REJECTING THE SPIRIT

The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;   whoever guards his way preserves his life. 

PRIDE GOES BEFORE DESTRUCTION, 

and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 16:17-19

John, the disciple of Jesus uses language in his Gospel and in his epistles that might seem very harsh to today’s sensitive mindsets. In John 17:9 he records that, Jesus was very clear that he prayed only for those who followed him in obedience out of love. He was not praying for the rest of the world. John 1:11-13 states that only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and accept Him as their Savior, have been given the right to be counted as the children of God. 1John 2:18-20 is clearly drawing a line in the sand differentiating those who belong to the community of God, the Father, and those who do not.

In a world that has been told that everyone is a child of God, John’s writings may come across as harsh and exclusionary. I don’t believe that John would be leading a seeker sensitive church in the 21st century. Let’s not forget that John was and is known as the beloved disciple, he was in Jesus’ inner circle of three. John is telling it like it is, whether we accept it or not, his words must be taken seriously.

John’s words are no doubt very exclusionary, and that is because the kingdom of God has very defined boundaries. John tells his readers that those who practice righteousness and do not find God’s requirements as burdensome are counted as part of God’s children (1 John 1:11-13, 5:2-3). John writes that those who delight in pleasing God have God’s seed inside of them and do not want to live licentiously. Diverse lifestyle choices are not even appealing to them and many find living outside of the Father’s boundaries as repulsive.

Most importantly, John wants his listeners and readers to understand that even though everyone has an opportunity to turn to the Father as long as they have breath in their lungs, there is a sin that leads to death (1John 5:16). This is the ultimate death, physical and spiritual. As humans we were created as spirit and flesh. After the Fall it is our spirit that remains eternal. To live with the Creator in eternity is the ideal for us, but to reject God’s Spirit is to reject His ultimate offer of freedom. This decision is not reversable after the flesh fails and dies. Rejection of God and his boundaries is a choice between good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness. There is no middle ground. These are not my words. Scripture is clear.

When an individual chooses to live out their life in an aberrant lifestyle that is not within the boundaries of God’s purposes, that individual is making a choice to live apart from the Creator. God’s Spirit is continually and lovingly guiding all of us to do what is right in the eyes of the Creator. Many call this a moral conscience. But why doesn’t God accept everyone for who they are? With all of the mixed messages that we hear about in our modern world today, I asked this very question. This led me into much research for fifteen years, and several conference lectures later, I do pray that many have begun to make educated decisions about their chosen lifestyle. Anyone interested in my research is welcome to check out some of my lectures at the SES archives of past NCCA events (2014-2019 and upcoming 2024).

God has boundaries for a reason. His requirements make our lives more abundant and fulfilling. Sin is a deviation from our Creator’s purpose for us as free beings. Sin entraps and ultimately leads to psychological depravity which destroys us from the inside out. A lifestyle of sin, is a life devoid of the goodness of God and ruins the life that he intended for each of us. When we reject the promptings of God’s Spirit we choose to alienate our Creator. That is sin that leads to death. Choose wisely, we never know what the next hour will bring…