My Youth Leader has been teaching us about 7 Great Principles, a great book written by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills.
Basically this book teaches the essential or fundamental things we need to know as Born Again Christians🙏
1. Man is a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body;
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”
2. The spirit of an unsaved man is dead and desperately wicked; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12,19
When we disobey God we allow evil spirits to come into our lives. Death came into the world because of sin, that’s why where there’s sin death always follows.
We can disobey God with our will because we can choose whether or not to sin, we can sin by choice because the decision to sin is always by our will
Isaiah 1:18
” “Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.”
When God washes us it is as though we had never committed that sin before
3. The spirit of a saved man is righteous and truly holy
Ephesians 4:24 ” Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
4. After you are born again your spirit is a new born baby and it must grow
The Word of God is what will help our spirit to grow, because it is like spiritual food the more we read and study the Bible the more understanding we gain and the more our spirit man grows.
1 Peter 2:2 ” Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,”
5. After you are saved your mind is still the same and it must be renewed
Romans 12:2 ” Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
"When we do not retain God in our minds, God gives us over to a depraved or reprobate mind. When you retain God He changes the way you think" - https://twitter.com/AdelHewardMills/status/529391097491898368?s=09
6. After you are saved your body is still the same and you must keep it under control
1 Corinthians 9:27 ” I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
Galatians 5:13 ” For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”
We must learn to subdue our fleshly desires to fulfil our spiritual desires
Matthew 26:41 “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
7. After you are born again your mind is open to all kinds of thoughts and you must think the right things.
Every temptation and every sin starts with a thought
We must learn to think the right things
2 Corinthians 10:5 ” and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.”
We must be conscious of our thoughts because thinking on something for a long period of time will eventually cause you to act upon that thing you’ve been thinking.
Philippians 4:8 ” Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONEST, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE, and if there be any PRAISE, think on these things.”
You can use that verse to check your thoughts and to bring them under subjection to Christ.
If ever you catch yourself thinking about anything that isn’t true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue and praise. Rebuke that thought and declare that it’ll never come back in the name of Jesus!
