Things That Need Resolution – Part Three
The third installment of this series is related to Part One in a very direct way. My brother, John, alluded to it in his comment on Part One. There is a dire need within the church to define true Christian experience. Again, there are two camps in this debate. There is one side of the debate that leans heavily on experiences to define their Christian journey. The other side leans heavily in the other direction to allow only what is expressly written in the Scriptures to define their Christian journey. If you were raised in a more liturgical church this may have a very familiar feel to the debate over regulative worship or normative worship. Regulative worship, which is typically embraced by Reformed traditions, prescribes to a view that will only allow methods specifically mentioned in Scripture to be used in worship. In other words, we worship in ONLY the ways we see individuals worship in the Bible. Normative worship, which was embraced by individuals such as Martin Luther, views worship as inclusive of any activity that glorifies God so long as it does not violate Scripture. In other words, as long as Scripture doesn’t forbid an activity it can be redeemed for use in worship. Normative worship will be more accepting of experiences, regulative worship less accepting of experiences; but I digress.
Those who cling tight to their experiences would do well to remember that all Christian experience arises from a foundation of God’s word. If the experience you took part in does not have a sufficient root in God’s Word, then the experience was not sufficiently Christian. Too many people attend conferences, attend concerts, even attend church and have experiences which are emotional and powerful, but they are not from the Holy Spirit because the have no root in the Scriptures. Many experiences tend to center around music. This is dangerous because music, by design, is intended to manipulate the emotions. This isn’t bad, it has been its purpose since the first song was ever sung. The problem is that we can easily mistake the power of music itself for the power of the Holy Spirit. The same goes for dynamic speakers. Some men and women have a gift for communicating. We must take every word they utter and compare it to the Word, lest we be manipulated by the will of man, rather than the will of God. The sad thing, is that some people might be content with the manipulation because to take captive every experience and every word spoken to us is no small task. It requires study and it definitely requires time. But it is so worth it in the end to know that you are only being manipulated by the Holy Spirit in your experiences and not other forces.
On the other side of the coin, there are those who deny experience all together. This is an equal error. The New Testament clearly teaches that experiences is what authenticates the gospel. What do I mean? When Jesus told the disciples that the world would know that they followed him by their love for each other, he was giving the world the right to judge the authenticity of our message by the experiences they witness and partake of when they are among us. If we aren’t experiencing brotherly (and sisterly) love in our fellowship with each other as believers then our experience with each other is not Christian experience. It may have the external marks of Christian experience, but at its core, it is anything but Christian. And Jesus has made it clear that this is how the world will judge us; not by large attendance or the size of our buildings or by the busyness of our ministry efforts. It is by our love for one another that they will know us. This is the experience that authenticates the gospel.
The fruit of the Spirit may be a list of character traits, but what are character traits if there are no experiences in which they are clearly displayed (or not displayed)? Because the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to list these fruits, the common experience of all believers is that our behavior is marked by these characteristics. The display of these characteristics in experiences help us to authenticate the activity of the Holy Spirit in an individual. Why would we be given these fruit from which to draw comparison if we aren’t supposed make judgments? The obvious answer is that we are to make judgments about people’s behavior based upon these characteristics. Not judgments about salvation, but rather judgments about motive and whether or not a person is truly acting under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Experience should neither be the sole guide for our spiritual walk, nor should they be completely cast aside. Experience is important in that our experiences with each other will provide a context for the world to see Jesus in action. If they can’t see him working, then the gospel is just another argument without any supporting evidence. Also, experiences provide the context for us to see the fruit of the Spirit at work in people. So it is through experience that we discern whether someone is being controlled by the Spirit or by something else. Experiences are a necessary part of the Christian journey.
