162: Passion for Christ

What You'll Discover in this Episode:

162: Passion For Christ

Biblical counselors desire to unleash the power of God into the lives of their counselees. When we look at Scripture, we see so many promises of blessings and comfort found in Christ. Yet, we see many people stuck in bondage to sin, unable to break free from self-destructive patterns. How can counselors help their counselees experience victory rather than defeat? 

In this week’s episode of the Biblical Counseling Podcast, Pastor Jeff Christianson and Jennie Christianson explain how a passion for Christ frees Christians from the power and reign of sin. Many counselees seek care after years of fighting sin and destructive habits. Whether a person’s anger, lusts, self-indulgence, bitterness, or ambition, many people reach the point of brokenness where they recognize that they lack the power within themselves to change. Sadly, many Christians fall into this same trap. Christians who sit in church pews for many years never connect the great truths they hear every Sunday to their hearts. Nevertheless, God wants to break his people from these self-perpetuating cycles of destruction through the application of three vital principles to believers. 

First, Christians can achieve victory over defeat through understanding the power in the blood of Jesus Christ. When we think about Jesus’s death on the cross, we must remember that Jesus’s work of salvation contains power and transformation for those who trust in him for salvation. The knowledge of the Gospel brings life to dead hearts. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, his power now reigns in his people. Through this resurrection power, Christ’s people grow, sanctify, and mature through the power of Jesus’s blood. Every Christian knows the feeling of transitioning from darkness to life as the heart awakens to new desires to please God. God seeks to continue this work through freeing us from every area of life dominated by sin. 

Second, many Christians have failed to access the full blessings of the Holy Spirit. While every believer is indwelt by the Spirit, many Christians have never experienced a full indwelling of the Holy Spirit, where the Spirit is overflowing in their hearts and bringing Christ’s transforming power to every corner of their lives. The Holy Spirit’s job is to fill us with the full benefits of Christ. We must yield to the active work of the Spirit. 

Third, these Christians have never purposed their hearts toward victory over sin. Many Christians play games with their sin, thinking that they can flirt with temptation and walk away unscathed. Scripture commands Christians to set their hearts to forsake sin and turn to righteousness. 

Want to learn more? Listen to this podcast to hear Pastor Jeff and Jennie address: 

• The power of the blood of Christ for transformation
• The nature of being filled with the Holy Spirit
• Reasons for yielding all of your life to Christ

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