Defilement of flesh and spirit

One of the sad things about the condition of the church today is the reality of defilement among the saints. Paul warns of defilement of flesh and of spirit (2Cor 7:1) meaning that it is not just the deeds of the flesh that we can be involved in. Defilement of the spirit is much more subtle and it can manifest as a lack of desire or an unwillingness to move on with God. It could arise from a tilt towards worldliness or some kind of rebellious attitude that is not easy to discern. Whatever the defilement, it has to be identified and cleared away. In the Old Testament, there is a clear distinction between unintentional and defiant sins. Even if it is an unintentional sin, when he comes to know it, he needs to offer the sacrifice and complete the cleansing. 
One of the sure signs of defilement that is still persisting, is the lack of confidence that one has in prayer. There is a sense of guilt that is still around and therefore the saint begins to ask for forgiveness as soon as he starts to petition for something. He feels that his prayer won't be answered. He senses a hindrance somewhere. The Holy Spirit is not giving him a boldness to ask and receive. The saint needs to understand that he is losing a great deal if he is unwilling to search his own heart. We not only have unanswered prayers but we even miss out on knowing what to ask. The Spirit of God should help us in our weakness (Rom 8:26).

Pride in being 'unworldly'

The enemy that we call the ‘world’ is an elusive one. We even fail to define it properly. How can we fight an enemy that we cannot even see? 1^st John warns us not to LOVE the world or the things of this world. And yet because we are living in this world and making use of it, how do we know when it is that our involvement with the world borders on loving the world? Everything that I am involved in regarding the world, seem to be necessary aspects of life and living.

But John is very clear in defining worldliness. He tells us that everything in the world that provokes the lust of the flesh, that arouses the lust of the eyes or that motivates the pride of life is to be refused and that too - on a consistent basis. When Eve saw ‘that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise’, she ate of it, knowing fully well that she was disobeying a clear commandment of God. Now the thing to take note of is that these three things work at different levels and are independent of each other. You may not give in at all to the lusts of the eyes or may refuse the lusts of the flesh, but what about the pride of life? Many of us take pride in not being 'worldly' in the aspect of its lusts but the boastful pride of life is equally part of being worldly. That attitude in us that prevents us from giving glory to God is the heart of worldliness and yet very few are able to discern it.