Bible

How to Become a Christian

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These are exciting times, but also frightening to many people. It’s hard to ignore the craziness around us. Frustration and a general feeling that all is not right in the world plague many people.

If you sense that something is not right in your life and in the lives of people you know, I want you to know that you can find a peace that triumphs over the greatest storms, a love that never lets go, and a cleansing that wipes away even the foulest past.

All of this is found in one source, Jesus Christ. Because He is the source of all things, all the answers to life’s questions are found in Him alone.

As more and more people search for what is real and what truly matters in life, the question of how to become a Christian looms large. You can search and find many explanations of how to become a Christian, but many of those explanations only lead people into following a set of rules, something that failed long ago and will fail today. Life is not a set of rules but a relationship with Jesus.

A quick glance around is all it takes for most people to realize that something is very wrong with our world. Disease, poverty, anger, jealousy, murder, sexual perversion, war, and death hold this world in their lethal embrace. Corruption defines the human condition.

It wasn’t always this way, though.

The Most Unnatural Thing in the World

God created a beautiful, unmarred world. As the source of life itself, He made Man, both male and female, in His own image and breathed His own life into them. He blessed Adam and Eve with perfect bodies, souls, and spirits. God placed that couple in His paradise, charging them to mold it as they saw fit, all under His guidance and love. God and Mankind lived in perfect communion, a deep, intimate relationship filled with life.

But Man was not satisfied with what God had given, and when Evil presented itself, Man chose Evil. Mankind wanted to be like God and rebelled against Him, partaking of the very fruits of Evil that God had warned against.

In the moment that Man sinned, the most unnatural thing entered Creation: Death.

Death took two terrible forms, physical and spiritual. In the physical, Man’s bodies began to decay. In the spiritual, the flame that was the spirit of Man, the very connection of Man to the life-giving Spirit of God, was snuffed out. The intimacy that Man had with God was utterly destroyed, and Man went deaf to the voice of God.

The Bible puts it bluntly:

For the wages of sin is death…
—Romans 6:23a

Sin is a death penalty.

There is no death in God, though, only life. God cannot abide death nor the sin that causes it because they are antithetical to His nature. To God, death is a terrible, foreign thing.

Just as it is a law within Creation that an apple dislodged from a tree will fall to the ground, so it is a law that only life can pay for death. God Himself had earlier clothed Adam and Eve with an animal skin, that creature giving up its life to pay for the death wrought by sin. Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, born after the advent of death, understood this and sacrificed part of his flock of sheep to God.

God says:

For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life.
—Leviticus 17:14a

The counter to sin and death is blood, which is life.

Striving But Not Attaining

Though Man’s spirit had died and Man no longer had a connection to God, the unnaturalness of death drove men to search for God and call out to Him. God chose to reveal Himself to Man and selected an unworthy tribe of people called the Hebrews. They wanted to know God, so He gave them a set of rules to show what He was like. God said that the rules, called the Law, could show people the way to Him. By keeping the Law, Man could hear a whisper of God and see the shadow of His presence. God instituted ways for the Hebrews to atone for their sins so they could continue to hear that whisper and see the shadow of His presence.

But no one could keep God’s rules. The rule of death in Man was stronger than anyone’s ability to keep every one of God’s laws perfectly. The Law was a plumb line that only showed how crooked Mankind truly was. It succeeded only in proving what was obvious:

None is righteous, no, not one….
—Romans 3:10b

Though the Hebrews sacrificed the lives of animals to try to reconcile themselves to the living God for the death that reigned in their bodies, God revealed the genuine truth behind their efforts:

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
—Hebrews 10:1-4

The life of an animal cannot fully atone for the death brought by sin that dwells in a man. It’s an imperfect system that can never fully appease.

God’s Perfect Answer: Jesus

But God is perfect. He is life. And He had an answer to all this death. A man would have to die—a man who could fully keep all the rules of God, who fulfilled all the Law that sinful, death-filled men could never keep. That perfect man would have to spill his blood to fully satisfy the universal law of life for death.

God could not ask anyone but Himself to be that man, though. Only God Himself could keep His own Law perfectly, could shed life-giving blood as the source of life itself, and could restore the perfect communion Man once had with Him. God Himself would have to become a man.

God exists as three persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—joined together in perfect unity. God the Father sent God the Son to earth to live as one of us.

The Bible tells us about that God-Man:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
—John 1:1-4

In that man was genuine God-life. There was no death in him at all because he was without sin. Because of this, he alone can bring salvation from death. This man is Jesus, whose name  means: “The Lord is my salvation.

This is what Jesus, the God-Man, says about Himself:

“I and the Father are one.”
—John 10:30

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
—John 5:24

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
—John 11:25b-26a

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me….”
—John 14:6b

Jesus made exclusive claims about Himself as the answer to the problem of sin and death. He said that He was God and contained all the fullness of God’s life.

But before we could taste that life, the universal law that a life must be given to atone for  death and sin had to be fulfilled. Because many hated Jesus for what He said and for who He claimed to be, they had Him put to death on a cross, the worst form of capital punishment known in that day. In the actions of those people who hated Jesus and wanted Him to die, we can see ourselves.

So in His crucifixion, Jesus, who was life, voluntarily gave up His life. And in doing so, a most wonderful thing happened:

For our sake [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
—2 Corinthians 5:21

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die– but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
—Romans 5:6-11

Sinless Jesus paid our penalty of sin and death, reconciling once-dead Man to God. By His blood sacrifice, He gives His life to those who believe Him. And that payment for sin and death is for all time:

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
—Hebrews 10:12-18

Because Jesus kept the Law perfectly, took our place on the cross, and shed His own blood as the perfect sacrifice, the penalty of death has been fully paid for and all sins forgiven for those who believe. And because Death cannot hold Life, Jesus triumphed over Death by His resurrection, which is our promise of resurrection of our souls to new life one day.

Death & Life

But don’t our bodies still die?

In truth, you and I were born dying. From our first breath, our physical bodies began the long process of wearing out and dying. This world still suffers the marks of sin until that day when Jesus returns in triumph to make all things new. At that time, those who have tasted physical death will be given new bodies that never wear out and never suffer the effects of sin and death.

On the spiritual side, though, putting our faith in Jesus immediately lights that quenched wick that was our dead spirit:

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
—1 Corinthians 6:17

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God….
—Romans 8:16

We regain our spiritual hearing and can once again enjoy communion with God.

What About Other Religions?

Many of the world’s religions claim a path to God. Jesus speaks to that claim:

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”
—Matthew 15:8-9

When you look at the world’s religions, it becomes perfectly clear that they are nothing more than rules made by men. They have some appearance of right living, but as we have seen, following a set of rules—even rules sent by God Himself—could not save Man from spiritual death. The problem of sin and death in Man means that no one can follow the rules, no matter who makes them. And if the rules cannot be followed perfectly, how can anyone ever get to the perfect God?

For the letter [of the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life.
—2 Corinthians 3:6b

Jesus alone fulfilled all the rules. It is why He said that He is the only way to God. His gift of the kept Law and His sacrificed life means freedom from spiritual death. When we place our faith in Him, He puts His Spirit in us, which is our seal of salvation and the promise of our name being added to His Book of Life.

But what about those who do not put their faith in Jesus?

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
—John 3:36

In short, those who believe in Jesus take on His life. Rather than following a set of rules, they gain a relationship with God Himself, the very source of life. However, those who do not believe in Jesus remain in spiritual death. Such a condition, sadly, has been the natural state of Man since our rebellion so long ago. Without belief in Jesus, we persist in a state of spiritual death. Nothing apart from taking on Jesus’ Spirit of Life will change that condition. Jesus said:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
—John 3:5b

Many have heard the term “born again” before. This is what Jesus means. He gives those who believe in Him a new life.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
—2 Corinthians 5:17

New creations in Jesus have nothing to fear of spiritual death. Their old, dead, spiritual  life has passed away, and they have been born again into new life.

Many people are familiar with the first part of this passage of the Bible:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
—John 3:16-17

Not as many know the rest:

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
—John 3:18

To those who reject Jesus, the very source of life, the natural end of their physical life brings a chilling spiritual reality, the due consequence of their continuing to abide in death:

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
—Revelation 20:12-15

This second death doesn’t have to be your end. Jesus offers you life:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
—John 10:10

How to Become a Christian

How to become a Christian? It’s not an elaborate set of rules, because as we know, rules cannot bring real life. It’s very simple.

Here is what I would recommend:

1. Get a copy of an NIV or ESV Bible and read through the New Testament or at least the Gospel of John, which is the fourth book of the New Testament. You can find John’s 21 chapters (and the rest of the Bible) online here.

2. God speaks to us through the words He gave in the Bible. Ask Him to convict you of the truth of what you read in the Bible. This may be something that happens as you read or it may take some time as you ponder the words. No matter which, God promises that His words will change you.

3. At the right time in your reading and thinking about God’s words, acknowledge the truth to God about your state of decay in sin and death. As Jesus so succinctly said:

“…unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
—Luke 13:3b

You will know when the right time will be because God will be with you by His Holy Spirit. Again, that’s His promise.

4. I included a verse earlier spoken by Jesus, but left off the last part:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
—John 11:25b-26

Every one of us must answer Jesus’ question. Let the Holy Spirit guide you as you talk with God about Jesus and your need for Him and His life. Don’t worry about saying the right words. If you stumble, just ask Him for help. He is faithful!

5. When you put your faith in Jesus, please write me and let me know. (My email address is at the top of the blog’s sidebar). I will try to help you with your next steps of finding a church and developing a devotional life that will grow you deep in Jesus.

A Divine Secret

Lastly, I want to tell you a secret that many Christians fail to understand.

Some well-meaning people will try to turn your new belief in Jesus into a set of rules. You will hear plenty of talk about all the things you must now do or not do. I suspect that much of that advice will be wise on the face of it, but just as we are powerless to save ourselves by keeping a set of rules, growing to be more like Jesus is something He must do in you by His means, not yours.

I know of only one way to do this. Jesus said it:

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
—John 17:3

If you want more of the eternal life of God in your own life, draw close to Jesus. Grow to know Him. The more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will begin to live as He did.

One of life’s most genuine truths: Whatever we are most devoted to is what we will become most like. If we devote most of our time to ourselves, we grow more into self-serving forms of our worst habits and mistakes. But if we devote our time to Jesus, we become more like Him.

When we become more like Jesus, it’s funny how all those bad habits, sins, and problems that plague us take care of themselves. If we look more like Jesus, we look less like our old selves. That’s Jesus Himself changing us. And it’s the only real way to change.

Additional Resources

If you would like to know more on how to become a Christian, I would recommend checking out this site: Two Ways to Live.

If you have put your faith in Jesus, I would recommend the following two resources:

The NIV Study Bible

This is a fine Bible for most people and includes a host of helps for those who have never read through the Bible before. I would also recommend this Bible-reading plan.

The Fight

The Fight by John White is one of the best primers on how to begin the journey with Jesus. It’s a simple book that covers many of the important practices of the Faith.

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In closing, let me pray for you:

Father God, I pray in Jesus’ name for all who read this. May you reveal yourself to them in your perfect fullness and write their names in your Book of Life. Grant them the grace to grow in knowledge of you so that you will find them faithful when you come again in glory. Thank you. Amen.

Finding Yourself in the Gospel Story

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Words of lifeOne of the realities God is impressing on me this year is the poor state of evangelism in this country. It’s as if Christians in America have forgotten the Great Commission, the mandate of our Lord to share the Gospel with the lost of the world.

More and more, I realize we modern Christians face have distanced ourselves from the story of the Gospel. It’s not that we don’t know the Gospel enough to share it. Most of us do. Instead, our problem is our inability to see ourselves as a part of that story.

A quick visit to any three Christian blogs will inevitably bring up mentions of the closed state of the canon. Some people, in fact, seem to base their entire theology on the fact of the closed canon rather than the person of the living Christ. Don’t get me wrong; there are no new books of the Bible being written. I fully support that the canon is closed.

However, I just as fully believe that God never stopped speaking. His voice continues to go out. That voice brings transformation because it is active, especially in the lives of those who learn the secret of abiding in Christ. Our God is a living entity who does not stand mute.

And this brings me to the Gospel.

What Jesus has done as evidenced by the Gospel is well known and indisputable. What I believe we tend to forget is what Jesus is still doing. He still changes lives. In this way, the Gospel perpetually lives, like a story continually being written—because the truth of the Gospel story has not come to an end.

We Christians today persist as an isolated, self-centered lot. Few of us see our individual lives as part of anything larger than ourselves, much less part of the narrative of God’s redemptive story. Yet our lives and what Jesus has done in them are no different than those of the patriarchs and saints of yore.  The reality of Jesus Christ meeting Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus centuries ago is no more valid that Jesus Christ meeting you or me on our own figurative Damascus road. We have our own Gospel story to tell, our own encounter with the Lord of the Universe, and our story matters to God as much as Saul of Tarsus’s does.

Because we have forgotten this, we have forfeited an important piece of what we share with the lost. Yet what is more powerful than telling a lost person our own story of how Jesus took us from darkness into light? We fret about somehow failing to string together the elements of the Romans Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, the Bridge Illustration, lessons from Evangelism Explosion, our Topical Memory System passages, or whatever evangelism technique we feel deficient in, when what God desires most from us is that we can share with another person what Jesus did for us in taking us from death to life. We may remember the Gospel, but we have failed to see ourselves in it.

Many out there feel the world is winding down, and it may be. It is not hard to see the day coming when no one can work. In light of this, I offer this word: You will never know the Scriptures perfectly unless you memorize the entire Bible, and by the time you do, you probably will not have had the chance to talk with anyone about Christ. What you can do, though, is use the Scriptures you do know in conjunction with your own story of how Jesus saved you.

Stories change lives. Your changed life is a story. All of this is wrapped up in the greatest story of all, the Gospel. If you are in Christ, you are living that story with every breath you take.

If that story matters to God, then I’m sure He wants you to share it with others. And there is no better time to share it than today.

Discernment, Revivals, and Godly Common Sense

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He will judge us...I’ve received further e-mails asking for more of my thoughts on discerning what is truly of God when signs and wonders and revivals break out. This comes on the heels of two posts I wrote last week  (here and here) discussing events at the Lakeland “revival” down in Florida.

At a time when discernment appears lost on vast portions of Evangelicalism and the charismatic movement,  basic, biblical principles are needed to discern truth from error. While I believe that the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits cannot be condensed into a set of tips, I also believe that basic rules for discernment CAN be derived from the biblical text and from plain, old common sense. God gave us a brain smart enough to avoid eating obvious poison, and so we should use the brains He gave us to make wise choices about truth and falsehood.

What follows below frames my own set of rules for discernment. You may disagree or have better rules. And to those friends of mine who will most certainly be hurt by what I say here, I can only ask that you consider these things and take them before the Lord.

Always begin with healthy skepticism.

I always come to the miraculous with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is not the same as faithlessness because I wholeheartedly believe that God can do miraculous works. I also realize that the Enemy can mimic those works. God will not deny blessings to people who test the spirits to see if they are of Him. It’s a little like having a spam filter up all the time. The good stuff will get through and the rotten stuff won’t. And even if a piece of good stuff gets caught, God is not so weak that He won’t continue to do a good work in us. If that means He has to reattempt what got trapped in the filter, He most certainly will because He loves us enough to do so. He never punishes people who remain vigilant because they love Him and His pure works. On the other hand, people who open themselves up to everything wind up filled with garbage, a mess that can take a lifetime to undo.

God has a way of proving Himself true in time, but the Enemy never does.

By their fruit we will know them. Their fruit will remain, too. A little water under the bridge is a good thing because it allows us to test what is happening against Scripture, just as the Bereans did in Acts. One of the rotten fruits of phony miracles and revivals is that they open people up for even more error. A pinch of yeast leavens the whole lump of dough. Lies breed confusion, and “miracles” that come from the Enemy or from the hand of tricksters will only bring confusion in the long run.

Consider the past fruits of anyone or any group working the miraculous in the name of Christ.

Look at their theology closely. Also realize that words matter, and that some people confuse terms on purpose or twist them so that they look right even though they aren’t. Oneness Pentecostals may not seem antitrinitarian on the surface, but attempting a 1:1 analysis of their terminology with orthodox Christian doctrine ultimately reveals their error. We must also realize that a group with odd theology may continue to spawn odd theology even if they attempt to distance themselves from the past error. In charismatic circles, far too much deviant doctrine and practice has come out of the Kansas City Prophets of the late 1980s and early 1990s. One can trace all manner of craziness since 1990 directly back to that group, including the recent Lakeland “revival.” Anything “birthed” out of that movement should have an automatic red flag attached to it, as should any former leaders connected to it. This includes organizations and ministries such as IHOP, The Elijah List, MorningStar Ministries, Passion & Fire, and a whole host of others that looked favorably upon Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, Rick Joyner, Paul Cain, and anyone else who came out of the Kansas City Prophets movement. In fact, since the entirety of the modern prophetic movement in charismatic circles is inextricably linked in a tangle to those groups and individuals, it may be best (and I say this with a heavy heart) to avoid the prophetic movement altogther as a national entity until God purges the corrupted seed.

Real miraculous works from God are often imitated by the Enemy.

Moses threw down his staff and it transformed into a snake. Pharaoh’s two magicians threw down their staffs and they turned into snakes, too. We must never forget this. Just because a miracle occurs doesn’t mean it came from God. The difference is that God’s miracles prevail and the Enemy’s never do. We must also consider the character of those who are present at the miracle. We know Moses was God’s man. But who owned Jannes and Jambres? We must apply that same thinking to discerning the source of miracles.

Any appeal to spiritual beings apart from the members of the Trinity is dangerous.

God created the heavenly hosts, including His messengers, the angels. A third of the angels fell and became demons. These spiritual beings are real. The error of Evangelicalism is that it tends to ignore them. The error of charismatics is that they tend to fixate on them. God commands the angels, we don’t. He has, though, given us authority over demons by benefit of the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit living in us. However, we dabble with spiritual beings at our peril. The demonic comes as an angel of light remember. When I hear people appealing to angels or talking about them the way they are discussed by Todd Bentley of the Lakeland “revival,” I’m instantly alarmed. You can’t go to the Scriptures and find the apostles talking about angelic beings the way some charismatics do. That kind of talk is not there in the Bible, our source of truth. When we pray, we can ask God to send His angels to minister to us, but we should always test spiritual entities and go to the Lord to request them, not ask them directly. We may attract the wrong kind of spiritual entity if we bypass the Lord and His will concerning the sending of angels for assistance.

The whole counsel of Scripture matters, not just a verse here and there.

I am increasingly convinced that chapter and verse markers are one of the worst things to happen to the Bible. Because we added them, too many people pick and choose verses to contruct their theology rather than considering the whole counsel of Scripture. Charismatics do this more than anyone, creating elaborate fictions out of disjointed strings of verses. The old joke about the man who randomly opens his Bible to “Judas hanged himself” and then to another verse that said  “Go and do likewise” applies here. I can guarantee that the vast, vast majority of Christians dashed on the rocks of phony revival and fake miracles wind up there because they don’t understand the whole counsel of Scripture. Sadly, our atrocious understanding, especially in those circles hellbent on mountaintop experiences at the expense of study, leads to error and heartbreak. The Bible cautions that God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, and  that knowledge comes from His word. Get wisdom; understand what the Bible says from cover to cover!

God’s revivals and miracles are not chintzy.

Real revival takes the worst people possible and transforms them into God’s people. Real miracles take the most desperate situations and conditions and alleviates them. God never settles for cheap. Read the miracles and revivals in the Bible; the miracles force entire cities to stand up and take note, while the revivals have thousands coming to Christ. While it might seem like a great thing that the tennis pro had his tennis elbow cured by the laying on of hands, if that’s the extent of the miraculous, something’s wrong. God does much bigger (and much more documentable) works. If we come back from a revival with a healthy glow, but a couple weeks later we’re just as ornery as we were before we went, that wasn’t real revival.

Novelty is not of God.

Yes, the Bible says that God does new things, but He only does them from a basis of what is old and established. God is not into tricks. He does not use flash to enhance His workings. He doesn’t have His servants dance jigs around someone they’re praying for, doesn’t have His people wave their arms and act like bad magicians. There’s no “Alakazam!” and no need for it. God isn’t into show. Preachers, prophets, and revivalists who make a big deal of novelty are supplementing. And God needs no one to supplement His power.

If a movement, revival, or series of miracles “feels off,” the Holy Spirit may be trying to warn us.

The Holy Spirit confirms truth, and all true believers have the Holy Spirit in some measure. If we’re around a miraculous event and we feel wrong about it, there’s a good reason to believe that’s the Holy Spirit talking. We better listen. Unfortunately, too many people who supposedly have the Holy Spirit living in them have turned a deaf ear to the Spirit’s warnings. Also, too many people have no ability to discern the voice of the Spirit in the midst of the background noise of life. That’s a terrible loss because the Bible explicitly states that we’re to be guided by the Holy Spirit. If we fail to listen to Him in situations that call for discernment, how will we be able to discern those difficult situations that normal Christians encounter? For instance, Paul and Silas were followed by the slave girl who announced that the two were from God and were proclaiming the way of salvation. On the surface, how many Christians would love to have such an ardent helper? But Paul, by the Spirit, saw the demon controlling their “assistant” and cast it out. That kind of discernment only comes by the Spirit of God.

We Christians are to seek Jesus, not signs and wonders.

We must remember this passage of Scripture:

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
—Romans 15:18-21

The entirety of Paul’s context above is evangelizing the lost. Do we understand this? Signs and wonders are largely for the lost as a confirmation of God’s power. As Christians, we already know about signs and wonders; they should not shock us. We know Christ, and isn’t He greater than signs and wonders?  He is our sufficiency, not signs and wonders. He is the source, and the source is always greater. Yet look how many people flock to so-called revivals just to see signs and wonders. This is a mockery, frankly. It detracts from Jesus, and the Holy Spirit always points to Jesus, not to signs and wonders. This is not to say that Christians cannot come to Jesus for healing or for a miracle, but that these are by far secondary to Christ alone. If anything, we Christians should not be surprised at miracles, but by the lack of them! They should be second nature to us, not to the point of us being blasé about them, but that we understand them as the inherent outworkings of the normal Christian life.

Real revival breaks out only among the humble.

Revival breaks out where God moves, not where some Christian celebrity moves. Any Christian preacher or revivalist who claims that revival follows him or her is operating out of spiritual pride. Genuine revival breaks out among people who have no names to make for themselves, around ministries that are local and less well known, and in backwater places with no marketing arm to promote them. It breaks out through the long-travailing prayers of humble servants, not the boasts of fly-by-night Christian celebrities who line their pockets with sales of cheap Christian trinkets or “pray for pay.” Remember, the Enemy loves to boast and loves the limelight. The people God uses to bring genuine revival are often the very people who were once scorned for their piety, humility, and singleminded devotion to Christ.

Christ Himself warned that genuine faith would become a rarity.

I am continually shocked that so many in the charismatic movement keep believing for some massive revival right before Christ returns. In many branches of the charismatic movement lurks an almost post-millennial frenzy that finds people believing we Christians will hand over a perfected world to the Lord at His second coming. Yet the Lord Jesus Himself asked whether He would find faith on earth at His return. Mark 13:20 says that if it were not for a cutting off of the chaotic days of tribulation, no one would be saved. We are heading into dark, dark times where even the elect might come close to falling away. So whenever I hear calls of worldwide revival, I’m leery. Revival to whom and by whom? Is this what the Bible teaches? If so, I’ve been unable to find it in the pages of Scripture. This is not to say that genuine revival will not come to this place and that dotted across the globe, only it probably won’t look like the kind of revival that some modern revivalists are trumpeting.

For more thoughts on this, please see the following previous posts: