Understanding the Holy Spirit

Throughout the Church, there seems to be much teaching and doctrine about the Father, and certainly the Son, but the work of the Holy Spirit is oddly neglected.  To be sure, it is challenging. For however many and eloquent words we might employ to depict and discuss the Holy Spirit, we are inevitably left using material and human words to describe an altogether un-human being.  This leaves us inclined either to dig deeper into the Scriptures for clarification or simply to ignore teaching about the Holy Spirit entirely for fear of doing Him injustice.  Needless to say, the latter is unacceptable.  Instead, we should look at the opportunity to learn about God, His Holy Spirit, with joy and energy.

At the onset, the Holy Spirit is unique to Christianity.  Only Christianity teaches that God Himself, in His Holy Spirit, will actually descend upon and indwell believers.  This should excite us to know that God desires to indwell us with His very person so as to guide, to teach, and to grow us from the inside-out.  Because we are discussing a Spirit, we should be sure to consider a couple of points of clarification: we are referring to the Spirit not a material substance; we are talking about One who indwells within believers not everyone; and there is an emphasis in the New Testament, particularly Acts, for a baptism of or being filled by the Holy Spirit.  These three basic assertions form a trifecta of foundations supported and supplemented by the Word, specifically the New Testament.

While the Holy Spirit plays a major role in nearly all of the New Testament works, none more so than that of the Gospel of John and Acts.  More than any other writing does John chronicle Jesus specific teaching about the Holy Spirit.  For starters, people are to be baptized in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33), which equates to be born of the Spirit (John 3:5).  This can seem both odd and confusing, and has sparked much debate over what amounts to this baptism.  Luckily, Jesus does not leave us without reference about this, as chronicled by Luke throughout Acts.

In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father, "He said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'"  Jesus, quite clearly, tells the disciples that, though they had already been baptized with water and were believers, they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, just before Jesus ascends, in His final words to His disciples, He says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)."  The event Jesus prophesied is Pentecost (Acts 2:4), accompanied by the physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit, namely speaking in tongues and prophesying.

Much destructive and unbiblical teaching has been done on this subject, to the effect that the Church seems polarized.  In an effort to keep true to the Scripture and reserved, we can point out a couple of clear things about this.  For one, believers are to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.  These being two things, they do not necessarily mean two separate occasions; they could be simultaneous.  Secondly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the power of God.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit, we could believe all the right orthodoxy but never bear fruit.  In this far-too-normal scenario, we need to earnestly pray to receive the Holy Spirit who guides, counsels, teaches, helps us grow spiritual fruit and is the medium of worship (John 4:23; 14:15-18, 25-26; 16:4-15).

The other, and most controversial, aspect of the Holy Spirit that should not be neglected for fear of disrupting our denominational doctrines or sensibilities is in reference to the "sign" gifts: healing, miracles, prophecy, visions, and tongues.  In an effort to let the Word determine theology as opposed to the dire case of the reverse, it must be said unambiguously that these gifts are still in effect today.  We still live in the age of grace, and God still empowers believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit with these gifts and He still works in these ways today.

In the end, understanding who the Holy Spirit is, how He is received, and what He does within believers is essential teaching.  Certainly, it is challenging teaching that can convict and push us in unforeseen ways but this should not allow us to neglect it.  In closing, Paul indicates that the Holy Spirit "seals" our inheritance in the Father, and is a "guarantor" of our eternity (2 Cor.21-22; Eph. 1:13-14).  The purpose of this article has not been an exhaustive or comprehensive teaching on the Holy Spirit, but just a taste of the more important things that Christians need to be aware of.  Let us then pray to be baptized by the Holy Spirit so as to be empowered by God Himself!

Improving Our Devotion

Occasionally, far more often than I'd care to admit, I would rather watch television than read the Word of God.  And from time to time, sadly all-too frequently, I prefer to check my emails instead of spending time in prayer.  And sometimes, perhaps more than some, I feel more like staying home and relaxing than going out and serving.  And sporadically, maybe more regularly than that, prayer is something that I can do later until later never comes.

Truly, humans are far-more apt to neglect God in favor of ourselves.  We are expert excusers that can reason themselves in and out of anything.  So, while my musings of indifference towards God may be slightly caricatured, perhaps we are all guilty of preferring things other than the Lord.  Many times we may be afraid of sounding "too spiritual" or "obsessed with God." When, instead, we should be far more afraid of being indifferent or lukewarm in our devotion.

To be sure, God and the things of God are worth more than anything this world could offer.  No gold or  silver or trinket or gadget or relationship is more valuable than knowing the Lord and being in His presence.  Simply a taste of the goodness of the Holy Lord is of such satiation that we would nare seek any other satisfying source but Him.

But there are at least three distinct enemies to our devotion, which lurk around to distract and to pull us away from the presence of the Lord Almighty.  The first is our own selfishness, our pride.  It is pride that hinders our humility.  Pride prevents us from service because it is constantly self-seeking instead of self-denying.  In this case, the remedy to such a malady as pride is a sincere and constant reverence in fear of the Lord.  For if we recognize our minuteness before His awesomeness, we cannot but help to be humble in response.

The second and oft-overemphasized adversary to our devotion is Satan.  Satan is but a fisher with a tackle box of lures to entice humans to sin.  And when they fall prey to his seductions, he plays the accuser who prosecutes and persecutes those who have sinned.  The power that Satan possesses is neither omnipotent or infinite.  His power is both finite and contingent.  He only has the power to entice us if we give him that power.  Let us then not fall prey to his adulterous and idolatrous seductions by recognizing that he has no power that is not given to him by God and by ourselves.

The third opponent to our devotion is perchance the most dangerous of the three: our own penchant for indifference.  It is our comfortability with lukewarm devotion that is the greatest devastating enemy of all.  In truth, it is our own allowances and excuses that keep us away from the ardent devotion that God asks of us.  This is a challenging hurdle for us to overcome.  However, if we are to become the Christians that God asks of us, we need to take more seriously the call towards wholehearted devotion.  Far be it for us to ever grow weary of seeking the presence of God!  Let us then seek to cast aside every weight of pride, of Satan's enticements, and our indifference so as to draw closer to the Holy Lord in faith!

Sanctification Described

God loves.  More directly, God loves us.  He loves us so much that He condescended to the form of a man who lived a perfect, sinless life and took on the sin of mankind by dying a horrific, sacrificial atoning death upon a cross to be raised again on the third day.  Now, by confession and belief in the work of Christ Jesus, we may enter into relationship with the Holy Lord Almighty through faith, known simply as conversion.  While this is the entrance into the Christian life, there is much more.

While there are many post-conversion components to the Christian life, the most important is continual sanctification.  Sanctification refers to the lifelong process of growth and repentance by which believers grow to be more in the image of Christ.  At the onset, it must be asserted that sanctification is an endeavor that requires both the prompting of God and the intentionality worship of the believer.

As for the God part in sanctification, He provides believers with every good and necessary thing for us to grow in maturity to all godliness and faith (2 Pet. 1:3-4).  This is called equipping. God equips us with every item needed to grow in righteousness.  This means that believers have, already in their possession, all of the necessary elements required for sanctification.  The challenge is that many believers either do not accept what they have or they simply do not know how to wield the tools of sanctification.

In the first sense, believers not accepting or believing that they already possess the tools for sanctification is a matter of faith.  When we have faith that God has truly saved us and we have faith that He provides with everything needed to grow in maturity, we will overcome our doubt and grow in sanctification beyond our plateaued stagnation.

The second sense, not knowing how to wield the tools of sanctification, is a different deal altogether and is what sanctification is all about.  The tools of sanctification can be summarized into four basic components: prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and service.  Each of these things need to be done with intentionality by the Spirit in truth, love, and faith but they are all necessary for true and continued growth in sanctification.  Many people become very good at doing one or two of these things and, because of that, they reach plateaus in growth.  Therefore, in order for us to continue growing, once we become adept at wielding one element of sanctification we should strive in pursuit of the others.

To be sure, sanctification is process that is both difficult and lifelong.  It is not without joy, the joy of growing in and to the Holy Lord is a beautiful proposition and a worthy pursuit.  Therefore, we should all seek Him first and pursue, in faith, to become more like Him in Him.  Luckily, God has already provided us with everything we need to pursue Him.  Let us then run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us!

The Throne of God

The Holy Lord is the King over all creation.  Everything that is, that was, and that will ever be is under His command and His dominion.  His dominion is everlasting and sure.  He is called Yahweh, Elohim, Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Holy Father, Abba, and many more that can be summed up in one name: God.  He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, holy, righteous, just, merciful, and royal.  He is not limited by temporality or corporeality.  And, although for a time He condescended from His heavenly throne as the incarnate Christ, His throne is never, has never been, and will never be vacant.  He continually and eternally rules and His rulings are final and unalterable apart from His own good pleasure.

Although there are many parts of Scripture that deal with the Lord's Kingship and His dominion, particularly the Psalms (Psa. 11:4; 90-105, et al), however, nowhere is the throne room of God more directly described as in the revelation given to an exiled John.  In Revelation 4 we are given a glimpse of the panoply of majesty that is the throne room of God.  Jewels and gems of such blinding splendor and royal value are the meager words John employs as he is grasping to take in and describe the utter beauty of God as He is.  Two things immediately stand out in John's account.

The first is weight of majesty that encompasses this vision.  God, the Holy Lord of all creation, is wholly awesome.  There is no glibness or flippancy in the throne room, only awesome fear at the Lord.  In many ways we are given a sacred glimpse into a heavenly worship service.  This immediately carries over to the next observation.

Worship abounds in the throne room of God.  Continually the angelic beings praise Him, not because they are ordered to but because they cannot but worship the Lord.  Similarly, the 24 elders who sit on the thrones that encircle the throne room continually cast down their crowns before the Lord in submission and honor, recognizing that God is above all and worthy of all praise.  Not only is there no place for self-exaltation before the throne of God, it is impossible to exalt ourselves when we enter His presence.  Truly, truly, every time the presence of God is encountered in Scripture and history, the response is utterly naked humility at His glory.  Let us join the heavenly choir and add our praise to the beautiful cacophony to Him!

Forgiving the Self

Life is hard.  It is full of painful pits, twisting hairpins, unseeable snares, swirling storms, and countless other obstacles that impede our ability to walk the straight and narrow.  Because of the distinct and plentiful complications of life, sometimes, more often than we’d like to admit, we make poor decisions.  Tragically, the repercussions of poor decisions can be painful, if not outright destructive. 

Thankfully, because of sincere confession and belief in Christ, God forgives all of our poor decisions (Psa. 103:12; 1 John 1:9).  Handling missteps and snowballs of sin is not God’s business.  He is in the business of salvation and forgiveness.  However, we still have to deal with our past choices, especially the ones that have lingering scars of remembrance.  It is how we face those decisions, the good and bad, that can reveal something about our reliance on the Lord.

The past, our pasts, usually come to us in emotional vignettes: we remember specific episodes, how we felt, how we made others feel, etc.  These emotional memories, though not always pervasive, linger with us after God has forgiven us.  Simply put, God has forgiven us and, as we live in Him by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we live in His forgiveness.

 

This means that when we feel streams of regret and shame for past sin that has been forgiven, we are bringing up sin that God has already washed clean.  In a sense, replaying sin of the past is disbelief that we are truly forgiven because we, in our flesh, are not able to fully believe the depth of God’s forgiveness.

It is important to note that judgment, in the form of guilt, is always intended to draw us to repentance and sanctification.  When we feel a divine guilt that propels us to seek Him and to repair relationships, this is a beautiful thing.  However, if feelings of regret torment us and hinder our ability to draw closer to Him, we are not living in His grace but wallowing in our own fleshly weakness.  Instead, we must claim our forgiven identity.

Claiming an identity in Christ involves eschewing any and every sin that hinders our sanctification and prevents the Holy Spirit from entering every nook of our lives when every cranny already belongs to Him.  Regret is one of Satan’s ploys and most powerful tactics.  Remember, Satan is the great accuser who tempts people to sin and then perpetually accuses them of that sin (Rev. 12:10).

 

Whenever our pasts, the sin and bad decisions, accuses us with regret and guilt, it is not of God but is the enemy.  The only way to overcome his accusations is to, in the power of Jesus’ name, cast him out.  Remember, our identity is made new in Christ, so any regret of who we once were is not godly but is a hindrance to God’s holy work of sanctification in our lives.

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is marked out for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2).”  The casting aside of weight and sin does not only refer to the sins of now but also to our past sins.  Let us cast them aside and press forward in steadfastness and perseverance, keeping our gaze fixed on Christ and not allow ourselves to be distracted by ourselves.

Defending from Heresy

The Word of God is clear and perspicuous, meaning that it is accessible to all believers.  Conversely, it is not open to non-believers, because non-believers will not have eyes to see or ears to hear its truth apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Although any person with the ability to read can read the Bible, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that illuminates the Word as the divinely-inspired infallible truth that it is.

It is this "second" step of interpretation, the Spirit step, that is oft overlooked.  Without relying on the Holy Spirit to guide interpretation, particularly in regards to application and doctrine, heresy inevitably arises.  Heresy refers to any doctrine or teaching that stands in opposition to the teaching of the Bible.  It is important to note that Christians have been interpreting the Bible for some 20 centuries.  Thus, there is a wealth of tradition and orthodox teaching compiled that can help guide interpretation.

Although traditional doctrine should not be accepted uncritically, many very educated and highly intelligent interpreters have come and gone, leaving valuable Scriptural insights for future generations of believers.  For instance, Paul was one of the first Christian interpreters.  Romans is a veritable theological treatise on Scriptural (OT) interpretation in lieu of Jesus.  Similarly, the writer of Hebrews left an indispensable source of hermeneutical technique in his interpretations.  

These were some of the first people to look to the Hebrew Scriptures and interpret them Christologically, that is to say, through a Christ-centered lens.  Following the first century, there have been hundreds of important individuals that have left important and influential marks on interpretation: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, etc.  The work of these people, the traditions of interpretation they brought about, should be studied so that we can understand and make the most accurate interpretations possible.

Differences in interpretation will appear; however, when interpretative variants arise, we should not be quick to throw away the interpretations of the past.  For instance, in 19th century Germany, new "critical" approaches to interpretation arose.  Although the techniques were not wholly immoral or useless, they tended towards the very liberal and anti-orthodox.  Unfortunately, many believers were led so astray and liberalized by these techniques that their version of Christianity looked less like the church than it did the world and all its trimmings, thus heresy was formed.  In reaction, fundamentalists rose up to combat the liberal interpretive techniques and modern evangelicals are direct descendants of this reaction.

Paul, Peter, John, and the other first-century Church leaders also had to combat heresy.  In fact, fighting heresy is an essential part of the Christian life.  We, as image bearers of Jesus, must defend that which is essential and orthodox doctrine.  The basics are non-negotiable and should be defended vociferously: Jesus is the risen Son of God, a real human being who lived and died and resurrected so as to take on the sin of all mankind, and through confession and belief, believers are blessed with salvation and deliverance from sin.  Heresy should not be accepted but should be snuffed out.  However, throughout our defense of orthodoxy, we need to maintain the gentleness, kindness, and grace that is becoming of the children of God.

Rest for the Redeemed

Rest, a time of refreshment, relaxation, and recovery.  The seal of the Mosaic covenant was the keeping of the sabbath. The sabbath represented the seventh-day rest of creation.  On every seventh day the Israelites were reminded of God's sovereign work of creation.  Thus, the cycle of the week was a constant reminder of the Lord and the people's dependence on His provision and sovereignty.

The sabbath day was a day of rest but it served as much more than a mere "day off."  It was a theological construct.  On the sabbath, no work was to be done so that the people could focus on the Lord and His providence.  Sabbath rest was a requirement and a seal of the covenant but it was to be surpassed by another, Promised Rest, that was to accompany the Promised Land.  The Promised Land was to be paired with a Promised Rest.  Unfortunately, due to covenant infidelity, the Israelites never saw the fulfillment of the Promised Rest.

This understanding of rest was amended under the New Covenant.  The sabbath, and its theology, was changed by a new law, the law of Christ and grace.  Under this new law, the rest for believers is not cyclical in the same sense but it is determined and bestowed by the Lord (Matt. 11:28-29).  Rest is no longer dependent on the cycle of the week but is a constant state of being, a state of rest.  Our rest is wholly dependent on the Lord alone.  It is our reliance on the Lord that gives us our rest.

Additionally, the Promised Rest under Christ has a future fulfillment much like the Israelites' rest had a future fulfillment in the Promised Land.  For Christians, rest has its ultimate realization in the eternal presence of the Holy Lord.  This means that the rest we have now is only a part but to be made whole later in the Lord.

Rest, defined, refers to a time of relaxation and relief.  Rest is often understood in relation to a particular activity or time but, as has been shown, rest is not defined in terms of activities or times.  Rather, rest in Christ is a lifestyle, an attitude towards life itself, an utter reliance on the Lord.  Rest is then paired with our understandings of hope and peace.

In Christ, rest is not occasion-dependent but is continuous because it is based on our reliance on the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, Christians live in a state of rest because the Holy Spirit, who dwells within believers, is the giver of rest.  Rest is one of the beautiful gifts that God bestows.  Let us strive to live in the Spirit and thus live continuously in His rest.

Christ's Christmas

Some 2,000 years ago, in a small rural suburb of Jerusalem, a woman and her soon-to-be husband arrive at an inn but there is no vacancy available.  The woman, though a virgin, was quite pregnant and the baby's delivery imminent and near.

Months earlier, an angel of the Lord, Gabriel, had come to the woman and prophesied that the Lord Most High would descend upon her and she would bear a child, the Son of God, and that she would call His name, Jesus, meaning God saves.  The man she was betrothed to discovered that she was with child and, though he thought of divorcing her, when an angel came to him, in a dream, revealed that his betrothed's child was the Christ, the Messiah who would save all mankind from their sin.

At this time, near the end of the young woman's pregnancy, the emperor issued a decree requiring that everyone return to their ancestry's land to be censored.  The man took his pregnant fiance to the place of his ancestry, to Bethlehem.  The trip was arduous and long.  Upon arrival, the woman realized that it was time: she was going to deliver her child.

Although the inn was full, a man offered the couple a cave that served as a stable for livestock for them to stay in.  The woman delivered her child, an infant boy.  She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and placed him in a trough.

Meanwhile, shepherds nearby were watching their sheep by night as an angel of the Lord appeared before them and told them that in Bethlehem a child was born.  The angel told the shepherds to go to the town and to offer praises to the newborn as He was to be the Messiah, the savior of all mankind.  They left their flocks and the fields to find the couple and their child in the stable, the infant resting in a manger, wrapped in strips of cloth.  It was just how the angel had prophesied it to be.

The Christmas story is repeated yearly in the Christian calendar.  It is the beginning of Jesus' life and His ministry.  At this time, the 25th of December, let us take time to remember Christ, to remember the dozens of prophecies that were fulfilled in His birth, let alone His life.  A time to remember that God is sovereign and holy, and that He condescended into humanity for the purpose of redeeming His children from sin.  Now we can enter into right relationship with Him by Him and for Him.  Truly, this is what Christmas is all about.

New Law Theology

Shortly following the Exodus from Egypt, Yahweh established a new covenant: the Mosaic covenant.  The Mosaic covenant was established in the wilderness at Sinai.  At that moment, the covenant was given by the Lord to Israel through Moses.  The Mosaic covenant was God's desire to make a holy nation for Himself, a chosen and priestly nation.  

There were two major parts of this covenant that distinguished and sealed it: the Law, and the Sabbath.  The Sabbath served as a sign of the covenant, sealing it much like circumcision sealed the Abrahamic covenant.  More significant than the establishment of the Sabbath though was God's deliverance of the Law.  The Law was God's most significant revelation of His character in all of history up to that point and it came to dominate and define Israel.

A general synopsis and simplification of Mosaic Law would be that it is a revelation of God's holiness.  Mosaic Law is the majority content of the Pentateuch, especially Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.  It is often oversimplified to just the Ten Commandments but it entails much more.  The major theological thrust and purpose of the Law was to reveal God's character, particularly His holiness.

Holiness is defined in two ways: to be set apart and to be pure.  The Mosaic Law was a set of regulations for cleanliness and sacrifice, offerings that covered the sinfulness of man in order for man to come near the holy presence of God.  The problem with this was that the blood of bulls and goats is unable to cleanse sin or truly forgive iniquity; therefore, a holy offering had to be made.  Enter Christ.

Jesus became the perfect, sinless, spotless sacrificial lamb.  In a real sense, He was the final sacrifice under the Mosaic law.  He in fact abolished the law and made it obsolete by His death and resurrection (Col. 2:13-14; Heb 8; 10).  Now man can become holy by the blood of the holy lamb that is Christ.  Whereas the Mosaic covenant exposed the sinfulness of man but was unable to truly atone for sin, the New covenant, made in Jesus, atones for man's iniquity and restores the right relationship with the Lord that sin had broken.

The point is that the Mosaic law, its regulations and requirements, has been made obsolete in that it is no longer necessary to sacrifice bulls and goats to obtain the holiness of God. Now, holiness is attained through confession and belief in Jesus as God.  The Law does serve a purpose though.  It still reveals who God is as holy and perfect, pure and set apart.  

Although, thankfully, believers do not need to hold to the regulations of the Mosaic law as Israel did, the law still serves to expose sin.  The difference is that while the Mosaic system was unable to atone for the iniquity that it exposed, Christ, through His death and resurrection, has perfectly atoned for the sin that the law reveals.  Praise be to God that He would condescend into the world in order that we would be able to draw to Him by His righteousness!

Magnifying the Lord

Throughout the Scripture, particularly in Psalms, there is an attitude of praise presented in terms such as these: my soul magnifies/glorifies the Lord.  God is the focus of Christian life but how Christians handle that focal point is worth addressing.  The concept of soul magnification and God glorification is to be the content of this dialogue.

Magnification is an ocular term.  It refers to looking at something through a lens and making it more visible through magnification.  Physically, this happens through the use of lenses placed at particular angels and distances in order to reflect and refract light so that objects appear larger and with more definition that they would otherwise.  Think about binoculars.  The objects that we aim binoculars at become more visible and accessible images due to the effectiveness of the lenses within the binoculars.

In a spiritual sense, Christians are binoculars to the Lord.  We are meant to magnify the Lord and glorify His name.  Like ocular magnification, this happens through properly placed lenses.  The lenses of spiritual magnification are the Word and the Holy Spirit.  When we are in the Word and the Holy Spirit is working in us, we will magnify the Lord.  The Word and the Holy Spirit sanctify believers.  To continue the metaphor, sanctification is like replacing and cleaning the lenses of believers so that they work properly.

So, who do we magnify the Lord for, or, who is looking through the binoculars of our lives?  Simply put, the world.  We glorify and magnify the Lord because it is right and joyous to do so; however, the purpose is to draw the world to who He is.  A part of this is denying the natural tendencies to glorify and magnify ourselves.  In truth, we are only able to magnify one thing at a time; you can only aim the binoculars at one thing at a time to the denial of looking at other things.

Ultimately, we are commanded to worship Him at the denial of self.  This is beautiful.  We are conduits of His glory, meant to serve as walking magnifiers of who He is.  What a wonderful gift, that God would use such as us for His glory and purposes!

No Neutral Ground

There is no DMZ in the war of salvation.  There is no neutral ground where the unsure can sit and observe before making an informed decision.  God wants and requires a decision.  Either we believe in Him or we do not.  This is not ambiguous or unclear, it is absolute and straightforward.  There is a pervasive zeitgeist that posits agnosticism in a safe light; like, if you don't explicitly rule out God, then you could be safe.  This is wholly and dangerously incorrect.

The world and its ruler, Satan, wants more than anything to devour the souls of humans.  Satan has tried every tactic imaginable to trap and snare people.  His greatest and most effective strategy has always been deceit.  One of his greatest and most effective lies is the fallacy of neutral ground.  There is no neutral ground.  There are no spiritual bystanders.

Those that claim that they are not making a choice have already made a choice.  It is either belief or unbelief.  But there is more.  God is not concerned with whether or not we believe in Him.  Even the demons believe in God.  Believing in God is not enough.  No, we are called to believe God.  There is a significant difference between these two assertions.  Either we believe God, or we don't.  Pretending that we are considering believing God is worth the same as not believing.  There is no "almost" believing God.

A word picture is in order.  Think of a car that stalls on the railroad tracks.  The driver fights with the failing ignition to get the car started and off the tracks as he notices the train barreling towards the car, horns blaring.  The train will hit the car, it is a foreseeable reality.  There are two positions, only two possible choices in this situation: either the driver is on the tracks or off the tracks when the train arrives.  Only two choices.  However, while the reluctant car owner struggles to get their car started, he is already in one of the potential choices.

Similarly, while people are indecisive in belief, they are already in one of the two possible camps.  There is either belief or unbelief, there is no half-belief.  Condemnation or salvation, there is no partial-salvation.  The camp of agnosticism is firmly fixed within in the harbor of unbelief.  While people wait to make up their mind, they are already in one of the decisions.  Indecision is not a safe place.  To God, indecision is not safe; it is unbelief and considered as such.

God wants us to seek after Him and to devote ourselves to Him wholeheartedly.  There is one basic and foundational truth that all life should be based upon: God is God.  This seems circular but it is far from it.  God is both the Lord's name and His rank.  He is the faithful creator and sustainer of all creation.  He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and holy.  He is both just and merciful.  This is truth.  It is irreducible and basic.  Either we believe it or not.  No neutral ground.

The Power of Quiet

We live in a world where quiet and stillness are a priceless commodity.  We are constantly bombarded by noise and dissonance, distraction and diversion.  Finding time to be quiet or to enjoy the quiet is all the more important today than it has ever been.  Quiet.  Stillness.  The sense of liberation from urgency and freedom from the rush of this life to a place of quiet is essential.

Psalm 37:7, 46:10, and 62:1 speak of the importance of silence, of the quiet.  Quiet is not so much an environment as it is a state of mind.  It is easy to turn off the television and the phone, it is much more difficult to turn off our minds.  Quieting our thoughts is more than challenging, for some, it is nearly an impossible endeavor.

The focus should not be on completely silencing our thoughts to nothingness.  Simplification is the focus of the quiet.  Instead of grabbing hold of every thought that enters our minds, we should reduce the thoughts to one, simple, irreducible thought: the Lord is God.

This seems simple enough but it is the irreducible, perfect assertion that is the key to achieving biblical quietness.  Thinking is like building.  One thought adds on to another and to another, until an idea is formed.  These ideas then build upon each other in interrelation and the richness of the mind.  This is the noise and dissonance that biblical quietness seeks to overcome.  The goal of quietness is to tear down the building of thought in order that it may be remade on the firmest of foundations: God.

Quiet then is not based on the cacophony that is the external world.  Instead, biblical quietness is the noise of thoughts and ideas that fill our minds and cloud our ability to sense that irreducible, irreplaceable, and self-evident truth: that God is God.  Apart from this assertion, all life is useless and worthless.  It is this basic building block idea that goes on to inform and guide every thought that makes up our lives and our world views.  

The cornerstone, laid as the surest of foundations, is Christ (Psa. 118:22; Isa. 28:16; Eph. 2:19-20).  When we seek out the quiet, we are intentionally seeking to (re)assert that Christ is the cornerstone, not just of the church but of our lives.  Quiet does not happen passively.  Our fleshly selves is unable to achieve the quiet.  In reality, our fleshly selves is wholly opposed to the quiet because it is spiritually attained.  Therefore, seeking quiet is invaluable in the life of the believer.  Because it is in the quiet that we are reminded of that which is most important, God.

Taming the Tongue

The tongue is a tool, a small one at that.  But, like any tool, it can be used for good or bad.  Taming our tongues is one of those distinct challenges to Christian growth and sanctification.  James, in his epistle, spends a good deal of time discussing the immense importance that taming the tongue has for believers, especially teachers (James 3).  James describes the tongue in three basic ways: a bridle, a rudder, and a fire.

The tongue as a bridle.  Horses are mighty creatures, capable of remarkable feats of strength and of great endurance.  However, horses, in all their majestic strength, are controlled quite simply by placing the horse's head into a bridle and a bit in its mouth.  Thus a horse can be reined by its master.  Interesting that James would use a bridle as an indication of taming the tongue because, if we are the horses that are bridled, logically, we cannot simultaneously be the rider of the horse.  The master is God, the bridle is His Word.  Bible study and the Holy Spirit are to be the bridle that guides our tongues, taming them to be godly and true.

The tongue as a rudder.  When James describes the tongue as the rudder of a ship, he is rightly giving the tongue its due importance.  Although a ship can be massive and its rudder relatively small, the rudder  guides the ship, turning it to and fro.  In this way, the tongue is not the entirety of the ship but it can serve immensely important purposes.

Think of a ship just off harbor whose rudder chain is detached.  It will not be able to complete its mission.  Moreover, the rudder mechanism must be repaired and, if not done with urgency, the ship raises the risk of running ashore or adrift because it is unable to steer itself.  Similarly, the tongue has usefulness but if not connected properly to the Word and the Holy Spirit, can more often lead to disaster.  In this is it is so important to keep watch over the tongue because it is the wheel that steers the ship of our lives.  God is the one to turns the wheel and steers the ship but if our rudder is damaged or faulty, He cannot very well guide us to our intended courses without serious rudder repair.

The tongue as a fire.  Fire has definite uses.  However, fire has a tendency towards consumption and destruction.  James is quite clear that fire lends itself more towards destruction than building, although this is not fire's intended purpose.  Fire is intended to bring warmth and light to places of cold and darkness.  Similarly, our tongues are meant to bring warmth, healing, and light to a cold and dark world.  We can use our tongues to illuminate and refresh those around us or we can use our tongues to burn and destroy people and relationships.  Our tongues were given to us by the Lord for the former though the latter is our fleshly bent.

Acknowledging the enormous responsibility and power that our tongues yield is overwhelming.  It is a significant challenge to tame the tongue but one commanded by the Scriptures.  The hope is to form good habits that avoid slander, flippancy, insincerity, and rudeness while striving for grace, kindness, and gentleness.  Jesus is our example.  He was kind and gentle even unto death.  Although He often called the unrepentant to the task, He maintained a sense of grace and gentleness throughout.  This should be our intention in taming our tongues: to be honest and honestly gracious.

Struggle for Sanctification

Sanctification is hard.  Sanctification is the process of growth by which believers are made into the image and likeness of Jesus.  It is a life-long journey, one in which we assess who we are in light of His Word, repent of that which is not inline with it, and fix our eyes upon Jesus' example.  What makes sanctification so challenging is that we start to see ourselves clearly and honestly.  This can be utterly devastating.

Getting face-to-face with those parts of ourselves that are opposed to Christ is what sanctification is all about.  Unfortunately, this means that we have to confront what is most undesirable within our own depths.  More than unsettling, this is terrifying.  In each of us, behind the layers of propriety and pretense, each of us has a root sin nature.  It is this sin nature that tugs and pulls us to make poor decisions.  Sanctification seeks to strike at the root of sin with the axe of the Word, cutting out the parts of ourselves that are at odds with Christ's desires.

Sanctification is God's work.  He does it by the power of His Word and the action of the Holy Spirit (John 15:3; 17:17; 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Thes. 2:13).  Practically speaking, there is a two-part method in dealing with the Word.  First, consistent reading and disciplined, guided interpretation is essential to mine the wealth of riches that is the Word.  Second, the principles and truths of the Bible must be applied to our lives.  In both of these steps, the Holy Spirit guides and causes everything to occur.  However, we do play a role in the process.  We are to be obedient and active in the process.

The process of sanctification is what separates mature Christians from immature Christians.  Apart from  sanctification, no believer can grow into the person God intends them to be.  It is this process that helps us develop beyond our current state and past the stumbling block that is our sin nature.  The Lord wants so much for us and He promises to deliver us from our lowly states.

He wants us to devote ourselves to Him, hook, line, and sinker.  The difficulty is that it requires us to address the reality of ourselves in light of what God wants of and for us.  This tough and crippling.  Luckily, the Lord heals us by His Word and helps us to overcome our shortcomings.  Praise be to God, for He is the plumb line to guide our ways!

Holy Humility

Humility is hard.  It goes against every natural impulse.  Putting away pride and selfish ambition is part of humility but true humility is so much more.  It is not just an attitude, it is a way of life.  In many ways, humility should be though of as a constant anti-self that rubs against the natural grain of who we are.  There is a discipline to humility but, at its core, true humility is about imitating Christ.

Jesus is the Son of God, the second member of the trinity, and the Word by which all of creation came into existence.  He is the radiance of God's glory (Heb. 1:3-4).  God, in His infinite sovereignty and plan, had Jesus condescend into human form.  Jesus eschewed His infinite and eternal divinity to become a man.  Born of a virgin out of wedlock, He became the illegitimate stepson of a carpenter.  He lived a low-income, rural existence.  In His adulthood, He spent His time with reprobates and societal dregs.  Ultimately, He was tried, convicted, beaten, and crucified fraudulently.  True humility.

When we think of humility, Jesus is to be our example.  This is a steep example to strive towards.  Even though Jesus is, in His very nature, God, He made Himself lower than all in order to save all (Phil. 2:5-7).  There is simply no place in Christianity for pride.  If Christ truly is our example, then we are to be conformed to His likeness in humility.

Jesus tells us that those who wish to be first will make themselves servants of all (Mark 9:35Luke 18:9-14; 22:24-27.  Moreover, Jesus tells us that we should not seek the praise that comes from man but should only earnestly seek affirmation from our Lord (John 5:44).  In this way, Jesus is telling us that humility is about serving God because it is right, not for accolades or self-exaltation.  Rather, everything we do is to be like a street sign that points to Him.  Exalting the Lord should be our goal.  

Needless to say, humility is difficult.  But we should not let the task daunt us from what is required.  Also, God lifts up those who put themselves low.  The old adage: "God helps those who help themselves" is not Scriptural in the least (it's Benjamin Franklin).  Instead, He helps those who seek after Him first.  Humility is about seeking after Him first.  It can be painful but it is right.  And, humility has a funny way of blessing us when we least suspect it.  Because we won't be looking for accolades, when we receive encouragement, it will be like a wind that refreshes the soul.  Praise God through whom all humility comes.

Powerful Meditation

Focused mediation is of vast importance to the Christian life.  Throughout the Scripture, particularly the Psalms, meditation is exhorted and exalted as a primary function and pursuit of believers (Psa. 1:1-2; et al).  Because of the literary real estate given to the importance and role of meditation in the life of believers, it is worth examination.

In preparation for the wandering Israelites entering the Promised Land, Joshua explains the purpose and the practice of meditation (Jos. 1:8).  Meditation is to focused on the Word of God, day and night, for it will guide the way and prevent waywardness.  Joshua also adds that meditation can have significant and prosperously positive effects.

Because of the historical context of this bold plea by Joshua prior to entering Canaan and destroying the inhabitants, it is striking that Joshua would point to the importance of maintaining meditation.  The Israelites were about to enter into a fierce genocidal wartime in which, with God as their great King and commander, they would vanquish the Canaanites and finally inhabit the Promised Land.  Still, Joshua tells the Israelites that the measure of success that will be portioned to them will be in relation to their constant meditation on the law.  This has immense importance.

If we, as Christians, are to be sojourners in this world, then we are not unlike the Israelites.  Also, the principle at play in Joshua's time is still at play today.  The degree of our growth in the Christian life is in direct proportion to how much effort we are putting into it.  It makes sense.  If we are truly meditating on (inputing) the Word of God and His will, we will naturally begin to output the Word and will of the Lord.

A word here about technique is in order.  Since the middle of the 20th century, when eastern philosophy made huge inroads into western college campuses, our understanding of meditation has been dominated by an eastern, buddhist identity.  This is not biblical meditation.  In eastern meditation, the goal is nothingness; it is a meditative process of severing self and holding no thought.  Through this process of deconstruction, enlightenment and inner peace is achieved.  Quite literally, the object of eastern meditation is nothing.

In contrast, biblical, godly meditation has the Lord as its focus.  The process of biblical meditation is to focus on the Lord and His Word for the purpose of growing closer to His Son, Jesus.  There is a clear object of meditation: God.  If meditation does not have God as its object it is not only useless, it is sin. It is sin because we are not using our God given faculties and capacities for their intended purposes.

At the final analysis, meditation is a necessary practice for Christians.  It takes dedicated time. The amount of time is not important because we are to be doing it all the time.  The reality is that it was probably easier to spend all day in meditation in an agrarian society that lacked much social contact.  Unfortunately, in our corporate, service-focused world, interpersonal communication is seemingly unavoidable.  This presents definite issues for meditation.  For this, remember that the goal of Christian life is to be God-centered.

Practically speaking, this means that even when we may not be able to meditate continuously on the Word of God, we will be disciplined as to keep our focus on Him throughout our interpersonal communications and will be thinking about Him as much as is possible.  This is not an easy teaching but again, we should not ever allow the challenges reckoned by the Christian life detour us from striving towards a better, more biblical Christianity.

Right Thinking

One of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life is controlling our thoughts.  Out of our thoughts come our actions.  Out of thinking comes sin.  In fact, even wrong thinking is sin (Matt. 5).  It is not enough to know the truth, we must cultivate a mind that thinks the truth, that thinks right.  Right thinking is not only a matter of content but also of methodology.  When we are thinking about right things, we should make sure we are thinking about them rightly.

In regards to content, right thinking must involve the Lord.  If we are not thinking about the Lord and His will, then He is not filling the most intimate parts of ourselves.  No one can know a man but the spirit of that man (2 Cor. 2:11).  We must "let" the Lord into our thoughts.  Moreover, the thoughts of man are to be the lamp of the Lord, the place of residence of the Lord Most High (Pro. 20:27).  Because of this we need to be on guard as to what we let into our minds as what dwells in our minds becomes us.  If we dwell on lust, lust becomes us as it does with anger, worry, malice, conceit, pride, etc.  What we allow our thoughts to linger upon is of great importance and has significant ramifications, good or bad, depending on the content thereof.

The content that we fill our minds with can be quite revealing to the state of our sanctification.  If our thoughts are constantly on wickedness, pride, lust, ungodliness, etc. then we are not letting the Holy Spirit in.  More profoundly, if our thoughts are wicked, our whole selves are too (Pro. 15:26).  In contrast, if we truly are being sanctified, we will be thinking about godly things, our thoughts will be spent on the Word, and we will be equipped to discern the good and perfect will of God (Pro. 16:20).  If this is insufficient to compel us to use our intelectual faculties to think about godly things, the apostle Paul exhorts believers to only think about that which matters (Phil. 4:8).

Additionally, the methodology of our thinking should also be under examination.  The Word should be the focal and aim of our whole beings, including our minds.  Our thinking should be determined and molded by the Scripture, never the other way around.  The Bible determines what we think, what we think should never determine what the Bible says.  This means that we encounter the Word with a discipline to be malleable to it.  This is extremely challenging because we can be very emotionally attached to what we think about Scripture, to dogma.  This is dangerous.

Dogma has a way of letting us see only what fits that dogma and justifying that which disagrees with it.  Instead, we should be humble enough to come to the Word with a childlike sense of wonder, acknowledging that the Word has its own rules.  This means that we will be willing to change with the Word and not be so stiff as to not allow the Word to do its sanctifying work.

Right thinking is part and parcel to righteousness.  As righteousness is only found in Jesus, then right thinking must be Christ-centered and Christ-like.  Again, we are image-bearers of Jesus and are being transformed into the Word.  It is not enough to merely read the Scriptures, we are to become the Scriptures.  This takes discipline of the mind as to replace the fleshly-thinking of world with the right-thinking of the Lord.  In order to be like Christ we need to think like Christ.  This does not and cannot happen apart from Bible study and the work of the Holy Spirit.  But it is not to be an arduous or undesirable change in thinking.  In fact, having our thoughts change to the thoughts of the Lord is extremely beautiful and such a blessing.

The Great Sustainer

God created and sustains all of the universe through His Word, which is Jesus (Psa 33:6; John 1:1-3;  Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2).  Nothing that has been made has been made without Him.  This is hard teaching but it is one of the most fundamental truths in all of Scripture, continually reaffirmed and asserted; God is the great creator, and He sustains His creation by and through His Son, Jesus.

God is our Great Sustainer.  He sustains creation.  Logically, this means that all of creation is kept and held by Him from moment to moment.  This is not just in terms of sheer matter, but also, and more importantly, He sustains us spiritually.

In Calvinism, spiritual sustaining is oft referred to as the perseverance of the saints.  Simply put, God keeps and sustains those who are His.  God protects and prompts the spiritual status and growth of believers.  He accomplishes this purpose by propelling the spiritual growth of His children by His Word and the Holy Spirit, but He also acts in propelling the obedience of His children.

Salvation is certain in Christ.  That being said, salvation is not and cannot be guaranteed apart from believers adhering to His will.  "Once saved, always saved," is a common and pervasive heresy that should be quickly and decisively thrown out for the blasphemy it is.  On the contrary, the biblical account of salvation is quite clear that salvation can be lost due to disobedience to Christ (Matt. 7:21; John 15; Rom. 8; Col. 1:21-23; Gal. 5:4;  Heb. 10:26-29; Jam. 5:19-20).

The last two verses, Heb. 10:26-29 and Jam. 5:19-20, speak to this provocative truth directly.  If we do not follow-up our belief with a life that conforms to the mind of Christ and the will of the Holy Spirit and the Holiness of God, then we will not be saved.  There are conditions to the New Covenant which is in Christ (Jer. 33:31; Heb. 10).  Luckily, we have the Holy Spirit, an advocate and helper that sustains us so that we can meet those conditions.  Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is not working in our hearts, minds, and lives, we will not be sustained.

This is challenging doctrine.  Our salvation is sustained and secure only in Him but it is made faulty and tenuous only in us.  The conditional requirements of the Covenant of Christ are, in their minimum: confession, belief, repentance, and sanctification.  In each of these steps, the Lord is the center and sustainer.  The Lord, by the Holy Spirit, reveals sin which causes confession.  He is the object of belief.  He is the holy Lord who we repent towards as we repent away from ourselves. And He is the powerful working sanctifier who works in the lives of believers, continually causing growth in holy consecration.

Therefore, God truly sustains His children.  We, as His children, simply need to believe in who He is and act out that faith by obedience and discipline to Him.  He is our Great Sustainer and should be understood and praised for it.  We, as His agents, serve purposes in sustaining by our obedience to His Word and in adhering to its requirements.  By this, we are truly sustained in every circumstance, we are kept through every hardship, and we are continually being remade in His likeness.  This is the ultimate goal of sustaining: that we may be kept in Him, at all times, and in all things.  Praise be to God!  For He sustains His children!

Useful Memory

Memory is an essential part of life because much of wisdom is learning from the past. Peter’s second letter is a treatise on remembering.  Memory can be a powerful ally in keeping us focused, or it can be a fearsome, overpowering foe that weighs us down with regret and shame.  Which role our memories play on the stage of our lives is dependent on both the memories we focus on as well as our attitudes towards our memories.

Every believer is to be born-again (John 3).  If we do not fully understand this basic truth then we will not receive the full riches of Christ.  To be born-again is not just a spiritual change; it is a whole transformation, body, mind, and soul.  It is not a latent, reactive change but is proactive and dynamic.  

The transformation referred to as “born-again” is describing a return to the intended relationship for man and God.  When we are born again, we are consciously marking a turning point in our lives, as in, from here on out everything is different.  Although we begin our new lives at conversion, we are still informed and entrenched by our previous lives.  Enter memory.

The lives we once lived before our conversions remain with us.  We carry the memories of our previous life with us wherever we go.  It is how we think about that life that determines whether we treat our memories as baggage or as grace.  If remembering our previous selves only arouses feelings of remorse or shame, then we are not set free from sin as we should be.  Christ’s work destroyed sin’s grip on our lives, even our memories.  

Instead of feeling guilt when we remember who we were before being born-again, we should view who we previously were as a testament to God’s grace.  When we think of how truly wretched and abased we were before we gave ourselves to the Lord, it should only spurn us to greater devotion.  Acknowledging the reality that only in and through Christ do we have any worth is the purpose of remembering.  Our memories should never haunt us but should act as a catalyst to greater and deeper dependence on Jesus.  

Additionally, memories of our previous lives serve significant purposes in evangelism.  The fact that every believer came from a place of unbelief to a redeemed state of belief means that our previous lives are assets and bridges that allow us to speak honestly about Christ to unbelievers.  We can meet unbelievers where they are because we were once there too.  Therefore, we should be so thankful, and recognize not only that God has saved us through the work of Jesus, but what He saved us from.  In conclusion, praise be to Yahweh for He has saved us from much and brought us to so much more!

Relationship Restoration

Restoration is a return to a previous pristine state.  We speak of restoration referring to the end result of cleaning and shining so that what has become dirty and in disrepair is brought back to its original luster and usefulness.  Jesus is the Great Restorer who restores broken and rusted humans to a previous state of glimmer and intent.

As a concept, restoration makes sense, but it is the reality of its application that can be challenging.  To say that God is our restorer means that He is the One who cleans, fixes, and restores us to a previous state of shimmer and worth.  Implied in this is the fact that we are not in this state currently and we are in need of restoration.  The first step to this is understanding what we are being restored to.

Creation was perfect.  At creation, God deemed that everything was good.  It was at the Fall (Gen. 3) when creation fell into less-than-perfect status.  Before the Fall, mankind was in perfect relationship and communion with God, we were naked, free, and unashamed.  The tragedy of the Fall has nothing to do with the benefits and blessings of Eden that were lost.  No.  The heartbreak of the Fall was that mankind, because of unfaithfulness and disobedience, was no longer able to have perfect relationship and communion with the Lord Almighty.  This is what is restored.

Jesus is our restorer.  It is through the torn veil of Jesus' flesh that our relationship is restored to its original state.  For those who have tasted Christ, this is what continually draws us to Him.  When Jesus bore the burden of our sin and guilt upon the cross, He restored our broken relationship with the Lord to its intended origins.  By delivering us and saving us from our sin, He tore down the wall that separated man from God.  Because of this, we can have the intended relationship of communion with the Lord.

When we are restored to a right relationship with the Lord because of the work of Jesus it is imperative that we maintain our restored state.  This means sustaining our focus on the One who, by His Passion, restores.  Our first state of disrepair and tarnish was as a result of Adam's sin.  But Adam's sin was overcome by Christ's work on the cross, which is applied to humans by confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9).  However, once we become believers, it is our responsibility to prevent any corrosive element to enter in and rust our restored right relationship.

Because of our natural compulsion to entropy and towards corrosion, a constant and consistent awareness of the state-of-affairs in our relationship to God through Christ is essential and necessary.  As Jesus is our restorer, if we ever find that we are not focused on Him and we fall into neglect, we can easily backslide into rust, disuse, and ruin.  It is only when we remain focused on Jesus, our Great Restorer, that we will be able to maintain the right relationship that was intended at creation.