Spiritual Fruit

I recently read a comment by someone claiming to be a Christian, but from whom I’ve neither seen nor heard any real spiritual fruit. I won’t name the individual, but you would, no doubt, recognize the name. What she said, in effect, was that she didn’t see how someone could be a Christian AND a Republican—like somehow, one’s political persuasion has anything to do with her spiritual condition. The ridiculousness of such a comment prompted me to write this brief, but hopefully poignant statement on what I believe God’s Word says about the characteristics of a true follower of Christ.

First of all, for those who still believe that everyone born in America is a Christian (because this is a Christian nation?), let me set the record straight. The Bible makes it clear that becoming a Christian is a personal choice made by every individual in response to God’s gift of His Son. It’s not just a matter of believing. We also must accept God’s provision for dealing with our sinful condition and be willing to testify publicly that we have done so.

“9...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

Though becoming a Christian is only possible because of Jesus’ willingness to die in our behalf, no one becomes a Christian through someone else’s efforts. Every individual must first choose to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and then be willing to follow God’s directive to receive Him fully and proclaim Him openly.

Second, let’s draw a distinction between Christianity and religion. Religion is the work of man. It’s man’s acknowledgement of and his effort to reach, please, or appease his concept of some higher power or authority. It is, in effect, our paltry attempt to fill that “God-shaped void,” as Blaise Paschal described it, that resides in every one of us and “which can only be filled by God.” At best, religion provides us with some semblance of moral standards and personal discipline, but it has no power to regenerate sinful human beings.

Christianity, on the other hand, is the work of God. It was made possible when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to live and walk among us mortals as a human being, and ultimately to die for (literally to satisfy God’s judgment against) all the sins we have committed, are committing, and ever will commit. In short, God created us specifically for the purpose of fellowship with Him, and then He sacrificed His only Son to make that fellowship possible. In this respect, Christianity is not a religion at all, but rather a God-initiated relationship with those created in His image.

According to Scripture, the word ‘Christian’ translates as ‘little Christ,’ or ‘Christ-like.’ Quite simply, to be a Christian is to be like Christ. To determine if someone else is a Christian, the first test would be to look for Christ-like qualities in her or his life. Some in the Body of Christ would argue that one’s level of spiritual maturity is measured by the spiritual gifts, callings, and manifestations evident in his life. While these are definitely all from God, they are given, not as evidence of salvation or measurements of spiritual maturity, but for the building up, equipping, and unifying of all believers. According to God’s Word, the true evidence of salvation is the fruit of the Spirit, as mentioned in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia.

“22But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23a)

If you want to discern whether or not someone else is a Christian, look for spiritual fruit in that person’s life. Anyone can busy himself with activities that look spiritual or use language that sounds spiritual, but no one can produce spiritual fruit apart from the Holy Spirit. Such evidence is the natural outflow of a life lived through the Spirit of God.

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

Besides spiritual fruit, there should also be a noticeable absence of fleshly attitudes and behavior in a Christian’s life. One who is led by the Holy Spirit of God is not likely to be influenced by the things of the world.

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
(Galatians 5:24)

Finally, one who is truly a Christian will have ‘the mind of Christ,’ which guides him in everything he does.

“5Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. 9Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11)

Thankfully, the final authority for who is saved and who is not rests with God. I truly believe that when I get to heaven, I’ll be surprised to find out who is there and who is not. I tend to judge people based on flawed human reasoning, personal prejudice, and my own indefensible sense of self-righteousness. God, however, judges people based on what’s actually in their hearts.

Next time you’re wondering about someone’s spiritual condition, remember this:

“The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person's thoughts and intentions.”
(1 Samuel 16:7b)

Taking EVERY Thought Captive

“4The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; 5we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 GNT)

I have been familiar with the above passage since I was a teenager, but it wasn’t until I was a relatively mature adult that I actually began to understand what it means. In my last entry, “Know Your Enemy,” I alluded to the fact that between Thanksgiving and Christmas of last year I had experienced some blatant attacks from the enemy. It was during this ordeal that the Holy Spirit began to teach me specifically how to destroy strongholds and false arguments and to take every thought captive. It should have come as no surprise to me that in the midst of some of the worst turmoil I have ever experienced, I would learn one of the greatest lessons of my life. God is so very good! I heard it said many years ago that God is the ultimate economist because He NEVER wastes an experience, good or bad. I heartily agree.

I know of no better way to share what I’ve learned than to give you specific examples of how I learned it. Being primarily a hands on learner, most of what I know I have learned through personal experience. Spiritual matters are no exception. To learn how to trust God fully, I had to come to a place in my experience where I had absolutely no one else in whom I could trust other than God, Himself. For me it happened in the middle of the night one night just before Thanksgiving last year.

I awoke from a disturbing dream in a cold sweat, gasping for breath, my heart racing, and feeling more anxious than I could ever remember having felt before. I don’t know what triggered this event, but it definitely got my attention. I immediately sat up in bed and tried to catch my breath and clear my head, but to no avail. I was near panic, so I got up and walked into the kitchen to get a drink, thinking that might possibly help me to calm down a bit. I felt an inexplicable tingling sensation all over and though it was the middle of the night, it seemed even darker than usual in the house.

Nothing seemed to help. I could feel my heart throbbing in my neck and it beat with an oddly irregular rhythm. My first thought was that perhaps I was having a heart attack. This thought, of course, only exacerbated the condition, so I dismissed it as quickly as it had entered my mind and began to cry out to God. I breathed deeply to try to distribute more oxygen throughout my system and slow my heart rate and eventually, I caught my breath and my heart slowed to a more normal tempo, but still beat with an irregular rhythm. I walked from the kitchen into the dining room and then down the steps into the living room, making a circle back through the kitchen again as I begged God to not let me die. I had no clue what was going on, but I was as frightened as I’d ever been.

As I called out to God, verses that I had memorized or become familiar with began to flood my mind. One of the first ones was Romans 8:15: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” I began to speak that out loud, knowing that my enemy couldn’t read my mind. I’m sure I didn’t speak it with much confidence at first, but the more I repeated it, the more confident I became. As I walked through the dark house, repeating this verse, another came to mind. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) I began to repeat this verse out loud, continuing my circle through the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The more I repeated it, the more I felt the fear I had been experiencing being driven out. I don’t know how long I continued walking through my house speaking the truth, but eventually, I felt calm enough to return to my bed.

As I lay there in the dark, still feeling a bit tingly, to keep my mind from reverting back to the disquieting thoughts that had been triggered by my sudden awakening, I continued to pray and to remind God of His promises. As I was replacing the negative thoughts with the truth from God’s Word, it suddenly occurred to me that I was doing precisely what Romans 8:15 instructs us to do—“taking every thought captive,” and replacing it with truth. I was “pulling down false arguments” that tried to convince me that I was dying or at best, losing my mind, and replacing them with what God said. Eventually, I fell asleep.

At this point, I suppose that I should interject that it would be great if all lessons in Scripture were this easy to learn. The truth is, however, that though I had an instant epiphany of sorts in the midst of my turmoil, the actual learning process is still going on. I was able to fall asleep that fitful night, but I awoke again a few hours later with similar thoughts and feelings. Truth is, these attacks occurred intermittently both during the night and during the day for a period of weeks. And each time one came, I had to respond the same way I had during that first night. “Taking every thought captive,” means just what it says. We have to be diligent to take EVERY negative, untruthful thought captive and replace it with the truth. Taking every other thought, or every sixth thought captive just won’t work.

Spiritual warfare is a lot like any worthwhile endeavor in that it requires consistent effort over a period of time. Just as body building requires breaking down muscles and then slowly building them back up, so renewing our minds requires breaking down old flawed ways of thinking and building up our minds with the truth from God’s Word. Romans 12:2 admonishes us to “not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” The only way I know of to renew my mind is to replace negative, untrue, or even impure thoughts with the thoughts of God. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” We need to replace the way we think with the way Jesus thinks. And how is that?

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippian 4:8 NLT)

I believe that to ‘fix’ one’s mind on the things mentioned in the above verse means to know and to meditate on those things. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) It’s one thing to have passing knowledge of truth, but in almost every place in Scripture where the word know is used in regard to knowing God, knowing truth, or knowing the things of the Spirit, it has the same meaning as the word that translates ‘to have intimate sexual relations.’ I don’t believe this is a mistake. I believe that God wants us to become as intimate with Him and with His truth as we aspire to be with our spouses. To know truth means that we are ‘one’ with it—that it has become a part of who we are. Only this kind of truth has the power to set us free.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve had no more attacks, and I attribute that to my having diligently taken every negative and false thought captive and replaced each with the truth. Victory didn’t come overnight, but over time. I believe that the devil and his cohorts know when we’ve defeated them and they will move on to pester someone who is less persistent. Whenever I am tempted to think negative or impure thoughts, I immediately replace them with the truth. We have to be consistent and committed to do what God’s Word says to experience the benefits. It’s difficult and demanding work, but it’s never complicated. We simply do what the Word says as often as necessary and then we experience the positive results of doing so.

Something that has helped me tremendously in this area has been doing word searches for Scripture verses dealing with things that affect my thoughts such as fear, anxiety, doubt, anger, lust, poverty, etc. (Click the Bible Study Helps link on the right side of this page underneath my bio to access a great Bible reference site for doing such word searches.) I cut and paste as many relevant verses as I can find on each topic into a Word document that can be saved by topic and then printed. I keep the printed copies with my Bible study and prayer materials for daily use. I use these sheets daily to replace negative, untrue, and unclean thoughts with those from God’s Word. It’s amazing to me how effective such simple tools can be.

(Paul and Donna Cox’s Web site, Aslan’s Place, offers seven topical reference sheets with Scripture verses dealing with fear, doubt, depression, lust, shame, rejection, and anger. These are .PDF files which can be downloaded and printed. Click the following link: http://www.aslansplace.com/insights/index.html and scroll down to find a section called “Swatting the Fly…” You should see the seven issues listed in a blue grid. Click the Download link to the right of each topic that you wish to download.)

The next time you are plagued with negative thoughts or tempted to think impure thoughts, put this principle to practice. I’ve listed below some real-life situations and what God’s Word says about them.

Situation:
You are fearful about something that might happen.

What God’s Word Says:
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

Situation:
You are depressed about something that has already happened.

What God’s Word Says:
Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials. (James 1:2)

Situation:
You are worried about the possible outcome of an event or circumstances.

What God’s Word Says:
6Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Situation:
An unwanted thought pops into your mind, and you are tempted to pursue it.

What God’s Word Says:
Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)

Situation:
You have heard something negative about someone else and you are tempted to share it with a friend.

What God’s Word Says:
A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. (Proverbs 11:13)

Situation:
Someone has mistreated you or done something to make you angry.

What God’s Word Says:
And don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry. (Ephesians 4:26)

Situation:
You feel unloved.

What God’s Word Says:
38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from [God’s] love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Situation:
You feel alone and forsaken.

What God’s Word Says:
For God has said, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b)

Feel free to create your own list. And remember that it’s not only about what you shouldn’t think, but also about what you should think. It has been said that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ If that’s true, then stuffing your mind with positive, truthful thoughts can save you a boatload of grief.