The Bible, the Preacher, and the Spirit (15)
Dependence on the Spirit entails that we stop trying to enforce the Bible with our flesh. What do I mean by this? To mention one aspect of this, some preachers use a sing-song, whiny, teary, begging voice when they speak. Some lower their voices and try to sound mysterious. Still others are very loud and exuberant for no reason. Besides being artificial and annoying, these attempts at enforcing the divine words of Scripture add nothing to the substance of the message. There is no real power, because there is no dependence on the Holy Spirit, but they are trying to make the hearers respond to the message with these silly devices.
The truth is that when we tell people, "Believe this," they will not – unless the Spirit gives them faith. And when we tell people, "Do this" or "Stop that," they will not – unless the Spirit grants them repentance and obedience. We deliver the message, but we need the Spirit to cause the proper reaction in the people, and to inject the necessary inner strength into them to perform the things required of them. This is what we are counting on. We will only make matters worse when we try to produce that which only the Spirit can generate.
Perhaps some preachers think that they are supposed to sound like they do in order to exhibit a sense of earnestness. But if this is the intent, then let there be a genuine overflow from the spirit instead of just a demonstration of poor acting. It would be better for the preacher to open up to a passage of Scripture, read it three times, and then send everyone home with a prayer for the Spirit to act, than for him to try to produce spiritual power and effect with his flesh.
Some Christians suffer under persistent doubt, and many struggle with stubborn sins. They need to know that one cannot just take the Scripture's exhortation to believe and produce faith in himself by himself. A person cannot just decide to believe something that he does not in fact believe. Just as we cannot even make our own hair white or black at will (Matthew 5:36), still less can we transform our own hearts at will, including the impossible task of changing our will at will. Likewise, a person does not progress in holiness just because he decides that it should happen. Paul writes, "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). Failing to grasp this point, many people try to manufacture what the Scripture demands by sheer willpower, and then of course they become disappointed and disillusioned.
What is the right way? We must have no confidence in the flesh, but we must expose ourselves to the Bible, immerse ourselves in its words and its teachings, and then pray for the Spirit to render it effective in our lives. The flesh is impotent and counts for nothing. The life and power are in the Scripture and the Spirit. Of course it is right to strive and to struggle, to exert effort in the Christian life. But only the Spirit can change the human heart, including your own. Even a right striving and a fruitful struggling must come from the Holy Spirit. It is he who grants us holy spiritual effort, and then it is he who blesses it in us.
(end of series)
April 05 2006 | Ministry