The Person With The Spirit Makes Judgments About All Things

1 Corinthians 2:15

“The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,”

1 Cor. 2:14-16…”But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.  But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Most Christians who are not led by the Spirit cringe when they realize that your words are somewhat judging them. They find solace and hang on to comments like this one: “Didn't Jesus say not to judge others?”  Or they would say things like, “who are you to judge?” Like a dog with a bone they cannot let go of this verse in the Bible and their stand in their self-righteousness without the Spirit. IT IS SO SAD TO WATCH AND READ SUCH PEOPLE.  

I have to admit that when I first came to know the Lord, I found solace in knowing that Christ Himself said in Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Because I was sealed with the spirit, He led me to stop hanging onto a simple verse and build my life on it. As I let go, I started seeing other verses that I read about but never truly paid attention to them, as if they never entered my mind. I first noticed that God wants us to judge with the Spirit. Then, I was floored when I realized how much Christ judged the people of His time. In fact, I found Him very harsh at times.

Later, I learned it was not because Christ was trying to hurt others, it was the Spirit of God calling things exactly what they were. I could also see how I was thinking like someone with no spiritual understanding looking for Christ to sympathize with them instead of judging them rightly. I had a need for Christ to say things like other human being would, which means you have to downplay what you see to avoid telling the blunt truth to someone. As human being we do not like being told a blunt truth and we do not like facing ourselves, hence why we constantly wear masks in order to protect our fragile ego.

I also understood much later, after God equipped me with the truth and boldness to share His word, when you speak, live and walk in Spirit you cannot control the Holy Spirit. In fact, trying to control the Holy Spirit calling things the way He sees things through you, is a sin. If we try to sympathize with people instead of holding them accountable, we condemn them to hell and we nullify Christ’s work on the cross. Most of the time, we Christians use sympathy instead of the Agape love of Christ.  We also do things as we walk with common sense and self-righteousness, all to avoid righteous judgement and our desperate need to please man.  When we cultivate this state of mind, there is no question about it that we are not living or walking in the Spirit, let alone living a spirit filled life.

I will share a secret with you and you can take it to the bank.  When you find yourself fighting with everything that you are, the idea of being judged, you can bank on it that you are in the flesh. Why? Because the Holy Spirit could care less that someone is making wrong judgment about Him. Furthermore, when you know you are living and walking in the Spirit and all your judgments are flowing through Him, anyone who dares judge you will deal with God. Why? Because once again it is not about you, it is about the Spirit of God in you. In fact, as you mature spiritually in the faith and you are living the Spirit filled life, the Holy Spirit in you, shares the fact this natural person talking about you or with you is simply a fool. And instead of feeling pain for yourself, you take pity on them for their ignorance. What’s more sad is that you are watching someone calling himself or herself a Christian and who’s so devoid of spiritual understanding and complete absence of the Holy Spirit activities, yet they are no wiser of their own situation.

Years ago, I used to be upset at people for lying to my pastors so that they can be promoted or just so they can be held in high esteem by them. One of my pastors made a big mistake that was costly to the Church and his life with God just by listening to people he thought were good Christians. In reality, these people were not. One of them God revealed it to me through a dream and made me confront this person. I used to be so mad when I knew people lied to my pastor. I felt, by lying to a pastor you cause him to make the wrong decision and jeopardize the Church. Later on when God moves to heal my heart because I was mad at these people for lying, He taught me that while it is true these people were wrong, but the onus was on my pastor to be living and walking in the Spirit so that these people would not have prevailed. My pastor would have been led by the Spirit and the actions taken through the Church would have been different.  

The moral of the story is, if you find yourself like a dog with a bone hanging onto Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” If you find yourself putting much more weight on this verse to demand your rights be respected. If you are a pastor and you find ample materials to preach about how we should not judge others, then you have a much bigger problem and you need the Holy Spirit big time.

This is also one of the reasons you see the internet is filled with Christian sites devoted to denounce real Christians, talking about much deeper Christianity. Yet they, in their self-righteousness have felt the need to blast these people’s names all over the internet, denouncing them as false teachers. When in reality, the person who has the site devoted to this so called “unmasking the false prophets” is the one doing Satan’s deed.

It is strange to see that I am not a minister, God has taught me there are many out there with mega ministry without His blessings and some with those mega ministries are saved by the skin of their teeth. He taught me to identify those who are truly false prophets, yet He also taught me to keep these things for myself. If those with internet programs devoted to blast God’s true messengers as being false prophets knew how badly God will judge them, they would shudder right now. While God does not want me to turn what I know into a ministry to unmask anyone, but, He wants me to use it on a one to one basis with people that I know for sure are following the wrong ministers on television.

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him" (Psalm 25:14). Let the Spirit of God takes you to a higher ground and you will see human being has nothing on you.

MATHEW HENRY’S CONCIZE COMMENTARY

”1Cor.2:10-16 God has revealed true wisdom to us by his Spirit. Here is a proof of the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, 2Pe 1:21. In proof of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, observe that he knows all things, and he searches all things, even the deep things of God. No one can know the things of God, but his Holy Spirit, who is one with the Father and the Son, and who makes known Divine mysteries to his church. This is most clear testimony, both to the real Godhead and the distinct person of the Holy Spirit. The apostles were not guided by worldly principles. They had the revelation of these things from the Spirit of God, and the saving impression of them from the same Spirit. These things they declared in plain, simple language, taught by the Holy Spirit, totally different from the affected oratory or enticing words of man's wisdom. The natural man, the wise man of the world, receives not the things of the Spirit of God. The pride of carnal reasoning is really as much opposed to spirituality, as the basest sensuality. The sanctified mind discerns the real beauties of holiness, but the power of discerning and judging about common and natural things is not lost. But the carnal man is a stranger to the principles, and pleasures, and actings of the Divine life. The spiritual man only, is the person to whom God gives the knowledge of his will. How little have any known of the mind of God by natural power! And the apostles were enabled by his Spirit to make known his mind. In the Holy Scriptures, the mind of Christ, and the mind of God in Christ, are fully made known to us. It is the great privilege of Christians, that they have the mind of Christ revealed to them by his Spirit. They experience his sanctifying power in their hearts, and bring forth good fruits in their lives.”

The Lies & Shame Of Backsliding

Jeremiah 2:21-24

“I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. How can you say, I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals? See how you behaved in the valley consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving—in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her."

The Israelites were lavished by God with the highest privileges. But instead of worship the God who loved and honored them by making them His choice over all the other nations, they became the worst idolaters that existed in their time. They were corrupted to the core and had become useless to God. When we read those verses we see the depth of their denial and the madness of backsliding motion. They left Him, completely disobeyed His Word at all levels and all the facts were against them. They had the audacity to deny who they truly were in the presence of God. They pretended that all their sins of idolatry were not so, and if anything, God is the one who misunderstood.

Isn’t like most of us Christians today? We sin as if God was dead or blind and deaf. We are devoid of reverence for Him. We do not love Him to care enough to become rooted and grounded in the faith. We try to fool Him with ritual and entrench ourselves in service, for His benefits. The worse part of our madness is that true repentance evades us. Most of us are in complete denial of who we truly are when it comes to being Christians. Yet, our actions show what is in our heart which is the incessant need to cover up who we truly are.  

If we were true to the faith, and knew how to examine ourselves, we would know and see with our spiritual eyes. The fact that we need to cover up who we truly are and the fact that we still need to wear masks to deal with day to day life and our interactions with other people, should be an indication of how much we need Him and how far we are from being true Christians. There are some of us calling ourselves Christians, yet we upstage Pharaoh with his hardened heart. Sadly, like the Israelites, sin is eating us alive like we have leprosy, yet we have the audacity to make the same claim they made in verse 23 "I am not defiled; I have not gone after other gods.”

How sad? How pathetic to reach such a low state where we think we can convince God otherwise and that He will not be wiser?

PRAYER: Lord, like the Israelites, we messed up really bad. We are running like sheep with no pastures to rest and no shepherd. Lord, pride, blindness, ignorance, and the lust in our hearts are too much to bear. Day in day out, we are committing spiritual suicide with no regards for you. We have reached a point of no return. Please shake us up, do what needs to be done to get us out of that frame of mind, and out of our lethargy. Help us face who we truly are so we can stop the backsliding mode that we are in. Give us eyes to see and hearts to repent my Lord. 

Please visit my website at www.apprehended.ca

Are You Walking In The Spirit?

 Every time I read Galatians 5:16-25 I cannot help but ache for some Christians. In these verses, Paul is sharing with these precious believers that he loves so much yet he is in pain for them because they are in trouble with their Christian walk. The whole chapter is about how to preserve in the faith. While a lot of Christians enjoy putting a different spin on these types of warnings to go right back to the fact that God cannot lie as such they will be okay. I feel for them, because I was there too. I also feel for them because I know for fact, that the only reason someone who is in the Word would read certain warnings and lie to themselves and dismiss those warnings as if God can be manipulated into keeping His word, is the subtle work of Satan.

 In our walk in the flesh, we have learned to redefine words such as immorality, filth, idols, ambitions, indecent etc, according to our own explanations and understanding. The truth is, we stop seeing the good in us only when we can see ourselves through His eyes. Only then, we have no illusion about who we are in the flesh. As this has become the truth we live by, we yearn to walk in the Spirit, because that is where He is found and that is where we find life.

 As I shared in my book, a few years after I started my wilderness wanderings with God, the Holy Spirit started taking me in a direction where His will for me was to learn to walk in the Spirit. At the beginning I fought Him with everything I had, because I was confused. I heard it over and over again through various pastors and elders that as soon as you say the sinner's prayer you walk in the Spirit. So, I basically sided with man’s explanations, rather than the Holy Spirit’s leading. (I am glad I came to my senses not long after that) to my surprise, I had no idea those sermons I was listening to, and those pastors and elders who were saying that Christians automatically walk in the Spirit were confused Biblically. That was a major stumbling block for me and it is still a major stumbling block for many Christians out there. There is a massive amount of Christians out there that has no idea what it means to walk in the Spirit. You either walk in the Spirit or you wing it.

 Paul in Galatians 5 was talking to Christians, some he brought them to the Lord himself. We do not have to be drunk, practice witchcraft and have orgies like mentioned in verse 21, to belong to the category Paul was referring will not see the Kingdom of God. A true Christian makes it a point to walk in the Spirit. While it is difficult the first few years but, over time as you remain grounded in your identity in Him, you get the hang of it to the point where you know when you are in the flesh. That is because walking in the Spirit has become your lifestyle and who you are in Him.  Even Paul Himself found the secret of walking in the Spirit which has enabled him to translate from the Christian he was in Romans chapter 7, years later he became the Christian in Romans chapter 8. You would make a monumental error if you assume that Paul remained that shoddy Christian he was in Romans chapter 7. Furthermore, Paul basically gave us a command in Galatians 5:16 to walk in the Spirit “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”  

A while back I was talking to a couple, and sadly, the woman told me that it does not matter if she has never learned to walk in the Spirit because God made a promise as long as we believe in Christ, we are saved. I can tell she already has her defense planned.  In her mind, God is mute. I honestly could not dispute the woman, because in her blindness, she is not even able to think that God could ask her what exactly did you believe in that cause you to resemble to your father Satan. After all, Satan actually believes and he knows the Bible by heart. It isn’t for nothing that Scriptures said to us in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” What we do not know is that when we are called in front of His throne, we will have to stand there naked, everything stripped away, including excuses, but your lies, stubbornness, unwillingness and all that stops you from following after Him will remain.  I have been called to the light while I am down here, and it is not a pick nick. While you are there, there are three things you can be sure of: you are stripped of everything, shame and guilt are your companion, and you keep quiet because you cannot utter one word

 I discussed this subject in depth in my newly released Christian book “Apprehended & Apprehending” and explained step by step how you get to walk in the Spirit.  The book is available on Amazon, and all fine bookstores.

 Paperback on Amazon              Kindle on Amazon

Please visit my website www.apprehended.ca

What Kind of Christian Are You? Part 2

Finney's attempt to bring us Christians to a place where we can examine ourselves

PART II: LEGAL RELIGION"Who is on the Lord's side?" - Exodus 32:26

 In discoursing from this text, I have mentioned three classes of professors of religion: (1) those who truly love God and man, (2) those who are motivated solely by selfishness in their religious duties, and (3) those who are motivated only by a regard for public opinion.  Now I intend to mention several characteristics of the second class, 

 Those professors who are motivated by self-love or by selfishness. 

 I intend to show how their leading or main purpose in religion develops itself in their conduct.  The conduct of men invariably shows what is their true and main purpose.  A man's character is as his supreme purpose is.  And if you can learn by his conduct what that leading purpose is, then you can know with certainty what his character is. 

 These three classes of professors agree in many things.  But there are certain things in which they differ, and by close observation the difference will be seen in their conduct, from which we infer a difference in their character.  And those points in which they differ belong to the very fundamentals of religion. 

 I will now set forth some of the characteristics of the second class - those who are motivated by self-love, or by selfishness, in whom hope and fear are the main springs of all they do in religion.  And the things that I shall mention make it evident that the individual is motivated by a supreme regard to his own good - that the fear of punishment, or the hope of advantage to himself, is the foundation of all his conduct. 

 1. They make religion a subordinate concern. 
 They show by their conduct that they do not regard religion as the principal business of life, but as subordinate to other things.  They consider religion as something that ought to come in and find a place among other things, as a sort of Sabbath-day business, but not as the grand business of life.  They make a distinction between religious duty and business, and consider them as entirely separate concerns.  Whereas, if they had right views of the matter, they would consider religion as the only business of life, and nothing else either lawful or worth pursuing, any further than as it promotes or serves religion.  If they had the right feeling, religion would characterize all that they do, and it would be manifest that everything they do is an act of obedience to God, or an act of irreligion. 

 2.  Their religious duties are performed as a task, and are not the result of the constraining love of God that burns within them. 
 Such a one does not delight in the exercise of religious affections; and as to communion with God, he knows nothing of it.  He performs prayer as a task.  He betakes himself to religious duties as sick persons take medicine, not because they love it, but because they hope to derive some benefit f rom it. 
 And here let me ask you, Do you enjoy religious exercises, or do you perform them because you hope to receive benefit by them?  Be honest, now, and answer this question, just according to the truth. 

 3. They manifestly possess a legal spirit, and not a gospel spirit. 
 They do rather what they are obliged to do, in religion, and not what they love to do.  They have an eye to the commands of God, and yield obedience to his requirements, in performing religious duties, but do not engage in those things because they love them.  They are always ready to inquire, in regard to duty, not so much how they can do good, as how they can be saved.  The principal object of such a professor of religion is not to save the world, but to save himself. 

 4.  They are motivated by fear much more than by hope. 
 They perform their religious duties chiefly because they dare not omit them.  They have the spirit of slaves, and go about the service of God as slaves go about the service of their master, feeling that they are obliged to do about so much, or be beaten with many stripes.  So these professors feel as if they were obliged to have about so much religion, and perform about so many religious duties, or be lashed by conscience and lose their hopes. 

 5.  Their religion is not only produced by the fear of disgrace or the fear of hell, but it is mostly of a negative character. 
 They satisfy themselves, mostly, with doing nothing that is very bad.  Having no spiritual views, they regard the law of God chiefly as a system of prohibitions, just to guard men from certain sins, and not as a system of benevolence fulfilled by love. And so, if they are moral in their conduct, and rather serious and decent in their general deportment, and perform required amount of religious exercises, this satisfies them.  The most you can say of them is, that they are not very bad.  They seem to think little or nothing of being useful to the cause of Christ, so long as they cannot be convicted of any positive transgression. 

 6.  This class of persons are more or less strict in religious duties, according to the light they have and the sharpness with which conscience pursues them. 
 Where they have enlightened minds and tender consciences, you often find them the most rigid of all professors.  They tithe even to "mint and anise." They are stiff even to moroseness.  They are perfect Pharisees, and carry everything to the greatest extremes so far as outward strictness is concerned. 

 7.  They are more or less miserable in proportion to the tenderness of their conscience. 
 With all their strictness, they cannot but realize that they are great sinners after all: and having no just sense of the gospel justification, this leaves them very unhappy.  And the more enlightened and tender their conscience, the more they are unhappy.  Notwithstanding their strictness, they feel that they come short of their duty, and not having any gospel faith, nor any of that holy anointing of the Holy Spirit that brings peace to the soul, they are unsatisfied, and uneasy, and miserable. 

 Perhaps many of you have seen such persons.  Perhaps some of you are such, and you never knew what it was to feel justified before God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, and you know not what it is to feel that Jesus Christ has accepted and owned you as his.  You never felt in your minds what that is which is spoken of in the text, "There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:1)   Does such language bring home any warm and practical idea to you, that it is a reality because you experience it in your soul?  Or do you, after all, still feel condemned and guilty, and have no sense of pardoned sin, and no experimental peace with God, or confidence in Jesus Christ. 

 8.  This class of persons are encouraged and cheered by reading the accounts of ancient saints who fell into great sins. 
 They feel wonderfully instructed and edified when they hear the sins of God's people set forth in a strong light.  Then they are comforted and their hopes are wonderfully strengthened.  Instead of feeling humbled and distressed, and feeling that such conduct is so contrary to all religion that they could hardly believe they were saints if it had not been found in the Bible, and that they could not believe at all that persons who should do such things under the light of the Christian dispensation, could be saints; they feel gratified and strengthened, and their hopes are confirmed, by all these things. 

 9.  They are always much better pleased, by how much the lower the standard of piety is held out from the pulpit. 
 If the minister adopts a low standard, and is ready to hope that almost everybody is a Christian, they are pleased and compliment him for his expansive charity, and praise him as such an excellent man, so charitable, etc.  Right over against this, you will see, is the conduct of the man whose main purpose is to rid the world of sin.  He wants all men to be holy, and therefore he wants to have the true standard of holiness held up.  He wants all men to be saved, but he knows they cannot be saved unless they are truly holy.  And he would as soon think of Satan's going to heaven as of getting a man there by frittering away the Bible standard of holiness by "charity." 

 10.  They are fond of having "comfortable" doctrines preached. 
 Such persons are apt to be fond of having the doctrine of saints' perseverance much dwelt on, and the doctrine of election.  Often, they want nothing else but what they call the doctrines of grace.  And if that can be preached in such an abstract way, as to afford them comfort without galling their consciences too much, they are "fed." 

 11.  They love to have their ministers preach sermons "to feed Christians." 
 Their main object is not to save sinners, but to be saved themselves, and therefore they always choose a minister, not for his ability in preaching for the conversion of sinners, but for his talents in feeding the church with mere abstractions. 

 12.  They lay great stress on having "a comfortable hope." 
 You will hear them talking very solemnly about the importance of having a comfortable hope.  If they can only be at ease in their minds, they show very little concern whether anybody else around them is saved or not.  If they can have only their fears silenced and their hopes cherished they have religion enough to satisfy them. 

 In their prayers, you will find the class I am now speaking of, are praying mainly that their evidences may be brightened, and that they may feel assured that they are going to heaven. 

 13.  They are more afraid of punishment than they are of sin. 
 Precisely over against this, you will find the true friends of God and man more afraid of sin than of punishment.  It is not the question with them, "If I do this shall I be punished?" or, "If I do this, will God forgive me?" But the question is that which Joseph asked, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" There was the spirit of a child of God, afraid of sin more than punishment, and so much afraid of sin that he had no thought of punishment. 

 This class of persons I am speaking of, often indulge in sin if they can persuade themselves that God will forgive them, or when they think they can repent of it afterwards. 

 They often reason in this way: "Such a minister does this;" or "Such an elder or professor does this, and why may not I do the same?" or "Others get along without doing such and such things, and why should I trouble myself to be better than they?" It is not sin that they fear, but punishment.  They sin, they know, but they hope to escape punishment.  Who cannot see that this is contrary to the spirit of the true friends of God, whose absorbing object it is to get sin - all sin - out of the world, and are not half so much afraid of hell as they are of committing sin? 

 14.  They are more fond of receiving good than of doing good. 
 You may know such persons have not the spirit of the gospel.  They have never entered into the spirit of Jesus Christ, when he said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." A person actuated by true love to God and man, enjoys what he does to benefit others, far more than they do who receive good at his hand.  He is really benevolent, and it is a gratification to him to show kindness, because his heart is set upon it, and when he can do it, a holy joy is shed over his mind, and he enjoys it exquisitely. 

 The other class are more eager to receive than to impart.  They want to receive comfort, but are never ready to deny themselves to give the comforts of the gospel to others.  How directly contrary this is to the spirit of the gospel, any one can see at a glance.  That spirit finds its supreme happiness in communicating happiness to others.  But this class of persons wants to lay everybody under contribution to impart happiness to themselves, instead of laying themselves out to bless others. 
 Who does not know these two classes of professors?  One always seeking out objects to do good to, the other always trying to gain good themselves.  One anxious to communicate, the other to receive.  One to do good, the other to get good.  These two classes of character are just as opposite as light and darkness. 

 15. If this class of professors pray for the conversion and salvation of others, you may observe that they are motivated by the same kind of considerations as they are when they pray for themselves. 
 They are chiefly afraid of hell themselves, and when they are strongly convicted, they are afraid others will go there too.  They are seeking happiness for themselves, and when self is not in the way, they seek the same for others.  They pray for sinners, not because they have such a sense of the evil of sin which sinners are committing, as because they have such a sense of the terrors of hell to which sinners are going. It is not because sinners dishonor God that they want them converted, but because they are in danger. Their great object in praying is to secure the safety of those they pray for, as it is their great object in religion to secure their own safety.  They pity themselves and they pity others.  If there was no danger, they would have no motive to pray either for themselves or others. 

 The true friends of God and man feel compassion for sinners too, but they feel much more for the honor of God.  They are more distressed to see God abused and dishonored than to see sinners go to hell.  And if God must be forever dishonored or men go to hell - just as certainly as they love God supremely, they will decide that sinners shall sink to endless torments sooner that God fail of his due honor.  And they manifest their true feelings in their prayers.  You hear them praying for sinners as rebels against God, as guilty criminals deserving of eternal wrath, as the enemies of God and the universe; and while they are full of compassion for sinners, they feel also the enkindlings of holy indignation against them for their conduct towards the blessed God. 

 16.  They manifest great uneasiness at the increasing calls for self-denial to do good. 
 This class of persons are in constant distress at being called on to give up so much.  The good that is to be done does not enter into their thoughts, because they are all the while dwelling on what have to give up. 

 It is easily seen why aggressive movements on the kingdom of darkness distress such persons.  Their object never was to search out and banish from this world everything that is dishonorable to God or injurious to man. They never entered upon religion with the determin-ation to clear out every such thing from the earth, as far as they had power, and as fast as they were convinced that it was injurious to themselves or others, in soul or body.  And therefore they are distressed by the move-ments of those who are truly engaged to search out and clear away every evil. 

 These persons are annoyed by the continually increasing calls to give for missions, Bibles, tracts, and the like.  The time was, when a rich man gave twenty-five dollars a year to such things, he was thought to be doing pretty well.  But now there are so many calls for contributions, that they are in torment all the time.  They are obliged to keep giving all the time, in order to keep up their character, or to have any hope, but they are much distressed about it. 

 17.  When they are called upon to exercise self-denial for the sake of doing good, instead of being a pleasant thing, it gives them unmingled pain. 
 Such a one does not know anything about enjoying self-denial.  He cannot understand how self-denial is pleasant, nor how anybody can take pleasure in it, or have joy of heart in denying himself for the sake of doing good to others.  Yet the true friend of God and man, whose heart is fully set to do good, never enjoys any money he expands so well as that which he gives to promote Christ's kingdom.  If he is really pious, he knows that is the best disposition he can make of his money.  Nay, he is sorry to be obliged to use money for anything else, when there are so many opportunities to do good with it. 

 I want you to look at this.  It is easy to see that if an individual has his heart very much set upon anything, all the money he can save for that object is most pleasing to him, and the more he can save from other objects for this that his heart is set on, the better he is pleased.  If an individual finds it hard for him to give money for religious objects, it is easy to see that his heart is not set on it.  If it were, he would have given his money with joy. 

 18.  They do not manifest much distress when they behold sin. 
 They do not rebuke it.  They love to mingle in scenes where sin is committed.  They love to be where they can hear vain conversation, and even to join in it.  They love worldly company and worldly books.  Their spirit is worldly.  Instead of hating even the garment spotted with the flesh,(Jude 23)  they love to hang around the confines of sin, as if they were pleased with it. 

 19. They do not aim at anything higher than a legal, painful, negative religion. 
 The love of Christ does not constrain them to a constant warfare against sin, and a constant watch to do all the good in their power.  But what they do is done only because they think they must.  And they maintain a kind of piety that is formal, heartless, worthless. 

 20. They do not enjoy secret prayer. 
 They do not pray in their closets because they LOVE to pray but because they think it is their duty, and they dare not neglect it. 

 21. They do not enjoy the Bible. 
 They do not read the Bible because it is sweet to their souls, sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. They do not "enjoy" the reading, as a person enjoys the most exquisite delights.  They read it because it is their duty to read it; and it would not do to profess to be a Christian and not read the Bible; but in fact they find it a dry book. 

 22. They do not enjoy prayer meetings. 
 Slight excuses keep them away.  They never go unless they find it necessary for the sake of keeping up appearances, or to maintain their hope.  And when they do go, instead of having their souls melted and fired with love, they are cold, listless, dull, and glad when it is over. 

 23. They find it difficult to appreciate what is meant by disinterestedness (non-self interest). 
 To serve God because they love him, and not for the sake of reward, is what they do not understand. 

 24. Their thoughts are not anxiously fixed upon the question, when shall the world be converted to God? 
 Their hearts are not agonized with such thoughts as this, Oh, how long shall wickedness prevail?  Oh, when shall this wretched world be rid of sin and death?  Oh, when shall men cease to sin against God?  They think more of the question, When shall I die and go to heaven, and get rid of all my trials and cares? 

 REMARKS 

 1.  I believe you will not think me extravagant, when I say that the religion I have described, appears to be the religion of a very large mass in the church. 
 To say the least, it is greatly to be feared that a majority of professing Christians are of this description.  To say this, is neither uncharitable nor censorious. 

 2.  This religion is radically defective. 
 There is nothing of true Christianity in it. It differs from Christianity as much as the Pharisees differed from Christ - as much as gospel religion differs from legal religion. 

 Now, let me ask you, to which of these classes do you belong?  Or are you in neither?  It may be because you are conscious you do not belong to the second class, you may think you belong to the first, when, in fact, you will find, when I come to describe the third class of professors, that I describe your true character. 

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What Kind Of Christian Are You?

This is an awesome piece from Finney. It leads you to a strong examination of who you really are in Christ.

Part I. TRUE SAINTS"Who is on the Lord's side?" - Exodus 32:26   The question was addressed by Moses to the professed people of God, immediately after their great departure from God while Moses was on the Mount, when they went and worshiped a golden calf which had been cast for them by Aaron.  After expostulating with the guilty nation, he called out, "Who is on the Lord's side?" It is not my intention to dwell on the history of this case particularity, but to come at once to the main purpose I have in view, which is to show that there are
 THREE CLASSES OF PROFESSING CHRISTIANSI. The true friends of God and man.

II. Those who are motivated by hope and fear, or in other words by self-love, or by selfishness.

III. Those who are motivated by public opinion. These three classes may be known by observing the characteristics which show what is the leading purpose in their religion.  It need not be proved that persons may set out in religion from very different motives, some from real love to religion, and some from other motives.  The differences may be arranged in these three classes, and by observing the development of their real purpose in becoming religious, you learn their characters.  They all profess to be servants of God, and yet by observing the lives of many it becomes manifest that, instead of their being God's servants, they are only trying to make God their servant.  Their leading aim and object is to secure their own salvation, or some other advantage for them-selves, through the medium of the favor of God.  They are seeking to make God their friend, that they may make use of Him to serve their own ends. 

There Is A Class Of Professed Christians Who Are The True Friends Of God. 

 If you observe those things which develop the true purpose and aim of their religion, you will see it to be such.  They are truly and sincerely benevolent. 

1.  They will make it manifest that this is their character by their carefulness in avoiding sin. 
 They will show that they hate it in themselves, and that they hate it in others.  They will not justify it in themselves, and they will not justify it in others.  They will not seek to cover up or to excuse their own sins, neither will they try to cover up or to excuse the sins of others. In short they aim at perfect holiness.  This course of conduct makes it evident that they are the true friends of God. I do not mean to say that every true friend of God is perfect, no more than I would say that every truly affectionate and obedient child is perfect, or never fails in duty to his parent. But, if he is an affectionate and obedient child, his aim is to obey always, and if be fails in any respect, he by no means justifies it, or pleads for it, or aims to cover it up, but soon as he comes to think of the matter, is dissatisfied with himself, and condemns his conduct. 

But you never see them finding fault with God.  You never hear them excusing themselves and throwing off the blame upon their Maker, by telling of their inability to obey God, or speaking as if God had required impossibilities of his creatures.  They always speak as if they felt that what God has required is right and reasonable, and themselves only to blame for their disobedience. 

2.  They manifest a deep abhorrence of the sins of other people. 
 They do not cover up the sins of others, or plead for them and excuse them, or smooth them over by "perhaps this," or "perhaps that." You never hear them apologizing for sin.  They know its horrible nature, and abhor it always. 

3.  Another thing in which this spirit manifests itself, is zeal for the honor and glory of God. 
 They show the same ardor to promote God's honor and interest that the true patriot does to promote the honor and interest of his country.  If he greatly loves his country, its government, and its interest, he sets his heart upon promoting its advancement and benefit.  He is never so happy as when he is doing something for the honor and advancement of his country. 

There are multitudes of professing Christians, and even ministers, who are very zealous to defend their own character and their own honor.  But this one class feel more engaged, and their hearts beat higher, when defending or advancing God's honor.  These are the friends of God and man.

 4.  They show that they sympathize with God in his feelings towards man.  
 They have the same kind of friendship for souls that God feels.  I do not mean that they feel in the same degree, but that they have the same kind of feelings.  There is such a thing as loving the souls of men and hating their conduct too.  This is a peculiar kind of sympathy which the real child of God feels, and manifests towards sinners.  It is a mingled feeling of abhorrence and compassion, of indignation against his sins, and pity for his person.  It is possible to feel this deep abhorrence of sin mingled with deep compassion for souls capable of such endless happiness. and yet bound to eternal misery. 

I will explain myself.  There are two kinds of love: one is the love of benevolence.  This has no respect to the character of the person loved, but merely views the individual as exposed to suffering and misery.  This God feels towards all men.  The other kind includes esteem or approval of character.  God feels this only towards the righteous.  He never feels this love towards sinners.  He infinitely abhors them.  He has an infinitely strong exercise of compassion and abhorrence at the same time.  Christians have the same feelings, only not in the same degree, but they have them at the same time.  Did you never see this?  Did you never see a parent yearning with compassion over a child, and reprove him with tears, and yet with a pungency that would make the little offender quail under his rebuke.  Jesus Christ often manifested strongly these two emotions.  He wept over Jerusalem, and yet he tells the reason in a manner that shows his burning indignation against their conduct.  "O Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee!" Ah, what a full view he had of their wickedness, at the moment that he wept with compassion for the doom that hung over them. 

I wish you to remember this point - that the true friend of God and man never takes the sinner's part, because he never acts through mere compassion.  And, at the same time, he is never seen to denounce the sinner, without at the same time manifesting compassion for his soul and a strong desire to save him from death. 

5.  It is a prominent object with such Christians, in all their relationships with men, to make them friends of God. 
 Whether they converse, or pray, or attend to the duties of life, it is their prominent purpose to recommend religion and to lead everybody to glorify God.  A true and affectionate child wishes everybody to love and respect his father.  And if any one is at enmity, it is his constant aim and effort to bring him to reconciliation.  The same you would expect from a true friend of God, as a leading feature of his character, that he would make it a prominent purpose of his life to reconcile sinners to God. 

Now, mark me!  If this is not the leading feature of your character, if it is not the absorbing topic of thought and effort to reconcile men to God, you have not the root of the matter in you. Whatever appearance of religion you may have, you lack the leading and fundamental characteristic of true piety. You lack the leading feature of the character and aims of Jesus Christ, and of his apostles and prophets.  Now let me ask you, what is the leading object of your life, as it appears in your daily walk?  Is it to bring all God's enemies to submit to him?  If not, away with your pretensions to religion.  Whatever else you may have, you have not the true love of God in you. 

 6.  Where there are Persons of this class, you will see them scrupulously avoid everything that in their estimation is calculated to defeat their great end. 
 They always wish to avoid everything calculated to prevent the salvation of souls, everything calculated to divert attention or in any way to hinder the conversion of souls.  It is not the natural question with them, when anything is proposed which is doubtful, to ask, "Is this something which God expressly forbids?" The first question that naturally suggests itself to their minds is, "What will be the bearing of this upon religion?  Will it have a tendency to prevent the conversion of sinners and to hinder the progress of revivals?" If so, they do not need the thunders of Sinai ringing in their ears, to forbid their doing it.  If they see it contrary to the spirit of holiness, and contrary to the main object they have in view, that is enough.  They avoid whatever they see would hinder a revival, as a matter of course, just as a merchant would avoid anything that had a tendency to impair his credit, and defeat his object of making money by his business. 

Suppose a merchant was about to do something that you knew would injuriously affect his credit, and you go to him in the spirit of friendship and advise him not to do it. Would he turn round and say, "Show me the passage in the Bible where God has prohibited this?" No. He would not ask you to show him anything more than this, that it is inconsistent with his main objective. 

 Mark this, all of you: A person who is strongly desirous of the conversion of sinners does not need an express prohibition to prevent his doing that which he sees is calculated to prevent this.  There is no danger of his doing that which will defeat the very object of his life. 

 7. This class of professing Christians are always distressed unless they see the work of converting sinners going on. 
 They call it a lamentable state of things in the church, if no sinners are converted.  No matter what else is true, no matter how rich the congregation grows, nor popular their minister, nor how many come to hear him, their panting hearts are uneasy unless they see the work of conversion actually going on.  They see that all the rest is nothing without this - yea, that even the means of grace are doing more hurt than good, unless sinners are converted. 

Such professors as these are a great trouble to those who are religious from other motives, and who therefore wish to keep all quiet, and have everything go on regularly in the "good old way." They are often called "uneasy spirits in the church." And mark it! if a church has a few such spirits in it, the minister will be made uneasy unless his preaching is such as to convert sinners.  In fact, their hearts are grieved and their souls in agony because sinners are not converted and souls are pressing down to hell. 

 8.  You will see them when manifesting a spirit of prayer, praying not for themselves but for sinners. 
 If you know the habitual tenor of people's prayers, it will show which way the tide of their feelings sets. If a man is motivated in religion mainly by a desire to save himself, you will hear praying chiefly for himself - that he may have his sins pardoned and "enjoy" much of the Spirit of God, and the like.  But if he is truly the friend of God and man, you will find that the burden of his prayers is for the glory of God in the salvation of sinners; and he is never so copious and powerful in prayer as when he gets upon his favorite topic - the conversion of sinners.   Go into the prayer meeting where such Christians pray, and instead of seeing them all shut up in the nut of their own interests, spending their whole prayer on themselves, and just closing with a flourish about the kingdom of Christ, you will hear them pouring out their souls in prayer for the salvation of sinners.  I believe there have been cases of such Christians who were so much absorbed by their desires for the salvation of sinners, that for weeks together they did not even pray for their own salvation.  If they pray for themselves at all, it is that they may be clothed with the Spirit of God, so that they can go out and be mighty through God in pulling souls out of the fire. 

If you know nothing about the spirit of prayer for sinners, you are not the true friend of God and man.  What! no heart to feel when sinners are going to hell by your side!  No sympathy with the Son of God, who gave his life to save sinners!  Away with all such professions of religion.  "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." 

 9.  These persons do not want to ask what are the things they are "required" to do for the conversion of sinners. 
 When anything is presented to them that promises success in converting sinners, they do not wait to be commanded to do it, on pains and penalties if they do not.  They only want the evidence that it is calculated to advance the object on which their hearts are set, and they will engage in it with all their soul.  The question is not with them all the while, "What am I expressly commanded to do?" but, "In what way can I do most for the salvation of souls, and the conversion of the world to God?" 

 10.  Another characteristic of such Christians is a disposition to deny themselves to do good to others. 
God has established throughout all the universe the principle of GIVING.  Even in the natural world, the rivers, the ocean, the clouds, all give.  It is so throughout the whole kingdom of nature and of grace.  This principle is everywhere recognized.  This is the very spirit of Christ.  He sought not to please himself, but to do good to others.  He found his highest happiness in denying himself to do good to others.  So it is with this class of persons - they are ever ready to deny themselves of enjoyments and comforts, and even of necessities, when by so doing they can do more good to others. 

 11.  They are grieved if they see reason to think their minister compromises, or does not reprove the church pointedly and faithfully for their sins. 
 The other classes of professors are willing to be rocked to sleep, and willing their minister should preach smooth, flowery, and eloquent sermons, and flattering sermons, with no point and no power.  But these are not satisfied unless he preaches powerfully and pointedly, and boldly, and rebukes and entreats, with all long-suffering and doctrine. (2 Tim. 4:2) 
 
 12.  This class of persons will always stand by a faithful minister, who preaches the truth boldly and pointedly. 
 No matter if the truth he preaches hits them, they like it, and say, "Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be an excellent oil." (Ps. 141:5)    When the truth is poured forth with power, their souls are fed, and grow strong in grace.  They can pray for such a minister.  They can weep in their closet, and pour out their souls in prayer for him, that he may have the Spirit of God always with him.  While others scold and cavil at him and talk about his being extreme, and all that, you will find Christians of this sort will stand by him, yea, and would go to the stake with him for the testimony of Jesus.  And this they do for the best of all reasons - such preaching falls in with the great design for which these Christians live. 

 13.  You will always find this class of persons speaking in terms of dissatisfaction with themselves, that they do no more for the conversion of sinners. 
 However much they may really "do" for this object, it seems that the more they do, the more they long to do.  They are never satisfied.  Instead of being satisfied with the present degree of their success, there is no end of their longing for the conversion of sinners.  I recollect a good man, who used to pray till he was exhausted with praying for individuals, and for places, and for the world's conversion.  Once when he was quite exhausted with praying, he exclaimed "Oh! my longing, aching heart!  There is no such thing as satisfying my unutterable desires for the conversion of sinners.  My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath." That man, though he had been useful beyond almost any other man of his age, yet he saw so much to do, and he so longed to see the work go forward and sinners saved, that his mortal frame could not sustain it. "I find," said he, one day, "that I am dying for want of strength to do more to save the souls of men.  Oh, how much I want strength, that I may save souls." 

14.  If you wish to influence this class of persons, you must make use of motives drawn from their great and leading object. 
 If you wish to move them, you must hold up the situation of sinners, and show how they dishonor God, and you will find this will move their souls and set them on fire sooner than any appeal to their hopes and fears.  Show them how they can convert sinners, and their longing hearts travail for souls, until they see them converted, and Christ formed in them. (Col. 1:27) 

I could mention many other characteristics which belong to this class of professing Christians - the true friends of God and man.  Now, do you belong to this class, or not? 

I have mentioned certain great fundamental facts which indicate the true character of individuals, by showing what is their main purpose and object in life.  You can tell whether this is your character.  When I come to the other part of the subject, I shall endeavor to describe those classes of professing Christians, whose religious zeal, prayers, and efforts, have another purpose. 

And now, I ask you before God, have you these characteristics of a child of God?  Do you know they belong to you?  Can you say, "O Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee, and that these are the features of my character!"

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