Category: Level: Intermediate

judgment

Courage To Embrace The “Unpleasant” Truths Of Scripture

Posted on by

This morning I was reading a book by a famous spiritual formation author. In it he talks about “finding the Christ dwelling within us.” Since this was ambiguous I searched to find out if the author believed in the necessity of repentance and the new birth. Instead, I found statements like “Your belovedness precedes your birth…You are fully loved because you belong to God for all eternity. That’s the truth of your identity. That’s who you are. And you can reclaim it at any moment.” So I searched the book (with the Kindle search function) for the words “sin” or “repentance” and they were not found. I could not find a mention of the final judgment of God on human lives. Obviously these ideas could be expressed in different words but I did not find any mention of natural human rebelliousness or of the need to recognize our sinfulness and Continue Reading →

discernment

Releasing God’s Spirit In The Body Of Christ Through Discernment – Part 2

Posted on by

Over the years I have experienced impressions through others (and myself) that were clearly from God and helpful and others that weren’t from God. Using reliable principles of discernment has been very important even if there is a long learning curve. Last week we looked at the biblical idea of discernment and how discernment provides a safe place to release the Holy Spirit. This week we will look at some basic principles of discernment we can apply to hearing from God. In general, if a perception fits with the New Testament, especially the fruits of the Spirit, then we can consider if it might be from God. Otherwise, we shouldn’t consider it. This is probably the most basic principle of discernment. It is especially important to keep in mind the virtues that come from the Holy Spirit. Anything from God will reflect His good nature. Just because a perception is Continue Reading →

discernment

Releasing God’s Spirit In The Body Of Christ Through Discernment – Part 1

Posted on by

One of the questions I ask people before I give spiritual direction is whether they are open to supernatural ministry. This is because I sometimes invite God to give them leadings in a direction session. The most common response is something to the effect that they are cautious but open as long as there is some discernment or wisdom applied to the situation. I suspect that the majority of Christians have this view and it is a good one. Scripture is clear that discernment should be exercised in spiritual matters, not just spiritual gifts. Phil 1:9 states: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” Thus, Paul desires that believers grow in discernment, presumably for every area of their spiritual life. I Cor. 2:14-15a further explains “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for Continue Reading →

friendship handshake men

Using Relationship Principles For Powerful Evangelism – Part 2

Posted on by

Last week we looked at Part 1 of two posts on “Using Relationship Principles For Powerful Evangelism” We went through the attitudes towards relationships that many unbelievers have. Since many of these attitudes are compatible with Christianity we see that they are point of connection that we can bring up with our unsaved friends. Last week we started a sample talk that someone could give  on the subject of relationships. (If talking one-on-one obviously it should include more questions and be more interactive.) We focused on attitudes that seekers might have. Today we continue that talk with an explanation of how those attitudes fit with Christianity. “In the same way that you know that a loving and respectful relationship with your friend is a good thing maybe it is also a good thing to have a loving and respectful relationship with God. Perhaps there is a parallel between the two. Continue Reading →

friendship handshake men

Using Relationship Principles For Powerful Evangelism – Part 1

Posted on by

Somehow I got into a debate online with someone who was complaining about God ordering the death of some people in the Old Testament. We went back and forth until finally I explained that the root reason for God’s judgment was that the people were destroying relationships. They had embraced a destructive culture even to the point of sacrificing infants to their idols. The other person didn’t respond to my comment. What could he say? Usually when we think of apologetics in evangelism we think of presenting evidence related to facts of the Christian faith. But sometimes apologetics relates to values or ideas that listeners already embrace. For example, when Paul evangelized gentiles he did not use the same ideas that he used with Jews. When he spoke to gentiles in Athens, Greece he talked about general ideas about God that many gentiles already had, such as the idea that Continue Reading →