Archives at Zinester: [Morning by Morning] Romans 8: 16. Morning by Morning. Religion

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Good morning! Here again is the great statement of Paul's about one of the most thrilling possibilities in Christian -- indeed in all of human -- experience:

16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

We know how we are, how we can screw anything up, how we can fake things and delude ourselves. People lie a lot. And also there is a Father of lies who delights in staging false versions of real experiences. So how can we discern between false and true versions of this witnessing of the Spirit to our spirit? Since this definitely falls into the category of experiences rather than of doctrine, there is a really strong subjective element involved. How can we be sure that what happens to us when God becomes so real to our hearts is the real thing? Once again our great teacher, Lloyd-Jones, gives us the general outline, which I'll pass on to you.

Actually even he bows to the wisdom of the ages on this, and quotes from great puritans of centuries gone by. He might also have cited Catholic witnesses from Ignatius and Thomas a Kempis as well.

Three questions that help us sort out the authenticity of such a great experience are -- "What was going on before the Spirit gave you this witness?" "What accompanied this witness, what happened while He was speaking to you?" and "What difference has it made in your life?"

It felt like dawn; but was it sunset?

What was going on before the Spirit's light and warmth burst in -- perhaps on a Cursillo weekend or during a mission trip? The most common testimony is that we had a sorrow, a dissatisfaction, with the quality of our relationship with God. Preachers, espeically the good ones, have this a lot. In my case, I kept looking at the reality of my ministry and comparing that with the pages of the Book of Acts, and I just knew I didn't have whatever it is they had. Even more telling, efforts at improving my life, while somewhat helpful at making me less of a jerk, didn't bring me noticeably closer to God.

It's good to remember here what Paul is talking about and who he is talking with. This is about the fulness of Christian life, not about becoming a Christian. It's not about being saved. He assumes his audience consists of believers and what he is trying to do is to describe what is now possible and desirable for those who have already placed their faith in Jesus. What was going on inside Wesley that prepared him to move him from being a failed missionary to founding a whole revival? He was totally dissatisfied with his relationship to God. He desperately wanted his heart to be warmed.

Next, what accompanied this witness of the Spirit? What was going on while He witnessed to you of God's love for you? The accounts vary and are usually quite brief because it is at least as personal as love-making. One thing is that the anxious self-talk stops. The presence of God shushes you. Another thing is that you get this is way past earning, this is grace and holiness such as you could never produce. Peter in his fishing boat, when He begins to get who Jesus might actually be, says, "depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man." Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the Lord!" It's the astounding beauty of Jesus that produces this in us. And there is also, conflicting with this, an unrealistic desire to abandon everything and stay right there with Him. "Shall we build three booths, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?" It's not a tidy experience, and we don't come to peace with it until we hear Him say, "I am with you always."

What happens afterwards? This is both the big test of the authenticity of our encounter with God and the easiest thing to discern. We want to become, indeed we just have to become, evangelists. Not necessarily good or effective evangelists. Just as romance leads to babies, encountering God leads to mission.