The third in a series of five blogs (3-of-5) to explain how most in the Church have missed the Bible’s wholly Spirit-Powered Escape Plan for overcoming the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). The third in a series of five blogs examining the Church’s Bible-based (but Spirit-passive!) purity programs.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
THE CASE OF THE MISSING BIBLE VERSES
He shot and killed a savage hound to save the life of Sir Henry Baskerville. Foiled the plots of fifth columnist Nazi sympathizers in wartime London. And regularly thwarted Professor James Moriarty’s diabolical plans. But this one has Holmes stumped.
London’s Christian bookstores are awash with purity-based books and purity programs that are missing key purity-based Bible verses. Whole books and whole programs that never once cite Galatians 5:16. Other familiar purity-based verses (e.g., Ephesians 3:20-21, Romans 8:1-4, and Romans 8:12-13) are also missing. Holmes has never been more baffled! Not surprisingly, Watson is also clueless. 😊
How could these classic purity-based Bible verses not even be cited in books and programs devoted to the Christian and his pursuit of purity? The (mythical) New London Standard (NLS) version of the Bible has only recently gone to press; is there a mole in the NLS Publishing House? Are London’s bookstores the only ones impacted, or is this a worldwide phenomenon? Is Moriarty again somehow involved? Follow the trail of clues in the Great Detective’s most baffling case to date, The Case of the Missing Bible Verses. Spoiler Alert: Its solution is elementary, my dear reader (see below).
A GAME-CHANGING BOOK HAS ARRIVED
In A Way of Escape, readers learn that these classic purity-based Bible verses have not gone missing after all. They may still be found in their usual locations in the Bible Books of Galatians, Ephesians, and Romans (yes, even in the mythical NLS version). Moreover, readers learn how to apply these verses in their war against the flesh. Readers learn how to overcome the flesh by stepping up the degree to which they “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). They learn how to build a library of Spirit-anointed, flesh-diffusing apps. Apps that are uniquely fitted to them, and their unique Spirit-filling triggers (Ephesians 5:18b-19).
The still-struggling now have another option. The still-struggling now have fresh hope for discovering that long-sought-after way of escape from sin and temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). A way that—because it is wholly Spirit-powered—does not require enlisting the aid of an accountability partner or group. Truly, a game-changer!
THANK YOU, HOLY SPIRIT!
EPILOGUE: HOW MOST IN THE CHURCH HAVE MISSED WHOLLY SPIRIT-POWERED ESCAPE
Why had these classic purity-based Bible verses gone missing in the first place? Watson is still clueless. But Holmes has a couple theories.
All Christian authors and purity program developers were aware of these purity-based Bible verses, of course. But some were simply unsure how to apply them in the war against the flesh (see www.wileygrafbooks.com/news/applied-theology-v6). Others, content with having found one way of escape from sexual sin (albeit an extremely difficult one to successfully navigate—see www.wileygrafbooks.com/news/the-hardest-thing-v6), simply stopped searching for other easier-to-successfully-navigate, wholly Spirit-powered ways.
The case solved, and details of its solution made public, Holmes is cautiously optimistic that these classic purity-based Bible verses will begin to be incorporated into more books and programs devoted to the Christian and his pursuit of purity. Along with instructions on how to apply them in the war against the flesh. Time will tell. Stay tuned.
