A Deaf Ear
Why do Christian people in our day purposely turn a deaf ear to the clear appeals in the Word of God concerning spiritual desire and victory?
In some cases it is because they have heard truth that they are not willing to obey. Our Lord is not going to compromise with anyone over the issue of disobedience to truth that He reveals. As a result those who knowingly refuse to obey will be brought to a distinct halt in their spiritual life. If there is something that they will not do for Him, some confession they will not make, something they refuse to straighten out, some act of obedience they will not perform—they will come to a stop and just sit. It is a dead halt—like the breaking of an axle on a truck or car.
People are sitting all around in the church of Christ, just as though the axle had broken, and they have not made any progress for years and years. They are completely stopped by nonobedience.
In other cases, Christians have been side-tracked and rendered useless by their acceptance of a state of chronic discouragement. As a result, they have come to a place of contented rationalization that their condition is normal for all Christians.
These are people who are believers, but they are not believers for themselves. They say they believe in this progressive, victorious Christian life but that it is for others, not for themselves. They have been to every altar, they have been to all of the Bible conferences, but the blessings are for someone else.
Now that attitude on the part of believers is neither modesty nor meekness. It is discouragement resulting from unbelief. It is rather like those who have been sick so long that they no longer believe they can get well. They have lived with the illness so long that it has become a pet, and they don’t want to lose it because they would no longer have a subject for conversation. They would say that they want to get well, but in fact, they do not.
Jesus is still saying, as He said to the man lying by the gate at the pool, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). Jesus made that man whole and raised him up because he wanted to be healed and delivered. If Jesus had found in him that which He finds in so many Christians today—a chronic state of discouragement—He would have passed him by!
Why do Christian people in our day purposely turn a deaf ear to the clear appeals in the Word of God concerning spiritual desire and victory?
In some cases it is because they have heard truth that they are not willing to obey. Our Lord is not going to compromise with anyone over the issue of disobedience to truth that He reveals. As a result those who knowingly refuse to obey will be brought to a distinct halt in their spiritual life. If there is something that they will not do for Him, some confession they will not make, something they refuse to straighten out, some act of obedience they will not perform—they will come to a stop and just sit. It is a dead halt—like the breaking of an axle on a truck or car.
People are sitting all around in the church of Christ, just as though the axle had broken, and they have not made any progress for years and years. They are completely stopped by nonobedience.
In other cases, Christians have been side-tracked and rendered useless by their acceptance of a state of chronic discouragement. As a result, they have come to a place of contented rationalization that their condition is normal for all Christians.
These are people who are believers, but they are not believers for themselves. They say they believe in this progressive, victorious Christian life but that it is for others, not for themselves. They have been to every altar, they have been to all of the Bible conferences, but the blessings are for someone else.
Now that attitude on the part of believers is neither modesty nor meekness. It is discouragement resulting from unbelief. It is rather like those who have been sick so long that they no longer believe they can get well. They have lived with the illness so long that it has become a pet, and they don’t want to lose it because they would no longer have a subject for conversation. They would say that they want to get well, but in fact, they do not.
Jesus is still saying, as He said to the man lying by the gate at the pool, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). Jesus made that man whole and raised him up because he wanted to be healed and delivered. If Jesus had found in him that which He finds in so many Christians today—a chronic state of discouragement—He would have passed him by!
A Deaf Ear
Why do Christian people in our day purposely turn a deaf ear to the clear appeals in the Word of God concerning spiritual desire and victory?
In some cases it is because they have heard truth that they are not willing to obey. Our Lord is not going to compromise with anyone over the issue of disobedience to truth that He reveals. As a result those who knowingly refuse to obey will be brought to a distinct halt in their spiritual life. If there is something that they will not do for Him, some confession they will not make, something they refuse to straighten out, some act of obedience they will not perform—they will come to a stop and just sit. It is a dead halt—like the breaking of an axle on a truck or car.
People are sitting all around in the church of Christ, just as though the axle had broken, and they have not made any progress for years and years. They are completely stopped by nonobedience.
In other cases, Christians have been side-tracked and rendered useless by their acceptance of a state of chronic discouragement. As a result, they have come to a place of contented rationalization that their condition is normal for all Christians.
These are people who are believers, but they are not believers for themselves. They say they believe in this progressive, victorious Christian life but that it is for others, not for themselves. They have been to every altar, they have been to all of the Bible conferences, but the blessings are for someone else.
Now that attitude on the part of believers is neither modesty nor meekness. It is discouragement resulting from unbelief. It is rather like those who have been sick so long that they no longer believe they can get well. They have lived with the illness so long that it has become a pet, and they don’t want to lose it because they would no longer have a subject for conversation. They would say that they want to get well, but in fact, they do not.
Jesus is still saying, as He said to the man lying by the gate at the pool, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). Jesus made that man whole and raised him up because he wanted to be healed and delivered. If Jesus had found in him that which He finds in so many Christians today—a chronic state of discouragement—He would have passed him by!
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