Much can be said about Christians, but one thing that couldn’t be further from the truth is that Christians got into their faith blindly. Indeed, Jesus is the only leader who demands that his followers know what they are getting themselves into. He calls his followers to count the cost attached to following him. Jesus knows there is a cost and that it is high, and he wants followers who are conscious of their actions and not robots. He wants followers who actually trust him and obey his leading. One of his famous statements on this subject is: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62). What Jesus implies by this statement is that following him will cost you everything and there is no way around it. It is all or nothing if you want to follow him. The citizens of the kingdom of God are people who have given their lives for the sake of Christ; people who consider it all joy whenever they face trials of many kinds (James 1:1); people who have killed their flesh and its desires; people who have been crucified with Christ and who no longer live for themselves but for the son of God who loved them and gave himself for them (Galatians 2:20). With stakes so high, is it surprising then that Jesus cautions his followers to ensure they are keeping to the faith and are not being led astray by false teachers? The bible is filled with teachings, warnings and commands to not deviate from the wise instructions of God. The New Testament calls it “testing the spirit” (1 John 4:1) to ensure your life and doctrine are closely matching. This post is a bit unusual, but I believe it is necessary given the days we are in. My goal is to encourage us to test the spirit behind what we see, hear and take into our hearts, submitting it to the word of God.
To embark on this journey of testing the spirits, the first thing to do is to ensure you are filled with the Spirit of the living God. How can you be filled with the Spirit of God? By believing and trusting in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on your behalf. Indeed, God in His endless mercy and kindness restored the broken relationship that existed between us due to the sin of Adam which got passed down to every single human being that ever existed on this planet. This sinful nature we inherited from Adam caused us to be at enmity with God which means we were objects of wrath by nature (Ephesians 2:3); we couldn’t please a Holy and just God who had zero tolerance for sin and evil. Fortunately, God is also merciful, and in His mercy, He concocted a plan which would involve Him coming into earth in the form of man and dying in the place of men to incur the penalty man deserved and in return giving man the righteousness that He deserved. This master plan worked out, God sent His One and Only Son, His most prized possession to come into earth, like the hymn says, “thou who was rich beyond all splendour, all for love’s sake became poor.” His Son, who is the image of the invisible God, the radiance of the glory of God became man, lived among us, was tempted in many ways like us and more, yet in all this he was without sin (Hebrews 4:15), he lived a perfect life and he died willingly of an outrageously painful death on the Roman cross, suffering the separation from His Father so that He could save sinners like you and I who would believe in His love and in Him. Then, he rose the third day following his death and made a public spectacle of his enemies, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15), and the Father has given him all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). To all who have accepted and believed on Him, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12), He adopted us in His family, we have been given a new life, there is no more condemnation (Romans 8:1) and death no longer has a sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). Therefore, we are now new creatures, filled with the spirit of the living God who has made His abode in us. As children of God, we now submit to our new master, brother, friend, and co-heir, the Lord Jesus Christ. When you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are saved (Romans 10:9). The moment you do that, you invite the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in you and He in turns teaches you all things and guides you to obey the Father and the Son. As you obey, you become more and more filled with the Holy Spirit.
The second thing on this journey of testing the spirits once you are a Christian – a follower of Christ who is filled with the Holy Spirit, is to continue to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), to run the race in a manner so as to not get disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:26-27), to not “grow weary of doing good because at the right time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). This entails a continued life in submission to God, being guided by the Spirit of God, growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God, cultivating a life of righteousness, “not letting the word of God depart from your mouth but meditating on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything in it” (Joshua 1:8). This is certainly not a one-time event, but it is a continuous task we ought to do. We are commanded to always be on our guard for our enemy the “devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). This means, we should test everything in light of the word of God. The bible says the word of God “is living and active. Sharper than any double-edge sword” (Hebrews 4:12); it also tells us that it is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). In both instances, the word of God is portrayed as a powerful weapon that does damage to our opponent. As soldiers for Christ, we ought to be armed for battle and ready at all times so that we are not taken by surprise. Therefore, the word of God has to be carried with us in our hearts and mouths. We must know the word and also use it to fight against the worldly ideologies that are contrary to the purposes of God. We must learn to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We must use the word of God to “stand firm”. “Stand firm” as Tim Keller explained, is “essentially a military word, mixing together the ideas of keeping alert, being strong, resisting attack and sticking together”. He continues, “despite the fact that we already have been saved by Christ, we must be continually diligent to remember, preserve, rejoice in and live in accord with our salvation” (Galatians for You, Chapter 10). The image that comes to mind is that of Nehemiah during the rebuilding of the temple walls. Israel’s enemies were many and were using everything in their power to halt the construction. Nehemiah turned everyone into a soldier and a worker at the same time. A weapon in one hand and the other hand building the wall (Nehemiah 4:17). Under the supervision of Nehemiah, the people of Israel were alert, they did not slack, they kept at it diligently and the Lord blessed their work. In the same way, we too must not give up, we must continue to persevere, to obey, to follow the Son for our reward is sure.
In conclusion, make it a lifelong goal to be ever learning about your Lord and saviour. Discovering Him every day as you meet Him in the word, while praying, in fellowship with other believers, during corporate worship, while reading books that exalt Him, in the creation, in the mundane, in your singing, etc. I pray you make Christ a priority in your life today and as you grow in your knowledge of Him, may you remain steadfast and dodge the snares of the enemy. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 