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JESUS CHRIST — Milksop or Mighty Lord?

No Effeminate Jesus!

In modern Western culture Jesus Christ is largely portrayed and perceived as a milksop – timid, weak, ineffectual, even effeminate. In colloquial terms, this means a wimp, pantywaist, sissy or wuss. You don’t have to look far to find support for this. I recently saw a T-shirt on the internet that blatantly said “Jesus is a ****.” I can’t say the word but it essentially meant “Jesus is a wuss.” Sterile religion and worldly culture has fostered this false image to the point that it’s the general perception of most people, spoken or unspoken. As such, when the average person thinks of Jesus Christ they think of “gentle Jesus meek and mild” rather than the awesome Lion of Judah. I’m not saying that Jesus didn’t have a gentle side, but – please – how about some balance?!

When I was a lost teenager my impression of Jesus Christ wasn’t good. I perceived him as a wimpy doormat when nothing could be further from the truth. I turned to the LORD at the age of 20 and immediately started consuming God’s Word voraciously. Something really blew me away – the spectacular and powerful depictions of both Father God and Jesus Christ, who are One (John 10:30). I was like, “Whoa! Who’s this?” What I saw totally contradicted what religion and culture had taught me.

Simply put, the false image of Jesus Christ is a lie concocted by the enemy to deceive people and prevent them from following the Lord of Lords, particularly men who refuse to follow someone they don’t respect. And it’s impossible to respect a weakly milksop.

Consider how the Scriptures actually portray Jesus Christ…

The Pre-Incarnate Christ

Before his incarnation Jesus appeared many times in Old Testament periods; these manifestations are called theophanies or Christophanies, manifestations of God or Christ in the physical realm. Here’s an example:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (14) “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (15) The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua 5:13-15

The “commander of the army of the LORD” in this passage is the pre-incarnate Christ. Tell me, does this Commander strike you as a milksop or as a mighty warrior that commands respect and awe? Notice how he responds when Joshua asks him if he’s on Israel’s side or the people of Jericho’s side: “Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have come.” It’s so succinct but it’s potent and speaks volumes: Jesus Christ is so mighty, so great – so incredibly awesome – he’s above the mundane conflicts of this world. Just the same, he’s above the perpetual squabbling of the left-wing and right-wing factions of our governments today.

Other examples of the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament include the “man” Jacob wrestled with (Genesis 32:22-30) and the Angel of the LORD who commissioned Gideon to fight the Midianites (Judges 6:11-16).

Christ During His Earthly Ministry

When Jesus was on earth and ministered for 3½ years he was brilliant in argumentation (Matthew 22:15-22). He astonished and silenced his enemies (Luke 20:26) to the point that “no one dared ask him anymore questions” (Mark 12:34). Does this sound like an impotent milksop?

Furthermore, Jesus was dynamic – full of energy, power, passion and life. He had aura of pizzazz, not stultifying dullness. Want evidence?

Jesus was incredibly bold, outspoken and had no qualms about offending people who were deserving of correction:

One of the most amazing examples of Jesus’ incredible boldness and power can be seen when he cleared the temple of ungodly fools:

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, (16) and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. (17) And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ ”

(18) The Chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Mark 11:15-18

Notice that Jesus radically threw over tables and benches and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. Does this sound like “gentle Jesus meek and mild” or the bold Lion of Judah? Can you imagine Jesus not allowing anyone to carry goods into the temple?

Believe it or not, Jesus cleared the temple in this manner twice during his earthly ministry. This account took place near the end of his ministry, but he also cleared the temple near the beginning — three years earlier — as detailed in John 2:13-17. On the earlier occasion he made a whip and utilized it in driving out the animals, yelling and scattering coins!

And notice the response of the legalists in Mark 11:18: They feared him! They feared him so much that they decided to kill him and remove him from the scene altogether. Let me tell you something, impotent milksops don’t inspire fear and they certainly don’t provoke VIPs to plot to murder them. Also, notice how the people who witnessed him clear the temple responded: They were amazed! Dull sissies don’t inspire amazement, but people who are dynamic, courageous and authoritative do! (And by “authoritative” I don’t mean authoritarian, which is abusive. ‘Abuse’ is the misuse of power).

All over the gospel accounts we see evidence of Christ being courageous, astonishing, amazing, authoritative and even frightening! Just look up these passages: Matthew 7:28-29, 14:26, Mark 1:27, 2:10-12, 4:37-43, 7:37, Luke 5:8-11, 7:14-16, 20:20-26, 20:40 and the aforementioned John 2:13-17. People who insinuate that Jesus was some effeminate weakling obviously don’t know how to read!

Jesus’ Crucifixion and Triumphant Return

What about Jesus’ torturous crucifixion? Any of us who have seen The Passion of the Christ realize that no pansy could face that incredible challenge, let alone endure it.

Although he came to this world as a lamb to be sacrificed he shall return as a mighty warrior, as shown in Revelation 19:11-16. Please check out this passage and you’ll see that the mighty Messiah is anything but a pitiful weakling.

Lamb or Chief Shepherd and Anointed One?

Speaking of being a lamb, Jesus was a sheep only in the sense that he was a sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world (Revelation 13:8). In truth, he was and is “the good shepherd” or “Chief Shepherd” (John 10:11,14 & 1 Peter 5:4), a powerful leader who leads not only by word, but by example and service.

‘Christ’ means “Anointed One” and ‘Christian’ means “little anointed one” or “like the Anointed One.” Hence, Christians are to be like their leader, Jesus Christ.

This certainly means walking in love, kindness, peace, gentleness and humility, but these traits have been emphasized at the expense of Christ’s more dynamic qualities noted above. It goes without saying that the body of Christ needs to cultivate Jesus’ more masculine attributes as well as the softer ones. It’s simply a matter of balance. Christians are sheep in the sense that they follow the “good shepherd” not in the sense that they’re weak pushovers.

Furthermore, followers of the Mighty Lord possess abundant life and dunamis power. ‘Dunamis’ is the Greek word for power, which is where we get the English words dynamic and dynamite. This power is available to every believer but we have to “fan it into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Tell me, does “abundant life” and “dynamite power” sound boring and weak? No, they’re exciting and explosive and believers will walk in them more and more as they take hold of the eternal life – the life-of-the-age-to-come – to which they’re called (1 Timothy 6:12).

Let me leave you with a passage to chew on:

the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1

Amen.

Related Topics:

THE Angel of the LORD — Mighty Angel or Pre-Incarnate Christ?

Christ: “The Anointed One” — What Does it Mean? What Does “Jesus” Mean?

Are Believers “Sheep”?

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (“Tongues”) and Its Benefits

Many Christians are unaware of this, but there are six foundational doctrines—teachings—in Christianity; and “instructions about baptisms” is the third doctrine:

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Hebrews 6:1-2

The word “baptisms” is plural because there’s more than one. When most people think of baptism they think of water baptism, but there are two other kinds of baptism for the believer, which are baptism into Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The word ‘baptism’ refers to “an immersion or washing.” As such, water baptism refers to a believer’s immersion into water symbolizing their death and resurrection in Christ; this is a testimony to the world and the Church, which is why it’s done publicly. Although this is the most commonly understood form of baptism it’s actually the least important, which isn’t to say it’s unimportant, of course.

It’s not as important as the baptism into Christ because the baptism into Christ refers to entering into covenant with God through spiritual rebirth and the washing away of one’s sins through the blood of Yeshua (Galatians 3:26-29). No one can be saved without this immersion into Christ. I’m sure you see why this baptism is more important than water baptism since water baptism is merely a symbolic testimony of what has already taken place spiritually. What’s more important, the real inward baptism or the outward baptism that represents it?

Being baptized into Christ is essentially one-in-the-same as being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:3,6), but being born of the Spirit is distinct from the baptism of the Spirit, although they occasionally happen at the same time. When you’re born of the Spirit the Spirit is in you (Romans 8:9 & 1 Corinthians 6:19), whereas when you’re baptized in the Spirit the Spirit is all over you because you’re immersed with the Spirit. It’s the difference between drinking a glass of water and jumping into a pure, mountain lake.

Speaking in tongues is theoretically the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. While speaking in tongues is not the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not speaking in tongues, they both go hand in hand. Here are five scriptural examples of people receiving this baptism:

  1. The believers in Jerusalem, as shown in Acts 2:1-4. All of them spoke in tongues.
  2. The Samaritans, as shown in Acts 8:12-19. The Samaritans were part Jew and part Gentile. Verse 18 shows that Simon the sorcerer “saw” that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles laid their hands on them. In other words, he saw evidence that they received the Holy Spirit. What did he see? We must interpret Scripture with Scripture, which is a hermeneutical rule. Since the rest of the New Testament shows that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this must’ve been what Simon saw—people speaking in languages they didn’t know.
  3. Saul in Damascus, as shown in Acts 9:17-18. Although speaking in tongues is not mentioned in this passage, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is, and we observe scriptural evidence elsewhere that Saul/Paul spoke in tongues on a regular basis, which is praying in the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:18-19).
  4. Cornelius’ household in Caesarea, as shown in Acts 10:44-48. This refers to the first Gentile believers. Verses 45-46 state that “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.” Since believers who are not baptized in the spirit can and do praise God, the evidence of the baptism is obviously speaking in tongues.
  5. The Ephesians, as shown in Acts 19:5-7. This passage shows that all twelve spoke in tongues as a result of receiving the baptism, not just a select few.

As already noted every Christian can and should receive this baptism and pray in the spirit to supplement prayer in his or her native language. This can be observed in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, 14:18-19 & Ephesians 6:18. I have to emphasize this because there’s this idea rampant in the body of Christ that speaking in tongues was done away with once the biblical canon was completed, which is known as cessationism. Don’t believe it. It’s a colossal lie that has allowed the enemy to keep multitudes of sincere believers from the full empowerment and help of the Holy Spirit.

Praying in the spirit is simply means to pray to God with your spirit in an unknown language, bypassing your mind’s understanding (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). This type of prayer is important because it edifies us by building us up in faith and empowers us to minister, to love people and to walk free from sin.

Before we get into that, there are a few things about the baptism of the Spirit and speaking in tongues that need to be stressed and clarified:

The Empowerment and Help of the Holy Spirit

The reason I’m going into so much detail about the baptism of the Spirit and praying in the spirit is because these are God-given sources of great empowerment for the believer to walk in newness of life and victory. Unfortunately, many believers settle for less than God’s best and they go through life struggling with things they don’t have to struggle with because God has provided the power and help they need—if only they knew of these truths and implemented them! It is for this purpose that God detailed these truths in his Word and it’s why I’m stressing them here.

Notice the power that Paul said was available for his protégé Timothy:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:6-7

What gift was Paul talking about? He doesn’t say, but there are clues: The gift was given through the laying on of hands and it is linked to the spirit or Spirit.* Since Scripture interprets Scripture we must conclude that Paul was referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit because 1. this gift involves the Spirit, 2. there’s repeated evidence that this gift is typically transferred through the laying on of hands, as detailed in the previous section, and 3. this gift involves Spirit-given power. The baptism of the Spirit is the obvious answer.

* Remember, there’s no capitalization in the original Greek and therefore translators have to discern whether “spirit” should be capitalized in reference to the Holy Spirit or not capitalized in reference to the human spirit. In this case, the NIV translators decided not to capitalize “spirit”, nor did the KJV translators.

By instructing Timothy to “fan into flame” this gift, Paul was simply encouraging Timothy to pray in the spirit more often, which is actually the seventh piece of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:18). What does he mean by fanning it into flame? Speaking from experience, when I first received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1986—two and a half years after my salvation—I’d generally keep saying the same phrase over and over in the spirit. It was just a handful of words and I had no idea what I was saying. Regardless, I put into practice this passage: I fanned the gift into flame by praying in the spirit whenever I had the opportunity, like driving to classes or to work or when I went off by myself to pray (Luke 5:16). In time my spiritual prayer language grew dramatically. How so? Because I fanned it into flame just as Paul instructed Timothy. This is the key to walking in the three blessings cited in verse 7: power, love and self-discipline. Let’s take a look at each of these…

Power

One of the main purposes of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for believers to be empowered to walk in newness of life and be witnesses to the world (Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:8). The Greek word for power is dunamis, which is where we get the English words dynamo and dynamite. ‘Dynamo’ bespeaks of electrical power or a really energetic, forceful person, and ‘dynamite’ suggests explosive power. These are earthly things. Imagine how much greater is God’s dunamis power that’s available to all believers through the baptism of the Holy Spirit! All we have to do is fan it into flame and keep fanning it into flame. When Paul said, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) he meant it in the sense of keep being filled. Praying in the spirit is an ongoing thing. Why do you think Jude said, “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20)? Why do you think Paul instructed, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18)? Because it’s an ongoing activity. We don’t pray in the spirit and then never do it again; that would be absurd. It’s a daily thing.

If you have the baptism of the Holy Spirit,* I encourage you to pray in the spirit as soon as you get out of bed in the morning and as loud as possible; sing in the spirit as well, as Paul exemplified. Singing in the spirit, by the way, is merely praying in the spirit to a melody, like you’re singing a song. Paul practiced this and he was a powerhouse for God, second only to Jesus Christ himself in the New Testament. If you want to be a powerhouse like him you’ll have to do what he did. He’s our example.

* And, if you don’t have it, please get it ASAP. It’s available for every believer.

You can pray in the spirit or sing in the spirit while you’re making coffee or taking a shower or driving. How long you do this is between you and God (I suggest at least 5-10 minutes), just do it and keep doing it—charge yourself up every morning and throughout the day. It’s more powerful than strong coffee. In a sense, it’s the ultimate drug because it’s free and you don’t have to deal with hangovers, not to mention the supply never runs out.

Think again about dunamis power—dynamite power. Does this sound like a boring thing? A deathly religious thing? No, it suggests the abundant life that the Messiah said he came to give us:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.                                                                  

John 10:10

The very reason Jesus came was to give us life and life to the full! When you get around Christians infected by legalism the last thing you’ll discern is life to the full and all that comes with it—joy, excitement, energy, ideas, faith, strength, confidence, love, creativity, originality, etc. More likely you’ll witness a stuffy, dead, dull, powerless, hackneyed religious spirit. It’s a horrible shame. This is the image secular culture has of Christians, but it’s a false image and, thankfully, we don’t have to be like that. Praise God!

Do you want dynamite power at work in your life every day? Then pray in the spirit more and more! This is the very reason the LORD gave us the gift of speaking in tongues, not to argue with non-Charismatics!

Love

The type of love we’re empowered to walk in by praying in the spirit is agape love, which is purely practical love or love-in-action, which isn’t dependent on affinity or affection. It’s important to distinguish this because there are four types of love observed in the Bible:

1. Storge love is family love, which includes the bond, affection and loyalty that develops between family members. Although the word itself, storge (STOR-gay), is not found in the original text we see numerous examples of this type of love in the Bible, like Martha & Mary’s love for their brother Lazarus in John 11.

Of course, the opposite of storge love can develop between family members, which is when relatives develop hatred for each other. A couple of obvious examples are Cain & Abel (Genesis 4:1-11) and Joseph & his jealous brothers (Genesis 37).

2. Phileo love is friendship love or brotherly love, like the platonic affection/respect of David and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:25-26). Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love,” was named after this type of love. You could say that phileo love is storge love applied to non-family members. There’s an element of affection, respect or bond despite the fact that they’re not kin. The word phileo (fil-LAY-oh) can be found some 25 times in the original Greek text of the New Testament whereas the noun form, philia (fil-EE-ah), appears only once (which is why we’re using phileo here and not philia).

5 Now Jesus loved (phileo) Martha and her sister and Lazarus…

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved (phileo) him!”

John 11:5, 35-36

3. Eros love is phileo love between members of the opposite sex and includes a romantic element, but it doesn’t refer to shallow sexual lust. Although the word eros (eer-ROSS) doesn’t appear in the original manuscripts there are many examples of this type of love in the Scriptures. One overt example can be observed in the amazing Song of Songs. Here’s a passionate expression of love from this book where the man is speaking to the woman:              

let me hear your voice;              

and your face is lovely.

for your voice is sweet,

show me your face,

Song of Songs 2:14

 4. Agape love is, again, purely practical love or love-in-action and is therefore not dependent on liking/respecting a person. It’s usually described as divine love, which is true since “God is love,” but it’s really just practical love or love-in-practice regardless of bond/respect/affection. In other words, you can agape love someone for whom you have zero kinship (storge love), esteem/rapport (phileo love) or romantic fondness (eros love). Note the biblical definition:

Love (agape) is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Paul gave this definition of agape love by the Holy Spirit to encourage believers to practice agape love. Notice that he doesn’t say anything about having warm feelings or respect toward the other person when applying agape love. Why? Because agape love refers purely to practical love, which is distinguished from storge love (familial love), phileo love (friendship love) and eros love (romantic love), each of which involve some type of connection, closeness or warm feelings. It’s easy to walk in love toward people for whom you have kinship, respect or affection, but it’s not so easy when you don’t.

Think about it like this: The most famous passage of Scripture says “God so loved (agape) the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Do you think this means that God has warm, fuzzy feelings for all the tyrants, warmongers, abusers, God-haters, rapists, murderers, molesters and perverts out there? Do you think he’s up there with dreamy eyes saying, “Oh, I just so respect and love these wicked people!” Of course not. The passage is referring to agape love—purely practical love. The Father was practicing love when he had his one and only Son die for our sins; so did the Son when he willingly laid down his life. This opened the door for reconciliation and eternal life through spiritual rebirth. God made the first move, humanity didn’t. The question is, how are we going to respond to his incredible example of agape love?

Those who respond positively to God’s agape love and accept the gospel immediately enter into his storge love since they are born into God’s family (1 John 3:9). These are candidates for becoming the Lord’s friend, which has to do with phileo love and the favor that comes with it. As noted, phileo love refers to friendship love or brotherly love. Consider Jesus’ statement to his disciples:

“You are my friends if you do what I command.”                                              

John 15:14

According to this verse not everyone is Jesus’ friend, not even every believer, who is part of God’s family and therefore possess his storge love. Christ’s friends are limited to those who practice what he commands. This refers to believers who respect the Lord enough to know his Word and put it into practice, as well as obey the directions of the Spirit. God’s grace (favor) for salvation is for all and is unmerited; it is simply received through humble repentance and faith (Acts 20:21), but this doesn’t mean we can’t increase in favor with God after we receive salvation. Why do you think the Scriptures say that Jesus—who is our example—grew in favor with God just as he grew in favor with people (Luke 2:52)? Why do you think Peter encouraged us to grow in the grace (favor) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just as we are to grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18)?

Sad to say, these simple truths are blasphemy in some circles of Christianity. It’s both ignorant and shameful.

My point is that agape love is purely practical in nature and therefore you don’t have to feel any warmth or respect toward the person or people with whom you share it. In short, agape is love-in-action and has little to do with affection, that is, liking the person. This explains how we can fulfill Jesus & Paul’s instructions to love our enemies (Luke 6:27 & Romans 12:20-21). Do you like your enemies, that is, phileo love them? Do you respect them? Of course you don’t. But this isn’t a problem because we are not commanded to phileo love our enemies, but rather to agape love them. Are you following?

This shows why agape love is often defined as “unconditional love” since it is purely practical in nature and, again, not dependent upon liking an individual or on how well they treat you. Here’s an example: I was at my desk in my den and had a few greeting cards ready to mail out on the side of my desk. Carol came in and noticed that one of the cards was made out to someone who’s been known to treat us—particularly me—with contempt and slander. She said, “Oh, what a warmhearted soul you are!” I explained to her that it wasn’t a big deal because I’m empowered by the spirit to love those who hate me without cause. It’s been my regular practice for years. My flesh may not want to do it, but I strive to be spirit-controlled and not flesh-ruled. The main reason some believers have difficulty in doing this is because 1. they’re not walking in the spirit and therefore not producing the fruit thereof, the primary fruit being agape love (Galatians 5:19-23), 2. they’re not baptized in the Spirit or 3. if they are, they’re not praying in the spirit because praying in the spirit charges the believer up and empowers us to agape love our enemies and “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:20-21).

By the way, when I refer to walking in love, I’m not referring to just the gentle variety. There’s something called tough love because agape love “is kind” and “does not delight in evil.” Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for people is to boldly confront the evil that has infected them, like Paul when he openly rebuked Peter for his legalism (Galatians 2:11-14) and Christ when he radically cleared the temple while yelling, pushing over tables and cracking a whip (Mark 11:15-18 & John 2:13-16). Some Christians think they’re walking in agape love by being nicey-wicey doormats when, in fact, they’re being cowardly and enabling evil to persist.* I should hastily add that this isn’t an excuse to be a rash fool who’s overly gung-ho with confronting and rebuking, which is abusive and usually results in unnecessary strife.

* For more information on this rarely-heard topic see the article Gentle Love and Tough Love.

Needless to say, if you want a more effective love walk, keep yourself filled with the Spirit by praying in the spirit and fanning into flame the agape love that’s necessary to practice it.

Self-control

I’ve been in the Lord since 1984 and I’ve overcome certain struggles of the flesh as I’ve grown spiritually and continue to do so, but I know believers from the 1980s and 90s who are still struggling with the very same issues they had back then. I’m talking about things like alcoholism, drugs, depression, porn addiction and government idolatry. They never attained the self-control necessary to walk in victory in these areas. I don’t mean fleshly self-control here, but rather the Spirit-empowered discipline necessary to strip off such bondages and walk according to the spirit, which naturally produces the fruit of the spirit, one of which is self-control.

If a believer is walking in spiritual self-control they’ll have the power and discipline to walk free of fleshly bondages. This is something that develops over time, but praying in the spirit is key to producing this dunamis power and the necessary discipline, not to mention the other two keys to walking in the Spirit.

Notice what Jesus said about the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit:

5 “but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…”

8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”                                    

Acts 1:5,8

The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers. Empowering believers to be witnesses means more than just the oomph it takes to share the gospel with people verbally, it includes the power to walk free of the flesh, including legalism and libertinism. After all, how effective is a witness who lacks the power to walk free of the bondages of the flesh?

The Messiah also said this about the Holy Spirit:

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”                                                              

John 14:26

Here Christ describes the Holy Spirit as our “Counselor,” which is translated as “Helper” in the King James Version. He goes on to say that the Counselor will teach us all things. Yeshua described this as guiding us “into all truth” in John 16:13. Needless to say, if you want more understanding and insight to the Scriptures and the will of God pray in the spirit more often.

As far as the Spirit being our helper, Paul said this:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

Romans 8:26

One of the purposes of the Holy Spirit—our “Helper”—is to help us in our weaknesses. He does this by interceding for us, which takes place when we pray in the spirit. When we speak in tongues the Spirit guides our spirit what to pray and, hence, intercedes for us. This can include “groans that words cannot express,” which I’ve experienced on some occasions while praying in the spirit (Romans 8:26).

What we want to focus on here is that the Holy Spirit is our Helper who helps us in our weaknesses. As shared above, I’ve known believers who have problems in areas like alcohol, drugs, depression, porn addiction, lying and gossip/slander. In other words, they’re weak in these areas. The good news is that one of the very purposes of the Holy Spirit is to empower believers to overcome in such areas, but we have to be baptized in the Spirit and fan into flame the gift—praying in the spirit on all occasions. As we do this, we’ll cultivate the power from within to overcome in any area of weakness. This is spiritual power, not fleshly power. Let me give an example from my own life.

I used to have a huge problem with depression. Two professional Christian counselors said I needed to be on medication, but I knew that wasn’t the route to go. If other believers choose to go on medication for a season, that’s between them and the LORD, but—for me—it wasn’t the way to go. I just knew it. So I kept following the Lord and growing in the Spirit. After a while, I noticed that the Spirit would lead my spirit to laugh uproariously sometimes while praying in the spirit. For example, there are times when I’m tempted to get blue, but instead I pray in the spirit and my spirit inspires me to laugh like crazy as led of the Holy Spirit. This has nothing to do with my mental state since laughing is the farthest thing from my mind on these occasions, but as my spirit prompts me to laugh uproariously with knee-slapping laughter I am naturally influenced by it—it rubs off. Needless to say, it keeps me out of depression! You see: The Holy Spirit helps me in my area of weakness and enables me to overcome.

If you have an area of weakness—and who doesn’t?—charge yourself up regularly by praying in the spirit and the Holy Spirit will give you the power to overcome and walk in victory, I guarantee it. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen and one day you’ll look back at your current struggle and laugh. Your weakness will come to mind and you’ll just laugh about it!

Your weakness may not even be something of the flesh but simply a trait that’s unique to you. For instance, you might have an extreme loathing for the punch-the-clock grind. The Holy Spirit will help you in this area of “weakness” as well. He’ll give ideas, golden connections or open doors for you to make a living without the drudgery of punching a clock. Whatever your weakness or need is, the Holy Spirit is here and he’s in you to help you!

Eagerly Desire Spiritual Gifts!

The Bible teaches us to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts, as shown in 1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39, which would include the gift of personal tongues, otherwise known as glossolalia (gloss-ah-LAY-lee-ah). Paul emphasized eagerly desiring — pursuing — the “greater gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). What is the greater gift? Simply the specific gift that’s needed at the time!

I bring up this point because there are, unfortunately, whole segments of the body of Christ that have written off spiritual gifts as having “passed away” since the last of the original apostles died circa 100 AD. They particularly write off praying in tongues (glossolalia). This is a false doctrine that’s not supported by the Scriptures. It’s a “doctrine of demons” invented by the kingdom of darkness to prevent believers from walking in the dynamite power that God has for us. Think about it: It encourages believers to do the precise opposite of what the Scriptures instruct us to do. It encourages believers to eagerly deny spiritual gifts when God’s Word encourages us to eagerly desire them!

Related Topics:

What are the Nine Gifts of the Spirit?

What is Cessationism and is it Biblical?

Healing — How Do I Receive?

Can the Power/Anointing of God Rest on an Object?

Slain in the Spirit—Is it Biblical?

Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

Cast Your Cares! (VENTING)

Both the Old and New Testaments give instructions on casting cares or “venting”:

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

Both verses instruct us to cast our cares or anxieties on God. We’re told to do this because the LORD cares about us and doesn’t want immaterial burdens to weigh us down or limit us, which will inevitably happen if we don’t vent in some manner.

What exactly does it mean to “cast all your anxiety on him”? It means to literally go to the LORD in prayer and hurl our burdens on him. This includes the offenses that have been unjustly committed against us and the sense of violation and anger they produce, which can tempt us to become bitter. Why cast our cares on to the LORD? Because we can’t handle them. Just as we must remove physical waste from our bodies so we must remove emotional waste. Venting is as vital to our spiritual-mental health as the large intestine is to our physical health – the waste must be removed. No wonder venting is strongly encouraged in the Bible, as seen in this verse:

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8 (NKJV)

It’s important that we learn to trust our heavenly Father “at all times,” how much more so in times of attack, conflict or crisis? When you come before your Creator in prayer, “pour out your heart before him” – discharge all cares, offenses, frustrations and negative emotions. God’s worthy of your trust and will be your safe “refuge” as you do this. Remember, venting is for your spiritual and mental well-being.

Here’s an actual example of David venting to the LORD:

I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. (2) I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. (3) When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way.

Psalm 142:1-3

David regularly practiced this and referred to it as “pouring out his soul” (Psalm 42:4 & 62:8). Yet, notice whom he’s pouring out his soul to – God. He’s not just venting to a wall; he’s not merely airing his problems to a psychologist or psychiatrist, who are costly and too often idolize meds; he’s not discharging to a friend, which – although a legitimate way to vent – too frequently devolves into grumbling or gossip. No, he’s pouring out his troubles and complaints to God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth! If we do this, Psalm 55:22 above promises that the LORD will “sustain” us, which means he will support us and bear the weight from below; in other words, carry us through. No psychoanalyst, friend or drug can fully accomplish this; only the LORD can! (I can’t help but think of the popular poem Footprints in the Sand).

There are two types of venting: moderate and extreme. The former should be practiced regularly in your commune time with God. Isn’t it awesome that you can honestly discuss the most intimate aspects of your life with a loving heavenly Father and discharge negative feelings, burdens or offenses? You might as well be totally candid and transparent since, as your Creator, he knows everything about you anyway, even your very thoughts (Psalm 139). He knows your past, your sufferings, your struggles, your victories, your weaknesses, your strengths and your potential. He knows all about your psycho-biochemical makeup and therefore how you’re “wired.” Isn’t it comforting that you can go to someone who knows everything about you and dearly loves you? Someone who doesn’t focus on your flaws and forgives your failures, as long as you humbly confess (1 John 1:8-9)? Someone who is for you and not against you (Romans 8:31)? Someone who believes in you? Someone who literally delights over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)?!

Extreme venting, on the other hand, occurs much less often and is characterized by radical discharging where one’s emotions will fluctuate and sometimes even contradict. A good example from the Bible is Jeremiah 20:7-18 where the prophet started off his venting by accusing God of deceiving him, not in the sense of lying, of course, but rather of roping him into doing something he didn’t want to do, which was to confront the Judeans for their stubborn transgressions and prophesy doom for the nation if they refused to repent. Needless to say, this didn’t win the prophet many friends. After accusing the LORD in this manner Jeremiah vented about the ridicule and hostility he regularly faced. Amazingly, he next switched to boasting of the LORD, expressing his bold faith, celebration and praise. The prophet then shifted back to the negative, cursing the day of his birth and literally wishing his father had aborted him! Read the text yourself if you don’t believe me.

Why is this passage in the Bible? Why didn’t the Almighty strike Jeremiah dead for accusing him of deception? Wasn’t Jeremiah a righteous man of God and a mighty prophet? Yes, but the LORD wants us to know that intense emotional discharging like this is sometimes necessary, no matter how spiritual we may be or mightily used of the LORD. Not only is it perfectly normal, it’s healthy! God didn’t respond with wrath because he knew Jeremiah’s heart and knew what he was doing – casting his emotive burdens on to the Ultimate Psychologist, who knew him inside and out better than any human being ever could. There’s a world of difference between genuine emotional unloading like this and a grumbling, complaining spirit that stems from a faithless, rebellious heart. It’s between you and your Maker to distinguish the two.

Another good example of extreme venting is Job. The first two chapters of the book of Job show him suffering great tragedies – the deaths of his ten children and all but four of his many employees, the loss of all his great wealth and his entire body blighted by painful boils. Much of the rest of the book consists of Job, in deep anguish, debating the causes of the tragedies with a few of his friends. Despite others being present, a lot of what Job said was directed at God Himself. He expressed some things that are rather shocking and irreverent for a blameless, upright man who feared the LORD and shunned evil, which is how God described him in Job 1:8. Examples of Job’s “shocking and irreverent” words include 10:1-3, 13:3,13 and 15:12-13. What was Job doing? He was venting, casting his cares on the LORD. He was in utter misery after the tragedies and therefore discharged his great anger, frustrations and grief. He couldn’t handle these emotional burdens but his Creator could, and the LORD faithfully sustained him.

Job may have been angry and frustrated at God and at the baffling injustices of life in general, but he never turned his back on the LORD and acted like he didn’t exist. In other words, he still had faith and hope, which explains this statement Job made to his “friends”:

“Keep silent and let me speak [to the LORD]; then let come to me what may. (14) Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? (15) Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face”

Job 13:13-15

Job’s friends were aghast at his seemingly irreverent words; in fact, they thought he was guilty of some great secret transgression that caused his terrible calamities. Although they understood he was venting to God (Job 15:13), they wrongly judged it as an unrepentant rebel raging against the Almighty with impotent fury rather than what it really was – a righteous man venting his grief and sense of unjust violation to his Creator. Job essentially told them to shut up and let him speak; he was going to “have it out” with his Maker, come what may. Yet, even while he was intent on honestly venting and defending his ways to God’s face he also expressed his hope in him. In short, he still believed in the LORD despite his entire life falling apart around him. He still hoped and believed that the Most High was greater than his disastrous circumstances and that he would somehow restore him, which is precisely what happened as revealed in chapter 42.

God honors extreme venting like this because the person in question is not turning away from Him and acting like he doesn’t exist, but rather turning to Him and honestly addressing his/her problems. The LORD is the perfect person to go to at such times because he is more than able to handle whatever we throw at Him.

A good example of extreme venting from modern cinema is Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump when he “has it out” with God on the shrimp boat in the storm. This resulted in the Lieutenant’s peace and happiness because, again, venting is for one’s own spiritual and mental wellness.*

* Gary Sinise, who played Lt. Dan, is a Catholic Christian and true hero. Since the 9/11 attacks on America he has volunteered to help the USO and has encouraged troops in the most dangerous locations overseas. He’s a longtime advocate for veterans and their families and co-founded a program in 2004 that reaches out to children in war-stricken countries, such as Iraq. Affectionately called “Lt. Dan” by military folks, Gary received the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2008, the second highest honor for a civilian.

Extreme venting like this isn’t pretty. It’s raw, honest and primal. It’s tackling the awful truth with one’s Creator, whatever that truth might be. There have been a few occasions where I was “having it out” with God and my wife literally fled the scene – she was understandably concerned that a lightning bolt might hit me at any moment! My attitude was similar to Job’s: “Let me speak; then let come to me what may.” Thankfully, this type of extreme venting doesn’t happen so much anymore since “I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother” (Psalm 131:2), but it’s still sometimes necessary. It’s part of having a real relationship with the LORD. Of course, some Christians say they’re genuinely tight with God and never resort to extreme venting, and that’s great. More power to ’em!

Needless to say, when you face the inevitable calamities and problems of life – including inward struggles – don’t become an atheist and pretend like your Creator doesn’t exist! Go to him like David, Jeremiah, Job, Lt. Dan & myself and throw off your anger, your frustrations and your grief. Don’t allow offenses to embitter you. You can’t handle these emotional burdens but the Most High can. Never stop believing and hoping! Your heavenly Father will faithfully restore you and heal your heart and body, just as he did for Job. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen.

This article is available in chapter 2 of…

Related Topics:

The BASICS of Christianity

What Is THE BEREAN SPIRIT? How Do You Cultivate It?

The Lord said God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) and that the truth will make us free:

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”

John 8:31-32 (NRSV)

The people of Berea are commended in the Bible for their noble character: They were (1) eager to hear truths that they were currently unaware of in order to enhance their spiritual growth and (2) they were sure to examine the Scriptures daily to verify if what Paul (or anyone else) taught was true or not (Acts 17:10-12). Those who do likewise have the “Berean spirit.”

Unfortunately many believers are misled or limited by all types of false doctrines including ones traditionally considered orthodox (i.e. correct) by one’s sect/camp. Obviously, the truth can’t set people free if they’re adhering to false teachings, meaning they’re believing them or practicing them to some degree.

How can you make sure you’re adhering to the truth and not false doctrine? As shown above, Christ said you can only be set free if you “know the truth,” and you can only know the truth if you “continue” in his word, which obviously means not giving up after six months, one year, five years, ten years, twenty years and so on.

Yet “Continuing” in God’s Word means more than that. It means continually growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

  1. “Knowledge” is data or truth from God’s revelation, including (and most importantly) the Holy Scriptures;
  2. “Understanding” is insight into that knowledge, which is enlightenment;
  3. “Wisdom” is the application of what you know and understand.

You can only mature spiritually by growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom. If you don’t, you’re obviously not “continuing” in the word and therefore you won’t know the truth and, consequently, the truth cannot set you free. However, the more you “continue” in God’s Word by growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom, the more you’ll know the truth, and the more you’ll be set free. Are you following?

When Vincent Price was asked how he felt about growing older, he said, “Growing old is marvelous, so long as you are growing.” So make it a priority to keep…

Growing in Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom

If growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom is the key to knowing the truth and being set free, how do you grow in knowledge, understanding and wisdom?

Knowledge

You grow in knowledge simply by exposing yourself to the revelation of God, which includes reading or hearing the Scriptures yourself through regular bible studies and reading/hearing teachings from sound, fruit-bearing and anointed men or women of God. I have to add those qualifications because unsound, fruitless and un-anointed “ministers” abound.

Now, you might say that you don’t have much passion for God’s Word or that you find most sermons or bible studies boring. The good news is that the LORD has made the human heart in such a way that it’ll develop a passion for pretty much anything you decide to give your heart over to – good, bad or otherwise. How much more so the very word of the Almighty?

Exposing yourself to God’s Word is important because Jesus said: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Just as your material being needs physical sustenance to live physically, so your immaterial being needs spiritual sustenance to live spiritually.

As for finding most sermons or bible studies boring, the remedy is to disconnect from ministers or environments that don’t manifest a spirit of life, power, joy, freedom and love. For instance, if the ministers you’re listening to are cantankerous, condemning grumps or deadly dull religious zombies, that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16,20). Leave them and seek out ministers and ministries (assemblies, bible studies, books, websites, radio or TV programs, etc.) that have a spirit of life and truly inspire you. This explains why Christ instructed believers: “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14); the Messiah was referring to leaving the lifeless religious ‘leaders’ of Israel of that era. The same principle applies today.

When I say it’s important to seek out ministers who inspire you I obviously don’t mean those who excite your flesh. This is what Paul was talking about when he mentioned people who will not put up with sound teaching in favor of gathering around themselves “teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). This refers to preachers who foster fleshly self-interest in their listeners. These could be libertines who inspire carnal license or legalists who encourage spiritual arrogance, exclusivity, hypocrisy and greed. Either way, they inspire the flesh, not the spirit.

Those who inspire the spirit, by contrast, encourage an actual relationship with the LORD by the Holy Spirit. God is the “Fountain of Life” and therefore naturally pumps abundant life, power, peace and joy into those who hang out with him and pour their hearts over his word (Psalm 36:9, 16:11, John 6:63 & 10:10). This, of course, results in the “fruit of the spirit,” the very character traits of God (Galatians 5:19-23). The law of association applies here: You become like those you spend time with.

Concerning reading books or hearing sermons by men or women of God, please keep in mind that those who transfer knowledge are also able to transfer error. Furthermore, just because a minister is strong in certain areas of knowledge doesn’t mean he or she is strong in every area. This applies to anyone, anywhere, any sect, small or great. That’s why this teaching is so important because cultivating the “Berean spirit” will help you discern error and discard it, no matter where it comes from. The bible instructs us to “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21), which in modern vernacular means: eat the meat and spit out the bones.

Understanding

Knowing something is one thing, understanding it is another. For instance, you can know a bible passage by having it memorized, but this doesn’t mean you understand it. Understanding has to do with having insight to the scriptural data, which has to do with revelation – the Holy Spirit revealing to you what the text means in context and within the context of the entire bible. The great news is that every believer has an anointing to receive insights from God’s Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is our Counselor and Teacher, who guides us into all truth (1 John 2:27, John 14:26 & 16:13).

If your bible reading time seems dry and you’re not getting much out of it, get into the habit of sincerely praying for understanding before you read. After all, Jesus said “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). This explains why Paul prayed for believers in this manner: “we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9). This also explains this powerful passage from the biblical book of wisdom:

and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, (4) and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (6) For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:3-6

Please notice that the passage encourages us to passionately seek insight and understanding by crying out for it and calling aloud. God blesses such diligent pursuit because “he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). It’s an axiom.

This doesn’t, of course, mean that any insight that occurs to you is accurate. After all, the bible says the mind needs to be renewed (Romans 12:1-2) and is therefore perfectly capable of coming up with all kinds of erroneous “insights”; also consider the fact that the bible acknowledges teachings of demons (1 Timothy 4:1), which suggests that whoever teaches or embraces these teachings received insight or “revelation” from demonic spirits, who are lying spirits. Revelation that’s accurate, by contrast, comes from the Holy Spirit, who guides us “into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of truth” (John 16:13); consequently, whatever revelation you get from the Spirit of truth will gel with the “word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), meaning it will conform to sound hermeneutics, that is, the four principle rules of bible interpretation, which are:

  1. “Context is king.” This means that one’s interpretation of a passage must coincide with the meaning given it by the surrounding text, which is the context. The context also includes obvious questions like: Who is speaking? Who is being spoken to? What is the topic? What is taking place at the time? And where? Whom does it involve? And what is their covenant (agreement, contract) with the LORD, if indeed they even have one?
  2. Scripture interprets Scripture. This means that one’s interpretation of a passage must gel with what the rest of Scripture teaches; the more detailed and overt passages obviously trump the more sketchy or ambiguous ones. The true context of a passage is the whole bible, meaning people cannot really understand the Scriptures unless they are willing to immerse themselves in God’s Word and see the whole picture with the obvious understanding that believers are under the superior New Covenant (testament, agreement, contract) and not the inferior Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). Any given subject is often dealt with in pieces. People who try to take this or that piece (passage) while ignoring other pertinent pieces and make a doctrine out of it will end up off kilter. We need a LOT of exposure to God’s ideas from many angles, which is one of the reasons we need each other. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
  3. Take the Bible literally unless it’s clear that figurative language is being used: In which case you look for the literal truth that the symbolism intends to convey. In other words, unless there are legitimate reasons to take a passage (or parts of a passage) figuratively or hyperbolically, God’s Word should be taken literally. Why is this important? Because without this rule people can take any passage and just spiritualize it to mean whatever they want it to mean based on their current ideology. The result is inevitably a bunch of worthless gobbledygook.
    Why are some passages figurative? Because the bible is a book of deliberately hidden truths that can be gleaned from parables, types & shadows, allegories, prophetic utterances, similes, metaphors, and more. Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). We have to be willing to sell our own ideas, our flawed indoctrinations, and buy the truth. God hides truth precisely because it is so priceless, which is why it’s unwise to try to “give dogs what is sacred” or throw our “pearls before pigs” (Matthew 7:6). The “dogs” and “pigs” are false religionists, the lawless and unbelieving scoffers. Jesus said not to give such people spiritual gems because they won’t respect them and they’ll naturally create havoc, bringing the “way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:1-3).
  4. If the plain sense makes sense – and is in harmony with the whole of scripture – don’t look for any other sense lest you end up with nonsense. This means every passage has an obvious meaning within its context, as well as a potential deeper meaning within the context of the entire bible, like Paul’s figurative exposition on Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4:21-31. The plain meaning of a passage will dawn on the believer with greater insight as he or she grows in the Lord. There’s always the danger, of course, of people looking for deeper meanings to support their own agenda or their sect’s peculiar doctrines. The purpose of this rule is to prevent such selfish, unbiblical and bizarre interpretations of passages. Everyone can come up with a passage here or there that seemingly supports a peculiar view, but what does the whole of scripture say on the subject? In other words, what is the plain-sense meaning that the entire bible conveys? What is the general impact? The overviewing thrust? This is what it means to embrace the plain sense of the bible on any given subject. If someone comes up with an interpretation that is at odds with the overwhelming impression of the bible then it should be viewed with serious skepticism at best, and utterly thrown out at worst. Those who support homosexuality and universalism, for instance, cite a few passages to support their position, but what is the general impression you get from reading the whole of scripture on these topics?

For more on basic hermeneutics see this 16-minute video.

Wisdom

Knowing and understanding a biblical passage or topic isn’t enough, you must apply what you know and understand or, if the knowledge isn’t practical in nature, live in light of it. This is wisdom – knowing, understanding and applying what you know and understand; or living in light of it. Without wisdom, knowledge and understanding are virtually useless, which is why the bible points out: “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom” (Proverbs 4:6).

How do you apply what you know and understand from God’s Word? There are four types of knowledge in the Holy Scriptures: practical, positional, revelatory (or prophetic) and historical. How do you apply these truths in your life? We’ll only address the first two:

Practical Truth

This obviously refers to scriptural truths that are practical in nature, like “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). How do you practice this passage? You simply DO IT – Love your wife by laying your life down in love for her, i.e. making sacrifices when applicable, etc.

Follow this principle with any practical instruction from God’s Word that’s relevant to the New Testament believer. In other words, don’t practice anything that’s strictly applicable to someone else of a different era and covenant, like the Israelites under Old Testament law who offered animal sacrifices to cover their sins; Jesus took care of all that in the new covenant so believers don’t have to concern themselves with it.

Whatever the bible encourages you to do, simply start implementing it in your life and you’ll be blessed. If your life is messed up due to the flesh or adhering to false beliefs, practicing the word of truth is the remedy; it’ll turn your ship around, so to speak, just give it time. (This explains what a pastor said regarding counseling believers: “I won’t personally counsel a believer until s/he has sat under my ministry for four months”). If you miss it, repent and keep moving forward (1 John 1:8-9). You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there. It’s important to daily keep your spiritual arteries clear of the clogging of unconfessed sin. This is “keeping in repentance” (Mathew & Luke 3:8).

Positional Truth

A “positional truth” is any truth from scripture that reveals how God sees you in covenant with Him, which is your position. For the New Testament believer, meaning YOU, this is who you are in your spirit, the “new self” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Who are you in your spirit?

  1. You’re holy (Colossians 1:21-22).
  2. You’re a child of God (John 1:12-13).
  3. You’re a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
  4. You’re the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  5. You’re dead to sin (Romans 6:11,14,18).
  6. You’re more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).
  7. You’re a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
  8. You’re rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
  9. You’re healed (1 Peter 2:24).
  10. You’re a royal priest or priestess of the Most High God (1 Peter 2:9)!

How do you practice such positional truths? You practice them simply by believing them and not disagreeing with them. Remember, “The tongue has the power of life and death” so utilize this power accordingly (Proverbs 18:21). Never speak words that contradict who God says you are. Never! This is tantamount to calling God a liar. Be sure to chew on these amazing positional truths, and others as well. Make them your meditation and your confession. Take David, for example. He was diligent to “meditate” on God’s Word, as shown in Psalm 119:15-16. The Hebrew word for ‘meditate’ is siyach (SEE-ahk), which means “to ponder and converse with oneself and, hence, out loud.” As you do this, you’ll grow in understanding and power. The more these truths become a part of you the more you’ll be set free of the flesh and the more you’ll soar in the spirit free of the limitations of the mental plane. For important details on this topic see the video How God Sees YOU.

Again, Christ said we must “continue” in his word if we are to “know the truth” and be set “free.” Growing in knowledge, understanding and wisdom on a continuing basis is the key to this.

“The Fear of the LORD Is the Beginning of…”

We can’t very well address the topics of knowledge, understanding and wisdom without addressing their very foundation:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

The third passage shows the close connection of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, but what I want to stress here is what these three passages say is the beginning of all three – the fear of the LORD. If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom then a person who seeks to attain these without the fear of the LORD is off track right from the start! Consequently, the conclusions they come to in their journey of enlightenment will be off. We see this today with all these highly intelligent and “educated” people who are trying to reinvent morality: What is bad is now good and what is good is bad (Isaiah 5:20). Their journey has brought them to a place of twisted understanding because they didn’t start with the fear of the LORD, which is acknowledging the Creator and respecting God.

Someone might argue that the “fear of the LORD” is an outmoded Old Testament principle, but Jesus himself said we are to fear God:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

Want more proof? Revelation 19:5 depicts a scene in heaven that the apostle John saw in a vision. In this scene a voice comes from God’s throne saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” Furthermore, after Ananias and Sapphira were slain by the LORD for their unrepentant lying “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (Acts 5:5,11).

So the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, and it’s not just an Old Testament principle, but what exactly is the fear of the LORD? Since fear is another word for reverence and worship this suggests that knowledge and wisdom begin when we properly acknowledge God and offer him the reverence and adoration he deserves. The writer of Hebrews put it like this:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, (29) for our “God is a consuming Fire.”

Hebrews 12:28-29

There’s also the respectful fear that a son has toward the just correction and discipline of his loving father. It’s a healthy respect for authority, in God’s case the ultimate authority.

A key trait of the fear of the LORD is, of course, humility, the attitude that we’re not all that and a bag of chips, which brings to mind a simple yet potent passage:

God opposes the proud but gives grace [favor] to the humble.

James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5 & Proverbs 3:34

This is quoted three times in the bible, once in the Old Testament and twice in the New. Do ya think God’s trying to tell us something? Of course he is! The passage says that God “opposes” the proud, which means he resists them. Those who are proud resist God and he, in turn, resists them. They resist, he resists. It’s a doomed cycle.

The good news, of course, is that the LORD gives grace to the humble, the meek, not the weak. This means his favor! God says in his word:

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

Isaiah 66:2

God’s favor, blessing and enlightenment only flow to the humble who genuinely acknowledge him, not the arrogant who are stubborn, hard-hearted and think they know it all. The latter includes religious leaders, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who put on airs that they knew and honored God when nothing could’ve been further from the truth. The Pharisees, for instance, claimed to be God’s children but the Messiah told them point blank that they were children of the devil (John 8:41-47)! Don’t think that such religious leaders only existed in Christ’s day. They’re all over today, just open your eyes.

What can we conclude from all this? If we want freedom we have to want truth, which means the way it really is. Why? Because truth is the very thing we need to set us free, as Jesus taught. Truth consists of knowledge, understanding and wisdom from God’s Word and the foundation of these is the fear of the LORD.

Needless to say, let’s be wise sons and daughters of God and cultivate a healthy reverence and awe of the Holy One. Always strive for humility, which is the opposite of stubbornness and arrogance. If you do this, God’s favor will surely flow to you. Amen.

What Is the “Berean Spirit” and Why Is It Necessary?

The “Berean spirit” refers to the noble attitude of the people of Berea who examined and accepted Paul’s message, the gospel:

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. (11) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (12) Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

Acts 17:10-12

We observe in verse 11 that the Holy Spirit commends these Bereans for being “of more noble character” in comparison to the Thessalonians. The word ‘noble’ means “having excellence and characterized by superior qualities.” What was so noble about the Bereans? This passage reveals a handful of traits that marked them as having superior character in God’s eyes.

The reason it’s important to develop these traits is because they will help you discern truth and accept it, as well as recognize error and discard it. This is of the utmost importance if the truth is to set you free because you can’t very well be set free if you’re adhering to lies or you’re limited by partial truths. As previously mentioned, the bible instructs us to “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21), which can be translated as: Eat the meat and spit out the bones. The Berean spirit will enable you to do this.

What exactly was it about the Bereans’ that made them so commendable in God’s eyes? Let’s go over the five general traits that made the Bereans so laudable.

The Five Traits of the Berean Spirit

  1. The Bereans’ allegiance was to the Holy Scriptures first and foremost. Consequently, when Paul came to them with the message of the gospel they used the scriptures as a gauge for determining whether or not his teaching was true. Although Paul’s message was completely biblical, it was not orthodox according to the Berean’s current theology; in fact, it was completely new and unorthodox to them. If the Bereans had consulted the Judaic orthodoxy of that time or took a popular vote they would have no doubt rejected Paul’s teaching before even looking into it. This, unfortunately, is what too many believers do today when they hear something that sounds different than the way they’ve always heard it or understood it. They throw it out before even considering its validity. While this is obviously the right thing to do when it concerns weirdo doctrines or practices that clearly have no biblical basis, it’s a foolish approach when it comes to things that can be plainly proven by scripture, particularly if the messenger shows signs of the fruit of the spirit and God’s anointing, like Paul.
  2. The Bereans were already familiar with the Scriptures. We know they were already familiar with the scriptures because people can only use the scriptures as a gauge for determining truth if they are already familiar with them to some degree. As noted above, the only way to get familiar with God’s Word is to set apart time regularly for systematic bible reading, study, meditation and prayer. You’ll never find time to do this because the devil will make sure you won’t find time; you have to make time. This is the Berean spirit.
  3. The Bereans were open. These Bereans already knew the scriptures and were no doubt comfortable with a set theology, but that didn’t hinder them from being open to what Paul had to say even though what he taught was different and unorthodox. In fact, it states that “they received the message with great eagerness” – and this was before they even determined whether or not Paul’s teaching was true. You see, as godly people dedicated to finding the truth, the Bereans were eager to hear any scriptural teaching that could possibly increase their knowledge & understanding and bring them closer to God. It takes true humility to be open like this because, by being open, you’re acknowledging that you (and your group) may not be entirely accurate in your present understanding (Proverbs 30:2-3). Proud people, by contrast, are unable to do this. It also takes daring because only the courageous dare to step outside the safe parameters of their comfort zones. Someone might argue that being open-minded will make us vulnerable to false teaching, which is perhaps why so many Christians tend to be closed-minded; but if we adhere to the first two traits above we can be open-minded without fear, just like the Bereans, because the scriptural truth will always filter out what isn’t true, that is, as long as we practice the next trait…
  4. The Bereans were sure to do a thorough, unbiased examination of the Scriptures, not a superficial or biased one. Notice that the Bereans “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Why did they give so much time and effort to this? Obviously because what Paul said struck a chord in their spirits, not to mention Paul was a fruit-bearing, anointed man of God who walked in the dunamis (dynamite) power of the Holy Spirit. Even though this was so, they didn’t foolishly take him at his word. They wanted to make sure that they properly interpreted the scriptures, which is why the bible encourages teachers to “rightly divide” or “correctly handle” the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). If the bible can be rightly divided it can also be unrightly divided. The Bereans knew this. They understood that a person can “prove” just about anything through a superficial “study,” which explains the old saying: “The bible is an old fiddle on which any tune can be played.” The only way false teachers can get away with playing any tune they want on the “old fiddle” of the bible is by unrightly dividing or incorrectly handling the scriptures, which they do by simply breaking one or more of the four interpretational laws detailed earlier. As for the Bereans, it took them days of careful examination to draw a confident conclusion concerning Paul’s teaching. Likewise, we need to realize and be prepared that it may take us days, weeks or even months or years of careful study to draw a well-informed conclusion on a specific scriptural issue.
  5. The Bereans were willing to change their view in light of the biblical truth. As shown in verse 12, many of the Bereans accepted Paul’s teaching and changed their view. This is commendable for it’s one thing to be open and realize what the bible truly teaches, it’s quite another to actually be willing to publicly change one’s view or practice in light of that realization. Why? Because, even though God blesses everyone who boldly follows his word, particularly in the long term, there are often immediate negative social repercussions. For instance, someone who genuinely chooses to follow God’s Word may lose his or her job, lose relationships, be excommunicated from his/her church or denomination, be branded a heretic, and, in severe cases, be harassed, imprisoned or killed. Martin Luther is a good example. When he publicly spoke out against a number of his denomination’s unbiblical doctrines and practices he lost his job and credentials, was branded a heretic and banished to live in hiding, his books were burned and Pope Hadreian VI declared him to be the antichrist. Yet Luther was incredibly blessed in the long term. Or consider people today in Islamic countries who convert to Christianity. Or, closer to home, how about people in Westernized areas who get “disfellowshipped” from churches/denominations for openly disagreeing with their pastor or the official doctrines of their church? I’m not talking about quarrelsome troublemakers here, but rather fruit-bearing, godly believers who honestly have legitimate scriptural objections. This happens more often than you might think.

The Bereans were noble because they were not dead-set in their present understanding. They had a high respect for Holy Scripture. They weren’t in bondage to a certain theology like so many “fundamentalist” Christians today. They were open to new insights, spiritual growth and understanding. They were humble enough to admit that their present understanding of truth could be further honed and sharpened. They had such a high respect for God’s Word that, if someone legitimately corrected them and showed them the way more accurately, they were eagerly willing to embrace it. This is the antithesis of the sterile, stubborn religious spirit, which is rigidly sectarian and closed-minded in nature.

Speaking of which, rigid sectarianism is strongly denounced in the New Testament. When some of Christ’s disciples tried to stop a man who was exorcizing demons in Jesus’ name merely because “he wasn’t one of them,” Jesus rebuked them by saying: “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:49-50). Paul likewise corrected believers in the Corinth church who were developing a bullheaded factional spirit (1 Corinthians 1:11-13 & 3:1-5). Such an exclusive mentally is equal parts arrogant, narrow-mined and foolish, not to mention borderline cultic. It’s spiritual tunnel vision because it naturally stifles truth, limits perception and stultifies spiritual growth. Avoid it like the plague!

Apollos Was Humble and Open Enough to Learn “More Adequately”

Let’s briefly look at a biblical example of another believer who had the same noble attitude as that of the Bereans:

Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. (25) He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. (26) He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Acts 18:24-26

Here we have a man, Apollos, who had a thorough understanding of God’s Word and taught about Jesus as accurately as he could in relation to the knowledge and understanding he had; he was faithful to what he presently knew and understood. After Priscilla and Aquila met him they explained to him the scriptures “more adequately” or “more accurately” according to the NASB.

Because Apollos had the same noble spirit as that of the Bereans he was receptive to being taught the way of God more accurately. Verse 28 shows how he went on to vigorously refute “the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” The fact that Apollos debated with others based on “proving from the Scriptures” shows that he adhered to the principle of sola Scriptura, which is Latin for “by Scripture alone.” This is the theological principle that maintains that the bible is the first and final authority on all judgments of Judeo-Christian doctrine and practice. This explains Paul & Apollos’ rule they had for the assemblies: “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Apollos truly adhered to this principle since, not only were his teachings based upon “proving from the Scriptures,” but he himself was willing to be taught by the same principle. In other words, just as he gave, he received. Putting it another way, not only did he talk the talk, he walked the walk. Although Apollos was a powerful individual, he wasn’t arrogant. He was therefore able to acknowledge areas where he could learn a thing or two and humbly received from others. This is great because “God opposes the proud but gives grace (favor) to the humble” (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). In modern vernacular, being humble means you don’t think you’re all that and a bag of chips. Knowing and embracing who you are in Christ, as discussed earlier, is vital and wonderful, but a superiority complex is not good and is, in fact, spiritually deadly. Needless to say, no matter how great you are or become in life always shun arrogance like the plague, it’s a horrible stumbling block to maturing believers.

Naturally, I encourage believers to cultivate the same noble spirit as that of Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila and the Bereans. Many Christians are too proud, stubborn, closed-minded and indoctrinated (i.e. brainwashed) to be taught “more accurately;” they seem to only be interested in touting the doctrines of their pastor/church/denomination or what they view as unquestionable “orthodoxy,” which brings us to…

The Good and Bad of Orthodoxy and Traditionalism

‘Orthodox’ literally means “correct view” and ‘orthodoxy’ refers to historically established beliefs judged to be essential to Christian truth. A couple examples of orthodox Christian beliefs for evangelicals would be the inerrancy of the God-breathed scriptures and the necessity of spiritual rebirth for salvation.

There’s nothing wrong with this idea of orthodoxy as long as the beliefs said to be orthodox are legitimately biblical, as is the case with the above two teachings, the problem arises when what is claimed to be orthodox is not actually scriptural.

A good example would be the doctrine of amillennialism, which Augustine of Hippo (354-430) formulated around 400 AD. ‘Amillennialism’ literally means “no millennium” and unsurprisingly maintains that there will be no literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth before the eternal age of the new heavens and new earth, both of which are plainly detailed in Revelation 20-21. Incredibly, this doctrine dares to suggest that we are already living in the millennium; in fact, we’ve been supposedly living in it since the resurrection of Christ! Tell me, does it seem like Christ has been reigning on earth for the last two thousand years? Does it appear like the devil has been bound up in the Abyss since Jesus’ resurrection? Of course not, the teaching is simply unbiblical and no sound student of the scriptures would embrace the doctrine by simply reading the bible. The only way amillennialism can be accepted and perpetuated is by persuading Christian disciples through indoctrination in church or cemetery, I mean seminary. I repeat, believers would never see it or accept it by merely studying their bibles. However, once disciples accept the idea that amillennialism is unquestionable orthodoxy their studies of the scriptures will naturally be tainted and biased by their acceptance of this doctrine; in other words, they’ll read the scriptures pre-supposing amillennialism to be true, not freely or at face value, as is natural.

By contrast, when one studies the bible free of such presuppositions, taking it simply for what it says, it isn’t difficult to see the error of amillennialism.

My point is that what we determine to be orthodox Christian beliefs must be clearly and consistently taught in scripture. In other words, if a doctrine is truly orthodox – that is, a “correct view” essential to Christian truth – it shouldn’t be necessary to engage in bizarre theological mumbo jumbo to prove its authenticity, like “spiritualizing” plain-as-day passages, as is the case with amillennialism. The only way people who support amillennialism can justify this doctrine is by convincing people that the bible doesn’t really mean what it clearly says, which is that there will be a 7-year tribulation period at the end of this age, then the devil will be bound up for a thousand years while Jesus Christ reigns on earth assisted by the resurrected saints (Revelation 20:1-6). To prove these plain truths one doesn’t have to resort to unjustified “spiritualizing” of the scriptures, as is the case with amillennialism. These truths can be discovered or proven simply by freely reading the bible unhindered by foreign presuppositions.

How did a doctrine like amillennialism come to be considered Christian orthodoxy when it’s so clearly unscriptural? The reason is that there’s another basis besides Holy Scripture used to determine the content of orthodoxy, and that is tradition. When people speak of Christian tradition they’re usually referring to religious literature, creeds and councils from the Patristic Age, or “late antiquity,” which extended from the fourth to the eighth centuries and includes Augustine’s advocacy of amillennialism, as well as other errors. Augustine was the most prominent and influential “church father” of this period. Christian tradition is also derived from other eras, including the later medieval, Reformation and post-Reformation eras. The very fact that Christian tradition is historically cumulative testifies that the worldwide invisible church is in an ongoing state of reform; in other words, Christendom is not in bondage to historical tradition.

What’s the difference between tradition and traditionalism? I’ve heard it said that tradition is the living faith of the dead, whereas traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. That’s a good way of putting it because there’s nothing living about traditionalism; it’s dead religiosity. What exactly is traditionalism? It is the tendency to place tradition on the same authoritative plane as Holy Scripture; actually it places tradition over scripture since how a traditionalist simply reads God’s Word is determined by tradition. In short, traditionalism is the perverse bent to hold Holy Scripture in bondage to tradition.

Protestants, neo-protestants or post-protestants have historically regarded traditional doctrines and practices not directly supported by the bible to be optional at best, and often flawed or erroneous. The reason for this is threefold: 1. Jesus contradicted tradition but never scripture, 2. the Reformation experience was based on the principle of sola Scriptura, the idea that Holy Scripture must be our first and final authority, not tradition, and 3. since the Church must be “reformed and always reforming,” treating extra-biblical expressions of truth as equal with Scripture naturally inhibits continuing (and necessary) reform. Yet to hear some ministers teach today you would think that tradition is the irrefutable authoritative interpretation of God’s Word. For instance, I used to listen to Hank Hanegraff on the radio years ago and he made constant references to “orthodoxy” rather than scripture itself, so much so it was disturbing. The problem with this tendency is that 1. it stifles biblical truth by exalting human beliefs or practices to the same authoritative level as Holy Scripture, and 2. it perpetuates religious myths by preventing healthy reform in the Church through simple appeal to God’s Word.

Religious tradition may be a legitimate extra-biblical source to consider when determining the authenticity of Christian doctrines and practices; in this sense it gets a minor vote but it does not hold the power of veto as does Scripture itself. Let’s be humble enough to admit that Christendom still needs a lot of work; the Holy Spirit is still at work amongst God’s people, guiding them to biblical truths that may possibly correct Augustinian, Medieval, Reformation and post-Reformation beliefs and practices. Staunch traditionalists will argue that such an open-minded and adventurous attitude will unlock a Pandora’s Box of heretical new teachings and insights but Christians have nothing to fear if, as pointed out earlier, our allegiance is to the Holy Scriptures as our first and final authority. After all, God’s perfect Word is perfectly able to determine what is true and filter out what is false.

There are some other problems with orthodoxy and traditionalism that we need to consider:

For one, just because a belief is considered orthodox today in certain “mainline” denominations does not mean that it was orthodox in biblical times (the eras in which both testaments were written). For instance, amillennialism wasn’t conceived by Augustine until 300 years after the last New Testament epistle was written! Before that, the early Church adhered to the premillennial viewpoint. Only after pagan Greek ideas, infiltrated Israel and Judeo-Christian culture did the doctrine of amillennialism emerge and gain increasing acceptance.

Another problem is that Christianity is split into numerous sects and none of these groups unanimously agree on which beliefs actually constitute the content of orthodoxy, and no consensus is likely to come soon because different groups stress different beliefs as vital based on the teachings of their own spiritual fathers or mothers and which traditions these spiritual parents deem legitimate. For example, the Protestant belief of “salvation by faith alone” is indeed a part of Reformation orthodoxy but it is absent from Augustinian and Medieval tradition. Likewise, John Wesley’s post-Reformation doctrine of entire sanctification in a moment is absent from the “Great Tradition.” A more modern example would be speaking in tongues or “praying in the spirit” as a form of prayer to supplement prayer in one’s own language; this belief is fundamental to Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians even though it is not a part of the Great Tradition, but many Evangelicals claim that such spiritual gifts passed away when the biblical canon was completed circa 100 AD; this belief is, in fact, orthodox to them.

Another problem with the idea of orthodoxy is the impression that the older a teaching is the more reliable it is. Yet, since when does the mere passage of time give greater validity to a doctrine? A lie sixteen centuries ago is still a lie today. For example, just because Saint Augustine advocated amillennialism in 400 AD, which created quite a stir in its day, does not make it anymore true today. If we’re going to base the legitimacy of doctrines on their age, then premillennialism is the true view because it is plainly taught in the scriptures and was, in fact, the position of the early church, albeit in a slightly different form than it’s understood today.

Fundamentalists desperately desire to hold to that “old time religion” of the 19th and early 20th centuries while strict traditionalists would have us go back to that “old time religion” of the creeds and councils. I say, if we really want that “old time religion,” let’s go all the way back to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the biblical apostles and the Old Testament saints. Let’s have that real old time religion, amen? This, in fact, is the principle of sola Scriptura.

Of course the biggest problem with orthodoxy and traditionalism is that nowhere in the bible are we encouraged to determine the veracity of doctrines by whether or not they are considered orthodox or traditional. That which the Scriptures themselves clearly and consistently teach based on the four hermeneutical laws is to be our gauge in determining what is true and what is not true; in other words, Scripture is to be our final authority when judging the validity of Christian doctrines and practices, not what is perceived as orthodoxy or tradition. This is sola Scriptura. We should certainly value and take into consideration traditional positions from all eras of Church history, but traditional beliefs – no matter how embedded in our collective psyche – must remain open to correction and revision in light of the plain teaching of Holy Scripture. Doctrinal debates should be engaged over Scripture and prayer not dismissed with a Pharisaical appeal to religious tradition. As Martin Luther is believed to have said, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God… Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.”

If you’re a serious God-pursuer and truth-seeker the following questions are the wrong questions to ask when faced with a different interpretation to a biblical topic than which you’re familiar: Does this interpretation line up with my church’s doctrine? Does it make my life easier, more comfortable? Does it make me feel secure? Is it popular?

When a new teaching or idea appears, Christians should first and finally ask, “What saith the Scriptures?” not “What saith orthodoxy?” or “Is it consistent with tradition?”

Cultivate the Berean Spirit

In short, the Berean spirit adheres to the principle of sola Scriptura rather than solo Orthodoxa or sola Mycampa. Yes, I’m being humorous but, seriously, the Berean spirit places what is clearly and consistently taught in God’s Word above what is traditionally considered orthodox. It eschews blind sectarian allegiance in favor of what the bible clearly and consistently teaches. It dares to venture into the wilderness of the Spirit, which is the realm of truth, that is, ultimate reality.

I encourage you to develop and maintain the Berean spirit. You’ll be exponentially blessed in your walk with the LORD! Amen.

Related Topics:

Hermeneutics—Proper Bible Interpretation

What’s the Diff between “Milk” and “Solid Food” (or “Meat”)?

What’s the Difference between TEACHING and PREACHING?

Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?

What is “KJV ONLY”? What’s Wrong with It?

FREEDOM! LIFE! JOY! POWER!

The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher

The SEVEN FREEDOMS — Take Hold of ‘Em!

The truths of God’s Word are literally life-transforming and will set believers free in every area of life, just as Jesus declared:

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8:31-32 (NRSV)

The truth will indeed set us free, but notice the two conditions: 1. we must “continue in” God’s Word and 2. we must “know the truth.” Simply put, if we give up at some point or choose to stay in the darkness of ignorance the truth can’t set us free, and understandably so.

To “know the truth” means more than just mental assent. “Know” conveys the idea of union, as in the connection between a husband and wife. It’s necessary, as Jesus said, to “continue” in his Word for the truth to become a part of you in this sense.

How can you know the truth like this? Practice what you know and understand. If you miss it, immediately get back up (Proverbs 24:16). You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there.

Also, if you’re a “believer” it’s naturally necessary to believe, meaning you don’t disagree with the truth of God’s Word. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s wise to question dubious teachings, including traditional doctrines that simply aren’t biblical — and there are many of these — but it’s of the utmost importance that believers believe the clear truths and promises of the Scriptures. Your words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21), so be careful not to cancel out the awesome promises and blessings of God’s Word with words of unbelief. Doing so is double-mindedness and the Bible warns that the double-minded person should not think s/he will receive anything from the Lord (James 1:6-7).

For instance, the Bible emphasizes that you are “more than a conqueror” who will “reign in life” (Romans 8:37 & 5:17), but you go around saying, “I can’t do anything right; I’m a failure: I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” If you do this, guess what? You won’t be more than a conqueror and you won’t reign in life. More likely you’ll be a depressed failure. What’s the cure for double-mindedness? Simple, just do what Jesus said: Continue in his word with a spirit of faith, don’t give up, and when you inevitably miss it, be quick to repent (1 John 1:8-9). As you do this, you will come to know the truth more and more fully, “and the truth will set you free.”

Fountain of Life proclaims and encourages freedom in the following seven areas:

1. FREEDOM to Know and Walk with God.

There’s a big difference between knowing about the LORD and actually knowing Him. Too many Christians know a lot about God but don’t actually walk with Him. The gospel is referred to as the “message of reconciliation” in the Scriptures (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). ‘Reconciliation’ means “to turn from enmity to friendship.” In other words, you can be God’s friend just as Moses was (Exodus 33:11), you can be a “man [or woman] after God’s own heart” just like David (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22 & Jeremiah 3:15), and you can be a “disciple whom Jesus loves” just as John (John 13:23, 19:26 & 21:7,20).

There are levels of glory in spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 3:17-18), so rise up O man of God, rise up O woman of God, to new levels of closeness and strength with the Mighty One! In the LORD’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)!

Christianity is not a religion in the sense of Islam, Hinduism or Sciencefictionology, but rather a relationship with the Creator of the universe. Pursue a closer walk with the LORD. Developing a good relationship with God takes time and effort, just like any good relationship. Make sure part of your prayer time consists of simple communion – you hanging out with your heavenly Father and friend. Resist religious-tinged lingo when fellowshipping; shoot for a conversational tone and be real. Any step you genuinely take toward God will bring the LORD closer to you (James 4:8). You’ll be blessed.

2. FREEDOM to Soar in the Spirit.

The Bible promises that those who hope in the LORD “will soar on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), but too many believers are grounded or hindered from the spiritual heights due to one or more of the five encumbrances listed below. Part of the awesome news of the gospel of Christ is that we can escape these impediments and walk in newness of life by “participating in the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This is called living in the spirit or clothing yourself with Christ (Galatians 5:16 & Romans 13:14). When we do this, we activate “the law of the spirit of life in Christ” and neutralize “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

These are spiritual laws. The higher law naturally deactivates the lower law, as long as it’s in motion. Consider, for example, the law of lift and propulsion in the natural realm, which enables aircrafts of all sizes to defy the law of gravity and fly. As long as the former law is activated, the latter law is rendered powerless.

Are you getting this? YOU can soar in the spirit high above the limitations of the mental realm and the darkness & captivity of the flesh. People who see life only from the mental realm and five physical senses will be limited by the human perspective. However, believers can activate the “law of the spirit of life in Christ” and “participate in the Divine nature,” which enables them to experience life from the Divine viewpoint, which is the eminent perspective.

You were born to soar in the spirit!

Do it.

3. FREEDOM from the Flesh or Sinful Nature.

The flesh or sinful nature is the ugly beast within us all that naturally produces sin as we embrace its lusts (James 1:14-15). Sin is more than just murder, stealing, adultery and being a drunkard or druggie, it’s also things like arrogance, envy, jealousy, malice, gossip, slander, sloth, gluttony, deceit, fits of rage, factionism (i.e. rigid sectarianism), greed and the corresponding pompous airs of wealth (Galatians 5:19-21 & Proverbs 6:16-19). Some in the Church may be freed up from the overt sins but, because they show consistent evidence of the “smaller” ones, it’s clear that their flesh is doing quite well and, in some cases, going full blast. The great news of the gospel is that we can walk free of the flesh in the manner described in the previous section, by “participating in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

This potent passage offers details on how to do this:

22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off the old self [the flesh], which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self [the spirit], created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24 

The key here is two-pronged: 1. You must put off the flesh, which means you don’t flirt with it and embrace its lusts, but rather “count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus,” as taught in Romans 6:11. You must “count yourself dead to sin” by faith because sometimes you won’t feel dead to sin – particularly when you’re tempted by its lusts – but, spiritually speaking, you already are dead to sin. For instance, I used to have a problem with fits of rage; to walk free of these carnal fits it was necessary for me to start counting myself dead to such antics by faith. So I made it my regular confession: “I Dirk Waren am dead to fits of rage.” You can do this with any area of the flesh with which you struggle.

2. You must put on the new self, which means living according to who you are spiritually with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is “clothing yourself with Christ” (Romans 13:14) or “participating in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Remember, the gospel is “Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). The only way you can live according to who you are in your spirit is by first knowing who you are in the spirit and, of course, accepting it or believing it. This explains why the passage above instructs believers to “be made new in the attitude of your minds,” which could be viewed as a third prong to walking free of the flesh. Your mental attitude is made new simply by accepting and believing who you are in your spirit!

Who are you in the spirit? Ten things:

  1. You’re holy (Colossians 1:21-22).
  2. You’re a child of God (John 1:12-13).
  3. You’re a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
  4. You’re the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  5. You’re dead to sin (Romans 6:11,14,18).
  6. You’re more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).
  7. You’re a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
  8. You’re rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
  9. You’re healed (1 Peter 2:24).
  10. You’re a royal priest of the Most High God (1 Peter 2:9)!

The more these truths become a part of you the more you’ll be set free of the flesh. See our videos How God Sees YOU and How to Walk FREE of the Flesh.

Yet please don’t try putting on the new self (the spirit) without first putting off the old self (the flesh). To do so would be like changing a baby’s soiled diaper by putting the new diaper over the old one. It doesn’t work, not to mention it’s absurd.

To repent, by the way, simply means to change one’s mind for the positive. This doesn’t mean a meaningless mental exercise, but a change of mind with the corresponding actions, like the revolve to fulfill God’s will (Acts 26:20) and turn from that which is opposed to God’s will, i.e. sin (Acts 8:22 & 2 Corinthians 12:21). Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin (see Acts 20:21) and so for repentance to be effective it must be combined with faith, otherwise repentance is just a dead exercise. Is it any wonder that repentance and faith are the first two of the six basic doctrines of Christianity? See Hebrews 6:1-2. It is of the utmost importance to your spiritual health to grasp this.

If you’re having difficulty wrapping your head around the concepts of “who you are in the spirit” and “putting off the flesh or old self” please see the article Human Nature: Spirit, Mind & Body.

4. FREEDOM from Curses of the Law.

The “curses of the law” are relayed in excruciating detail in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. They can be condensed into five basic curses: physical illness, mental illness, defeat to human enemies, premature death and financial lack. The great news of the gospel includes this fact:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Galatians 3:13

“Redeemed” literally means to purchase a slave with intent of liberating. You see, Jesus set us free from all such curses by becoming a curse for us when he was crucified!

Am I saying that Christians can walk in victory over all five of these general maladies? Yes. What I’m not saying is that you won’t be attacked in these areas. The Bible repeatedly says you will be attacked (1 Peter 5:8 & James 4:7). Take, for instance, the attack on Job’s life, which took place over the course of several months (see the book of Job). We also need to realize that believers may have one or more of these curses evident in their lives when they turn to God due to a generational curse and any associating impure spirit(s), but the truth can set them free!

When you are attacked – and you will be attacked – you must recognize it and take a stand. utilizing the armor & arms of God at your disposal. Resist in faith. In fact, put up your “shield of faith” even before you’re attacked, which will shield you from many of the enemy’s flaming arrows (Ephesians 6:16); in other words, his fiery darts will be extinguished before they can harm you. Pull out your “sword” as necessary. Your sword is the word of God spoken in bold, persistent faith (Ephesians 6:17). Slice down all lies and curses.

Take a stand in faith and persevere. Continue walking according to the word in general and learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Don’t back back. If you make a stand in faith and persevere I guarantee you the devil will flee from you like a yelping cur with his tail between his legs (1 Peter 5:8-10). This means that the curse in question will flee from you (I’m not talking about some cartoony red figure with a pitchfork). The Bible guarantees it. It’s your covenant agreement with the Most High.

Just make sure there’s no sin in the camp, so to speak. Keep your spiritual arteries clear of the build-up of unconfessed sin. Always be quick to repent when you miss it and God will faithfully “purify you from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).

See the article Spiritual Warfare — the Basics for important exposition on this topic.

5. FREEDOM from the Yoke of Dead Religiosity, i.e. Legalism.

“Legalism” is a condition where people are obsessed with religious rules, which is why it’s called legal-ism. It could just as well be called law-ism or rule-ism. This spiritual disease focuses on the outward veneer of godliness at the expense of inward genuineness. It’s the idea that faith is an outward job. Real Christianity, by contrast, changes from the inside out, starting with spiritual rebirth and reconciliation with the Creator.

Legalism in its broadest sense is a spirit of dead religiosity that can manifest in six ways: 1. general legalism or pharisaical-ism, 2. rigid sectarianism, 3. a spirit of religious-formal death, which is spiritual sterility wherein people just go through the motions, 4. a spirit of bondage, 5. a spirit of condemnation & authoritarianism, and 6. bondage to Old Testament laws that were fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:13-17). By the way, when I use the term ‘spirit’ in this way — like “the spirit of authoritarianism” — I mean it in the sense of “established character” or a person’s overall vibe. For instance, Joshua and Caleb had a “different spirit” compared to the 10 unbelieving Israelite spies because they had a spirit of faith (see Numbers 13-14, particularly 14:24).

As you can see, legalism is at odds with genuine Christianity because true Christianity offers grace, life, freedom and joy, not condemnation, death, bondage and religious drudgery. Too many Christians fall into the pitfall of legalism in one or more of these six ways, yet – thankfully – the Bible declares: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). The “yoke of slavery” here is referring to being under the yoke of religious law. Believers have been released from the law and serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code for “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (Galatians 5:18, Romans 6:14, Romans 7:6 and 2 Corinthians 3:6). This article goes into more detail on this particular topic.

See our article on legalism for exposition. For even more detail pick up my book Legalism Unmasked.

6. FREEDOM from False Doctrine.

God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). A false doctrine is any belief or teaching that simply isn’t true, meaning it’s not genuinely biblical. Christ said, “the truth will set you free” but the truth can’t  set us free if we embrace teachings that are false. Let’s be honest here: Every sect, camp and individual believer adheres to false doctrine to some degree. The only antidote is being open to the truth and willing to change, like the Bereans to whom Paul ministered (Acts 17:10-12).

Truth is discerned simply by “rightly-dividing” the Scriptures, which means “correctly handling” them (2 Timothy 2:15). Error is perpetuated by incorrectly handling the Scriptures. This explains why those who teach God’s Word will be judged more strictly because of the power and influence they wield (James 3:1).

How does one rightly divide or correctly handle the Scriptures? Simply by adherence to the four laws of hermeneutics, which is the science of Bible interpretation:

  1. “Context is king,” meaning one’s interpretation of a passage must gel with the meaning given it by the surrounding texts, which is the context.
  2. Scripture interprets Scripture, meaning one’s interpretation of a passage must coincide with what the rest of Scripture teaches; the more detailed and overt passages obviously trump the more sketchy or ambiguous ones.
  3. Take the Bible literally unless it’s obvious that the language is figurative, in which case you simply look for the literal truth the symbolism intends to convey.
  4. If the plain sense makes sense – and is in harmony with the rest of Scripture – don’t look for any other sense lest you end up with nonsense. This means every passage has an obvious meaning within its context, as well as a potentially deeper meaning within the context of the entire bible, like Paul’s figurative exposition on Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4. The plain meaning of a passage will dawn on the believer with greater insight as he or she grows in the Lord. The purpose of this fourth rule is obviously to prevent bizarre and unbiblical interpretations of passages.

When a believer masters these four common-sense rules of interpretation it’s impossible to be misled by false doctrine and religious cons, including the ones who are simply ignorant of their error and don’t know any better (usually they’re ignorant due to sectarianism, which is when people are rigidly loyal to the official doctrines of their sect rather than to what the Bible actually teaches). The believer who masters these principles will be increasingly empowered and start to discern false doctrine — which includes partially true teachings — even from one’s own camp, which includes one’s own church and pastor.

Strive to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12 by maintaining a humble spirit that’s open to the truth, willing to search for the truth through regular study of the Scriptures, and willing to change in light of the truth when you see it. It goes without saying, flee life-stifling, growth-stultifying sectarianism and false religiosity like the plague (Luke 9:49-50 & Matthew 15:14)!

See the article Berean Spirit — What is It? How Do You Cultivate It? for more details.

7. FREEDOM from Doubt and Unbelief.

The Bible points out that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). What is faith? Some people think faith means believing in fairy tales. No, faith is knowing and believing something to be true even if you can’t prove it via your five physical senses. It’s something you just know. You know it because you discern it by your sixth sense, your spirit. Take love (not lust), for example: Love is an ethereal quality that can’t be proven through science or the five physical senses and, yet, we all know it exists.

Here’s another example: The first twenty years of my life I was an unbeliever. I grew up in a non-Christian environment but, somehow, I just knew there was a God. I would go out at night by the lake where I lived and try to commune with the Creator under the stars. Although my five physical senses didn’t discern God — not including the evidence of God in nature (Romans 1:20 & Psalm 19:1-4) — and practically all the people around me didn’t advocate belief in God (quite the opposite), somehow I just knew there was a Supreme Creator. This mustard seed of faith led to my salvation, reconciliation with the LORD and attainment of eternal life once I accepted the gospel of Christ at the age of 20.

Another example: When I was around 8 years old my family and I were walking the trails of Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis when we came to the edge of a baseball field where a softball game was being played. As soon as we entered the outskirts of the field somehow I just knew that the current batter was going to hit the ball and it was going to hit me right on the face. I knew it, but didn’t know how I knew it. I just knew. I knew it by faith, even though I was only 8 years old (!). Next thing you know the batter hits the ball high into the air – it was like slow motion – and it came and hit me right on the cheek! Good thing it was a softball, huh? How did I KNOW this was going to happen? Obviously by my sixth sense, my spirit.

Every believer has “a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3), otherwise he or she wouldn’t be a ‘believer.’ The awesome news is that your faith can grow. One important way to grow in faith is by simply getting closer to your heavenly Father, as encouraged in the first area of freedom above; after all, it’s nigh-impossible for someone to tell you God doesn’t exist when you actually know the LORD rather than merely know about God. It would be like someone trying to convince you that your mother doesn’t exist (or never existed, if she’s already passed on).

Faith also grows by feeding on the rightly-divided word of God (Romans 10:17). God’s Word is spiritual bread that feeds our inner being; Jesus said, “Man does not live upon bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). God’s Word doesn’t just increase faith, it also gives wisdom (2 Timothy 3:15). Wisdom is the ability to discern difference, including the ability to distinguish good and evil, truth and error, what’s proper and what’s improper in any given environment, etc. Needless to say, seek out God’s Word – hear it, read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it (Psalm 119:9-16). Just as important, live it, speak it, and believe it in the same spirit of Joshua and Caleb who entered their “promised land” (Numbers 14:6-9, 24). You will consequently enter your “promised land,” and I’m not talking about heaven, but here on earth.

Lastly, your faith can be energized and grow by regularly praying in the spirit (Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20 & 1 Corinthians 14:14-15). See the article The Baptism of the Holy Spirit for more information if you don’t know what praying in the spirit is.

Too Good to be True?

Are these seven freedoms too good to be true? No! They’re actually part of the gospel of Christ. Why do you think it’s called the “good news”? It’s sad and tragic that too many sects and leaders of the body of Christ today don’t proclaim these truths, whether due to ignorance, truth-stifling sectarianism, religious traditionalism or lack of fortitude.

Know this: If the enemy can’t keep you from salvation in Christ, the next thing he’ll attempt to do is to keep you from walking in these seven freedoms, which are your birthright. The reason the enemy will try to keep you from walking in them is because believers who are totally free are a serious threat to his kingdom and will automatically advance the kingdom of God.

Make it your ambition to grow in all seven of these freedoms as you continue in your walk with the LORD. Cultivate the learning spirit of a disciple and regularly expose yourself to the fivefold ministry gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers), but learn to identify life-sucking legalists amongst them and “leave them; they are blind guides” (Matthew 15:14). Cultivate a relationship with the LORD via your prayer life and feed regularly from God’s Word with the teaching help of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27).

Freedom is a process, so don’t allow temporary struggles in any of these areas to disillusion you. Life’s a fight, fight it! The Bible says we are to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). Of course there will be temptations, trials and tests — “higher levels, bigger devils,” as they say — but believers overcome by faith (1 John 5:4)!

Fountain of Life is dedicated to proclaiming and demonstrating these seven freedoms in all we do. Be sure to glean through some of our other teachings for elaboration on all seven.

May God richly bless you as you seek and serve!

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The Basics of Christianity

What TURN THE CHEEK Means and Doesn’t Mean

We’ve all experienced people attacking us without just cause. I’m not referring to severe criminal assaults, which is a another subject, but rather any type of non-criminal attack, like insults, challenges to fight, gossip, slander, snubbing or rejection. If the people attacking you have no good reason to come against you then the reason must be of the flesh. It may be arrogance, hostility, envy, jealousy, rivalry or simply because you’re light and they’re darkness. Whatever the reason, what does the Bible teach us to do in such situations? Here how the Lord said to handle enemies:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (28) bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (29) If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Luke 6:27-29

Paul taught the same thing and referred to it as “overcoming evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Christ’s opening statement in verse 27 reveals that he was specifically addressing believers dealing with “enemies.” An enemy is anyone who is hostile toward you without just cause and engages in antagonistic behavior, like gossip, slander, insults, etc.

Accountability and Justice

Jesus plainly taught that if a fellow Christian offends you in this manner, you have the right to confront and correct him or her; you can even call upon other mature believers to help with the situation if necessary; in fact, you can ultimately expel the person from your life if s/he refuses legitimate correction (Matthew 18:15-17). This clearly shows that Christ cared about accountability and justice. He doesn’t want abusers getting away with their offenses, whether intentional or not. It’s also clear he cared about keeping relationships alive and functional in the body via confrontation, correction, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation. The Lord does not want lifelong grudges to develop between spiritual family.

But when dealing with enemies who are unbelievers (or fake believers) it’s necessary to take a different approach. Why? Because unbelievers are spiritually unregenerated and alienated from God; it’s therefore next to useless to correct them for an offense if they don’t acknowledge or respect the basis of the correction, i.e. Scriptural morality. Even though you may eventually have to go this route when dealing with particularly calloused clods, like when Peter and Paul openly rebuked two devious magicians (Acts 8:18-23; Acts 13:8-12), the initial approach you want to take is to apply the applicable techniques of overcoming evil with good, the gentler forms of good, that is.

“If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.” 

Luke 6:29a

This instruction has understandably provoked some controversy over the centuries. Did Christ mean we should be “doormats” to abusive people? Doesn’t he care about justice?

We know that Jesus cared about justice, as pointed out above, not to mention justice is a foundational part of the LORD’s character as verified by numerous passages (e.g. Psalm 9:8, 9:16, 89:14, 97:2 & Isaiah 61:8).

No “Doormats”!

As for being passive doormats, no, this is not what Christ was encouraging, but neither does he want us to be quick-tempered brawlers. Remember when Jesus instructed his disciples in Matthew 10:23 to “flee” if they were persecuted in one place and go where they might be better received? If the Lord wanted believers to be doormats for abuse he would have told them to stay and suffer the mistreatment. If he wanted us to be rash brawlers he would have told them to stay and duke it out. Of course “fleeing” has a negative connotation so it might better be described as escaping. Regardless, the point is that the Lord doesn’t want us to be passive doormats in such situations. He wants us to be active.

One effective way we can be active, as shared in the article Spiritual Warfare — the Basics is by getting violently aggressive with the spiritual forces of evil who manipulate people like puppets – releasing God through prayer and speaking in faith – but this is something done behind the scenes.

What should we do in the midst of abuse? Departing the situation is a last-resort option since “fleeing” implies defeat; yet even Jesus utilized this option when he was about to be thrown off a cliff in Luke 4:28-30 and stoned in John 8:59. This proves, incidentally, that when the Lord said, “Do not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:39), he didn’t mean it in an absolute sense, as in “Don’t ever resist an evil person under any circumstances.” How so? Because Christ himself resisted hostile people who were attempting to murder him in both of these cases. He resisted them by refusing to submit to their criminal intentions. He also resisted those who simply wanted to seize him (John 7:30,44). The only time he allowed himself to be unjustly apprehended was in Gethsemane because it was God’s will that he die for humanity, which is addressed in more detail here. In any case, although escaping persecution is a legitimate option it’s obviously a last-resort choice. So, what should we do if not escape? Jesus set an example of love, wisdom and self-control when faced with volatile situations. He refused to allow hostile people to victimize him by drawing him into the realm of the flesh. Christ showed how to be the master of the situation rather than the victim. Let me explain.

What “Turning the Cheek” Means

In Matthew’s account Jesus specified an enemy striking the right cheek (Matthew 5:39). Since most people are right-handed this indicates a backhanded slap to the face, an act of disrespect in that culture (see 1 Kings 22:24, Acts 23:2; 2 Corinthians 11:20). So Christ was addressing personal insults and not being physically assaulted, which is criminal. To turn the cheek simply meant to initially ignore any act of disrespect and contempt. This is not just a New Testament principle; the Old Testament teaches it as well:

A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

Proverbs 12:16

Does this mean you’re obligated to perpetually “turn the cheek” to the same person who keeps spitting on your peaceable grace? No. Turning your other cheek to the offender would indicate overlooking his (or her) insults at least twice. After all, you only have two cheeks, facially speaking. Overlooking an antagonist’s insults a couple of times is in accordance with James’ instructions to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Being “slow to become angry” is in the same context as being “slow to speak.” Just as being slow to speak doesn’t mean we should never speak, so being slow to anger doesn’t mean we should never resort to righteous anger. To “turn the cheek” means to make peace a priority. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” the Lord said (Matthew 5:9), but this doesn’t mean to make peace an idol and pursue it at all costs, just that you should always initially strive for peace “if it is possible, as far as it depends on you” (Romans 12:18).

Be the Master in Conflict Situations, Not the Victim

Get a hold of this fact: When enemies insult you they’re trying to victimize you. They’re trying to draw you out of the realm of the spirit and into the realm of the flesh. Consciously or subconsciously they recognize that you are functioning on a higher level and they’re trying to bring you down to their carnal plane. If you respond with another insult you’re allowing yourself to be victimized. Don’t let such people ruin your day. Neither let them ruin your week or month or year or life. Don’t let them draw you into the flesh, as it will only aggravate the situation. Be a man or woman of self-control. Be a man or woman of love, wisdom and shrewdness who “turn away anger” rather than stir it up (Proverbs 29:8). Is this easy? No. The Bible readily acknowledges that a provoking fool is a huge hassle to deal with, a burden heavier than sand or stone (Proverbs 27:3); in fact, the Word bluntly states: “The words of fools start quarrels. They make people want to beat them” (Proverbs 18:6 NCV). Consequently, it takes true strength to control your flesh and overlook an insult rather than react in a retaliatory manner. Anyone can fly off the handle, cussing and brawling, but it takes strong character to calmly control oneself and remain the master of the situation. As it is written:

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

Proverbs 16:32

A patient man who controls his temper is greater than a warrior who takes a city! Chew on that.

Needless to say, be a master not a victim; stay in control in volatile situations where people cuss at you, curse you and mistreat you in one form or another. It’s of the utmost importance you remember that Christ never instructed believers to be passive but to be active by “overcoming evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

This doesn’t necessarily mean you always have to be Mr. or Ms. Nicey-Wicey. After all, dealing with wolves calls for shrewdness and strength (Matthew 10:16). This is why Joseph dealt shrewdly with his devious brothers after he became governor of Egypt (Genesis 42-44). This is why Jesus dealt forthrightly with the ungodly religionists of Israel (Matthew 23). This is why both Peter and Paul boldly rebuked two sorcerers (Acts 8:9-24 & 13:8-12). This is why God Himself deals shrewdly with the crooked and deceitful (Psalm 18:25-27).

Please look up these passages and meditate on them; God’s Word will set you FREE. For too long the body of Christ has either ignored such Scriptures or taught the subject in an unbalanced manner. But “the truth will set you free,” Praise God!

Godly Shrewdness

The Lord instructed his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). “Shrewd” refers to skill or sly cunning in practical matters, like when Paul mischievously implemented “divide and conquer” tactics when held before the two sects of the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:6-8). Christians today are often too nice, naïve and gullible yet Christ said we need to be shrewd while maintaining our innocence. He even gave an entire parable commending the shrewdness of a wasteful manager who was about to lose his job (Luke 16:1-9). Why would Jesus encourage us to be skillfully cunning? He explained it himself: because we’re amongst wolves. By all means, walk innocently before your Creator but sweetness and naiveté won’t cut it when you’re dealing with arrogant, hostile, deceitful people like Joseph’s ten wicked brothers who wanted to murder him and sold him into slavery to a distant country. Such wolves will automatically regard niceness and gullibility as marks of weakness and take advantage. In short, they’ll chew you up and spit you out! This explains why Joseph pretended to be a stranger to his brothers when they came to Egypt essentially begging for food some 21 years after they sold him into slavery. Joseph — who is a biblical type of Christ — spoke harshly to them and accused them of being spies. Why? He was being shrewd. Shrewdness was the only way to break them and bring them to a place of genuine remorse and repentance, which is precisely what Joseph did (read the full story in Genesis 37-50, keeping in mind that chapters 38 and 49 are not pertinent to the subject).

Believe it or not, this is in keeping with the very character of God, as seen here:

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
(26) With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
(27) For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks. 

Psalm 18:25-27 (NKJV)

This passage shows that God deals with us according to the way we choose to live and treat others. Don’t take this in the wrong spirit because verse 27 plainly shows that the LORD saves the humble so, no matter how bad we might miss it, if we’re willing to humbly repent God will respond with gentle forgiveness and restoration. Yet, notice how the Lord deals with devious people in verse 26: He shows himself shrewd. This reveals that being shrewd toward crooked, wolfish people is actually a godly characteristic! The Bible instructs us to “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1). Consequently, if we’re dealing with devious people, like Joseph’s brothers, we need to imitate God by being shrewd, not nicey-wicey and lovey-dovey.

How nice was Jesus with the Pharisees and other stuffy religionists after he had prayed for them and gently shared the truth with them for years? He openly rebuked them and called them “foolish people” who were “full of greed and wickedness” (Luke 11:39). Sometimes he would answer their devious questions in such a way that stunned them to silence (Luke 20:20-26) while others he’d refuse to answer their questions at all and asked them a question instead (Mark 11:27-33). Christ simply refused to be manipulated by these religious cons. Although this may not have been nice, it was certainly kind and good. After all, the kindest thing you can do for arrogant fakes like, the Pharisees, is openly rebuke them in the hope they’ll be shocked out of their deathly legalistic stupor. Although some devious people are incorrigible, like Judas Iscariot, shrewdness is the only way to break the ones who aren’t. This explains Jesus’ approach to the rigid religionists.

Responding to Insulting Fools

Your response to fools depends on whom you’re dealing with, the situation, and the leading of the Holy Spirit; it also depends on how much grace you’ve already offered. Notice these two seemingly contradicting proverbs placed side by side:

(4) Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
(5) Answer a fool according to his folly or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26:4-5

The fact that these two contrasting statements lie side by side shows that the contradiction was intended. Some fools should be ignored while others should be answered in like manner. Again, it depends on the type of fool you’re dealing with, the situation and the leading of Holy Spirit, as well as how much grace you’ve already applied.

It’s no accident that the first verse encourages us to ignore the fool. This needs to be our initial response in such cases and we should only resort to answering the fool in like manner if our grace is repeatedly spurned. Have you already “turned the cheek”? Have you already blessed and prayed? Do you feel righteous anger stirring deep within you? Are you spiritually spent, so to speak? Then you have no other recourse but to resort to the “safety valve” noted in Romans 12:18. But, don’t worry; this “valve” is blessed of God. In fact, you’re still overcoming evil with good; it’s just that the “good” in this case is sternness and righteous radicalness rather than grace under pressure. You’re only redirecting because the calloused knucklehead in question has spurned your genuine attempts of goodwill and the wooing of the Spirit. You have the release to completely cut ties or otherwise. Be decisive and bold; trust your spiritual instincts.

Get Committed

It’s imperative that you get close to God and stay close because it’s impossible to be “led of the Holy Spirit” if you’re not tight with the LORD and spiritually sensitive. If you’re not committed to God and his kingdom there’s only one antidote: Get committed.

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Related Topics:

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Pacifism — Absolute Pacifism (Unbiblical) and Limited Pacifism (Biblical)

Military Service — Is it Okay for Believers to Serve in the Armed Forces?

Dealing with Personal Offenses vs. Criminal Acts

The Basics of Christianity

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