Our Moral Victories Glorify God

    By A.W. Tozer

    For to be carnally minded is death; but lo be spiritually
    minded is life and peace.  Romans 8:6

       In  the  Pauline  epistles, the  gravitational  pull  of  the
    heart in one direction or another is called "the mind."  In
    the  eighth  chapter  of Romans, for instance, when Paul
    refers to the  "mind"  he  is  referring  to  the sum of our
    dominant desires.

       The mere intellect, then, is not the mind: the mind is
    intellect plus an emotional tug strong enough to
    determine action!

       As  Christians,  our  only  safety  lies  in  complete
    honesty.  We must surrender our hearts to God so that
    we  have  no  unholy  desires,  then  let  the  Scriptures
    pronounce their judgment on a contemplated course.  If
    the  Scriptures  condemn  an object, we must accept that
    judgment and conform to it,  no matter how we may for
    the moment feel about it.

       To  want  a  thing,  or feel that we want it, and then to
    turn from it because we see that it is contrary to the will
    of  God  is  to  win  a great battle on the way to spiritual
    mindedness.

       To bring our desires to the cross and allow them to be
    nailed there with Christ is a good and a beautiful thing.

       To be tempted and yet to glorify God in the midst of it
    is to honor Him where it counts. This is more pleasing to
    God than any amount of sheltered and untempted piety
    could ever be!

      God is always  glorified when He wins a moral victory
    over us, and we are always benefited, immeasurably and
    gloriously benefited!

       The blood of Christ will cleanse not only actual sins
    but the very inward desires so that we will not want to
    sin.  A blessed state indeed, and blessed are they that
    reach it!

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    Yours in Christ,

    Paul N. F.