The transforming work of grace in our lives is a thinking transformation as much as and more than it is a transformation of our actions. The Scriptures speak to this over and over:

Ro. 6:10-11 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Ro. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

1 Cor. 2:12 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

2 Cor. 4:3-4 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The reason we can't "think our way to a pure heart" is because our reasoning is fallen in the first place; the noetic affect of sin. Adam and Eve thought illogically about Satan's temptation and plunged humanity into ignorance and slavery. Grace restores us to God's image, of which logical thinking is a part. Logic is how God thinks; Christianity is the training of the mind to think God's thoughts after him.

And apart from logical thinking, you can't even begin to read the Scriptures or believe the gospel. Faith is not where logic ends — the two are entirely complimentary.

I'm not sure anyone, however logical or illogical in their thinking, tries to "beat sin with logic" — anyone with an understanding of reason in the context of the Christian experience knows its place is not to replace grace or anything like that. They are complimentary. Without logic and rationality you cannot, for example, gain one bit of knowledge from the Scriptures or know what grace even is.

The transforming work of grace in our lives is a thinking transformation as much as and more than it is a transformation of our actions. The Scriptures speak to this over and over:

Ro. 6:10-11 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Ro. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

1 Cor. 2:12 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

2 Cor. 4:3-4 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The reason we can't "think our way to a pure heart" is because our reasoning is fallen in the first place; the noetic affect of sin. Adam and Eve thought illogically about Satan's temptation and plunged humanity into ignorance and slavery. Grace restores us to God's image, of which logical thinking is a part. Logic is how God thinks, and Christianity is the training of the mind to think God's thoughts after him.

And apart from logical thinking, you can't even begin to read the Scriptures or believe the gospel. Faith is not where logic ends — the two are entirely complimentary.

What an incredible God we serve… one who gives us unending grace.

Oh, I tried other things. Fruits. Vegetables. All the stuff they told me I should be doing. But let's be honest here. This is a safe space.

Logically, I know that cookies are not good for me (they're a sometimes food). I know that fruits and veggies are healthier. But I can't help it. One empty bag of Oreos, and suddenly, "Did someone say, 'COOKIEEEE?!?!"

C is for cookie. That's good enough for me.

Sincerely,
An honest celebrity

I do not understand the connect to Jesus Christ.

Also, let's go to grace and grace, alone. Yes, I agree with that statement. But homeboy, it sounds like you're just saying, "Well, sin is pretty powerful. Guess I should just cheat on my wife! Grace and grace alone!"

NO!!!

Yes, we are all human. Yes, we all sin. But, yes, we all have a CHOICE. Cheating on your wife or neglecting your kids is a CHOICE. That is what makes it sinful. And by recognizing that something is sinful and realizing that we have choices, we can work toward healing. This is very much a fundamental part of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We are called to glorify God, and by acknowledging that yes, we are human, and we are sinful, and we will always make mistakes, but choosing to take responsibility for our sinfulness and work towards making choices, we offer in our own small, human way, glory to God.