Monday, November 28, 2005

God's Total Judgment

God being the Judge of All is Righteous in all His Judgments. His total Judgment consists of two stages, judgment in the present time and judgment in eternity. There is a logical and scriptural distinction between God's judgment in time (present time and in history) and God's judgment in eternity. It is of vital importance for believers to understand this distinction, otherwise the Bible can be easily dismissed as being inconsistent. Certain statements of the Old Testment Scripture are quite difficult to reconcile.

God's Judgment in Time

The first stage of God's total judgment is in the judgment in time. This is the judgment which is carried out upon the scene of human history and in the present time.

God gave a warning to Israel when He gave the Ten Commandments:

"You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments" (Ex. 20:4 - 6, NKJV).

The prophet Jeremiah prayed and reminded God of both the promise and the warning which He had given to Israel:

"You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them" (Jer. 32:18).

The above passages of Scripture make it clear that in many cases in Israel's history, the sins of one generation did cause the judgment of God to come upon succeeding generations, as far as down to the third or fourth generation. Conversely, the righteousness of one generation could cause the blessing of God to come upon many thousand of their descendants.

Let us study some examples of God's judgment in time and in history:

Judgment os Sodom and Gomorrah

A good example of this type of judgment is God's judgment upon the twin cities Sodom and Gomorrah:

"Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground" (Gen. 19:24, 25).

According to Peter this judgment of God serves as a warning to all those in succeeding generations who might be tempted to follow in sins of the same kind:

"(God) turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly" (2 Peter 2:6, emphasis added).

What were the sins of Sodom? Genesis 19 recorded only the sins of homosexuality and other forms of sexual perversion which has ever been called by the name "sodomy".

It is interesting to read Ezekiel's account of the basic moral and social conditions which led to the decline of Sodom:

"Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom; She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, and neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy" (Ezek. 16:49, emphasis added).

The Bible does not suggest that the same form of sin will cause every subsequent case be visited with the same severe form of God's judgment. But, it does teach us the unchanging attitude of God toward this form of sin.

In my opinion, the average contemporary Church is in great danger of committing the same form of sins as Sodom and Gomorrah. Furthermore, Jesus reminds us any household or city that would reject the apostles' teaching would receive a worse judgment than Sodom and Gomorrah!

Jesus said to the apostles, "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city" (Matt. 10:14, 15, emphasis added)!

It is easy to find many local Churches of large congregations of worshippers, with pastors and preachers in some degree reject the apostles' doctrine. If Chruches do reject the apostles' doctrine, how much more households and cities are expected to do likewise?

Judgment of Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1 - 10 relates the story of God's judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. By pretending that the money which they brought to the apostles represented the full price of the possession which they had sold they had committed the sin of lying and hypocrisy.

It is true that there is no suggestion that God will always judge this kind of behavior by professing Christians in such a severe and dramatic way. But, it does demonstrate the unchanging attitude of God toward lying and hypocrisy and certainly serves as a warning to all succeeding generations of the Church of Jesus Christ.

God's mercy in the midst of judgment

Joshua Chapter 2 and 6 relate the story of Rahab.

From the standpoint of both background and environment, Rahab had everything against her. She was a harlot living in a city appointed to destruction. Yet in humility and faith she dared to cast herself upon the mercy of God, with the result that she and her whole household were spared, and she herself, through marriage to an Israelite, became a member of the direct line from which the genealogy of Christ was derived.

The story of Rahab shows that no matter how corrupt the environment, personal repentance and faith of the part of any individual will cancel God's judgment on one's household and call forth His mercy instead.

Believers must take note that God's judgment may or may not be fully revealed in time. This applies both to the punishment of the wicked and to the reward of the righteous:

Paul warned Timothy, "Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden" (1 Tim. 5:24, 25).

Some of God's judgment may pass beyond the scene of time to eternity.

Solomon warned that we must not continue to do evil even if God's judgment is slow in coming:

"Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Eccles. 8:11).

Judgment in Eternity

The second stage of God's total judgment is God's judgments in eternity. The Bible calls this judgment as the "eternal judgment" (Hebrews 6:2).

Let us consider the following message of God to His people Israel through the prophet Ezekiel:

"The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 'What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die'" (Ezek. 18:1 - 4, emphasis added).

The people of Israel in the time of Ezekiel blamed their backsliding condition upon the sinfulness of preceding generations. They implied that the national decline of Israel in their day was due to the sins of their ancestors and so God could not justly hold them responsible for their present moral condition. However, God, through this message by Ezekiel, entirely rejects this form of excuse.

God warned the Israelites that He held each one of them individually responsible for his own moral condition and each one of them would be judged (in eternity) solely for his own character and conduct, and not at all for anything that his ancestors might or might not have done. This warning is repeated even more emphatically a little further on:

"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezek. 18:20, emphassis added).

Notice that this is not the judgment of a nation or a family; this is the judgment of each individual soul. This is the judgment by which the destiny of each soul is settled for eternity.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Righteous Judgment and Unrighteous Judgment

One of the most important facets of Biblical truth revealed by the Scripture is God is the Judge of all - in time and in eternity.

Here are some Scripture references:

"Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25, NKJV).

"May the Lord, the judge, render judgment this day" (Judg. 11:27).

"Surely He is God who judges in the earth" (Ps. 58:11).

The psalmist said to God, "Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud" (Ps. 94:2).

The writer of Hebrews wrote:

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, ..." (Hebrews 12:22 and 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

In other words, God is also the judge of all Christians. The phrase, "You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God" means, "You are His people (Christians) in the Church of Jesus Christ, the temple of the living God". In Scripture the word "Zion" always refers to the New Testament Church.

What Judgment to Judge?

The Scripture reveals two types of judgment everyone (believer or unbeliever) is judging while living on earth - The righteous judgment and the unrighteous judgment. Even though God is the Judge of all, He has vested righteous judgment for His people to judge.

Our previous study concerning the spirit, soul, and body of a man and how are they related to form the whole personality of a man helps us a great deal in understanding this topic.

Jesus said to the people during a Jewish feast:

"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24, NKJV).

In the context, it is obvious that "judge according to appearance" means "judge with unrighteous judgment". Hence, God's people are encouraged to judge with righteous judgment but forbidden to judge with unrighteous judgment.

Judgment According to the Flesh

Later on Jesus said to the Pharisees:

"You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me" (John 8:15 and 16, NKJV).

The Amplified Bible says:

"You (set yourselves up to) judge according to the flesh - by what you see; you condemn by external, human standards. I do not (set Myself up to) judge or condemn or sentence anyone. Yet even if I do judge, My judgement is true - My decision is right; for I am not alone (in making it), but (there are two of Us), I and the Father Who sent Me" (Emphasis added).

Here are a few points worth noting:

1. There is a contrast between the judgment of the Pharisees and the Judgment of Jesus. Pharisees condemn others by judging with external human standards. Jesus does not condemn and His Judgment is true.

2. "Judgment according to appearance" is the same as "judgment according to the flesh". As we have seen before in my many earlier postings, the flesh comes from our unredeemed soul and the five senses of our earthly soulish bodies.

The Bible tells us how to deal with the body and soul - man's carnal, fleshly nature. In Ephesians 4:22 - 24 Paul said Christians are to "put off" the old man with his fleshly lusts and to "put on" the new man in Christ. For Paul's list of "the work of flesh" read Galations 5:17, 19 and 20.

3. Judging according to the flesh is forbidden because this type of judgment comes from our carnal nature and might ends up condemning (or sentencing) others. When a person judges by external human standards he is likely to be prejudice and judges with preconceived opinions.

4. Jesus does not judge or condemn or sentence anyone. But if He does judge, His judgment is worthy to be regarded as true because He is never alone - The Father and Him are One. The next verse (John 8:17) says the testimony of two persons is true.

Unrighteous Judgment

1. An example of unrighteous judgment is the type of judgment Jesus spoke about in His "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 7).

"Judge not, that you be not judge" (Matt. 7:1, NKJV).

The Amplified Bible is more vivid:

"Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves" (Emphasis added).

For those who do not use the Amplified Bible, the Words of Jesus recorded by Luke confirmed this type of Judgment as unrighteous:

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37, NIV, emphasis added).

2. Another example of unrighteous judgment is, when a person who judges another person but practices the same things himself:

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things" (Romans 2:1, NKJV).

Righteous Judgment

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside" (1 Cor. 5:12 and 13, NIV).

Paul's instruction is clear - It is God's business to judge unbelievers but it is a Christian's business to judge other Christians. In other words, if a Christian judges an unbeliever, then, according to the basis of the Scripture, he judges with unrighteous judgment. On the other hand, if he judges another Christian then he judges with righteous judgment.

Paul gave an example on how a righteous judgment should be carried out in the Church:

It was reported that there was a serious case of sexual immorality in the Corinthian Church. Paul was not present but in spirit he had already passed judgment after hearing the news.

Paul said, "Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present" (1 Cor. 5:3 and 4, emphasis added).

The punishment following the judgment was excommunication of "the one who did this" with the intention of future restoration (1 Cor. 5:5).

Personally, I have not come across this form of judgment in the contemporary local Church. When we face a similar situation, it is very likely for the leadership of the Church to "leave the judgment to God". Leaders would probably say, "We cannot judge him or we would be judged. None of us is infallible. If God wants to punish him something bad would happen to him and he would leave the Church. In the meantime let us pray for him and love him. The Bible says, love covers a multitude of sins. Jesus did say, 'He who is without sin among you let him throw the first stone!'"

Major differences between Unrighteous Judgment and Righteous Judgment

From our study above, it is clear that unrighteous judgment is the product of our unredeemed soul. It is entirely based on subjective personal opinion. On the other hand, righteous judgment is the product of the recreated spirit man. The recreated spirit gives the believer the ability to discern and to assess a situation in the spirit realm. In other words, righteous judgment is entirely based on the truth of a situation revealed by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul always judged with this type of righteous judgment.

Unrighteous judgment brings condemnation to the one who judges others. A person who judges with unrighteous judgment and with wicked intentions will be condemned:

"A good man obtain favor from the Lord, but a man of wicked intentions He will condemned" (Proverbs 12:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

Righteous judgment usually brings conviction and restoration to the one being judged. As in the case of the sexually immoral person, Paul, in his next epistle instructed the Corinthian Church to forgive this person after he was excommunicated for a season. Paul said such punishment was sufficient for that person (2 Cor. 2:6 - 8).

The Consequence of failing to Judge with Righteous Judgment

There are many Church people out there who are under deep deception. Pastors and preachers of "successful" mega local Churches who practice the "love formula" have the notion that all Christians need is love and forgiveness - after all we are never perfect. We are all capable of falling from grace. We are sinners forgiven!

The contemporary Church has forsaken the responsibiliy to judge sin. Leaders are unable to discern between good and evil, truth and error, right Biblical doctrine and doctrines of demons. The Church needs discernment because discernment entails righteous judgment.

The Church has forgotten that Christians are capable of being deceived. Paul reminded Timothy, a young pastor to be watchful in the last days:

"But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13).

Jesus says to the Church of Ephesus:

"You have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (Revelation 2:2, emphasis added).

False teachers and preachers are not only "deceiving" others, but are "being deceived" themselves.

Self-deception is a real danger among believers today.

Monday, November 14, 2005

The Cross, the Soul and the Body

In my previous postings I have mentioned many times that in our Christian walk we need to have our soul and body come under the control of our recreated spirit. Jesus and Paul have a lot to say about our soul and body.

The Teaching of Jesus

Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it" (Luke 9:23 and 24, NKJV, emphasis added).

"Life, soul and mind" in the King James' translation derived from a single Greek word "psuche".

The phrase "deny himself" can be translated as "deny his soul". The phrase "his life" can be translated as "his soul".

When a person denies himself he essentially says "no" to himself or says "no" to what his soul dictates him to do. That means his soul life is completely yielded to God.

Figuratively speaking, our will and God's will represent two pieces of wood for building the cross. When these two pieces of wood are placed parallel to each other, we are not walking in the will of God. To "take up his cross daily" means to "let his will and God's will cross at the meeting point daily". In other words, the disciple has to do God's will on a daily basis.

So, the above verse can be paraphrased as below:

"If anyone desires to be My disciple, he must say "no" to his soul, do My Will daily and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for My sake will save it".

In other words, in order to follow Jesus and be His disciple, a person's soul life must be surrendered to Him, bring it to the cross to be crucified daily. If he does that, his soul shall be saved in eternity.

The Teaching of Paul

Paul's epistles are written to Christian Churches for individual Christians and all his teachings are meant for Christians. Here is a sample of Paul's teachings related to the topic of our discussion.

Submitted Body and Transformed Mind

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1 and 2, NIV, emphasis added).

The above passages of Scripture is Paul's instruction to Christians on how to close the door to Satan in their lives. Paul told them they would have to do something with their bodies and minds (souls). He was telling believers if they offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God as an act of worship He will see to it that their minds are renewed. There will be a transformation of their whole personality when their minds are renewed. Satan would not be able to confuse or deceive them. And as they keep their bodies subject to their recreated spirit, they will be able to discern God's perfect will for them.

Paul said our mind is Satan's battle ground:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ..... bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4 and 5).

With every thought of our mind taken captivity by the spirit man there is no way Satan could deceive us through our soul realm.

God wants submitted bodies and He wants transformed minds. He knows that is our greatest defense against Satan.

The Spirit brings the Body into Subjection

Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth:

"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27, NKJV, emphasis added).

The word "I" means the real spiritual man inside Paul. He called his body "it". Paul was saying his inner spiritual man had to bring his body into subjection. In other words, Paul would not let his body do everything it wanted to do. Paul knew that his soul could not discipline his body and bring it into subjection. If Paul failed to bring his body into subjection by his recreated spirit then his soul would take over and he would not be qualified to preach to others. Paul knew that his preaching must come with the revelvation of God's Word and God's power (1 Cor. 2:4). He must not preach according to the wisdom of man. Soulish and compromising preaching would not be acceptable to God because it could not minister to the recreated spirit of the hearer. Neither could such preaching convict the natural man (unbeliever) of sins. Soulish preaching were more likely to condemn sinners instead! True Biblical preaching ministers directly to the spirit of the hearers.

If the contemporary Church is to adhere to Paul's standard strictly, not many of us are truly qualified to preach!

Instruments of Righteousness

Paul wrote to the Roman Christians:

"Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God" (Romans 6:13, emphasis added).

The word "members" derives from the Greek word "melos" meaning members of our body - Our five senses, our hands and feet etc. The word "instruments" derives from the Greek word "hoplon" meaning our armor or weapons. The phrase "alive from the dead" speaks of the born again or regeneration experience. When a person's dead spirit is regenerated or recreated he is made alive again. He is now able to take control of his unregenerated soul.

Therefore, according to Paul when a person is born again he has the ability to make the members of his body as weapons of righteouness to God. His recreated spirit enables him to take control of his soul and body to do righteous acts for God.

Consequences of not heeding Jesus' and Paul's teachings

One amazing thing about the Scripture is that many things are prophetic. God, being the creator, knows the human heart. He writes the scenario for His people and for His Church. He knows that in the last days, most of His people would find the conditions He laid down for righteous living quite unattainable.

Paul, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, wrote two epistles to Timothy to warn him about what is going to happen to the Church in the days to come. Paul's words are prophetic. These things are now happening right before our eyes!

"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth" (1 Timothy 4:1 to 3, emphasis added).

Why do Christians depart from the Christian faith and follow doctrines of demons? There might be many reasons for this. But, I believe the main reason being Christians become soulish and fail to have their soul and body under the subjection of their regenerated spirit. Satan has no difficulty in planting his foothold on the unredeemed soul and body of God's people!

Paul's other message to Christians is:

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come; for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unforgiving, slanders, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away" (2 Timothy 3:1 to 5, emphasis added).

Paul listed 18 moral blemishes due to degeneration of human character, conduct and behavior. These people are not unbelievers, but are religious Christians and churchgoers who show "a form of godliness" but deny the power of holy living. This is the condition of the apostate church. Why? The reason is the same; people tend to love soulish living. Keeping the "form" of the Christian faith is considered more important than having a Spirit-to-spirit relationship with the Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Soul and Soulish Activities

You cannot find the word "soulish" in any English translation of the Bible or in any English dictionary. I use this word to describe the activities in the soul realm. The closest Greek word equivalent to the non-existent English word "soulish" is "psuchikos" meaning "natural", "earthly" or "sensual".

Paul in his discourse about the resurrection of the dead wrote:

"The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42 and 44, NKJV, emphasis added).

The phrase "natural body" translated from Greek means "earthly body", "sensual body" or "soulish body". So, every person on earth (Christian or non-christian) has a soulish body and we all live in this soulish body.

As we have seen in my previous postings the full personality of a man consists of his spirit, soul and body. We are created to have our spirit led by the Holy Spirit, to direct or dictate our soul, and our soul to direct our body. Someone has said, God created our spirit as king, our soul as servant and the body as slave. But, the original God ordained functions of man's personality were changed after the Fall. The spirit died, his soul became the king and his body became the servant and subjected to corruption.

The whole process of salvation puts them in the right order again. But, as we have seen earlier (refer to my posting "The Saving of Souls") our salvation is not complete. Full salavation comes at the resurrection when our soulish or earthly body shall be transformed into a spiritual body. The spiritual body will be directly controled by the our spirit without having to go through the our soul realm (mind and reasoning). Some one has said, at the present age the soul realm is the "bottle neck" of our spirit. Therefore, we still have to deal with our soul life all through our Christian walk. We have to live in this condition.

Activities of the Spirit and Soul

All Christian activites involve the spirit and soul working together with the five senses of the body as channels to act out these activities. But there are differences in activities. Soul activities are activities belong to the soul realm but dictated (controled) by the Holy Spirit. Soulish activities are activities dictated by the rebellious soul of the Christian.

It is interesting to identify some common activities in the Christian life so that we can place these activities in their proper realm. We need to bear in mind that all these activities are good as long as the Christian is truly led by the the Spirit of God and everything works in perfect harmony.

Here are some examples:

Worship

As I have pointed out earlier, worship is an activity of the recreated spirit of man led by the Spirit of God. The natural man simply cannot worship or praise God. In fact, no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).

The corresponding activity in the soul realm is praise. When to praise God is a decision of the will of the Christian. He chooses when and how to praise God. He praises God in his understanding and intellect.

Mary greeted Elizabeth at the house of Zacharias said:

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior ..." (Luke 1:46 and 47, NIV, emphasis added).

Mary's spirit rejoices (a form of worship) in God, but her soul glorifies (a form of praise) God.

The corresponding activity in the body is bowing, lifting up of hands, clapping or dancing.

2 Sam. 6:14 says, "king David danced before the Lord" after he brought back the Ark of God to the City of David. He danced because his spirit rejoiced with gladness. David was led by the Spirit of God to dance.

Revelation

Revelation comes by the Spirit of God.

Paul prayed, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph. 1:17, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that wisdom and revelation are part of the Spirit of God and we can only receive them in the spirit realm. We know God by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. In other words, our spirit-to-Spirit relationship with God gives us the knowledge of Him.

The corresponding activity in the soul realm is doctrine, theology or theological teaching. I am not saying doctrine and theology are wrong and not good. They are good and needed if they are entirely Bible based and Christ centered. But, they are in the realm of the soul, intellect and reasoning and must be distinguished from spiritual revelation which comes directly from the Spirit of God. No one gets to know God by theology alone.

In my opinion, the average contemporary local Church has a lot of theology but very little revelation. It seems some preachers are frightened of revelation and think it is far more reliable to depend on theology or teaching materials of renowned Christian writers.

Preachers should emulate Paul:

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Cor. 2:4 and 5, NIV, emphasis).

You cannot find Pual refering to any man-certered doctrine, rules and regulations in any of his epistles. Our faith should rest on the revelation and power of God.

In fact he said, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ" (Col. 2:8, emphasis added).

In other words, philosophy and basic principles of the world have no place in the Body of Christ, in preaching or in any Church activity!

Joy

As we have seen from the example of Mary's Prayer (or Song), joy comes from the Spirit of God. The truth is that joy depends entirely on God. Since God never changes (Mal. 3:6) we need not be without joy at any moment of time.

In fact, the Psalmist said, "To God my exceeding joy" (Ps. 43:4).

Think about it; if God is your joy and if you are without joy, then you are either without God or cut off from God. Either way you cannot call yourself a true Christian or a true disciple of Christ!

Furthermore, Christians are instructed by Paul to "Rejoice always" (1 Thess. 5:16).

The last Chapter of Habakkuk gives us a clear picture of what Biblical Joy is.

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17 and 18, emphasis added).

In the midst of all those calamities Habakkuk chose to rejoice in the Lord. Joy is a decision of the will.

The corresponding activity in the soul realm is happiness. The main difference is, happiness depends entirely on situation or circumstances. It depends on the way people are treating you. It depends on your financial situation and other experiences in life. It is never constant but fluctuates. No one is able to feel happy all the time.

The corresponding activity in the body is how we perceive the situation by our five senses. It is always pleasurable to be joyful or to feel happy.

The Rebellious Soul

Our soul is opened to Satan's prompting and deception.

James said we are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires (things of the soul) and enticed by Satan (James 1:14).

The soul of a born again, spirit baptized Christian can become soulish if he fails to walk in the Spirit and turns away from God in self-willed rebellion. The result is, in some measure he lost his fervent love towards God. He is no longer the same spiritual person he used to be. He is on the verge of "backsliding". He is not a lost soul, but his soul life becomes soulish. Satan somehow has a foothold on him. He becomes a soulish person if he is no longer led by the Spirit of God. The soulish nature in him produces soulish substitutes of true spiritual activities.

Soulish Substitutes of Spiritual Activities

I have to say that the following comments are entirely subjective. It is my personal evaluation from personal observation and experiences. My readers need not agree with me.

Here are some examples:

Worship

In true spiritual worship the believer gives himself unreservedly to God. He is God focused.

The soulish substitute of worship is entertainment which is self focused. In entertainment the "worshiper" says bless me and give me a good time. His main reason of going to a Church service is to "get blessed" by participating in soulish singing of soulish songs with deafening soulish music. The leaders of their Church know most of the churchgoers have itching ears and could not endure sound doctrine and so they simply give them what they want. Soulish preachers are invited to "preach" man-pleasing compromising "sermons" (1 Tim. 4:3 and 4). Everyone is happy (of the soul) and tells others to come and "get blessed". It is not surprising that these Churches always have large congregations of churchgoers.

Discernment

In true spiritual discernment the believer is led by the Holy Spirit to assess a situation or a another person's conduct or attitude in certain circumstances. We have to be very careful here. Christians who do not understand much about spiritual discernment might think you are judging others. One of the most common misunderstood verses of the Bible taken out of context is Mattew 7:1. Many Christians including Pastors and Church leaders think they have no right to judge at all. Matters pertaining to "Discernment and Judging" is so confusing and at the same time so important that I intend (God helping me) to have a posting on this topic soon.

The soulish substitute is criticism. When Christians are walking in the soulish realm they could not understand things of the Spirit for these are foolishness to them (1 Cor. 2:14). It is a natural tendency to criticize things that seem foolish to them.

Compassion

The show of compassion comes from the realm of the Spirit.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus shows compassion to the lame, the blind, the sick and the demon possessed. He heals and delivers them. In other words, He does something to change the situation.

When Jesus was in the company of Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus, Jesus wept. But His weeping was the result of His "troubled" Spirit and His showing of compassion towards Lazarus' sisters. The Bible says, "He groaned in the spirit and was troubled" (John 11:33, NKJV). Jesus was never soulish.

It is true that a Christian cannot heal another person's sickness; but he can certainly pray for that person, shares the Gospel to him and ministers to his needs.

The soulish substitute is sympathy or show of pity. A "self-pity" person is always seeking sympthy. Self-pity is a result of self-love. This person is walking in the soulish realm. He desires friends to say "Poor you, I feel sorry for you". This person might feel good for a while but there is little or nothing done by his friends to change the situation.

Job was surrounded by friends who were sympathetic toward him.

Conviction

Conviction of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8). Conviction usually leads to repentance.

The soulish substitute is guilt or condemnation. God never makes people feel guilty but Satan does. Satan is called "the accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10). The last thing that Satan wants is repentance of God's people. He is the thief to come to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10). He does not want God to forgive you through repentance.

No Christian has the right to condemn another Christian.

Paul said, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, ... (Romans 8:1).

Revelation

All spiritual truth and prophecies are the work of the Holy Spirit. The Scripture says prophecy "never came by the will of man" (2 Peter 1:21) and "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim. 3:16). In other words, no one knows any spiritual truth unless he receives it by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is written by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

The soulish substitute is manipulation.

A situation might arise at the end of a Christian meeting when the invited preacher says, "God tells me that the gentleman sitting at the back row will give RM5000 to this ministry at the end of the meeting. God will certainly bless him even more abundantly if he gives more!"

It could well be a genuine revelation of the Holy Spirit. But, if it is not , then this is maniputlation or witchcraft in disquise!

In His "Sermon on the mount" Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matt. 7:15). He said further that "Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (verse 20).

Christians need spiritual discernment to understand what are true spiritual activities and what are soulish substitutes of the real things!

The Church of Jesus Christ needs the Spirit of discernmet in the Last Days!