Fail Proof Living
Dr. Frederick K.C. Price
Second Peter 1:5 - 10: "...giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do thee things you will never stumble;"
That word stumble in the traditional King James says fall and it literally means to fall down or fail. Now He said you will never stumble, never fall, never fail. That word never literally means by no means ever. It also carries the idea by no means, not even at any time. God says that if you will do these things you will never fail, never fall, never stumble, never. That's incredible.
Our subject is fail proof living. Living without failing. Failure in any area of life, whether in the natural realm or the spiritual realm has to be a permitted response. In other words it just can't automatically happen. We must give our permission.
If we want to live fail proof these are our responsibilities. God says, in verse 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith... Now we start out with faith as reborn children of God. But then he says add to your faith. That's our responsibility to add to it. Add what to it? Add virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. He said if we do these things we will never, never fail.
In this short writing, I will be talking about self-control. When you turn around this term self-control you are saying, in essence, control self. It is obvious just by observation, that there are multitudes of spirit-filled, tongue talking. Bible-toting, faith-believing Christians that are out of control.
One area that God has me minister on is self-control with regards to being overweight. Your body is a give away because your body is always talking even when you don't open your mouth. All you have to do is look. Just open your eyes and see.
In 1 Corinthians 9: 25-27 Paul says: "And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in [That word temperate means to have self-control, so it could say controlled in] all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as some who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
In the traditional King James this verse says, But I discipline my body... That's what it is all about. But there is another statement-Paul says, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. Now pick up on this. I keep under my body and bring it [my body] into subjection.
He says, "I keep under my body." "My body." Now I and my are one. But body is separate from I and my. The word my is a designation of ownership, control, or overseer. He says, "I keep under my body." As I have said so often before your body is not you.
My and I has a body. In reference to the things of God, I and my live inside of the body. Now the I and my is the part of your threefold nature which has been born again--made new in Christ Jesus. That's the spirit part of you because you are a spirit made in the image and likeness of God.
However, your body has never, ever been affected by the new birth. Your body is exactly like it was before you ever heard of Jesus. That's why Paul said, "I keep under my body." When he said, "I keep under," he means I keep my body under control. Not underneath the seat or under the couch. He means under control.
If the Word had said, "I put under my body," then you would only have to do it one time. This word keep is an awesome word. He said, "I keep under my body." Well you wouldn't have to keep anything under control unless it had a propensity for being out of control. If you could just put it there you wouldn't have to deal with it any more. But he said, "I keep it."
Why Paul? Because all flesh (bodies) want to get out from under. And, if it gets from under, then it will drag our spirit and soul into the same clandestine problem situations that it gets into. So I've got to keep my body under control so it doesn't get out of control. Everybody's body is exactly the same because we all came from the same sinful source. There is no good flesh. That's why you've got to keep it under.
So if I add control to my lifestyle God said I would never stumble. If you will be real honest about it probably ninety-seven and nine tenths percent of all of the problems you have ever gotten into has been because of your body. In fact, right now if some of you could get rid of your bodies you wouldn't have any more problems in life. I wonder can I get an amen.
This article was excerpted from Dr. Price's teaching series, "Fail Proof Living" which is available on CD. Please call us at (800) 927-3436 or visit our website at
www@faithdome.org for a complete list of his products.
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Saturday, September 20th 2008 at 11:06AM
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