Having begun in the Spirit…. Don’t stop!

Someone once said that it isn’t how you begin, it is how you end.  Ok…  Sounds good, but the fact is that if you do not begin correctly you will not end correctly…AND… if you are not consistent with building on that great beginning you will not end well.

This is what the Apostle Paul was bringing to the attention of the Galatian church when he admonished them with this:

O foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth….Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?   

Before I address the lack of continuing in the Spirit, I’m afraid to say that well-meaning people who think they have started in the Spirit may not have actually done so.  Let me explain.

Spirituality today has come to mean anything from Christ to crystals.  When broaching the subject of Christ with people today, the standard response seems to be, “I’m a very spiritual person.”  When probing further, I often find some kind of syncretic cosmic mix of angels, demons, earth worship, idolatry and who knows what.  I once met a man who worshiped a carrot and was committed to converting the world to his newfound spirituality… seriously, you can’t make this up.

Needless to say, this kind of beginning in the Spirit is not what is meant in the bible.

To be clear, in spite of what some would say, beginning in the Spirit as described in the bible is truly being “born again”.  It is not “being committed to Christ” or “giving your heart to Jesus” or some other well meaning “hep me Jesus” gesture.

Being “born again” means being born of the Spirit of the Living God.  It is a sovereign act of God himself through the work of the Holy Spirit.  No one can come to Christ without being drawn by the Holy Spirit.  Once drawn by the Holy Spirit, if one repents of his sins and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead HE WILL BE SAVED.  Here, confession equals conversion, therefore commitment is no longer an issue.

If commitment could have brought salvation, then the death of Christ upon Calvary’s cross was a needless, useless endeavor.  The fact is clear; one must be born again of the Spirit… period.

Now, since we are all on the same page with respect to what it means to “begin in the Spirit” let us move on to the meat of the issue.

The verse to the Galatians above makes perfect sense when we realize that if apart from the Spirit we cannot be saved, how in the world could we continue to mature apart from the Spirit by continuing a spiritual walk in a nonspiritual way?  The fact is that it can’t be done.  Christ is the only way, the only truth and the only life.   Peter said it best when he responded to the Lord by saying, “To whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life”.  Exactly!

If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, then it is impossible to say, “Lord no.”  He either IS Lord or he is Less.  There is no in between.

I am amazed at how many “Christians” claim the lordship of Jesus Christ while blatantly ignoring scripture after scripture with which they may find some kind of difficulty.

Let’s tell it like it is.  The reason for the difficulty is that the Lord is revealing areas in our personal lives and churches that we have purposely held back from his lordship.  Although it is often couched in lofty “Christianese”, it is sin.

In the end, the question never gets more complicated than, “How much of the bible are you going to believe?”

Regardless of the reasons for unbelief of the obvious, the maxim still stands… having begun in the Spirit, are we to come to maturity in the flesh?  Of course not!  The bible indicates that we will be in the state of maturing until we ALL come into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  It is an imperative that we will never achieve so long as we make excuses for not continuing in the Spirit.  We must acknowledge that each time we compromise the spiritual; we embolden the carnal and reduce the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

I’m growing weary of leaders who reject their responsibility to lead in this area and relegate the operation of the Holy Spirit to some kind of useless etherial construct while decrying His absolute reality.  It can’t be both ways.  Either He is Lord or he is Less.

I’m growing weary of the lack of biblical government within the church that coddles and cajoles the blatantly sinful and the financially privileged for the sake of more nickels and noses.  Where are the Deacons and Elders who will properly govern the church?  Where are the Apostles and Prophets who understand that the office is relational and restorative and not hierarchical?  Where is biblical church discipline and accountability?  Where is discipleship?  Where are the Pastors who are actually equipping the saints for the work of the ministry instead of disseminating information?

I’m growing weary of hearing those speaking against the operation of the Holy Spirit in the church because it might offend someone.  I’m weary of lazy, insecure Pastors, who, rather than taking the responsibility to discern the work of the Holy Spirit in the service, find it easier to ignore His working and settle for less.

I find it particularly offensive that the gift of tongues is poorly taught, often dismissed and is frequently treated like babbling weird Uncle Harold has shown up to destroy a perfectly good service.

While the bible points to speaking in tongues, praying in tongues, singing in tongues, giving an utterance in tongues along with operational guidelines within a service and specific reasons for each, many find it much easier to simply remove all operations of such… in spite of the Apostle Paul’s comment that he would that all spoke in tongues.

I say again, He is either Lord or he is Less.

When I was saved, I abandoned myself, set aside every weight and began to press on for the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.  I am a man who is looking for a city whose builder and maker is God.  I will not settle for Less for He truly is Lord.

Who is He to you?