doctrine

The Holy Spirit

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Francis Chan has a remarkable book called Forgotten God, one of the best books I’ve read about the Holy Spirit.

To say the Holy Spirit is a touchy topic is putting it mildly. People in general tend to go to one of two extremes. Either folks go to hyperemotionalism and experience devoid of doctrine or they practically deny His existence and never speak of Him.

And I did say “Him” and not “It.” The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force a la “May the force be with you” from Star Wars fame. He is just as much of a person as either God the Father or God the Son. He can be grieved, full of joy, and can remind us of the truths Jesus taught us.

I heard a really good reminder. The Holy Spirit isn’t mystical as much as He is practical. Everything He does isn’t so much to get us to feel as much as it is to do and to be. More specifically, to conform our character to Christ’s and build up the Kingdom of God.

True worship, as well as all other aspects of faith, involve spirit and truth, the heart and the mind, emotion and intellect. It’s folly to devote yourself to one exclusively to the detriment of the other.

There’s an old saying that goes like this: “Too much Word and not enough Spirit you puff up. Too much Spirit and not enough Word you blow up. With the Word and the Spirit together, you grow up.”

I agree with that in terms of finding a balance between emotion and intellect. I would argue however that the Spirit is not in opposition to the Word. The Holy Spirit of God will always illuminate and confirm the Word of God. He will never go against that Word, but bring clarity and interpretation and application.

As with most spiritual matters, I don’t claim to have expertise or command of the subject. There is so much I don’t know and don’t understand, so much I never will this side of heaven. But that shouldn’t ever stop me from seeking and growing and learning.

And I recommend that Francis Chan book if you get the chance to read it some time.

My two cents on spiritual warfare

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

A group of guys and I have been watching a DVD series on spiritual warfare by Chip Ingram called The Invisible War (and yes, that was a shameless plug). It got me thinking about the mindset of so many American believers (including me) regarding the whole topic of spiritual warfare. Plainly put, either most of us don’t believe there is an war going on with an enemy that is constantly seeking our destruction. If we believe, we sure don’t live like it much of the time. Again, me included.

The war is real. The enemy is real. In this world, we are not tourists on vacation, or passengers on some kind of luxury cruise, but soldiers engaged in battle. Our ignorance of the battle and our enemy can only do us harm. We need to wake up to realize that we are under attack. But here’s the best part.

The battle is already won. Chip Ingram said, “As believers in Christ, we don’t fight FOR victory. We fight FROM victory.” That’s the good news (which is why it’s called the gospel!). But there is still a battle.

We fight back by putting on the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. We should pray these on every morning and pray these for each other on a daily basis. We should pray with eyes wide open to the spiritual realm, asking God to give us eyes to see the battle around us like the Elijah prayed for his servant when they were surrounded by the Syrian army. We should pray for discernment and wisdom. Most of all, we should pray at all times to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled, taking every thought captive and submitting them to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We must fight together. If you are fighting the enemy on your own, apart from other believers, you may succeed for a season, but you will ultimately grow weary and faint. You will stumble and fall. You need other believers praying God’s protection over you, encouraging you and keeping you honest.

We fight ultimately with one weapon– LOVE. Not as a feeling, but as a decisive act of the will. We fight by showing that Calvary’s love is stronger than hate and that love overcomes anything. Chip Ingram said, “Love is giving to another person what they need the most when they deserve it least.” Love is doing whatever you can, even to your own detriment, for the good of the beloved. It means dying to yourself and your rights and own ideas about how the world should work.

So live with eyes wide open, hands raised, side by side with your brothers and sisters in Christ. And remember that the battle is already won and that we have overcome!

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.