Chapter 2 The Fleshly Man and His Religion
Lost people may go to church. They may become religious and active, but never "regenerated" receiving God's life and power.
Or, they do become regenerated, but walk after the flesh but find more struggles by the Spirit to walk after Him and not the flesh.
Religiously fleshly souls feel comfortable with their belief system of religion-whether it is a cult, false religion, or a mainline Bible believing group. They join a church, a denomination, or a cult because of the attractiveness to his flesh. They grow in it to pick and choose what they like, ignoring the whole counsel of God. They are cafeteria buffet souls, not wanting to eat what is offered them from God's table. There is the table of religion and church. Then there is the table of God. Religion and church is the buffet meal--pick what you like. God's table is food to the conscience and heart.
God's food is given when:
- the conscience is clear
- self is unconditionally surrendered and willing to obey no matter what God says.
- when honest admission of personal sins and disagreements with God
- a full surrender of the body, soul, and spirit to the person and will of God
- Spiritual food comes from God's Word-truths from the Scripture. Food is enlightenment, guidance, corrections, encouragement, comforts, hope, faith, love, assurance, understanding, knowledge of God's ways, and the wisdom to take and follow.
The flesh pursuing religion chooses beliefs he likes, and finds agreeable and soothing. He rejects any that convict, contradict, or wound his pride, He will not personally choose to allow God to examine and challenge any area of his life. He is choosy about what He will allow God to do.
He protects his beliefs. He protects his pride. Anger and being argumentative reveals his heart of flesh. He cannot humble himself to hear others who oppose him. His will has locked his mind to believe what he wants to believe. His spirit is bound up from knowing Truth which can set him free.
He is miserable, defeated, and blinded that he is a blind guide leading the blind. He can never be spiritual and life-experiencing as long as pride rules his life.
__________________________________
This fleshly man may serve in a church. He may even perform spiritual activities like saying prayers, reading the Bible, having discussions on Bible doctrine. He is big on doctrines, non-existent on experience with Christ. He can talk about things of the Bible or his religion. But he cannot talk about experience with Christ.
This is one thing the fleshly church goer will never do: reveal his real heart, discuss personal experiences with Christ, admit to any wrong. He will never get personal about his relationship with God. He will talk about God but never talk about what God is personally revealing in his life.
The fleshly church goer if active, enjoys the activities, the pursuit of numerical growth, how finances are being spent. He sees church as a temporal institution to be built by human ingenuity, human reason, human manipulation. Self is the power he feeds off of and uses in his influences in the local church.
Church and the world are compartmentalized. He gives his heart to the world during the week, and his time in church on Sunday. He believes that you should never mix the two. So his way of living by principles will oppose to each other depending on which arena he lives in: church or world.
He acts one way at home and another way at church. One way at work and a different way at work and amusements.
No comments:
Post a Comment