26 Ways We Talk Ourselves Out of Obeying God’s Word

I'll Be Honest - Christian Sermons

In this sermon, Tim Conway exposes 26 mental gymnastics we perform, 26 excuses we make after the sermon, and 26 ways we talk ourselves out of obeying God’s Word, even when convicted by its truth. Drawing from James 1:21-22, he’ll reveal the gap between hearing and doing, challenging us to move beyond mere conviction and into active obedience.

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0:00 Introduction and Reading Text
2:30 Where We Will Go Next Time: What is the Perfect Law of Liberty?
3:38 Have an Anger Problem or a Problem with Rampant Wickedness?
12:35 Be Hearers of the Word, Not Hearers Only
14:54 How Many Did Not Look in a Mirror Today?
24:49 The Mindset Behind Why People Hear and Don’t Do
26:11 1 – The Casual Listener
27:39 2 – Listening on Behalf of Someone Else
29:23 3 – Create a Category Where the Text Does Not Apply to Us
33:16 4 – We Wait for God to Do Something
34:12 5 – We Imagine Someone Else Is Going to Do It
36:06 6 – I Am Praying About It
37:16 7 – The Wretched Man Complex
38:17 8 – Always Looking for the Next Mentor or Counselor
39:52 9 – The Person Easily Offended and They Reason Themselves Out of Obeying
42:00 10 – Living on Past Obedience
43:41 11 – Living on Future Obedience
45:18 12 – Living on Someone Else’s Obedience
46:14 13 – The Imputed Righteousness Excuse
48:09 14 – It Is Just the Preacher Saying It, He Didn’t Prove It from the Bible
49:11 15 – Because of Exceptions to the Rule You Dismiss the Entire Obligation
51:23 16 – I Can’t Understand It, So I Don’t Need to Worry About It
52:21 17 – You Lie to Yourself About You Doing What You Are Not Truly Doing
53:28 18 – Others Do Not Obey So I Don’t Need To
53:58 19 – I Am Partially Obeying So It Is OK…
55:10 22 – Doctrine Instead of Obedience
55:39 23 – Discouraged by Past Failures
57:07 24 – Disobeying God by Obeying Man-Made Legalistic Commandments
57:36 25 – Or the Scriptures Are So Broad in an Area That You Miss Applying It
58:48 26 – I Am in a Trial So God Cannot Expect Me to Obey in That Area
1:00:20 Where Can I Run Faster for Christ?
1:03:08 27 – Our Mindset of American Christianity Makes Us Not Think Like the Bible Does
1:07:29 Closing Prayer