All this week we've been thinking together about a letter written by the famous English

hymn writer John Newton. In his collected works it's actually got a title on some blemishes

in Christian character. If I remember rightly Newton talks about seven different characters

and we've thought only about a few of them. But if you've been listening perhaps you've

recognized yourself or at least parts of yourself in one or other of these characters.

And I want as now as we come towards the end of the week to ask the question, if I recognize

a blemish in my Christian character, something that seems to obscure the grace and graciousness

of Jesus Christ, is there a remedy? Is there a pathway I can follow to spiritual transformation?

Now you know that being a Christian isn't a matter of following a checklist, but the

scriptures are full of very helpful and very wise directives for us to follow. And I want

to suggest a few principles. The first is this. Whatever you come to realize is distorting the

image of the Lord Jesus in you. Be sure to give it a name. I think it's part of the wisdom of

John Newton that when he described these people he specified their name. And in fact that's what

Scripture does. Scripture encourages us to confess our faults, but Scripture actually encourages us

also not to be vague about them, to confess our faults in general, but to specify them, to give them

names. It's always intrigued me that in Ephesians 5 the Apostle class says there are things that

shouldn't be named among believers, and yet in Colossians 3 verse 5 he actually names those very

things. What explains the paradox? It's this. If we don't have a clear sight of the target that we

want to destroy in our lives, then we will miss it. Unless we confess to the Lord, Lord the blemish on

my Christian character and walk is called whatever it is. It's unlikely that we really will be

delivered from it. So we need to learn to name the distortion. Here's a second principle I think

that's helpful. Write down the name of the opposite grace of your blemish. Write down on a

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