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Quench
not the Spirit
1Thes5:19 There is a real problem in the church today. Rather than presenting freedom in Christ, the church exchanges one set of chains for another. In reconciling a sinner to Christ, the freedom a sinner receives in having his sin forgiven is exchanged for bondage to Law. Where in Galatians the threat was circumcision, today it is the tithe, keeping the Sabbath, following fasts and religious ceremonies and holidays. For those who live by a religion, what the Christian church offers is just a different set of rules to follow. What is the appeal for a non-Christian person to give up his religion only to be placed under another set of rules and regulations? Just as God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, we as ambassadors of Christ should allow the Spirit to beseech the lost. Rather than philosophy and human argument, it should be God by his Spirit wooing the lost. The best witness for Christ is living and walking in the Spirit. The best witness is love. The best witness is to give glory to God for having peace, love, and joy and the hope of everlasting life. We quench the Spirit as soon as we place legal requirements on its constituents. We quench the Spirit when we live by Law. The only requirements a born again Christian should have is to love his neighbor, live by faith, and keep from indulging the flesh. We have lost the true spirit of Christ. We have lost how to live in the Spirit. We have lost how to walk in the Spirit. We have lost how to reconcile the world to Christ. Even for the Pentecostal, even for the Charismatic the threat of legalism is real. Paul in writing to the Galatian church recognizes the problem. Having begun in the Spirit are you made perfect by the Law? Did God work miracles by the keeping the Law or the hearing of faith? When the church reverts back to the Law it quenches the Spirit. When the church relies on human argument and not the power of the Spirit, the church loses its life, its purpose, its distinction. If Christianity is going to offer the world a real alternative, then it must begin by getting back to where the church began. It began at Pentecost and it must return to Pentecost. It must shed as much religion as possible and offer true freedom for the believer. Stand fast in the liberty whereby Christ has made us free and be not again entangled in bondage. (Gal5:1) Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where people see a real difference, the desire for salvation becomes real. Where people behold the Spirit, conversion comes. Religion does not save. The Law does not save. Only Christ is the hope for a fallen world. The righteous shall live by faith. Walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit. Offer the world a real choice. Amen |