunate side effect of free will.  

The cycle is often experienced as summer, fall, winter, spring.  Summer of excitement, celebration, sin, and chaos, experienced in all the highest highs available in evil and self-destruction. Then comes fall, when the highs of sin go from celebration and excitement to increasing levels of pain, confusion, remorse, and sorrow. Then comes the winter. A frozen tundra of emptiness and chaos.  Then comes the spring, after the lowest low, rebirth comes, new growth, new hope, and from there the cycle repeats. 

This cycle seems to be perpetuated by God through the Earth system to draw people to realize their need for Christ, and to come to Christ.  This can occur in any of the regions of the cycle.  It can occur in the bright beautiful summer when we notice the beauty of God's creation, or in the fall, as we realize the pleasure has turned destructive.  It can often occur in the winter, when we realize the utter emptiness that sin has brought us into. And it can occur in the spring, when the rebirth period begins, we realize the source of it is Christ, and turn to Christ.

The angelic messengers of the Lord seem to have some function in all this. How they impact the cycle exactly I don't know. Demons have a function as well, they seem to attempt to keep the human in the cycle perpetually, boxing Christ out of it, so they continously repeat the cycle unaware of Christ, or scornful of Christ, until death. 

The saints have a part to play as well, being instruments of God to break those cycles through battle in prayer, and in loving people lost in the cycle, and in of course witnessing for Christ to that person.

But once again, the fudge factor is free will. No one can force another person to receive Christ. And perhaps the most universal aspect of human nature is our own infinite stubbornness. Often we would rather charge through the very gates of hell itself than admit we were wrong, or needed to change direction.  

It's similar to a situation in which a family views an alcoholic or drug addicted family member slowly destroying themselves. The family is absolutely powerless to stop this person. They can grab them, shake them, lock them in the room, hide them away from society, but nothing can stop them from drinking and drugging to the darkest end, ultimately it's their choice.  

That's the sacred choice God has given us.  The beauty of free will is that we choose our own destiny. The terror of free will is that most do not choose Christ, and instead they choose death. 

The cycle repeats over and over, until we turn to Christ, or we don't. Many I see near the end of their lives, and they remain in the repeating loop, unable to quite turn to Christ, or more so, unwilling. Many, deceived by demonic powers, and caught up in traps as well. Many, already turned over to the sins they love, unaware of the judgment awaiting them in the life ahead. 

Once someone does turn to Christ, and gives their lives to Christ, and is born again, and receives the Holy Spirit, we begin a new process, called the process of sanctification.  Through this process we are slowly conformed into the likeness in character to Christ himself.  This process can often at times we cyclical as well, as we repeat "trials" until we accomplish them properly and learn from them.  Often times Christians can be caught up and stuck in the cyclical process of sanctification as well, unwilling to go deeper, unwilling to learn a vital truth. And they become stuck in the cyclical reality as well. This is troubling, but not particularly surprising.

For the Christian who continues to grow, trials continue, fiery trials, and difficulties, as well as joys, and blessings, and good times, and beautiful moments.  And slowly that Christian is brought into maturity.  

The goal of the first cyclical reality is to bring non-believers to realize their need for Christ and make a free will decision to turn to Jesus through the grace of God.  The goal of the second cyclical reality of sanctification is for the believer to come to maturity, achieving victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. Over the flesh in that they've overcome sin in their lives, over the world in that they no longer live for the world or by the world's ways, and the devil, in that the devil has attempted to deceive them and drive them away from Christ, but has failed, and their love and devotion for Christ has been proven through fiery trials and temptations. And a believer who loses those 3 battles will not have eternal life, but will receive damnation, as they have not overcome the flesh, the world, or the devil.  Luke-warm Christians will be spit from the mouth of Christ.  Hard to misinterpret that statement. 

Keep a Close Watch on your Heart

The “Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as "the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity," "the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will," and "the center of a person. The place to which God turns."
-J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 13.

Tell me about your heart and I’ll know who you really are. Not who you pretend to be in front of people. But who you really are, when no one is looking. The heart is the place from which you make your decisions. Your heart is the center of your being. Now we’re not talking about the muscle that beats in your chest and guides blood around your circulatory system. But it’s a good comparison. The heart is the center of your blood flow, and your blood is your life. Similarly the heart in scripture, is the center of who we truly are and is of great concern to God.

Jesus was once challenged by the Pharisees because he did not have his disciples wash their hands before eating. They said this made them defiled. Jesus responded this way:

Matthew 15:18-20 ESV “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

So out of our hearts comes who we truly are and we speak it out. And it either reveals that we have a good heart, or a wicked heart.

It’s interesting that in the book of wisdom proverbs we’re told to: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” -Proverbs 4:23 ESV

So that’s our challenge for today. I want you to learn today how to “keep a careful guard around your heart.”

Hebrews 12:14-15 “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”

We see this word in scripture episkopos, which challenged us to watch over our hearts in case of bitterness. In the Greek it means “to look or to watch over.” It’s actually the same word in 1st Timothy 3:1 that is given to a bishop who keeps watch over a group of churches. So we’re challenged to watch over our hearts and our reactions in the same way that a bishop keeps careful watch over the churches under their care.

And here’s a very important point: We are not victims of what comes out of our hearts and minds. We’re the stewards commanded to keep watch over our hearts and minds. So we’re not victims, if we find evil coming out of our hearts, it’s because we’ve made bad choices.

You have the choice, about what you’re going to put into your heart and mind. And you’re the one responsible, by the Spirit’s leading, to think the right thoughts, and have the right attitude about life.

Often times we are tempted to blame our bad attitudes, resentments, or negative feelings on others, or on life. But plain and simple, we are the ones responsible for our thoughts and emotions.

If my thoughts are very negative, or bitter, or hostile to others, or irritable, then it’s my responsibility to begin to bring change in what I’m doing and thinking and how I’m approaching life. .

Some of us here can sometimes be quite negative. We can often have a bitter outlook on life. And it’s up to us, with God’s great help, to begin to change how we think and react to situations.

Keep watch over your heart, and what you’re thinking about. You have the choices to make. Am I watching gory movies? Am I constantly buzzed on the news, constantly taking in all the bad news? Am I watching pornography and then shocked when my heart has twisted views toward the opposite sex? Am I lying to people, and then surprised that our hearts are bitter? Let’s change our behavior, let’s change the words we speak, let’s change what we’re doing, and replace it with closeness with God, and study of His word and prayer, and watch how God begins to change our hearts.

Episkopos your heart. Keep careful watch over your heart. Your heart is like a garden. Have you ever seen a really beautiful garden? It’s carefully tended, all the rows set just right. There are flowers dotting the outside, and the dirt is well watered. The plants are strong, and fences are built to protect the plants against animals. My grandma had a beautiful garden growing up. She tended is very, very carefully. She had boards you could walk on to go deep into the garden. She had beautiful flowers along the outside, and within there were various crops, corn, peas, radishes, pumpkins, squash, and my favorite part, the raspberry plants. But she was always out there, working in the garden.

And it’s the same with your heart. If you keep careful watch to tend your heart, your heart will be in good shape to walk closely with God.

As the word says, Matthew 5:8 ESV “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

If you keep careful watch over your heart, pulling out the weeds and keeping away the predators, you’ll be one who trusts God, as in Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Ultimately, none of us would have any chance to have a pure heart if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ our savior. He’s the one whose made us born again, and replaced our rocky bitter heart with a new soft heart of love.

But it’s our duty as we walk in the Holy Spirit, to keep a careful episkopos, a careful watch over our hearts, as a bishop watches over their churches.

As the word says, Proverbs 21:2 ESV “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

We look at our ways, and we think, it’s all good. But God looks past our ways, right to our hearts.

Honor God by keeping a watch on your heart. Protect the garden of your heart, pull up the weeds now, and build the fences to keep out the foxes.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways have you seen God change your heart?

2. How do you keep a careful watch on your heart?

3. If you sometimes struggle with a negative attitude, how can you become more positive?

4. Do you have unforgiveness in your heart toward someone who hurt you? Offer them forgiveness right now.

What does the Bible say about Falling Away?

Let's take a look at some of the scriptures that talk about falling away from the faith. This is a fairly common teaching that was widely accepted for the first 1,900 years of Christianity. Today it's an issue often disputed in the church. So let's examine some scriptures that point us toward the reality of Christians who fall away from the faith.

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God." -Hebrews 3:12

The writer of Hebrews is writing to the "brethren" which would indicate he is writing to believers who are part of the church, encouraging them to be steadfast, and not to fall away from the Lord through a lack of belief. Pretty simple and straight-forward.

1 Timothy 4:1 "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons"

We learn in 1st Timothy that Holy Spirit warns believers that in the last days some will "fall way" from the faith. To fall away from the faith, one must already be part of the faith. They will be led astray and deceived by demons and evil spirits. They lose their salvation through being deceived.

2 Peter 3:17 "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness"

In 2nd Peter we learn that the "beloved" which would point to believers, must be on their guard so they are not carried away by the errors of those who do wrong, and fall from their steadfastness. Falling away can happen due to the poor example of others.

1 Corinthians 9:27 ESV "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

A pastor preaching the gospel must be careful to discipline his or her body and live out holiness, or they may end up disqualifying themselves from salvation. They could end up falling away if they aren't careful to discipline their bodies.

1 Corinthians 10:12 ESV "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

A simple reminder in 1st Corinthians tells us that we must be careful when we stand, to make sure we don't fall.

Revelation 2:4-5 ESV "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

Jesus speaks to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, and he calls the church, which references believers, to repent because they've fallen away. And Jesus says if you don't, I'll remove your lampstand. So once again, we see that believers can fall away. Even whole churches can fall away. But they can also repent and turn again to the Lord.

Hebrews 2:1-3 ESV "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?"

Here we see the idea of "drifting away." Often we see people attending church faithfully, loving Jesus, praying and reading their Bible. But they slowly begin to fall away and pretty soon we see them at church less and less. And eventually they are gone all together. They drifted away from the truth, and back into the world.

Finally, we see the parable of the vine and the branches. This is the clearest evidence of the possibility of falling away, if we disregard the important command of "abiding" or "remaining" in Christ.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. -John 15:1-17

Examine these additional scripture about falling away. Click here.