How often do we hear one say, “He is so
spiritual”, or, “Those people are not
very spiritual.” What is true
spirituality, do you know? We need,
just now, to be warned against being deceived
into a false standard of spirituality. We
need to examine the true scriptural standard.
Listed below are four things generally regarded
as sure evidence of a spiritual mind;
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Speech, noise, emotion and demonstration.
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Knowledge of the Scriptures.
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Faith.
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Rigid standard of righteousness.
It will prove interesting, and profitable to take
a brief look at each, and measure according to the
scriptural standard.
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The most commonly accepted evidence of
spirituality is the way people talk, write,
or demonstrate.
Some people have deliberately cultivated
spiritual-sounding language. Or, perhaps,
they have unconsciously acquired the habit of
using “spiritual” sounding
expressions. People say, “My, isn
’t Brother so-and-so spiritual?
Many think a church service does not amount
to anything unless there is more or less
noise, mass enthusiasm, and a great deal of
emotion worked up and visibly expressed. They
never enjoy a sermon, no matter how edifying,
unless the preacher is full of certain
emotional enthusiasm, fluent in the accepted
spiritual phraseology, and able to generate in
his audience the usual emotional reactions
and outburst expected in this type of meeting.
If such things are present, these people
enjoy themselves immensely, whether they learn
anything worth while or not.
Usually the advance announcements of such
meetings assure the people of the “big
time” they are going to have. And they
go away talking about the “fine time
” they enjoyed.
HAVING OR GETTING A RIGHT BALANCE
This is not to discount or to criticize the
natural emotional expression spontaneously from a
genuine spiritual experience, or the true
spiritual language springing naturally from an
honest heart. Far from it.
Some people are naturally emotional. Some are
not. We shall see from the scriptures that emotion
and spiritual phrases of themselves are not the
essence of spirituality. They must be the natural
result, the honest and spontaneous expression of
it; or, if deliberately generated and “
worked up,” put on for show and effect,
they may be only its counterfeit. And the sad part
is that those who deal in counterfeit always
insist they have the genuine. “By their
fruits,” Jesus said, “we shall know
them.”
OTHER SNARES AND PITFALLS
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The second class is well indoctrinated.
Usually these people do not believe in much,
if any, noise or any spiritual
manifestations. They have a great deal of head
knowledge, but most of this class have a great
deal of misunderstanding, and often they have
queer personal theories and hobbies resulting
from misapplied, wrongly divided scriptures.
They love to try and trap and corner others
with the Scriptures, and especially do they
delight in it if they are able to corner some
minister. Arguing scripture is their one
great interest in life.
These misguided people believe their
arguments, contentions, and beliefs will win
their eternal salvation, without real
repentance, or living a surrendered, righteous
life in Jesus Christ, showing the fruits of
the Spirit in their lives.
SAVED BY FAITH ALONE
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And then there is the “faith”
group. These say they are saved “by
faith, and faith alone.” They are not
so much concerned about the Holy Spirit, and
seldom mention such things as repentance,
utter surrender, or any need of submission
and obedience to God’s will and His law.
Their religion never works any
miracle-changes in their lives. Since “
Jesus died for our sins,” we do not have
to obey. “Just BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” is
their sole condition to salvation. The
invitation of the ministers of this group is
“Give the preacher your hand, and the
Lord your heart.”
And when, later, you ask such “converts
” what they did, what really happened,
when they “gave the Lord their heart,
” they usually just look blank. They do
not know. It really did not mean anything. It
was merely a form. The churches of this class
should be called social clubs; they are not
soul-saving institutions.
THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS CHRISTIAN
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Finally, there are those whose spirituality
consists of a rigid standard of righteousness.
In fact they usually are so strict about
following God’s commandments that they
fall into the error of keeping the strict
LETTER of the law in their own strength. They
are scrupulously honest, severely punctual,
critically exact. But, as Paul said of the
strictest sect of his day, they are “
going about to establish their OWN
righteousness,” and have not “
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God” (Rom. 10:3). And they are usually
harsh, stern, critical, intolerant of those
who do not live up to their particular ideas
of the standard of righteousness.
WHAT IS THE TRUE SCRIPTURAL STANDARD OF REAL
SPIRITUALITY?
Now, let us turn to God’s Word, and humbly
seek to learn what is God’s standard of
spirituality. Of the true spiritual mind, God says
to us, through Paul. “Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus”
(Phil.2:5).
But HOW can you have the mind of Jesus Christ in
you? Jesus says: “Behold I stand at the door
(of your heart) and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and OPEN the door, I will come in to him
” (Rev. 3:20). And Jesus meant exactly what
He said! He will come in, through His Spirit, and
literally live His life of true righteousness in
you, if only you will surrender all of SELF and
let the blessed Saviour IN.
“For ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell IN
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of His.” Unless His Spirit
abides within you, living His life of true
righteousness in you, you are not a real
Christian! “And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin: but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness (Rom. 8: 9-10). When
God first begets us as His children, he takes us
who have been proud, worldly, sensual,
disobedient, His ultimate aim is to make us like
unto Himself. This transformation (not
reformation) is a tremendous undertaking. It
requires a miracle.
God stands pledged, upon real thorough
repentance, and faith in Christ (Acts 2:38) to
start the performance of this tremendous miracle
by putting His Holy Spirit literally WITHIN you!
But God will work the complete change in your
life ONLY if you are willing to SUBMIT to the
process! The first condition is real, deep,
thorough repentance. You will have to be willing
to accept correction and repeated chastisements at
His loving hands, for “whom the Lord loveth
He chasteneth” ( Heb. 12:6).
The spiritual mind is the surrendered, yielded
mind. It is the mind that has given up all
wanting its own way. It is the mind that has been
thoroughly conquered in its rebellion against
God. It is the mind that, henceforth, is willing
to obey God, no matter what the cost, and which
continually studies God’s Word, not to
argue and strive and corner others, but to learn
more of God’s will, and to walk in it! It
is a mind filled to overflowing with real LOVE for
God and all fellow men, even one’s enemies,
and which has sympathy, patience, and kindness for
others in their ideas and beliefs, their faults
and mistakes, which speaks softly, gently,
kindly; which seeks only to help and to serve. It
is the mind that has died to self.
The real spiritual mind can say with the Apostle
Paul: “I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me” (Gal. 2:20). When you can say that,
then you have the mind that was in Christ Jesus.
The real spiritual mind is a SOUND mind! “
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but
of power, and of love, and of a SOUND MIND”
(II Tim. 1:7). To those being carried away with a
false and pseudo-spirituality, where real
manifestations of the Spirit were being
counterfeited by demonstrations of self in a
fanatical emotionalism, Paul, correcting them,
said: “Brethren, be not CHILDREN in
understanding” (I Corth. 14:20).
It is true that Paul said to these same
Corinthians, “I would that ye all spake with
tongues, But, he added, “rather that ye
prophesied (preached): for greater is he that
prophesieth (preaches) than he that speaketh with
tongues”( I Corth. 14:5). Paul said to
those overly-emotional Corinthians, “I speak
with tongues more than you all, “Yet,”
he continued, “in the church I had rather
speak five words with my understanding, that by
my voice I might teach others, also, than ten
thousand words in an unknown tongue”
(verses 18-19). And also he said, “God is
not the author of confusion,” and “Let
all things be done decently and in order” (
verse 33, 40).
Let us get a proper balance. Let us get things in
the position of their relative scriptural
importance. “By their FRUITS,” not by
their tongues, their language, their emotion,
their ability to argue, their empty goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance. These things,
expressed in living character, determine true
spirituality. These things are the expression of
“the love of God, shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit” ( Rom. 5:5), and thus
the Holy Spirit in us is simply God’s Law in
action, in our lives; for Love is the fulfilling
of the law. And that, and that alone, is true
Christian spirituality.
Real Spiritual-mindedness is the mind of LOVE,
for God is LOVE.
Let us review our four substitutes for
spirituality in the light of God’s Word.
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“Though I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, and have not Love, I am become
as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal
” (I Corth 13:1). Did you ever hear one
speak with the tongues of angels? Spiritual
talk, “tongues, “ or “
manifestations,” are only a lot of
wind, or a noise like beating old tin pans, if
you have not LOVE.
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“And though I have the gift of prophecy,
and all knowledge:” and,
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“Though I have all faith so that I could
remove mountains, and have not Love, I am
nothing” (v. 2).
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“And though I bestow all my goods to
feed the poor, and though I give my body to
be burned and have not LOVE, it profteth me
nothing” (v3).
What is it to have love? The next four verses
tell. Here is true spiritual-mindedness:
“Love is very patient, very kind.”
Are you? Love knows no jealousy; love makes no
parade, gives itself no airs, is never rude,
never selfish, never irritated, never resentful;
love is never gladdened when others go wrong; love
is gladdened by goodness, always slow to expose,
always eager to believe the best, always hopeful,
always patient ( I Corth. 13:4-7).
Read those three verses again, substituting your
own name wherever Love appears. Try it as a test
on yourself. It will tell you how truly Spiritual
you are. Let us seek more real, genuine
SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS!
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