Month: September 2018

Beware false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15)

Father, grant us your Spirit to discern our hearts and the hearts of others. 

Christians are new creatures in Christ, sanctified and made clean through our Savior. Yet Christians still struggle with sin. We do not always find it easy to live out our identity in Christ. The past several weeks I have given some principles to help us in our fight for holiness.

I now want to address a related question. If Christians still sin, how do we tell the difference between a genuine Christian wrestling with sin and an imposter who claims to follow Christ? On the outside, both people may look the same, but one is a mushroom and the other a toadstool.   Here are some principles to look for:

1.  Is the person engaged in the fight? In a war, sometimes you know who is on your side not by looking at who is winning or losing but by looking at who is fighting whom. Imelda may have lesbian attractions and even give in to them, but is she fighting? Does she acknowledge the sin and truly want to change? Or does she justify her sin and live in it without a fight? Those are two different people. Christians don’t have to win every battle, but they do have to fight, even when they lose their battles. When you sin, get up, confess, be clean in Christ, rest in Him, and move on. Our response to our sin reveals much about who we are.   Genuine Christians take responsibility for their sin and actively pursue righteousness in Christ.
2. Has the person changed in any way? Christ changes us. Plain and simple. He may not change everything all at once, but He does change some things. So perhaps Kellen still has that temper of his. Have you seen changes in other aspects of his life? Sometimes we expect God to work on the things that are on our list, but God does not consult us when he deals with Kellen. Maybe you have noticed that Kellen has gained much peace concerning the work situation that he used to be so worried about. Maybe he has a desire to seek forgiveness from someone he has hurt. These are significant changes even if they may not be the change you were looking for.
3. Do you see positive change over time? Sometimes we want everything now. Maybe you notice no difference in Kellen’s temper, but give him five years. Or ten. Or thirty. God does not always work on our timetable. To God thirty years is a millisecond. So God had to wait a millisecond to change Kellen’s temper. Big deal.
4. Do you see negative change over time? Time is one of the great tests of faith. Some seed fell on rocky soil and it quickly sprang up, but when the sun beat down on it, it withered because it had no root. And other seed fell among thorns, but the thorns grew up and choked them out (Matt 13). Understand that in the beginning stages, genuine Christians and imposters look more alike than they do thirty years later. Genuine faith lasts, and time has a way of weeding out many imposters. I don’t mean that everyone who has been in church his whole life is a Christian. Heavens no. But sometimes we have to wait to see how sincere people are. Samantha may be exuberant for Christ in her first years. But where is she twenty years later? That is a clearer indicator than her exuberance in the beginning.
5. What is the heart like? Jesus wants the heart. As much as possible, we need to get beyond external sin struggles like anger or sexual sin and perceive the heart in the midst of those struggles. This type of perception requires the Holy Spirit. It means we have to walk with Christ ourselves. It does no good for an unregenerate person to apply the principles listed here. That person does not have the Spirit and, thus, will be limited in what he or she can see. We must walk in the Spirit of God to apply the principles of God.
6. What is the doctrine? Right hearts want right doctrine. Wrong doctrine is a heart issue. Therefore, does this person accept the plain teachings of Scripture? Or does he dance around texts to deny the plain teaching of Scripture?
7. Where are this person’s priorities? This person claims to be a Christian, but does she live for money? For entertainment? For comfort? For a job? Or is she willing to sacrifice those things for the kingdom of God?  Now, make no mistake. Christians struggle with money, entertainment, and the rest, but you want to look at a person’s priorities over time and not necessarily over a season. And you want to look at whether this person struggles with these issues or just blindly lives for them.

Everything I have said is meant to be a guiding principle and not a lock down law. Life is messy, and sometimes you can’t tell the difference between a genuine Christian and an imposter. And that’s OK. Stay in the fight and walk with God. As John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (III Jn 4)

Fight the good fight of the faith (I Tim 6:12)

Father, take my mind off of this world and put it squarely on your precious Word.

We are victorious in Christ. But we must fight.

We are holy and clean in the Beloved. But we struggle to live out our holiness.

So far I have been giving principles for the fight. 1. Understand that we are sinful and weak on our own. 2. Rest in the work of Christ in us. 3. Walk by faith, not by sight.

Today, let’s add a couple new principles for fighting the fight of holiness.

1) Be careful whom you listen to. Your close friends influence you more than you think. Choose them wisely. Jesus was the friend of sinners, and in one sense, we, too, should have some friendships with unbelievers, but our closest friends need to be people who will encourage us in righteousness and push us in the faith. We need good models and godly advice from people who are not immersed in the world.

Do not listen to the world. American culture at large promotes sin and encourages you to leave God. If you continually feed your soul a diet of social media and pop culture, you are asking for emptiness and failure in your fight against sin. American culture has no spiritual power to produce righteousness. And American culture is not alone in this. Chinese culture, Korean culture, Indian culture, Muslim culture, European culture, and every other major culture in the world are powerless in the spiritual realm. Let me explain.

If you want to fight pornography, you will never do so with a steady diet of pop culture. That culture encourages sexual stimulation, which only makes your problem worse. In China if you want to fight greed, do not listen to the values of the culture. That culture officially denies the existence of anything beyond earth, and if earth is all there is, then grab as much of it as you can. Chinese culture feeds greed. In a Muslim country if you want humility, do not listen to your culture. That culture pushes you to work your way to God, and works never produce humility (Rm3:27; Eph 2:8-9).  It doesn’t matter which culture you live in. The prevailing culture in every country rejects Christ, and when it rejects Christ, it steals your power to fight the fight of faith.

Your culture promotes ideas, values, and attitudes that are not Christlike. Do not fill your mind with them.

2) Instead fill your mind with the Word of God. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rm 12:2) Read that again. “Do not be conformed to this world . . .” In other words, “do not be like your culture.” Instead “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Your mind is the battleground for this fight for holiness. Your spiritual health begins with your mind. Fill the mind with junk and your soul will grow spiritually weak. Fill the mind with godly thoughts, and your soul will rejoice, be at peace, and be ready to fight for righteousness.

If you want the mind of God, you will find it in the Scriptures. The Bible is where God talks in plain words. Fill your mind with it, and you fill your mind with godly thoughts and strengthen your soul for the fight.

This means read the Scriptures for yourself . . . daily. This means regularly attend a church that faithfully preaches the Word of God. This means regularly commit to memorize passages of the Bible. This means sing and listen to songs based on Scripture. This means talk about Scripture when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Dt 6:7).  You want Scripture in your mind. If you want to walk in holiness, this is essential.