104. How Culture Creeps In and Steals Your Confidence in Christ—And How to Get It Back | with Dr. John West

Many believers have unknowingly exchanged truth for cultural influence—and wonder why they feel spiritually dry, confused, or insecure. In this powerful conversation, Dr. John West exposes the subtle ways culture shapes our thinking—and how returning to God’s Word can restore your peace, clarity, and confidence in Christ.

 Bible Verses Referenced:

• Acts 2:38 – “Repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
• Romans 6:4 – “We were buried with Him through baptism into death… so that we too may walk in newness of life.”
• Galatians 6:8 – “Whoever sows to please their flesh… will reap destruction.”
• Galatians 5:22–23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”
• Philippians 2:12–13 – “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling… for it is God who works in you…”
• John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
• Galatians 5:13–25 – [Read in full during the episode]

 Key Takeaways:

1. You Can Be Sincere—and Still Be Captivated by Culture

Without a biblical foundation, it’s easy to unknowingly absorb values that oppose God’s truth.

2. Spiritual Maturity Welcomes Questions

A healthy Church doesn’t shut down honest doubts. Growth comes through open dialogue rooted in Scripture.

3. Truth Must Be Held with Love

Truth without grace misrepresents Jesus. We must love well and stand firm.

4. Bitterness Is a Trap—but Healing Is Possible

Even deep wounds can be healed by Jesus. Bitterness doesn’t have to define your story.

5. Lies About Sin Keep People in Bondage

Two common lies:

– “My sin doesn’t really matter.”

– “My sin is too big to be forgiven.”

Both are false. God calls us to holiness and offers full forgiveness.

6. You’re Not Called to Carry the Weight—God Is

Faithfulness, not success, is our calling. God builds His Church—even in dark times.

7. Jesus Is the Only Way

Holding fast to John 14:6 may be countercultural—but it’s the most loving and life-giving truth we can offer.

 Resources & Links: 

• Stockholm Syndrome Christianity by Dr. John West
• Visit: stockholmsyndromechristianity.com for free resources for parents, pastors, and truth-seeking believers.
• Related Episodes:
• – [Episode 5] The Bible: Many Books, One Story
• – [Episode 42] How to Interpret the Bible: Tools for Exegesis and Hermeneutics
• – [Episode 45] How to Understand the Bible Beyond Cultural Bias

Call to Action:

 If this episode stirred something in you—

– Share it with a friend

– Leave a review

– Join our FREE Curious for Christ community where we ask honest questions that lead us closer to Jesus

 Until next time—stay curious, stay faithful, and stay free in Christ. 

Much love, Alexandra

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Want to go deeper? Let's connect—set up a FREE Discovery Call today. See you next time!

Transcript

0:01

Welcome to Curious for Christ. Today's episode is one I believe is crucial, especially if you've made Jesus Your Lord and Savior. When we decide to follow Jesus, when we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, as it says in Acts two verse 38, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and from that moment on, we begin a new way of living. A life where Jesus is actually Lord of it. All we die to self in baptism and rise again to live a new life in Christ. Romans six, verse four. That means he becomes Lord over our thoughts, our words. Our relationships, our time, what we consume, how we speak, what we listen to, and what we allow to influence our heart. Because the truth is, if we live according to the flesh, we will reap the fruit of the flesh. Escalation six verse eight says, but if we live according to the spirit, we will bear the fruit of the spirit, we can read in Galatians 5 22 and 23. Also Philippians two is clear. We are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Not work for it because salvation is a gift, but to live it out daily in partnership with God. As verse 13 reminds us also in Philippians two, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. That means. We must live intentionally aligned with God and in partnership with him. We cannot drift aimlessly in our habits, our influences, or the culture we absorb. That's not the Christian life. That's self-deception, and that's exactly what today's conversation is about. I am joined by Dr. John West, author of the Thought provoking book, Stockholm Syndrome Christianity. If you're not familiar with the term Stockholm syndrome, it originated from a hostage situation in Sweden in the 1970s where victims began to feel sympathy and even loyalty toward their captors. It's a psychological condition, but John uses it as a powerful spiritual metaphor. What if Christians, without even realizing it, have started identifying more with the culture that's holding them captive than with the Christ who came to set them free. Dr. West is Vice President of the Discovery Institute in Seattle, and co-founder of its Center for Science and Culture. He's an award-winning author, filmmaker, and former chair of political science at Seattle Pacific University. He holds a PhD in government from Claremont Graduate University. Through Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, he exposes how subtle secular influences have crept into the church and offers practical wisdom and spiritual encouragement For believers who want to stand firm on the foundation of God's word, he is a passionate advocate for returning to biblical conviction in a culture that constantly shifts. So without further ado, let's listen in. Here is my conversation with Dr. John West. Welcome to Curious for Christ. Do you ever find yourself lying, awake at night wondering about God's plan for your life? Maybe you wake up with big dreams, but feel unsure where to start or what your next step should be. If you're curious about exploring your faith and finding purpose, then you've come to the right place. Hi, I'm Alexandra. I too felt lost and sure of the direction my life was taking. I yearned to understand my purpose and have someone guide me, but I kept telling myself I was too busy. The timing wasn't right, and my lack of clarity prevented me from being consistent until I found Christ. He brought peace into my life and revealed the way to find purpose by anchoring myself. In him. In this podcast, we'll journey together exploring the Bible to gain a deeper understanding of him and cultivate your own personal relationship with Christ. So open up your Bible, put in those earbuds and listen up because God is speaking to you. He's making everything new and you don't wanna miss it. Let's get started. John thank you for being with me. Today, I'm curious for Christ. It's a pleasure to have you. And I love to start with personal stories and so if you could briefly introduce yourself and share what led you to write the Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, and share some personal or spiritual struggles that led you to write this book. Sure. So for over a decade, 12 years, I was a professor at a Christian university called Seattle Pacific University, which was founded in the late 19th century at a time when many of the original Christian colleges in America, like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, had fallen away Christian Star, a whole new batch of colleges in America, the latter part of the 19th century. So that was out of where that institution came. And then I ended up working after there at a, a place called Discovery Institute. And so there is a think tank, but my time in Christian higher education and also as an elder in a couple different congregations. And interactions at the national level of my work with discovery laid something on my heart that I was seeing. A lot of times Christians are really sad by when they see how culture is going and they point fingers that this is the big bad atheist who are doing all this. And I think that's true that a lot of people who aren't Christians are doing things that aren't helpful and that are tragic. But I came. To see that many of my fellow Christian leaders, Christian professors, sadly, were sometimes helping to encourage these same things, whether it be teachings on family and sexuality, or an inability to defend religious liberty or even just biblical authority that, the Bible is true that a lot of self-identified and personally, I think that, that personally devout Christians were. Going in the same direction. And so I was really bothered by that and really thought hard about that and prayed about that. And out of that I was walking actually one day when I walk, I like to pray. I really, it hit me that this idea of Stockholm Syndrome, the Stockholm Syndrome was when the people were held hostage by a bank robber and at the end of the process they ended up feeling warm feelings toward the bank robber is the people holding them captive. And so it seemed to me that a lot of Christian leaders were in a way, were all being held captive by the secular culture and that. That many of them were identifying more with a secular culture than with their historic Christian beliefs. And so I thought that this really helps me understand what I was seeing. So it is a double standard or it would be hypocrisy. Yeah. I'd say what I was really interested in are people who are personally devout and they attend church. They say Jesus is their savior, and I think they're sincere, but who end up identifying more with. The world than they do with their faith. And so they take the operating assumptions and many of the beliefs sometimes without even knowing it. So I guess in a way there's a type of hypocrisy, but I think many of these people are very sincere. It's, they don't realize quite what they're doing. That they're identifying with sort of the secular surround Yeah. Yeah. Around them than more with than their biblical faith. I see. And so you defined of course, where the, that term, it's a very bold term, the Sarm syndrome, Christianity. So that sparks a lot of, reaction. Definitely. But how can someone be. Bondage without realizing it. How can you explain that? We we're all sinners still, even when we're covered by the grace of Christ, this side of heaven. And our capacity for self deception, I think knows no bounds. And so I think part of it is I go over this in one of the chapters of my book is where do you get your information about the world? And in my. Personal experience. A lot of Christians who end up looking in their views, like the world where they get their information about the world. Is from the world. And so if you're spending with a steady diet of the same say, entertainment products that your non-Christian friends are imbibing if you are, imbibing about the same news sources that are written largely by journalists who are not Christians and who don't really understand spiritual things and they're portraying the world to you. Then I think that creates you, you're setting yourself up to fail because you know whatever your personal beliefs are and you may believe in the Bible, but if you're watching a imbibing, a steady diet, that's telling you that everything you read in the Bible is not true, or say that the biblical view of the family, oh, that's unrealistic, or that science shows that it's not true. That's not true. Science doesn't show that. But if you're listening to sources that are telling you that. At the very least, you're gonna be pulled in two different directions, and more likely you're gonna end up morphing to the direction of, the diet of stuff that you watch. Just one simple thing many of us get our view of the world. We don't really know that we do, but from the entertainment media it's overwhelmingly true that most entertainment shows and films overwhelmingly show. Non-biblical family or sexuality as something to be extolled, sleeping around is fine. Breaking your marriage covenant is just the way everyone is. That's not the way everyone is and you don't need to live that way. But if that's your picture of what everyone else is doing, that is going to impact your views. Definitely. Yes, for sure. And talking about marriage and divorce Jesus responded very clearly that. Divorce is not allowed, but because of our hearts being so seared and hardened, in certain circumstances God would extend grace, but it is definitely not God's plan and it creates such a. An array of just terrible things for the family, for the children, what, we're supposed to be representing God's relationship on Earth. That's what marriage to institution is. Yeah. So that's just one example. But definitely we are called to be set apart and holy, which is separated. From the world. Thank you for sharing all that. And it's a true observation. I see that as well. And the pool is real with technology and the, the distractions that are, rampage right now, it's just at our fingertips. We can hear any message really. So I just wanna. Take a different direction. Many of our listeners here have experienced religious trauma, church hurt. How do we discern the difference between the voice of an unhealthy system, which you talk about and the true heart of Jesus? Because there is a spiritual battle, right? Yes. So there is gonna be hurt. Yes. So how do we discern. So that, that's really good. Ultimately I think it's the Holy Spirit who helps us discern, but I do think I do have a chapter on wisdom and you're so right. That I think Christians are called. Throughout the Bible it talks about cultivating wisdom. And I think godly wisdom starts first knowing the truth of the Bible, and then if you know the Holy Spirit is working within you, then God can convict or give you wisdom, but some sort of warning signs I think to look at that, that could be helpful. If. You there, there's something called syncretism, which is where, Christians are always tempted to mix and match their beliefs with the beliefs of the world. And so if you see that happening in your Christian community, that's a warning sign. I'd say if you see, certain forms of secrecy. I talk about it in the book. There, there are legitimate reasons why I say church leaders might not be able to talk about everything because there, there are legitimate reasons for confidentiality, but in some abusive church situations, confidentiality becomes a crutch to basically say, oh, don't ask questions. You don't have the right to ask questions, even though these things may not seem right to you. We don't have to explain to you. We don't have to, so I think when you encounter Christian leaders who perennially are trying to hide or say you don't have the right to even ask questions, especially in the local church level, then I think that's a real warning sign. I think it's a warning sign if people are so insecure that they basically shut people down for raising, heartfelt. Things that are based on the Bible now. Now I do say, constant carping at your church leaders or doing your own agenda. That's not godly. On the other hand I know when I was an elder. One of the things I most thought that I was called to do is if a fellow church member had a serious issue with the church leaders or with things to listen and hear them out and not just dismiss them. And, if I thought it didn't, it wasn't right. I tell them, but usually in my case, if they're really sincere, there was usually some element of truth to what they're saying that I needed to hear and that the church leaders needed to hear. And so if you have a leadership situation that are so defensive that anytime anyone raises anything that they just say, oh, you're being ungodly by doing that, and they just shut them down. I won't even listen. That's a real warning sign because that's not spiritually mature. And that is very controlling that's not godly. And so I think some of those things are. So again if there's syncretism where people are mixing and matching the, these secular non-biblical beliefs with the Bible, if they are using these secular methods of, that aren't godly to try to control people and are so insecure that they won't allow. Anyone to raise, iron sharpens iron according to the Bible. We need to be open to to correction from anyone. And so I think those are some things, ultimately as if, first you need to know the truth and be in the word because if you're not, then when there's some comes up, you may not even recognize it. But being in the word and and prayerfully asking God for wisdom, which it talks about in James and elsewhere in the Bible, I think are critical. Definitely yes. The Bible is what helps us discern from all the other messages out there and what God actually, says. Could you share a moment in your own journey when Jesus revealed himself as safe and set you free from something that once held you captive? Is there a process also that you could share with us to help with that? Yeah, great. Actually this relates to my book. So I talk in my book about my personal journey as a Christian faculty member at a institution that was going in a different direction and abandoning its historic focus. And that was hard'cause I joined that institution'cause I was really excited about. How it had stood as a light for Christ in actually the Pacific Northwest, which is very secular. But then in the 12 years I was there, it was going in different direction. And at one point I, I talk about how the board who were personally very devout people basically wouldn't stand up for the mission and institution, and I think made a choice. It was really wrong. That was hard for me to deal with and I had a lot of bitterness over the years over that because not so much over some of the fellow faculty members who were pushing, I think, in anti-biblical direction, because I think they really, they believed what they were doing even though it was wrong. And so I could understand that. But for these board members who were personally devout theologically, orthodox. Who knew what was right, but then weren't really willing to walk the walk or shepherd the institution, under their care. I had a hard time dealing with that, and it took a number of years and I'd say, it talks in the Bible and one, one verse that, don't let the root of bitterness go in you. And so I bring that to God and be praying that for God to take that away. And it did take a number of years, but I think I've largely, you by God's grace that been freed from that, I'm not bitter. Anymore and not don't, I had hard feelings over some of the administrators who were pushing in that wrong direction, and I don't that God has really taken that away. And so I would say that when you have those hard things, I. They often don't go away in the day. Sometimes God does miraculously take things away at once, but sometimes it is, oftentimes it is a process and you just need to keep relying on what the word says and also asking for God to, supernaturally do the change that we're not able to do. And yeah. Yes. And so you mentioned about these leaders, church leaders that know the truth and yet are unwilling. It reminded me of Acts two when Peter talks to the crowd and mentioned about being cut to the heart. If we're not teachable, if we're not cut to the heart and then repent, be baptized but the heart aspect being teachable, that was what separated us Christians from the Pharisees also, so praying for that, for other people. So yeah, praying for other people. And I think one of the things I tried and when I was writing my book, I was praying a lot about this, is that, that I was gonna be helpful and constructive and that I wasn't just because my book is, partly it exposes things, but a lot of it is how can we deal with this positively? And, and so I wasn't trying to wanna wallow in. Just the bad things happening and also being careful. I actually encourage people to read a book that was very influential to me. It's a tiny book by an author called Francis Schaefer. And he wrote a book called The Mark of a Christian and what So Appreciated and this was a formative influence on my life as when I was a young man. And then. Early in my career, which is Francis Schaeffer in the 1970s and eighties really stood up for Christian truth. But he had a real appreciation for how that could make you bitter. How that could make you judgmental in a bad way and self-righteous in a bad way. And so his book, the Mark of a Christian, which the mark of Christian is you love your fellow Christians. Was, is a great antidote to that. And so I've, that's something when actually when I taught at the Christian institution where I was at, I would also assign to students and we worked through it together because it was a great counterpoint. So I think truth is really important, but so is grace and that book really has helped, I'm certainly not perfect on this at all, but it, it's one of the things that helped keeping me. Questioning myself and say, am I really doing what I should do? You should stand for truth, but you need to do it in a, a gracious, loving way. And that book has always spurred me to keep asking that question. And so I do think. That, Christians need to be self, we all need to be self-reflective enough that even if we're right, that's not enough. We have to be right in the same way in, in the sa in God's, the spirit that God has for us. And so I think, we constantly need to ask God to help us see, are we standing up for truth in the right way? And ask for discernment or when to speak and when it's not gonna be received. Sometimes Paul fled, sometimes he preached sometimes it wasn't the right time to talk what are the, some of the most damaging false narratives that Christians tend to believe? Themselves or about God. And how can Scripture help entangle those lies and lead us ultimately toward transformation? Yeah so that's a big question. I think ultimately our biggest lies are either that we don't really, what we're doing when we send doesn't really matter because, but, or the flip side of that is that it matters so much. That, that we can never really be redeemed from it, which is a lie. And so I think that actually in my book, to go back to a case that we talked about earlier and you mentioned marriage and divorce, I think we actually see this in this. So on the one hand we have a lot of Christians who just poo having, sexual relations outside of marriage or cheating on your spouse or pornography or you name it. And they just, they don't think it's all that important. They look like the world. On the other hand, the other side of that is that you think, oh that say I've been divorced so God can't forgive me or redeem me. That's a lie. And so I think, we see this on the both hand that we're called to holiness because, not because God's a big, bad God who wants to bop us be. He loves us. And so we're called the holiness'cause. This leads to human flourishing. God loves us and so it's, but it's a really serious thing that we need to take seriously. On the other hand, when we do sin. Everything is covered by the blood of Christ if we repent. And so I think that you see there that need to both uphold. The truth and against the lies of our culture, where certainly when it comes to sex and family, those, that's one of the biggest areas of lies in our culture. Just that we see and so many people are hurt and the children who are hurt and the fellow spouses who are hurt. And so it's, that's one of the biggest lies. About, that it doesn't matter. But on the other side is, there can be an unrighteous self-righteousness of people looking down at people who have struggled with different sins whether it be same sex attractions, whether it be divorce, and not realizing that, that we have to faithfully proclaim that Jesus, first of all, we're all sinners, but that Jesus' blood covers. All of our sins and can redeem us. And and that's the great good news. And so they need to be held together. Thank you for sharing that. For someone listening today who feels trapped in fear or shame or religious pressure, what encouragement would you offer them? Today. Yeah. So I think a lot of very godly people are rightly feeling overwhelmed by all the evil they see in our culture. And that is, that, that, that is a real struggle. What I'd like to say is that if you're feeling that and you're wondering what can I even do, it's just so overwhelming. The evil is so overwhelming. Is to, I do have a chapter about this in my book that, ultimately God calls us to be faithful, not successful. We don't have the weight of the world on our shoulders. God does. And and it's interesting to look through human history since the original preaching of the gospel. Christians at many times. God is surprising in his providence and what he does. If you were a Christian in the early Roman Empire where Christians were being viciously persecuted you may well have thought oh, Christianity is going to die out and that everything's gonna be eradicated. But just on the cusp of that. God opened the hearts of so many people that in fact, Christianity became the main, faith of the Roman Empire. Now, I don't actually think state enforcer is a good thing, but the rise of it becoming, spreading out so fast was a great thing. If you look, say in, if you're a Christian in communist China near the, when the communists took over and they eradicated and killed many Christians and sent them to camps and things, you might have thought the cause of the gospel is dead. Now I. Christianity is one of the fa, probably the fastest growing religion in China. There are millions, tens of millions of Christians despite that. And so I think you need to look through human history. God is very surprising in his provinces, and that you really need to trust God and realize that he has our best, in store. And that he has, his planning is perfect and that we're not called ourselves. We're called to be faithful. But not necessarily successful. God will take care of success or failure in the terms that he, decides what true success is. And so I think that the biggest comfort is that God is ultimately in, in control and that we can trust him, and that we can see that throughout history. We can see that in our daily lives. And so I think that, that's the biggest comfort that God is faithful. That's so true. There's evidence of his power. And so focusing on these things instead of everything else that distract us is a great way to stay faithful to focus on the evidence of God's power in our lives and in this world. If you could leave our listeners with one truth about Jesus that has the power to set them free, what would it be? A challenging question. Yeah no. But what just came to mind right when you were saying that is in, in John 14 where Jesus says that he is the way, the truth to life, no one can come to the Father except through him. And many people have claimed throughout history that their ways to God and many people today in our society claim that they have different ways to God. I think you know the truth of understanding that Jesus is the way. The truth and the life. And that's the way to the father. I think that is, really powerful. And I think of actually a story. This is even something, to share with people who don't quite know that who are searching and who may wanna argue with you because I remember the story of Corey 10 Boom who helped actually sheltered Jews during World War II. Told where she once met a woman who in her travels'cause who was saying I don't really believe this. I don't, was trying to argue with things. And Corey Tebo said your argument really isn't with me. It's with Jesus. Jesus says he's the way, the truth in life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And that really struck in this woman's heart who was a cultural Christian in a way, but didn't really believe, in the truth. And, but when Corey Tambo sort of focused on Jesus made this claim so you know, you're not really arguing with me, you're arguing with Jesus that really helped really confront the woman and cut her to the heart to really realize that Jesus was. The person that she needed to be following. But so I, I do think that claiming that verse and re and really understanding all it means is a great, I think comfort and strength and points us in the right directions as Christians. I. Absolutely. There's no double standard. It's just very clear and thank you. That's very powerful. Where can we find your book and your teaching and learn more about what you're doing? Sure. The easiest way is for people to go to stockholm syndrome christianity.com. That's stockholm syndrome christianity.com. That has a lot more about my book. It has a lot of free resources. For example, if you're a Christian parent thinking about. Sending your kids to a Christian college but don't know. How do I evaluate that? I have 10 questions you can ask that will help you evaluate that. And that's, so like I said, there are lots of free resources. People don't even need to get my book. But I will say just one other thing. In my book, we didn't cover a lot on this, but I do have a whole section on. What are things that you can do, in raising your kids? And if you're a church board member yourself, if you're a pastor if you are just a person in the pews, how can you steward your resources? What can you do positively? Because there are things I think each of us can do wherever God has put us. Whatever our stage of life. Thank you so much. So that's easy. Just your website. I will put that in the show notes. Thank you for your time today. I really enjoyed speaking with you and I hope many will listen to this message and read your book and find your resources. Thank you. Thank you, Alexandra. This is was great. Thank you for having me on. Thank you. What a great conversation with Dr. John West. Here are some key takeaways that I'd like to leave you with. Number one, you can be sincere and still be captivated by culture. Many Christians don't realize how much their thinking has been shared by secular assumptions without grounding in scripture. It's easy to absorb cultural values that contradict. Biblical truth Number two. Spiritual maturity welcomes questions, churches and leaders that shut down honest, heartfelt questions in the name of unity or submission often reveal control, not Christlikeness. Real maturity, listens, discerns, and remains open to correction. Number three, truth must be held with love. John reminds us of Francis Schaffer's powerful line. The mark of a Christian is love for one another. If we fight for truth, but lose grace, we misrepresent the heart of Jesus. Number four, bitterness is a trap, but healing is possible through his own experience with disappointment In leadership, John shares how Jesus can gently root out bitterness and replace it with peace, even if healing takes time. Number five lies about sin. Keep people in bondage. Two lies often creep into Christian thinking, my sin doesn't really matter, or My sin is too big to be forgiven. Both are false. Jesus calls us to holiness and offers total forgiveness to the repentant heart. Number six, you're not called to carry the weight. God is, as John so powerfully puts it, you're not. Called to be successful, but to be faithful. God has a way of making a way even through impossible obstacles from the Roman Empire to modern day China. He has always preserved and grown his church in the most unlikely circumstances. Your role is not to save the world. It is to remain. Faithful in it. So if you're feeling overwhelmed by the darkness around you, don't give up. Fight for love, fight for faith, and trust that God will make a way. Ask yourself today, what can I do to bring God's light into this situation? Number seven, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. What a powerful ending. There is no other name by which we are saved boldly clinging to the truth of John 14. Verse six isn't narrow-minded. It's the most loving thing we can do in a world looking for every other path. If you want to explore John West's book. Stockholm Syndrome, Christianity, or access his free resources for parent pastors and believers trying to stand firm in this cultural moment. Visit stockholm syndrome christianity.com. I link it in the show notes. Friend, I hope this conversation stirred something in you, not fear or judgment, but clarity, conviction, or. And longing to live more deeply rooted in Christ. We are called to be the salt of the earth, but if we blend in with the world and allow other influences to shape us, we slowly drift back into bondage and spiritual slavery. But we have been set free in Christ. Let's remain free rooted in truth. Walking in the spirit and shining his light. If this stirred your hunger to understand God's word more deeply, I'd love to invite you to go even further. Check out episode five of Cures for Christ, where we explore how the Bible is many books telling one unified story. Episode 42 talks about interpreting scripture with tools like Exogenesis and Hermeneutics and Episode 45 unpacks. How to discern between. God's truth and cultural biases when reading the Bible. Now, let me read to you from Galatians five, verses 13 through 25. This chapter is called Life by the Spirit. You, my brothers and sisters were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather serve one another, humbly in love for the entire law's fulfilled in keeping this one command. Love your neighbor as yourself if you bite and devour each other. Watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say Walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh for the flesh desires. What is contrary to the spirit and the spirit? What is contrary to the flesh? They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want, but if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, which is patience, kindness, goodness. Faithfulness, gentleness and self-control against such things. There is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit. Let those words sink in. Let me close now with a prayer. Jesus, you are the way, the truth and the life. Help us live by your spirit and not by the desires of the flesh. Guard our hearts from compromise and draw us deeper into the freedom that comes only from abiding in you. Let us be salt and light in this generation, faithful to you, no matter the distractions or the pool of comparison. And when we feel weak, remind us we are not alone. You came before us. God, you understand what we are going through. You are always with us and you are enough, and I prayed all this in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen. Thank you so much for listening today. If this episode encourage you, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? Leave a review and join The Curious for Christ Community on Facebook where we continue to ask questions that lead us closer to Jesus. Until next time, stay curious, stay faithful, and stay free in Christ. Bye for now. Hi, I hope you enjoy today's episode. If so, would you like to take 30 seconds and share it with a friend who may also struggle with knowing God and his purpose for their life? Also, leave a review on Apple Podcast and let me know what topics you'd like to hear about in the future. Your voice matters. I'll meet you back next Friday. For another episode.