The Call to Spiritual Things

There are many debates that rage through the ranks of Christianity today. Many of them are fought on the printed page, over the airwaves and in the pulpits. They are rehashed in the classroom and chapel services of our Christian educational institutions and haggled over in our preacher fellowships and camp meetings. The problem does not lie within our need to make a stand on these issues for that is a given necessity. The trouble lies at the feet of how we are arriving at our convictions and how we handle our proclamations of these convictions.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14) Many are attempting to understand the things of God without even knowing God. The natural man can not do this. But at the same time, many that know him as their Savior are attempting to understand the things of God through some means other than by the Spirit of God. They use intellectual studies, academic achievement or what our particular “camp” says to attempt to accomplish that which can only be done through the Spirit. (This is not to say that a Christian education is not helpful, for it certainly is; but, it can not be our primary source.) Our stands on the issues must be determined on our knees. When the Bible says to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God,” (II Timothy 2:15) it is referring to a study of the Word of God through the Spirit of God. Every conceivable shortcut seems to be applied to our lives today. How wonderful it would be if a statement could be made about us like the one made of Peter and John in Acts 4:13. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” The emphasis of this verse is not on the lack of education or ignorance, but on the fact that they had been with Jesus and that had changed them, it had made them bold.

The second aspect of this is how we convey our convictions to others. Sometimes it seems we have adopted a “holier than thou” attitude and an arrogance of Christian elitism. God said to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), being “moved with compassion” (Matthew 9:36), and being “clothed in humility” (I Peter 5:5). Often though, we replace boldness with arrogance, meekness with meanness and compassion with condemnation. We have left the biblical understanding of just how powerful compassion, love, meekness and boldness can be when empowered by God. Let us hear the call of spiritual things and let us carry out the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ through his Spirit. I still believe that the statement is true that says, “I do not care how much you know until I know how much you care.”

Adrian Moore
Asst. Director of Fundamental Baptist Home Missions