The First Rule of War

When Abraham Lincoln spoke these words I doubt that he could have conceived of a day when we would have a Department of Homeland Security.  It is by design that America has NOT YET suffered another Twin Tower disaster!  This success has been wrought at great cost!

Bob Flynn, President/CEO

We can ponder the significance of “A Warrior’s End” from many perspectives.  There is the look on a mother’s face that can never be forgotten when she is told she will never hug her beloved son again; or the empty side of the bed that grieves the young wife’s heart; the empty chair at the dinner table where Daddy used to sit.  If we can introduce each one of these young men and women to the Gospel before the crisis, their destination will be changed for an eternity!  For those who are wounded of heart, there is one immutable fact: warriors only talk to warriors about warrior things.

These are the kinds of wounds that never heal but cover over with scar tissue and if not healed by the Savior, become the future cancers that kill the soul.

This is an impossible dream absent the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the warrior’s life.  The battle is waged in the temporal battlefield, while at the same time there is battle in the heavenlies.  Victory cannot be achieved lest both foes be vanquished.  The same can be said for the wounds of the body and the wounds of the soul.  Neither will heal unless both be salved.

This is why there is a Christian Military Fellowship ─ the building of character that makes our great Christian nation unashamed.  The Fellowship is here to help.

"Evangelism is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouth pieces of God’s message of mercy to sinners. Anyone who faithfully delivers that message, in a small meeting, from a pulpit, or in a private conversation, is evangelizing. The way to tell whether you are in fact evangelizing is not to ask whether conversions are known to have resulted from your witness. It is to ask whether you are faithfully making known the gospel message.”  - J. I. Packer

Consider for a moment the accounts of both Peter’s and Stephen’s proclamation to the Jews, recorded in the Book of Acts.

Peter

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:36-41 ESV)

Stephen

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” (Acts 7:51-53 ESV)

 “Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:54-59 ESV)

Peter and Stephen preached the same hard message to both groups of Jews – that the Jesus they had crucified was the long awaited Messiah. Neither man minced words. Under the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, they accused their listening audiences that they had murdered their Savior. After Peter’s sermon, the listeners were cut to the heart and 3,000 were saved. After Stephen’s sermon an enraged crowd stoned Stephen to death.

Did Peter succeed and Stephen fail? Perhaps by the ‘head counting’ standards used in our day, but not by God’s standard!

Success in evangelism is measured by our faithfulness in delivering the unvarnished message that Christ died for OUR sin and was raised from the dead. to the glory of God, so that men and women who repent and believe the gospel would also be raised from spiritual death to spiritual life, and one day be raised physically to be with their Lord forever. God is in charge of the result.

L. Nelson Bell

Have Christians forfeited their rightful anticipation of eternity?

Three years ago I had an assignment that took me entirely around the world—first to Japan, then Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, on to Europe, and finally to New York and home. During this trip I did my best to carry out my task effectively. But in the back of my mind there was always a lurking longing for home and for loved ones and friends. I was anxious to get back to the place where I belong, where there is always a loving welcome, where I am comfortable and at peace.

Has the Church lost its sense of home, so to speak—of man's ultimate destiny? Have Christians forfeited their rightful anticipation of heaven? Are we so concerned about making this world a "better place to live in" that we forget the Bible's admonition, "Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come" (Heb. 13:14)? Do we think that the Son of God came into this world primarily to reconcile man to man, rather than to redeem man from his sins and make him fit for heaven?

The activities of many suggest that our world is permanent, and that man's tenancy is permanent. But that is not so. We live in a world dominated by sin and dying of it, and the Christian's witness is not primarily about what is seen and temporary but about what is not seen and eternal.

"Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly use," we've heard. Perhaps so. But there certainly are many others who are so anxious to be where the action is that they overlook the place where the greatest "action" of history took place—the cross of Jesus Christ.

Why shouldn't the Christian think of and look forward to heaven? The earth and our bodies are temporary; heaven is home. Christ makes it plain that his primary objective in coming into this world was to "save" and to give "eternal life." It is one of the strange vagaries of our day that talk about salvation, heaven, and eternal life is, generally speaking, passé. Could it be that Satan has blinded the eyes of the world to the transience of this present life and to the fact of a life after death to be lived somewhere, eternally?

Jesus said his Father is in heaven. He said that no man can come to the Father but by faith in him. He repeatedly spoke of eternal life and the necessity of being prepared for it. He made it plain that sin separates us from God, now and for eternity. He affirmed that the transition from a perishing state to the possession of everlasting life takes place when men believe in him as the Son of God and Savior from sin.

Why, or why, is so little said about this from our pulpits today?

I have had the pleasure of visiting many places in this world. There are some to which I would love to return—Palestine, for instance. But there is no place in this world comparable to the heaven described in the Bible: "Things beyond our seeing, things beyond our hearing, things beyond our imagining, all prepared by God for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9, NEB).

This is not "pie in the sky," as some derisively say. It is a glorious hope, the hope and destiny of every Christian. Why are we so often silent about such a future?

Jesus tells us that there are many "mansions," "rooms," "dwelling places," in heaven. No matter how one interprets the word, the fact is that our Lord is even now preparing a dwelling place for those who are his own, and that it will be our permanent address.

In an editorial republished in the March 18 [1968] issue of U. S. News and World Report, editor David Lawrence emphasizes "The Illusion of Permanence:" "The North Atlantic Treaty is temporary. The United Nations is temporary. Peace itself is temporary. … Basically, there is only one permanence we can all accept. It is the permanence of a God-governed world. For the power of God is alone permanent. Obedience to his laws is the road to a lasting solution of man's problems."

Down through the centuries the hope of heaven has rightly been the stay of believing Christians. The Apostle Paul speaks of the bleakness of any faith in Christ confined to this life.

And the Apostle John gives us a vision of what heaven will be like. Obviously, no words can adequately describe it. The new heaven and new earth will be perfect. Sorrow, death, crying, sickness, death, mourning, pain—all these will be gone, and the joy of the Lord will be in every heart.

God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—will be there, and because of his presence there will be no need of the sun. Nor will there be any night. There will be nothing unclean or false, for we will be in the presence of the holiness of God himself.

This is no plea that Christians sink back into a meaningless life of mere anticipation. Our knowledge of such a glorious future should be reflected in the lives we live right now.

Jesus came into the world to make this glorious future possible, and he is coming again to make it a reality. "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command [reminiscent of, 'Lazarus, come forth'], with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

Surely we should give this hope the emphasis due it. This does not blind us to the necessity of caring for the material needs of the unfortunate; rather, it gives meaning to all acts of Christian compassion, for it looks beyond the temporal to the eternal implications of the Christian faith.

Christians should be in the vanguard of those who are working to alleviate suffering and sorrow; but theirs is a double ministry—to the body and to the soul. They should make it clear that their service is done in the name of Christ and for his glory.

All honor is due those who are personally engaged in human relief. It is the duty of every Christian to recognize such work as both legitimate and essential in the total witness of the Church. But let us be sure that it is recognized as a means to an end and not as the end in itself. The ultimate goal of the Christian lies beyond the horizon of human experience.

I have known some who had everything this world has to offer but who still were utterly miserable. They had no joy in the present, no hope for the future. I have also known many, here and abroad, who had only the barest necessities of life but who nevertheless had joy in the present and complete confidence for the future.

The Church must emphasize this future joy as man's ultimate destiny, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This article first appeared in the May 24, 1968, issue of Christianity Today. At the time, L. Nelson Bell wrote the column, "A Layman and his Faith" for CT. He was a cofounder of the magazine and also founder of the Southern Presbyterian Journal (later renamed The Presbyterian Journal). He was also a medical missionary and influential leader in the Southern Presbyterian Church. He died in 1973.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today.

Grace Killers — A Self-inflicted Wound

Bob Flynn, President/CEO

In the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the father of the bride, while welcoming the guests to the reception, mentions that the last name of the bride’s family means orange, and the root of the groom’s family name means apple.  “So there you have it; Apple and Orange.  We are different but in the end we are both fruit.”  We are all the same!  We are social animals.  We spend our time in this world with other people.  No doubt we find that many things these folks say or do irritates us.  The fact that we are irritated stands out as a statement of who we are!!!  This is the seed of death—the great Grace Killer of our day!  For after the irritation comes the complaining and after the complaining comes the gossip and after the gossip comes the bitterness.  By then we are in the ditch alongside the highway of holiness instead of walking thereon.

Said another way, “If you want to have joy, don’t complain!”  The book, “How to be Free from Bitterness” is a well-written book that will help you turn away from the other great American pastime.  It is a must-read for every serious believer!  But you decide!  Is the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ bubbling out of your life like a river?  CMF will send a copy ‘free’ to our membership who ask.  You may order this and other materials on the Members Only portion of our website.

Transformed for Service—God's Sharpened Tool

 
Bob Flynn, President/CEO

There are no unimportant members in the body of Christ!  However, the enemy of your soul will try to make you feel as if you are not needed because you perceive that your abilities aren’t as advanced as those of someone else.  The truth is that each of us has providential opportunities that no one else has!  The reality is that you are God’s sharpened tool prepared in unique ways to accomplish His mission!  “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it” (1 Cor 12:18 NLT2E). But how do I get around the perceived inadequacies? What if my life is not currently victorious?

Transform (metamorphoo) means “In theology, to change the natural disposition and temper of man from a state of enmity to God and his law, into the image of God, or into a disposition and temper conformed to the will of God.” Noah Webster

Changing—Renewing (anakainosis) means “The act of renewing; a making new after decay, destruction or depravation; renewal; as the renovation of the heart by grace.” Noah Webster

Renovate means “To renew; to restore to the first state, or to a good state, after decay, destruction or depravation.” Noah Webster

Grace is that attribute residing in the heart of God that allows Him to extend to us (who trust in Him) His love, kindness and favor rather than visiting His just wrath upon us according to our sins and inequities. However, experiencing God’s Grace day to day can become an act of futility and endless frustration in our American culture because of our innate obsession with self. The self-determined, self-centered, self-sufficient, self-actualized, lean Six Sigma American Warrior saint says, “I can do this!—I can live the Christian life!” In doing so, we become, like the words from the Grammy award-winning song, “A Man of Constant Sorrow.”

“But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins like the wind, sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:5-6 NLT).

Our Access

The Grace of God is not obtained by exercising some “If...Then...Else” statement. Grace is not lavished upon the chosen because we rubbed the Genie in the bottle, said the perfect prayer, or read the right book. The very verses that prohibit our self-striving guarantee our access!

Grace comes in the midst of our daily relationship with the Father because Jesus is the door (John 10:7). We have no need to climb into a second story window, or tunnel under the street. Jesus is available at street level—right where we are.

Draw Near to God

Dr. Charles Ryrie, Th.D., Ph.D., outlines James Chapter Four this way:

Worldliness

1. Its Cause (1-2) “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you?” (v. 1)
2. Its Consequences (3-6) “And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” (v. 6)
3. Its Cure (7-10) “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you….” (v. 7-8)
4. Its Characteristics (11-17). “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” (v. 17)

Accepting the Transformation

We must allow for His planned renovation of our hearts by using the means owned by the Spirit of God for this purpose (Dr. John Gill, paraphrase mine). “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” (Ephesians 4:23) We must accept that the promises of God are true and that His grace is there, in order to be able to receive it. There is absolutely one inescapable condition that must be met if grace is to change a person, and that is, God’s grace must be believed. We have to respond to God with an answering trust. And He will act.

What is sanctification? Answer: Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God has, before the foundation of the world, chosen to be holy, are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life.  Westminster Larger Catechism

Hindrances and Pitfalls

Counterfeit

A Case for CMF

When I retired from active duty and began this current sojourn on the staff of CMF, I knew full well that I was getting out of the MINISTRY to go into the ministry. Never again would I have the kind of opportunities and access that were available while I wore the uniform and walked the warrior’s path. Combat forever changes its participants! There was a reason that King David was NOT allowed to build the temple—he had blood on his hands. Was he also a man after God’s own heart? Yes! Nevertheless, he was changed forever by combat. The truth still remains that warriors talk only to warriors about warrior things. I must have standing before my words will be heard. God came down to earth as a man (He had standing) and became our kinsman so that He could become our redeemer. Whose kinsman are you?

If you think you can win the war all by yourself, then you have lost already. Battles are won when the victor delivers a concentration of force. When a warrior shoots at the enemy, the enemy shoots back! Sometimes warriors get wounded and require care. Fellowship is a concentration of force...salve...etc.  CMF is a fellowship with standing!

“For there stood by me this night the angel of God.” Acts 27:23

Tempest and long darkness, coupled with imminent risk of shipwreck, had brought the crew of the vessel into a sad case; one man alone among them remained perfectly calm, and by his word the rest were reassured.  Paul was the only man who had heart enough to say, “Sirs, be of good cheer.”  There were veteran Roman legionaries on board, and brave old mariners, and yet their poor Jewish prisoner had more spirit than they all.  He had a secret Friend who kept his courage up.  The Lord Jesus despatched a heavenly messenger to whisper words of consolation in the ear of his faithful servant, therefore he wore a shining countenance and spake like a man at ease.

If we fear the Lord, we may look for timely interpositions when our case is at its worst.  Angels are not kept from us by storms, or hindered by darkness.  Seraphs think it no humiliation to visit the poorest of the heavenly family.  If angel’s visits are few and far between at ordinary times, they shall be frequent in our nights of tempest and tossing.  Friends may drop from us when we are under pressure, but our intercourse with the inhabitants of the angelic world shall be more abundant; and in the strength of love-words, brought to us from the throne by the way of Jacob’s ladder, we shall be strong to do exploits.  Dear reader, is this an hour of distress with you? then ask for peculiar help.  Jesus is the angel of the covenant, and if his presence be now earnestly sought, it will not be denied.  What that presence brings in heart-cheer those remember who, like Paul, have had the angel of God standing by them in a night of storm, when anchors would no longer hold, and rocks were nigh.

“O angel of my God, be near,
Amid the darkness hush my fear;
Loud roars the wild tempestuous sea,
Thy presence, Lord, shall comfort me.”

The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock-riven by the spear which pierced his side.  No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary’s tragedy.

“Is it not strange, the darkest hour
That ever dawned on sinful earth,
Should touch the heart with softer power,
For comfort, than an angel’s mirth?
That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn,
Sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?”

Light springs from the midday-midnight of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree.  In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gusheth with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of mankind.  You who have had your seasons of conflict, will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor; but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha have been a means of comfort to you.  The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourge of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich.  We never should have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths if he had not died; nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection if he had not given his Son to die.  The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell, when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at every-day blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion.  He who would know love, let him retire to Calvary and see the Man of sorrows die. (Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening)

When I look back upon the pages of my life, I see a long road traveled with many paths crossing my own. The part that perplexes me the most is the length of time before I could see the light of God's only Son.  Was it that my mind was unable to comprehend?  Most assuredly.  But why did there come a time when I could understand and not a second before?  The best answer is that the day of my salvation brought glory to Him whose blood was shed to make it possible. If our deliverance were easy we would be saved from the womb.  However, it is the Lord who decides the day of salvation for each soul for whom He bled and died. How could I consider a righteous thought when my mind was darkened by a life of sin?  Only arrogance would conclude that somewhere in my being there lived the power and means to extricate myself from this fallen estate. How glorious the deliverance on the day when it is first enjoyed! How much more meaningful is it to be savored for all eternity because of the path that must be traveled in order for its discovery to come to fruition.

In a day when there are so many false gospels permeating the airwaves, it is important to continually be aware of what “true” looks like!  Here we have the description by the most gifted theologian and philosopher ever to set foot on this continent. (Editor)

When we look at anything that is happening in the religious world, and need to pass judgment, the first question we must ask is “Are these people coming to love, honor, and esteem the real Lord Jesus more than ever?”  If people are being convinced of their need of Christ and led to Him; if their belief that Christ appeared in history is strengthened; if they are more convinced than ever that He is the Son of God sent to save sinners; if they acknowledge that He is the only Savior and they need Him desperately; if they appreciate Him more than they did, and love Him too, then we may be quite sure that it is the Holy Spirit who is at work!

Signs of True Revival

I intend to show how we may definitely conclude that God is at work.  I want to show the signs which Scripture says are clear evidence that God is at work.  We will then be able to use these signs to judge any work without fear of being misled.
I propose to look only at those signs given in 1 John 4.  That is because this chapter deals with this question plainly and more completely than any other part of the Bible.  So let us look at the signs in the order they are given in the chapter.

1. When esteem for the true Jesus is raised

If a person’s esteem of the true Jesus is raised, it is a sure sign that the Spirit of God is at work.  By the true Jesus, I mean this: that Jesus was born of a virgin and crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem; that He is the Son of God and the Savior of men as the gospel declares.

This sign is given by the apostle in 1 John 4:2-3:

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”

This implies acknowledging more than that there was such a person as Jesus who appeared in Palestine and did those things that the Bible says.  It implies acknowledging that He was the Christ, the Son of God, chosen to be Lord and Savior.

This word, “acknowledge” is important. In the New Testament it means much more than merely admitting.  It implies knowing something and being willing to declare it in praise and love. For example, Matthew 10:32 says,

“Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”

People may praise their own false Christ while having no respect at all for the true, historical Jesus. Indeed, they are led away from Him.  But no spirit can give testimony to the true Jesus, or lead men to Him, except the Spirit of God.

Why is this the case?  It is because the devil has a bitter and unchanging hatred for the real Jesus, especially as Savior.  He passionately hates the story and the doctrine of redemption.  Satan would never work in men to produce honorable thoughts of Jesus, nor cause them to value His commands.  The Spirit that turns men’s hearts to Christ is not the spirit of the serpent that has such an unchanging hatred toward Him.

2. When Satan’s kingdom is attacked

The Spirit of God must be at work if the interests of Satan’s kingdom are opposed.  This is a sure sign. Satan’s kingdom encourages sin and encourages men to cherish worldly lusts.  The Holy Spirit does not.

This sign is given in 1 John 4:4-5:

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.”

The apostle is here comparing those who are influenced by two opposite kinds of spirits. One spirit is true, and the other is false. 
John shows the difference like this: one spirit is from God and so overcomes the spirit of the world.  The other spirit speaks about and relishes the things of the world. Here, the spirit of the devil is called “the one who is in the world.”  This is the difference between Christ and the devil. Christ says, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), but Satan is called “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

We know what the apostle means by the world or the things that are of the world from his own words in 1 John 2:15-16:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Clearly, he means everything to do with sin and includes all men’s corruptions and lusts, everything they look to for satisfaction.

So, from what the apostle says here, we may safely conclude that if a people: have their love of ordinary, worldly pleasure, profits, and honors lowered; are weaned from eagerly chasing such things; have a deep concern about eternity and the eternal happiness that comes through the gospel; earnestly begin to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness; and are convicted of the ugliness and guilt of sin, as well as the misery to which it leads, then the Spirit of God must be at work.

We cannot believe that Satan would convict men of sin and awaken the conscience.  The conscience is God’s representative in the soul. It can do Satan no good to make its light shine brighter.  It is always in his interest to keep the conscience quiet and asleep. When conscience is awake, everything that Satan wants to accomplish is hindered.

When he is out to lead men further into sin, would the devil first open their eyes to see its ugliness?  Would he make them afraid of sin?  Would he make them mourn over past sins? Would he show them that they need to be delivered from sin's guilt?  Would he make them more careful about everything they do, to ensure there is no sin in it?  Would the devil lead them to avoid future sins and make them more careful to avoid his own temptations?  If a man thinks the devil acts like this, I wonder what he uses for brains!

But some may argue that the devil may even awaken a man’s conscience in order to deceive him, that is, to make him think he has been saved while he is still in his sin.  To argue like this is futile.  It is to argue that Christ was making a mistake when He told the Pharisees that Satan would not cast out Satan (Matthew 12:25-26).  Remember, the Pharisees believed that the spirit at work in Christ’s ministry was the devil.

A man with an awakened conscience is the hardest man in the world to fool!  The more awake a sinner’s conscience is, the harder it is to quiet it down until it is really delivered from sin.  The more a conscience is aware of the greatness of man’s guilt, the less likely he is to be satisfied with his own righteousness.  Once a man is thoroughly frightened by a sight of his own danger, he will not believe himself truly safe without good grounds.  Awakening a conscience in this way is not likely to confirm a man in his sin.  On the contrary, it is likely to lead to sin and Satan being driven out.

So, whenever we see people made aware of: the ugliness of sin; God’s anger against sin; their own natural lostness because of sin; their own need of eternal salvation; their need of God’s mercy and help; and their need to do what God has commanded in seeking salvation, we may certainly conclude that it is the Spirit of God at work!

Yes, even if their bodies are affected and they cry out or scream or faint. Yes, even if they go into fits or are affected in other dramatic ways.  Those things do not count at all.

3. When people come to love the Scriptures more

When men are persuaded to love the holy Scriptures more, and to trust their truth and divine origin more, it is certainly the Spirit of God at work. This is the sign the apostle gives us in 1 John 4:6:

“We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

When he says, “We are from God,” he means, “We are the apostles God has sent to teach the world His doctrines and commands.”  This argument extends to all those God has appointed to deliver to His church its rules of faith and practice.  That is to say, it covers all those apostles and prophets that God has inspired to write the Scriptures.

The devil would never try to produce such a respect for God’s Scriptures.  A spirit of delusion will not persuade men to listen to God for direction.  The devil does not say, as Abraham did,

“They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them” (Luke 16:29).

Nor will he say the words that came from heaven about Christ,

“Listen to him” (9:35).

Would the spirit of error, wanting to deceive men, turn them to God’s infallible Scriptures? Would he lead them to get to know those Scriptures well?  Would the prince of darkness lead men to the light of the Sun in order to promote his kingdom of darkness?  The devil has always shown how much he hates the Bible.  He has always done all he can to put out its light and lead men away from it.  He knows that this is the light that will overthrow his dark kingdom.

He has had much experience of the power of Scripture to defeat his purposes and thwart his designs.  It is a constant plague to him.  It is the main weapon that Michael uses in his war with Satan (Jude 9).  It is the sword of the Spirit that pierces him and conquers him (Ephesians 6:17).  It is the sharp sword that we read about that comes from the mouth of the One on the horse with which He smites His enemies (Revelation 19:15).

Every text of the Bible is a torment to the old serpent.  He has felt its stinging smart thousands of times.  He is therefore at war with the Bible and hates every word in it.  We may be quite sure he will never try to persuade men to love it or value it.

It has often happened in history that many sects of enthusiasts have undervalued the written Word of God.  They set up some other authority that is over the Scripture.  That still happens today. But when men come to value the Scriptures more, not less, then the Spirit of God is certainly at work.

4. When men are led away from falsehood into truth

We may learn another way to judge between spirits from the names given to the two opposite spirits in 1 John 4:6.  One is called “the Spirit of truth” and the other “the spirit of falsehood.”  These words point to a vital difference between the Spirit of God and other spirits that may imitate His work.

If we see a spirit at work leading men into the truth, convincing them of things that are true, we may be sure it is the Holy Spirit.  If people become more aware that there is a God, or that God is a great God who hates sin, or that their own lives are short and may end at any moment, or that there is another life and they have immortal souls, we may be sure it is the Holy Spirit at work.  When men realize that they will have to give an account of themselves to God and that they are very sinful in nature and practice; when they understand that they are helpless in themselves; when, in short, they are brought to sound doctrine, then we may be sure that the Holy Spirit is at work in them.

It is the Holy Spirit who brings men into the light, not the spirit of darkness.  Christ tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies.  His kingdom is a kingdom of darkness.  Satan’s kingdom is upheld only by darkness and error. Scripture speaks of the reign and dominion of darkness (Luke 22:53; Colossians 1:13).  The demons are called the rulers of the darkness of this world. It is only God who brings us to the light of truth and removes our darkness.

5. When there is an increase in love to God and man

When people begin to love God and man with a genuine love, we may be sure that the Holy Spirit is at work. This is what the apostle says in 1 John 4:7:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

John is still speaking of two different sorts of people who are led by two opposite spirits and pointing out the contrast between them. Love is one way we may know which person has the true spirit. This is especially clear from 1 John 4:12-13:

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

Here the apostle speaks of love and the Holy Spirit almost as if they are the same thing! If God’s love dwells in us, then the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The same point is made in 1 John 3:22-23 and 4:16.

Love is the last sign the apostle gives us of the true Spirit’s work, and it seems to be the most important. He pays more attention to this than to all the rest.  He tells us that love for God and love for our fellow men are both important. He writes of love for our fellow men in 1 John 4:7, 11, and 12, and of love for God in 1 John 4:17-19.  Then in 1 John 4:20-21, he speaks of both together because he wants us to understand that love for men springs from love to God.

So if people have great thoughts of God and His glory, the Holy Spirit must be at work.  If they understand (to some degree) the greatness of Jesus Christ so that they delight in Him, the Holy Spirit must be at work. Jesus becomes very precious to them and their hearts are overwhelmed by the wonderful and free love of God, who gave His only Son to die for them. Surely this must be the Spirit of God at work!

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins... And so we know and rely on the love God has for us... We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:9-10, 16, 19).

If a spirit makes us love God for these reasons, it must be the Spirit of God.  If we delight to think about the attributes of God that the gospel and Christ reveal and we yearn to be made like Him, living in ways that please and honor Him, that must be the Spirit of God.  When a spirit calms quarrels between men, promotes peace and goodwill, and desires the salvation of souls, this must be the Spirit of God. When men delight in the company of others who are obviously God’s children, and have all the love I have described, we have the highest possible evidence that it is the Holy Spirit who is at work.

The apostle Paul was a leader who never drifted from his mission.  He was determined to leave his mark wherever he went.  George Washington Carver wrote, "no individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it."  In the Epistle to the Philippians, we see Paul determined to remain engaged with the propagation of the gospel.  Even though he was incarcerated and literally chained to his keepers.

As we make our journey upon life's seas it is easy, in our high-tech world, to become distracted.  If we for one moment take our eyes off of the goal we will surely drift away from our true direction.  This certainly was the thought of the author in Hebrews 2:1 when he admonished us to "listen very carefully to the truth we have heard."

So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1 NLT

The word used here in Hebrew for "listen carefully," "pay closer attention," or "give earnest heed" is prosecho which in a nautical sense means to set your course and follow it.  The translators necessarily struggle to find the words to bring this from the original.  The modern literal attempts this conveyance with "pay closer attention."  The more time-honored versions render "give more earnest heed."  Literally (when you add the word perissoterōs) to give heed more abundantly.  If we look more closely at the word prosecho we see the idea of holding the mind or ear toward ("listen very carefully).  In the nautical sense to "take up a heading towards" the truth we have heard.  This is an inference to the discourse from the previous chapter where this truth is defined as that which was spoken by the Son who is infinitely superior to all of creation.  His Gospel then should be given undivided attention.  It is the hearers duty to listed carefully that the heading will steer clear the rocks and shoals of pernicious nature and instead chart a course toward the shores of good and profitable.  If our attention be split then our observation of the Guidestar is  made unsuitable for navigation and "our striving thus becomes losing."

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing (A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Martin Luther)

Διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ περισσοτέρως ἡμὰς προσέχειν τοῖς ἀκουσθεῖσι, μή ποτε παραρυῶμεν.

G4337 προσέχω proséchō; pros: toward + echo: to have and hold, implying continued possession.  To have in addition, to hold the mind or the ear toward someone, to pay attention.  As a nautical term, it means to hold a ship in a direction, to sail towards.

This has to be contrasted with the word pararreo that means to drift away perhaps even imperceptibly.  Why is this of importance.  Since the beginning when our parents were deceived in the garden of Eden, the enemy of our soul had been using the same means to lead us toward destruction.  You would think that after these many thousands of years we would wake up to the fact that we are repeatedly led astray by this spiritual slight of hand.  But church history gives us the real outcome.  We continue to be hoodwinked by the slow drifting away from the pure truth of the Gospel until half truths and counterfeit truths become our steady diet.  With our course no longer Christward we set sail for perditions flame.

G3901 παραρρέω pararréō; contracted paararruṓ, fut. parareúsomai, from pará (G3844), by, past, beyond, and rhéō (G4483), to flow. To float by or drift past as a ship, or to flow past as a river.  Figuratively to slip away, suggesting a gradual and almost unnoticed movement past a certain point.  Of a person, to move stealthily as a thief.  It is used figuratively of persons meaning to glide away, to swerve or deviate from something, such as the truth, law, precepts; equivalent to parapíptō (G3895), to fall aside.  It occurs only in Hebrews 2:1 where it is used in an absolute sense "lest we drift away from that which we have heard" (a.t.), transgress.

The slow imperceptible slouching toward Gomorrah has been occurring in our nation since the quenching of the Great Awakening.  With America's greatness now  inversely proportional to the size of the national debt.  Perhaps now we can see the importance of staying on mission!