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.

Assurance

Something that has been a pet topic of mine for a while now is the issue of true conversion. Maybe because for a long time I struggled with whether my conversion was genuine. I mean, without going into the minutia of the details, I had two false alarms prior to being genuinely converted. And yes, with both false alarms, I was baptized. Imagine how it feels to come before the church for the third time to be baptized. “Really, it’s for real this time.” I must have seemed like the boy who cried wolf to everyone. And even after it happened for real, the doubts still raised their ugly head. Finally I stand before you today with assurance. It didn’t come all at once, but once I understood how to have assurance, I have never forgotten. I will tell you the secret to assurance of salvation.

First of all, it has nothing to do with what other people think. I guarantee you that if you go up to your church friends and ask them whether or not you are saved, they will do their best to affirm you – unless you have really mean friends. But the fact is that we are capable of great acts of masquerading around people. We’ve all done it and some of us have become exceedingly proficient at doing so. Only you can know the absolute truth about your salvation.

Secondly, it has nothing to do with how your feelings. Feeling saved, is not a great basis for assurance because you will go through times in life where you don’t feel saved. Faith is not an emotion, it is a gift we receive from Christ, and therefore is not dependent upon a particular emotion to exist.

The real secret to assurance is fruit. Jesus says this about fruit in Matthew 7:

So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

This tells us that we know we have faith, if we have good fruit. A good tree will always bear good fruit. In this metaphor, Christ is the good tree. If you are in Christ, your life since your conversion will have a history of good fruit. Yes we stumble, and every moment of life will not all be moments of bearing good fruit. But the trend will be that there is good fruit – the fruit of righteousness.

Philippians 1:9-11 – “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Is there a marked display of good fruit in your life? Can you look back over your life since the day you were saved and see the fruit of righteousness at work, in spite of the pitfalls? If so, then take assurance that your salvation is sure. If not, you should take this moment to examine yourself to see if your “election and calling” are sure. What a tragedy it would be to arrive before the judgment throne of God thinking everything is peachy, when the reality is that you are naked, you are guilty, and you are heading straight for eternal hell. If you hear His voice, listen to His voice today, for today is the day of salvation.