The New Bereans

I am vividly aware this book has been reviewed probably thousands upon thousands of times, I am writing about it nonetheless, probably for the same reason so many other people have written about it…it is worth doing.

As an avid reader, I must state that this book is not for everyone.  I have read reviews by Christians who suggest that it is a, “Must read.”  While I generally agree with the sentiment, I also recognize that this is a difficult book.  Many of the things said require a lot of thought.   Not only do they require a lot of thought, but you have to be able to maintain a large mental log of points, because Chesterton takes about seventy pages to develop his thesis.  Not only that, but understanding some of his metaphors require some heavy mental boulder rolling, but it is calorie burning work, so it is certainly worth the effort.

The first seventy pages will cause many to wonder, “Where is he going with all these odd fractured points?”  I did this exact thing numerous times during my read, but he kept me going with many worthwhile quotable quotes, and barn-burning statements.   On occasions he rev’s his thesis’ engine with unique and entertaining humor.  All the while his observations made me feel as if I was seeing the world through the eyes of a six year old philosophical savant who also happened to be writing probably one of the greater apologetics penned.

When at first you try to wrap your mind around his thesis you will probably feel like a car does when it gets its front end wrapped around a tree.  I hope you have a lot of bondo and carnauba wax.  The scope of this book reminded me of project “Deep Impact,” where NASA hit a comet with a satellite, due to the difficulty of Chesterton’s thesis which was almost as complex to resolve as hitting a philosophical comet 83 million miles away.   Somehow he does it though, with striking clarity, if you are able to not jump off his train of thought.

Chesterton literally mows the forest of humanist philosophy with the fortitude and efficiency of Paul Bunyan.  His axe takes two or three trees at a blow, and does not relent from cover to cover.  I was stunned to realize that he had cut down trees which have found root and re-growth in the some of the institutional church today.  And herein lies the reason I want to recommend this book.  There are many things we believe with nonchalance, because we have been told to believe them.  We need to get our truth from truth, and Chesterton expends all his effort like a blacksmith in the foundries of war by reminding us that Christ is the truth.

There has never been a book of theology, or apologetics, that made me cheer or cry…but this one did.  At one point I jumped out of my chair and pumped my fist and wished to high heaven there was someone to share the moment with me.   The last two chapters actually had my eyes leaking a bit, and my heart threatened to beat itself out of my ribcage.   It is far from often, dare I say never, that apologetics does this.  Either I am twisted weird, or this book was actually that good.

The one thing I observed is that Chesterton keeps his quotes from the bible to a bare minimum, but I think he does this for a reason.  I almost can picture that the thesis and conclusion are like the great pyramid of Egypt that he is slaving to build, and once built he places at its top, a great golden pinnacle which is the scripture he references.  I think that it actually makes the passages he quotes beautiful in a unique way.   Almost as if he is endeavoring to give the bible its right place at the top, by building his analysis underneath the power of the word.  Another way of looking at it is like he is a man holding a torch aloft in a dark cave for many to find their way back to the light.

This is definitely a great book to read, Orthodoxy is one of the most adventurous and daring books on Christian Apologetics ever written, hands down.

Since this book is largely Chesterton’s personal testimony, it is worth being reminded that, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lived unto the death.” -Revelation 12:11

This book is posted online for free at this catholic website, I however never recommend reading books online, it is bad for the future employment of wood chips, and I am an equal opportunity wood chip employment advocate, unless of course you cannot afford it, or plan to buy it later anyhow.  If you are also a revolutionary like I am you can buy the real deal here, from the American Chesterton Society.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?  Luke 24:5

Looking over much of what we label Christianity.  I see multitudes of walking dead.  An army like the one spoken of in Ezekiel, which was built of bones covered in sinew but utterly destitute of life.  Long ago Jesus told the Pharisees “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me“1. And many are erring in the same ways today.  Going to Bible studies yet lacking any real relationship with Christ.  In our preaching the fire and the passion are gone; in our congregations purity is the exception and rarely the rule.

Don’t get me wrong there are scattered saints and, passionate preachers throughout the land; but when you look at your average person identifying themselves as Christians, you rarely see anyone resembling an early church believer; and when you listen to your average Pastor, you often find someone sounding a lot more like Dr. Phil than John the Baptist.

Where is the fire?  Where is the purity? Where are the transformed lives? We have substituted entertaining for exposition, comedy for conviction, and principle for pragmatism.  We have built the church we desired, and we have the church we deserve.

What is the answer?  Repent!  Turn from your wicked ways.  Stop supporting pastors who make you fell comfortable living in sin.  Read your Bible, burn “The Prayer of Jabez,” and “The Shack,”.  Stop drinking from the fountains of Babylon, drink your tears instead.  Let the words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Joel be our guide. . . “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; “and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:13

“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

1. John 5:39 NKJV

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Hebrews 5:8

Even for Christ, suffering was necessary to learn obedience.  He was obviously not disobedient, so there must be something more to learning obedience, than merely correction of rebellion.  How do we learn obedience?  We are told Jesus learned by suffering.  In my limited experience this learning is a process always stressful, and often painful.  I am reminded of the gold furniture in the tabernacle, the gold for the lamp-stand had to be beaten into shape, the olive oil that fueled it had to be beaten, and even the cherubs atop the Ark of the Covenant were made of beaten gold.  The gold was not to be cast; it had to be beaten into the right shape.  Why?  God was clearly illustrating that breaking down and reshaping raw materials, into objects fit for use in the worship of God, is a long and difficult process.

As Christians we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. ₁ The word conform is summorphos in the Greek, it speaks of changing the shape or form of the object until it is the same shape as the model.  The Greek word for image is eikōn, of the 23 times it is used in the Bible, it usually describes a three-dimensional image.  It is used to describe relief of Caesar on a denarius.  In this example of the coin, a piece of metal was conformed to the desired image by taking a die, which is a big heavy piece of hard metal with the reverse image of the coin on the bottom.  The die is then placed over a little round piece of soft metal, and then struck with a heavy hammer this would violently force the metal up into the image void; the image on the coin would then be conformed to the image on the die.

I believe this is why we are told not to despise the chastening of the Lord₂ because, Afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.₃ Suffering, chastening, discipline, prepares us for use by God.  We often view discipline wrongly, assuming it is always punitive.  But the Bible clearly states that the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.₄ We are of no use to God when we are full of ourselves, reeking with pride and ego.  Once we have been conformed to his image, we are able to let God use us without getting in the way or contaminating his message.

1. Romans 8:29

2. Hebrews 12:5

3. Hebrews 12:11

4. Hebrews 12:6

Brad’s physical disability had typically kept him from attending church.  Born with Spina Bifida, his paralyzed legs had kept him wheelchair bound and made him a routinely solitary individual. Until one day he noticed a church which was quite different; its beautiful entrance had no stairs; just one big, beautiful, non skid, granite ramp.  He was further intrigued when he noticed that every parking space had a handicapped sign.  After weeks of internal debate he decided to attend one Sunday.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he experienced…when he arrived he found that everyone there was in a wheelchair.  He fit right in!  The pastor, the choir, everyone was disabled!  After attending for a few months he felt he was ready to commit to this; so he wheeled down the aisle, made a profession of faith, and was welcomed as a convert.  For years he attended and enjoyed himself, and became very involved with the meals on wheels ministry.  But reading his bible one day, he began noticing verses that troubled him.  He scheduled an appointment with the pastor right away.  Four o’clock Friday afternoon.  He was there at three-forty-five.

Entering Pastor Steve’s office he was reassured, spiritual sounding books lined the mahogany shelves, spiritual artwork graced the walls, the decorum somehow even made the houseplants look spiritual.  Steve would have the answers that would be able to set him strait.

“Pastor Steve,” Brad began, “I’ve been reading in my bible and found some things that are troubling me deeply.”

After a long pause, “Go on.” He replied.

“Well the bible talks about Jesus healing people, crippled people, so that they could walk . . . but none of us are walking…is there something wrong with that?  Steve smiled, a reassuringly father-like smile, then softly chuckled, “I remember when I was your age, asking my pastor this same question.  But you need to understand we are healed, we are walking.”

“What do you mean?” Brad wondered.

The Pastor continued, “We are healed positionally, we are walking positionally.”

“Positionally?”

“Yes positionally son.  Take a look at this cookie.” Steve pulled an Oreo out of a bag in the drawer, “What do you see?” Steve asked with a sympathetic glimmer in his eyes.

“An Oreo cookie!” Brad stated the obvious.

Steve shoved the cookie in his mouth and made short work of it.  “Now son, where is that cookie? Do you see it?” Steve questioned.

“No it’s in you.”

“Exactly” Steve said with a big grin, “The bible says that if any man be IN Christ he is a new creation, isn’t that right?  Well…just like that cookie is in me, we are positioned in Christ, so when he walks, we walk.  His health is our health.  So don’t worry about trying to walk physically, because you already are walking in Christ.”  Steve trailed off.

Rather confused, Brad looked down at his lap and nervously toggled the break on his chair repeatedly.  Suddenly Pastor Steve’s iPhone rang, blaring out I can only imagine, “Hang on son, hello…oops I forgot, I’ll be right there!”    I gotta run, I was supposed to meet someone at Starbucks half an hour ago.”  Pastor Steve accompanied Brad to the door, sped through the sanctuary and left Brad brooding in a thick fog.

Positionally healthy?  Positionally walking?  He was more confused than before, the scriptures ware calling him to walk, while his pastor assured him it was unnecessary.  Late that night, sitting in his wheelchair, reading the Bible he read where Peter told the beggar, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”  He could not shake the feeling the words were speaking to him; he set the brakes, grabbed the arm rests and began to push himself up, he instantly felt dormant vitality flowing into his legs, and suddenly he was on his feet, his spine had even straitened.  Standing for the first time in his life!  Hot tears streamed down his face, he stood triumphantly erect!  Never would he forget this night! He gingerly took his first steps, walking around the room, then jumping, all this for the first time in his life.  Falling to his knees in prayer, he profusely praised God for His mighty grace.  He couldn’t wait for Sunday; he would tell everyone it was true, you can walk, not just positionally, not just metaphorically, but really.

Instead of driving his lift van he decided to walk to church.  He excitedly pushed his wheelchair to with him (without non-handicapped seating, he had to sit somewhere.)  He was completely unprepared for his reception. As he approached the parking lot he noticed no expressions of joy those who saw him walking; some looked confused, others gaped at him with a smoldering anger.  Eugene, the head Deacon, hesitantly wheeled up to him…”Hey what’s going on with you?” Eugene asked with an untrusting tone in his voice.

“Jesus healed me last night, I can walk now.” Brad jubilantly exclaimed.

“We’re all positionally healed.  Either that or you have been a fraud all along!” Eugene snarled, with a noticeable change in his tone.

“But I really was healed; Jesus is still at work today and…”  The old deacon didn’t wait for Brad to finish; he was wheeling toward Pastor Steve’s office as fast as he could, shaking his head and grumbling.  Brad was completely blindsided, he had come to share great news but no one wanted to hear it,  with butterflies in his stomach and a knot in his throat he had no idea what to do.

He began to feel out of place standing, as hostile eyes watched his every move, he decided not to stumble a weaker brother, and so he slowly, and with great hesitancy, walked in front of his wheelchair and sat down.  Then he wheeled himself to his normal spot in the sanctuary.  When the time came for Pastor Steve to speak, he seemed stressed, and unusually disorganized; almost as if he had discarded his original sermon, and hastily thrown together a new one.  The first words he said were “we believe in grace,” and it went downhill from there.  As he spoke he kept talking about walkalism, and divisive people being walkalists.  He attempted to build a case that those who try to walk on their own are insulting Christ.  After all, “Didn’t He walk well enough?”  Pastor Steve kept asking questions like. . . “Do you think you can walk better than Jesus walked? Why would you even want to walk?  Most Believers don’t even try to walk and those who do walk only end up falling eventually.”

After the service Brad was too emotional to talk to anyone.  As he slowly wheeled out, he noticed his friends and acquaintances muttering “walkalist,” and “once walking always walking” under their breath.  After putting a few blocks between him and the church he stopped and began to think. . . “I have two choices, I can walk and be misunderstood, or I can live like a cripple.  He sat there for a long time, if he chose to walk there would be no going back.  The midday sun was beginning to cross set, and still he had not moved.  Then slowly and deliberately, he set the brakes, leaned forward and stood.  As it happened he had stopped half a block from a large dumpster.  He pushed the chair to the dumpster, carefully folded the chair, opened the dumpster’s lid, threw it in and walked away, never to look back.  All the while a verse was echoing in his head, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Matthew 6:1

There are fundamentally only two types of active Christians; Bible Notchers and Walkers.  By “Active Christians” I mean those who do more than just warm pews; those who read the Bible (not Your Best Life Now ), pray, and are involved in some type of ministry.

I’m not entirely  sure Bible Notchers is the best term, but for now it will suffice, it is something of an allusion to hunters who put a notch in their belt each time they kill something.  I’m talking about someone who does things for God, of which they are quite proud.  They will often keep careful track of how long they pray, how many times they’ve read the Bible, how many church services they attend, etc:  Then they find subtle ways to let others know what their up to.  When they receive the desired applause for their efforts they humbly say, “It’s not me, it’s Jesus”.  I have spent the majority of my Christian life in and out of this group.

The group I call “Walkers” are a breed altogether, fewer in number but greater in power.  These don’t spend their time boasting, or counting up their good works.  Do they do good things?  Yes!  But their motive for doing them is not to gather attention and praise, their motive is to glorify Christ, and demonstrate their motive through action.  Have they stopped counting their good deeds in order to look even more spiritual still?  No!  They have stopped counting because it does not matter to them.  Their relationship to Christ is not one of Boyscout to Troop Leader, doing good deeds in order to receive merit badges:  Their relationship to Christ is one of Saved to Savior, they have grasped something of the enormity of his suffering, sacrifice, and death, and this knowledge motivates them to lay down their lives in love.  For them taking up the cross and following Christ is not an obligation, it is their greatest pleasure and highest honor.  To them the pleasures of this world have become empty and unsatisfying.  They do not walk in holiness to avoid punishment, they take pleasure in it.  For them counting the number of times they’ve read their Bible is as ridiculous as counting the number of times they’ve kissed their spouse, or taken out the trash.  I would never go to a friend and tell them, “Yeah I’m a pretty good husband.  I kissed my wife twelve times yesterday, and said I love you fourteen times.”  If we don’t boast to others about our marriages this way, why would we tell others about these elements in our walk with God?  Maybe it’s because we’re not really doing it for him at all?

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16

. . . Who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”  Romans 9:20

Why does modern man consider himself in a position to judge God?  Let me explain what I mean…when I attempt to dialogue with unbelievers, they will often point to something about the Christian Faith, that seems unfair or illogical to them (such as God sending anyone other than Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and George W. Bush to hell) and then they will say something to the effect of . . . Aha!   This does not make sense, therefore God doesn’t exist, and you are a fool!  They suppose that because something seems unfair or illogical to them, it cannot be true.  This is a giant leap indeed, very little in the world is fair, or logical.  Some men grow tall, others stay short, is that fair?  Some women are born beautiful; others are not, is this fair?  Some children in Africa, born to mothers with AIDS become orphans shortly after birth, others are born to rich Americans, and are doted upon and spoiled from birth, is this fair?  No!  None of these things are fair, but they are all true.  Fairness and truth have no necessary relationship.  In other words just because it isn’t fair doesn’t mean it isn’t so.

There are many things modern science has no explanation for, last I checked there is still no reasonable explanation for how bumblebees take flight.  The wings are too small to create enough thrust to get off the ground, yet it flies nonetheless.  In an atom the nucleus is composed of tightly packed positively charged protons squeezed together with some neutrons, while negative electrons spin around it.  The electrons are not attracted to the protons, and the protons do not repel each other.  Why does the atom appear to violate understood scientific law?  Could it be obeying some sort of higher law that we have yet to discover?  Science’s lack of explanation for these phenomena does not mean they do not occur, it only means the explanation is beyond us.  If we cannot explain these mysteries on earth, how can we presume ourselves qualified to judge God?  How can we with finite brains, containing limited knowledge confidently declare God nonexistent, or the Bible untrue?

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  -Job 38:4

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said this unto thee, ye must be born again.   – John 3:5-7

He only gets one chapter of scripture dedicated to him.  His exploits were scandalous, but only to those with an eye to discern.  He certainly lived in the shadow of others, yet he earns a judgment from on high rarely witnessed.  As a matter of fact, the judgment he receives is almost entirely unique.

His name was Belshazzar.  His great sin…a party.  However, this festive occasion was unlike anything ever witnessed on earth.  In a cosmic effort to not just keep up with the Joneses, but rather flatten any chance of their future competition.  Belshazzar breaks out the furniture stolen from the temple in Jerusalem prior to the Jewish captivity in Babylon.  Those in attendance drank wine from the temple vessels and carelessly caroused; slaking their lusts with the items that Hebrews calls, “Shadow(s) of heavenly things.₁”

What could be so wrong?  Does not God want his blessings on display for the world to see?  Would you not marvel, walking into the great dining hall and seeing the altar of sacrifice, with its blood tipped horns?  Would you not think that maybe the King would find a degree of purification by washing his hands in the laver?  What about the menorah?  Its light would add a great degree of needed direction to a dark kingdom!

Unfortunately, for poor Belshazzar, things are about to get serious.  With a great need for a new pair of pants and with his knees knocking, his party face turns a pale retched sickly color as he witnesses one of the single most unique events in the entire Bible.  A hand, disconnected from any other apparatus, begins to write on the wall.  After a series of events, our man Daniel tells Belshazzar what just happened.  God had decided that He was done with Belshazzar, as a matter of fact, He was done with Babylon.  He had been weighed, measured, and found WANTING…to top it all off the kingdom was going to be divided.  As to be expected, Belshazzar was slain that very night.  I guess he probably really didn’t want to know what that mean old hand had to say after all did he?

Before our eyes glaze over with the repetition of a popular passage of scripture, I think it is worth noting that, to the untrained eye, Belshazzar had all the accoutrements and trappings of religion in his possession.  They were on display for everyone to see.  To the modern “Christian,” I think this concept could fly past blind eyes.  How happy we can be if we externally display our religion like a peacock, just to find that it is all feather and fluff.  We can have all the right things to say, and can have all our pet doctrines, a license plate that says “Sav3d,” or a bumper sticker warning of the rapture.  You may even be the happiest person in the world and tell everyone you know that it was Jesus that made you so, and if they would just accept Jesus they could be happy too.  Happy just…like…you.

I would define the trappings of Christianity as the fruits of the Spirit, if I could do so with absolute reverence.  However, the strange thing about the fruits of the Spirit, “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith,” is that they can be imitated.  Not a single one of these fruits are exclusive to Christianity.  I know some people are shouting at me right now…wondering how I could possibly suggest such a thing.  You may even be reaching up to delete Newbereans.com from your bookmark list.  Please just bear with me a moment longer.

The problem with Belshazzar’s usage of the temple vessels was that they were used from a wrong motivation and most assuredly in the wrong context, and not according to the divine “pattern ₂” God had established, not to mention they were used in a sinful fashion.  The Bible calls believers the temple of the Holy Spirit in 1st Corinthians 3:16.  In order for the fruits of the Spirit to work according to the dictates of the Spirit, that fruit has to be budding in a Temple.  Just like the furniture was only meant to be used in the ancient Temple.  This process has to be done according to Gods pre-ordained pattern.  In order to be the temple of the Spirit you first have to be born again.  You must become a new creation in Christ, all the old things must pass and you must be made new.  Without this authentic step through the narrow gate, all the “trappings” will quickly fade; your leaves will whither away if you were not really born again.  This process is spiritual and must be so according to Gods pattern. If this progression of new birth is circumvented, the most terrifying truth is that we can actually pretend to be Christians our entire lives and all that will await us is the same sentiment afforded to Belshazzar. Weighed…measured…wanting.  How is this possible?  Because in the king’s court there was no blood, there was no sacrifice there was no priest, worst of all there was no kabod, and without any of these, there is certainly no atonement.

The furniture has to be in the Temple, under the blood, and washed clean by spirit and water, then and only then will the fruits of the spirit be nourished in a proper fashion.  The only way you can be not weighed, measured and found wanting is to be in Christ.  Marvel not that this has been said unto thee.

1.Hebrews 8:5

2. Hebrews 9:21-23

All the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. -Luke 13:17

People do not really change all that much.  We love to see good or glorious things done; we are enamored with the miraculous, or even by good humanitarian deeds.  But many are only interested in what God can do for them.  In other words, he is a means to their end; not the end of their means. In 1961 President Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”  Many preachers before me have alluded to the fact that few people apply JFK’s powerful quote to their Walk with God.  We tend to think that all of the acts of God in history, are solely for our benefit.  Concerning our flawed man centered theology, I like how Paris Reidhead says it, “This philosophical postulate that the end of all being is the happiness of man, has been sort of covered over with evangelical terms and Biblical doctrine until God reigns in heaven for the happiness of man, Jesus Christ was incarnate for the happiness of man, all the angels exist . . . for the happiness of man.1″  We have abandoned the historical gospel and replaced it with a humanistic one.  The Bible never teaches that man is so great he deserves God’s blessings; the whole concept of grace describes how an undeserving people were saved by a loving God.  A deserved grace would be no grace at all!

Now back to my primary subject…is God our end, or our means?  When we pray, are we only asking him for what we want; or are we asking for him to have what he wants?  In our devotional time are we reading “Your Best Life Now;” or are we ravenously devouring the scriptures, seeking after this God who purchased us at so great a price? Are we also discovering how we can use our lives to honor and glorify him?  Is our attitude thy will be done, or my will be done, thy kingdom come or my kingdom come?  And please don’t be flippant; our answers to these questions could not be more important.  The legacy we leave behind will be one of glorifying God, or one of pleasing ourselves.

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.  Romans 11:36

For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.  Colossians 1:16

1. Paris Reidhead, Ten Shekels and a Shirt

. . . Ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  II Corinthians 6:18-7:1

Often times when I share with other believers how blessed I have been through not only reading the Bible, but also trying to do what it says, I get a response something like this:  “You need to be careful.  That sounds legalistic, we’re not under the law, we’re under grace!”  I have had this same conversation over and over again with many different people.  It seems to me that the greatest critics of literally following Christ when it comes to holiness…are other Christians.  They call it legalism when you try to obey the commandments of Christ.  I’ve even heard that following his commandments somehow dishonors him, by implying that we are trying to add to his finished work on the cross.  Legalism is not a term occurring in the scriptures but it has become commonplace in Christian vernacular.  Originally it spoke of someone trying to earn their salvation, rather than accepting it as a free gift.  I’ve never met anyone trying to do this, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I’ve never encountered it personally.  The term is now, however, commonly misappropriated.

I know that we are not under the law but under grace; I know that we are saved by grace, through faith; it is the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.  These things are self evident.  I have been trying to figure out why their objections are so troubling; it has taken me a while but I finally put my finger on it.  Why would Christians imagine the only motive to clean up their lives should be to avoid hell?  As if avoiding hell, is the only valid motive for spiritual action.  In our own lives, we do all kinds of things, for all sorts of motives other than avoiding hell.  Do I love my wife to avoid hell?  Do I eat Ice cream to avoid hell?  Do I go camping to avoid hell?   I do all these things because I want to do them.  I do all these things because I enjoy them.  I also genuinely enjoy following after Christ literally.  The Westminster Catechism states that, Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.₁ Without doubt I enjoy glorifying him by living a holy life.

I understand why the world doesn’t want holiness, but I cannot understand why some Christians do not want it.  The elders in Revelation tell us that, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.₂ Paul tells us that all things were created by him, and for him.₃ Is pleasing and glorifying God an insufficient motive for us?  How can anyone who has been given so much by Christ find no pleasure in living a life that pleases him?  To look at it another way, why shouldn’t Christians live a sanctified life?  When Paul raises the question, Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound,₄ how does he answer himself? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?₅ The apostle doesn’t seem to think a sinful life glorifies God, and neither do I.  Moreover I can truly say that attempting to live a sanctified life has brought me far more satisfaction than avoiding it ever did.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Romans 6:22

1. Westminster Shorter Catechism

2. Revelation 4:11

3. Colossians 1:16

4. Romans 6:1

5. Romans 6:2

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

-Galatians 5:6

I have one question; please consider it for a few moments before you proceed in reading this post.  What exactly does it mean to, “Walk in the Spirit?”

At one point in my walk I would have given some sort of amorphous response like, well…uh, I guess that means I should listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me to do in my heart.  Unfortunately through this method, I found that the decisions I made were often poor decisions; I frequently made really bad ones as a matter of fact.  I played some strange form of spiritual roulette which proved to lead nowhere fast.

The Bible tells us that our hearts are deceitfully wicked; and our consciences can be seared.  If our conscience were enough to guide us, then what would be the point of Jesus suffering the wrath of his Almighty Father?  Our inner conscience is only capable of moving us so far; that being said, how in the world would anyone ever be able to differentiate between a lackluster conscience, and some sort of inner voice leading us in our walks? Not that the Holy Spirit cannot or does not direct our steps, His primary job, however, is conviction of sin and righteousness.

The answer is astonishingly simple; the Spirit guiding us in our walks is synonymous with convicting the world of sin, and righteousness, not just to guide us in all sorts of extra biblical manifestations, or fantastic directions.  How can we expect the Spirit to guide us in our decisions about work, ministry, or life in general, while we are living a life that is fulfilling our fleshly lusts?  Are we seeking first His kingdom, or are we seeking first our kingdom?  And by seeking first his kingdom, I don’t mean spending two minutes in the morning choking down a pop-tart while reading a proverb.

Am I just redefining this to fit my theology?  No, read the next verse, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other and ye cannot do the things that ye would.  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”  The act of walking in the Spirit is in opposition to me, to my way, to self as well as opposition to the burdens of law.  If you read Romans chapter eight you will find that this is a requirement of Christianity.  There is no gray area when Paul says, “So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

So, if you have a compulsion to do something exemplifying the life of Christ, this is God, proving his capability of transforming you into a new creation, thus showing what it means to walk in the Spirit.  Walking in the Spirit is living a life that conforms to Christ’s character: not Luke Skywalker using The Force by following his feelings.  Remember, the contrast to walking in the Spirit, is fulfilling fleshly lusts.

Addendum: I am not trying to negate the Spirit leading us in a supernatural fashion; I am saying that it is not the primary function of walking in the Spirit.

Dedicated to R.C. Sproul who mentioned this concept in the following quotation. . .

- “Perhaps what is even more alarming is that even within churches and organizations that still profess a high view of Scripture, there is an alarming ignorance of the content of Scripture.  For many, being “led by the Spirit,” means being led by some inner light or impulse rather than by the Spirit’s testimony to the written Word of God.  Edwards says, ‘And accordingly we see it common in enthusiasts who oppose Christ that they depreciate this written rule and set up the light within their souls or some other rule above it.’”  The Spirit of Revival: Discerning the Wisdom of Jonathan Edwards by R.C. Sproul and Archie Parrish