Beware of discrepancies
I didn’t hear much about the danger of detour? Today. It seems to be something my friends and I were worried about 20 years ago. We have talked about it, prayed against it, and tried to have Jesus before us as our great hope and satisfaction. The concern was not to fall completely, off the spiritual map, to deny Jesus and immerse ourselves in outrageous sins, but we knew that we have hearts that, as the hymn says, “tend to deviate. “And I’m no better today than I was then.
- If there is a particularly humiliating consideration for a believer with a spiritual spirit.
- Is it after all that God has done for him?After all the rich demonstrations of his grace.
- The patience and tenderness of his instructions.
- The repeated discipline of his covenant.
- The emblems of the received love and the lessons of the experience learned?secret.
- Perpetual and alarming departure from God ?.
- Octavius Winslow.
- Personal variation.
But even if we recognize that we are still sinners and that we can find ourselves in a dangerous spiritual state, do we know what this state is like?I’m not sure about that. Some people seem like a public failure, and that suggests they’re safe when they can be on a very bad path. In the classical Vital Deity, William Plumer says, “Many are prevented from overcoming their deviations because they are mercifully preserved from open sins. “. If they had fallen publicly into manifest inequity, they would have reddened with shame; they would have lamented their wickedness before God and men. But for now, it’s all secret, are they just diverted to the heart?
In his book, Revival, Richard Owen Roberts presents 25 evidence of a deviant condition. He develops them all, but I’ll just give him the stitches here. Take them seriously.
1. When prayer ceases to be a vital part of the Professed Christian life, deviation is present.
2. When the search for biblical truth ceases and the person is content with the knowledge of the eternal things already acquired, there is no doubt that there is no doubt of the presence of a deviation.
3. When possessed or acquired biblical knowledge is treated as an external fact and is not applied internally, deviation is present.
When fiery thoughts about eternal things are no longer regular and consume, this should be a warning sign for the deviant.
5. When church services lose their fun, there is probably a deviation condition.
6. When deep spiritual discussions are a limitation, there is certainly evidence of deviation.
7. When sports, recreation and entertainment are an integral part of your lifestyle, you can conclude that a diversion is taking place.
8. When the sins of the body and mind can be practiced without rebellion in their consciousness, their condition of deviation is certain.
9. When aspirations for Christian holiness cease to dominate their life and thought, the detour is there.
10. When the acquisition of money and material goods becomes a dominant part of your thinking, you have a clear confirmation of the discrepancy.
11. When you can pronounce heartless religious songs and lyrics, make sure deviation is present.
12. When he can hear the name of the Lord taken in vain, the ridiculed spiritual questions, and eternal problems treated frivolously, without being led to indignation and action, he is wrong.
13. When you can watch degrading movies and TV shows and read morally debilitating literature, you can be sure of their deviation.
14. When peace breaks in fraternity does not concern you, it is proof of deviation.
15. When the slightest excuse seems sufficient to distance you from spiritual duty and convenience, you are deceived.
16. When you are satisfied with your lack of spiritual power and no longer seek repeated layers of power from above, you are lost.
17. When you apologise for your own sin and laziness by saying that the Lord understands and remembers that we are dust, you reveal your condition as deviant.
18. When there is no more music in his soul and heart, silence bears witness to his deviation.
19. When you happily adapt to the lifestyle of the world, your own mirror will tell you the truth about your deviation.
20. When injustice and human misery exist around you and do nothing to alleviate suffering, rest a safety of your deviation.
21. When your church has fallen into spiritual decline and the Word of God is no longer preached with power and you remain satisfied, you are in a state of deviation.
22. When the spiritual condition of the world around you decays and you are unable to perceive it, it testifies to your situation of deviation.
23. When you are willing to deceive your employer, the discrepancy is obvious.
24. When you are rich in grace and mercy and marvel at your own mercy, then you are deeply immersed in deviation.
25. When your tears are dry and the harsh and cold spiritual reality of your existence is not enough to roll them, see this as a terrible testimony of the hardness of your heart and the depth of your deviation.
You may want to analyze some of the tests listed above, but before you do so, consider them carefully so as not to stop identifying a real problem in your life. What if you find out that some of these things are true about you?Tomorrow I will publish some reflections on the return to the Lord.