J Heinrich Arnold-Freedom from sinful thoughts.pdf

FREEDOM FROM SINFUL THOUGHTS - T H E K I N G D O Mwants us to be filled with far more: the vision of hisFather’s great kingdom. It cannot be enough toovercome a besetting sin and then settle back complacently,feeling, I have won my little fight. I can be the mostrighteous person in the world, morally speaking, but if Ilack love and concern for others, my heart is not yetpure. If I let my neighbor go hungry when I am well fed,I have not truly overcome sin in my life. Jesus wants usto suffer the injustice and need of the world togetherwith him; to hunger and thirst for right- eousness for allpeople; to witness to his way of love and justice andpeace – to fight with him for the building up of a city onthe hill.Again, none of this is possible for us without theexperience of personal rebirth. There is no question thatevery time a person is won for Christ, the power of sinand darkness is broken in his or her soul, and this is avictory for the kingdom of God. But if we go no furtherthan individually edifying encounters with Jesus, we aremissing the greatness of his cause. My father writes inthis regard:For so many Christians, here is where their interest dies down.People seek constant confirmation of such grace as they havealready received. Instead they should say, “This personalexperience is given to me to help me find clarity about the74