Moral Formation vs Spiritual Formation Temptation to Immorality

Moral Formation vs Spiritual Formation

Temptation to Immorality Finitude / Natural Anxiety Pleasure Inordinate / Twisted Desires Habituated / Learned Patterns Original Sin – Genesis 3

Original Sin Spiritually Dead/Separated from God – Emptiness – Drive to Fill Under the Wrath of God – Guilt/Fear – Drive to Hide Distorted from One’s Nature – Ashamed – Drive to Cover

Temptation to Morality Control the Future – Long-Term Good Stability of Civilization – Maximize & Stabilize Pleasure Cut off Twisted Desires/Impulses Break Bad Habits Original Sin

Morality & Original Sin Empty? – Fill the hole with spiritual things! Guilty? Afraid? – Pile up good deeds to hide behind – Or just stop being bad! Ashamed? – Cover/make up for the shame by being better!

Limitations of Morality Finitude Persistence of Original Sin Persistence of Inordinate Desires Rom. 8: 3

Beyond Morality Spiritual Formation – Relationality: Gal. 3: 23 -25 God’s Perfect Wisdom God’s Healing Capacity – Always working: Rom. 8: 26 God’s Guidance God’s Redemptive Work

Christ & Original Sin Emptiness – Indwelling of the Holy Spirit Guilt – Righteousness of Christ imputed to us Shame – Our sin imputed to Christ Persistence of original sin experience?

A Christian Response Sanctification Recapitulates Salvation – Amos Listening to the Spirit Working Alongside the Spirit – Redemption of original sin & beyond Dealing with Sin as Christ Taught – “Oh beautiful sin…”

Morality and the Christian Life The nature of the soul – Lewis: “Aim for heaven…”

Final Notes Comparative Religions Christ and Sanctification Rich Mullins: “Be God’s”

An Exercise Spend 10 minutes asking God where you are tempted to fill the emptiness/ loneliness apart from God Then spend 10 minutes asking God how tempted you are to hide from guilt through distraction or through morality Then spend 10 minutes asking God how tempted you are to cover up your shame through being good or fixing mistakes Then spend 15 minutes asking God to reveal how He has already met these needs and how He wants you to respond to sin and His love

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