How do we mortify sin?: part two

John MacArthur once said: "Mortification involves the cultivation of new habits of godliness, combined with the elimination of old sinful habits from our behavior." This statement sums up the practical outworking of what Romans 8:13 describes as mortifying or "putting to death" the sinful deeds of our body. This spiritual discipline is not for only a few elite Christians to practice, but it is for all believers in Christ. Moreover, it should be our daily practice - since the presence of indwelling sin is always there to ensnare us at every turn in all our thoughts, words, and deeds (see Rom.7:14-24).

In my last post I began to unpack the ways in which we carry out this discipline. So far, we have only covered two means of grace that should be exercised for the purpose of mortification. First, we mortify sin by remembering the truth of our death to sin's dominion and our new life in Jesus Christ (see Rom.6:1-11; Gal.2:20). Knowing who we are in Christ and the glory of what God has done for us in Christ is vital to healthy Christian living. And in the arena of killing sin, it is especially important that we understand that sin no longer has power over us to enslave us since we are now united to Christ in spiritual union. Secondly, we mortify sin by abstaining from fleshly lusts (I Pet.2:11). Having been set free from sin's former dominion, we have the power in Christ to say "NO!" to sin. We are not victims to the temptations of the flesh - but in Christ we can "abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against [our] soul" (I Pet.2:11). Thus, to kill sin is to refuse to sin by God's grace.

Another means though of mortifying sin is by making no provision for the flesh. In Romans 13:14, we are commanded "to make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Now the question must be raised: what is the difference between "make no provision for the flesh" and the previous point from I Peter 2:11, "abstain from the passions of the flesh?" The difference between these two imperatives is that to "abstain" means just to stop sinning, whereas "to make no provision" carries the idea of not making plans to sin. The word translated "provision" in Romans 13:14 comes from a Greek term that carries the idea of "forethought" or "planning in advance." Hence, when we're commanded to "make no provision for the flesh", then we're being called to refuse accommodating the flesh in any way that will inevitably set us up for a fall.

Let's face it: this is why most Christians fall into sin - they foolishly set themselves up to gratify the desires of the flesh. And what's worse, it is our own wicked pride that leads us into that pit of sin. We say to ourselves, "I can handle this. I'm strong. I can beat this." So we watch television programs and movies that only stir up the lusts of the flesh; we listen to gossip that only excites our taste buds for more of those little trifles; we look at magazines or read books or view websites that fill our minds with ungodly, immoral images; or we keep company with people who have no passion or love for Christ whatsoever, allowing their godless worldview to slowly erode our thinking away from the Bible. And all the while, we're saying to ourselves in the stupidity of our pride: "I can handle this." No, you can't handle it - you're falling!

Consider again the counsel of Romans 13:14, "...make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." If you don't want to fall, then don't walk where it's slippery. To mortify sin we have to become strategists. We have to be aware of what is going to tempt us and seduce us and drag us into sin; and make strategic plans to stay away from whatever that is. For instance, if we struggle with the sin of gluttony, then we should plan to stay away from those foods and restaurants where the temptation to indulge ourselves is strongest. If we struggle with gossip, then we need to plan out how we are going to converse with others on subjects that will neither draw us into that sin nor the person we are talking with. To mortify sin we must become strategists.

But in addition to this, there must be a wholehearted commitment to give up whatever is necessary, even the most cherished things we possess, if doing that will help protect us from falling into sin. This is what Jesus meant by gouging out the "right eye" and cutting off the "right hand" (Matt.5:29-30). If we are going to mortify sin, then we must make no provision for the flesh - no matter what that self-denial will cost us. Anything that would ensnare us to sin must be eliminated immediately.

How do we mortify sin?: part one

Having underscored in my past three posts what mortification is and what it is not, I now want to turn our attention to a much more practical question: how do we mortify sin? Since mortification is the lifelong process and work of every Christian, by the divine power of the Holy Spirit, to crush, sap, root out, weaken, and subdue all known manifestations of indwelling sin - what then are the means of grace God has supplied for us to kill sin? Based on how we have defined mortification from Romans 8:13, we know that this is chiefly a work accomplished only through the power of the Holy Spirit. But understanding the importance and absolute necessity of the Spirit's role in our mortifying sin, we are still left wondering, "What do I do?" Answering this question will take up my next few posts.

In the first place, we mortify sin by remembering the truth of our death to sin's dominion and our new life in Jesus Christ. This is what we are commanded to do in Romans 6:11, "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." This divine imperative falls on the heels of Paul's incredible exposition concerning the death of every Christian to their former slavery to sin, as a consequence to their spiritual union with Christ (see 6:1-10).

Paul declares that because we have "died to sin" and have been united with Christ - we have received a new life whereby our life in sin is dead and gone (6:3-6). Hence, because we are no longer under sin's dominion, then we must count this as a fact everyday. This is the command of Romans 6:11. No matter how harassed we may be by the temptations of remaining sin (Rom.6:12-13; 7:14-25), it will never change the fact of who we are in Jesus Christ as His people who have been set free from sin's enslaving power.

This must be the first mortal blow we give to indwelling sin. As each new day begins, we need to remind ourselves: "I am dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Sin has no authority over me. Sin has no right to bully me. I belong to God. I live in union with Jesus Christ who is now my life." This is the truth of what God's grace has done for all His people, despite how they may feel. And this is how we start each day to put sin to death.

In the second place, we mortify sin by abstaining from fleshly lusts. In First Peter 2:11, we are commanded: "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." Probably the most simple and straightforward response to the ongoing attacks of indwelling sin, is to abstain from it. This verb translated "abstain" in First Peter 2:11, comes from a Greek term that means "to hold one's self away from." Used in the present middle construction, Peter is calling on all believers in Christ to be actively, unceasingly staying away from those things that pertain to the flesh. This means that whatever thoughts, words, images, sounds, feelings, and actions which are sinful in nature - must be at all costs, put away from ourselves. No sin of any kind should be entertained.

This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Ephesian church, in Ephesians 4:31, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." And again in Ephesians 5:3-4, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which is out of place..." The simple point of these prohibitions is this: "Stay away from it! Don't do it! Abstain from these things."

Martyn Lloyd Jones (1899-1981) once nailed down the directness of such a command when he said: "...stop doing it, stop it at once, never do it again! You have to be a total abstainer from these sins, these 'fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.' You have no right to say, 'I am weak, I cannot, and temptation is powerful.' The answer of the New Testament is, 'Stop doing it.' "

So, how do we mortify sin? Here is some of the most practical counsel of God's Word: just stop it! Abstain from sin. Understand this: we have no excuse here. We have been set free from sin's enslaving power, we have a new nature, a new life in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit indwells us (Rom.6:1-8:17; I Cor.6:19-20; Gal.2:20; Eph.1:3-14; Col.3:1-5) - henceforth, there is no justifiable excuse whenever we give in to the temptation of indwelling sin. God has supplied us with all we need to put sin to death, and thus to abstain from its subtle and deceitful desires.

Defining Mortification: part two

One of the most helpful and graphic pictures that expresses how God wants us to treat any residual sin in our life, is the account in First Samuel 15 regarding God's command for king Saul to lead Israel in the extermination of the Amalekites. Through God's prophet Samuel, king Saul was ordered by the Lord to carry out a total destruction of the Amalekites, leaving no survivors - not even infants or animals. This people and all that belonged to them was to be wiped off the face of the earth (this was in fulfillment of Deuteronomy 25:17-19).

But king Saul did not obey God fully on this matter. Although by God's design and power, Saul and the army of Israel delivered a crushing blow against the Amalekites (I Sam.15:8); yet, Saul fell short of full obedience. In First Samuel 15:9, we are told that Saul spared the king of the Amalekites, Agag, and "the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good." Saul was not willing to destroy these enemies of God with utter destruction. Instead, motivated by his own greed, pride, and the fear of man, king Saul chose not to follow through in his obedience to the Lord.

As a result of his rebellion, the prophet Samuel declared God's judgment upon Saul and all his descendents: they were to be permanently removed from Israel's throne (I Sam.15:23). But in addition to this judgment, Samuel finished what Saul had merely started. He took a sword and literally hacked king Agag to pieces (I Sam.15:33). Samuel did what Saul was unwilling to do: to carry out God's command to the full.

Now when it comes to the Christian's responsibility to mortify sin (see Rom.8:13), this image of Samuel severing the life of king Agag, serves as a vivid and striking illustration. Rather than being like Saul and letting sin live, we must be like Samuel and hack sin to pieces! In short, there must be no mercy shown to the "Agags" in our life.

But what does it mean to "hack" sin to death? When we read in Romans 8:13 that we are to "mortify sin", what is the substance of this work? In my last post I began answering this question by pointing out that there are five ways to define biblical mortification, based on Romans 8:13. So far, we have considered the first three: (1) to mortify sin is chiefly a work of the Holy Spirit; (2) to mortify sin is a lifetime process for every Christian; and (3) to mortify sin is not to eradicate sin but to subdue it, to deprive it of its power, to break the habit pattern we have developed of continually giving in to the temptation of any particular sin.

Now here are the final two ways that true mortification of sin can be defined: to mortify sin is to mortify all known sin. In Romans 8:13, it reads that we are to "put to death the deeds of the body." The term deeds is obviously in the plural. It refers to all known sinful acts which are the manifestation of indwelling sin that remains in our bodily members (cf. Rom.6:12-13; 7:23). It is not therefore one sin we must concentrate on to kill, but all known sin present in our lives.

Finally, to mortify sin is the responsibility of every Christian in the process of daily sanctification. What I appreciate so much about Romans 8:13, is that it expresses with great clarity the responsibility of the believer in the work of sanctification. We're told: "by the Spirit [you] put to death the deeds of the body." Mortifying sin is never done apart from the Holy Spirit, but it is also not the sole work of the Spirit leaving the Christian with nothing to do in this process. The truth is, based on Romans 8:13, mortification is not what the Holy Spirit does but rather it is what He empowers the Christian to do. It is the believer who puts to death the deeds of the body, as the Spirit of God gives him the strength and wisdom to carry out that work.

So, in putting sin to death, we must not buy in to this false idea that says, "Just let go and let God." God does not treat us as sticks and stones or as an empty glove that only needs a hand to fill it. Rather, we are personally involved in this lifelong work as the Holy Spirit empowers us to kill sin and live in pursuit of holiness (Col.3:5; Heb.12:14).

What then is the biblical meaning of mortification? Tying together the five different ways mortification has been defined from Romans 8:13, this is what we can conclude: mortification is the lifelong process and work of every Christian, by the divine power of the Holy Spirit, to crush, sap, root out, weaken, and subdue all known manifestations of indwelling sin.

Defining Mortification: part one

The greatest struggle, the most intense battle that every Christian faces everyday of their lives in this fallen world, is a war with "indwelling sin" (cf. Rom.7:14-24). This means that my spouse, my kids, my neighbor, my work, the economy, the government, or terroists will never qualify as my ultimate problem. In fact, not even the devil himself can take this position in my life. No, the supreme battle for a believer in Christ comes from the remaining power and influence of sin in his members.

But the most pressing question for a Christian facing this unpleasant reality is: how do deal with remaining sin? Or to be more practical: how do we effectively battle our pride, envy, jealously, bitterness, anger, and lust? In my last post I began answering these questions by bringing to our attention a principle work in our daily sanctification called "mortification." This term is taken from Romans 8:13, where Christians are exhorted: "...but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." In this verse, the phrase, "you put to death" is where the concept of mortification is derived. Thus, when it comes to battling with our personal sin, we are to mortify sin - and hence, to put it to death.

But it is not enough to simply tell a Christian, "You must mortify sin!" We need direction and guidance as to how. Therefore I began in my previous post to unpack this from the standpoint of considering what mortification is not. It is not therefore covering sin up, internalizing sin, exchanging one sin for another, by-passing the cleansing of our conscience, or merely repressing sin. If any of these examples describe how we have attempted to deal with sin, then we must realize that true mortification has not taken place.

So, what is true mortification? If we go to Romans 8:13, there are five ways to define biblical mortification: first, to mortify sin is chiefly a work of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:13, we're told, it is "by the Spirit" that we put sin to death. This is not a work therefore that Christians can ever do in their own strength. The Puritan, John Owen (1616-1683), said in this regard:

"All other ways of mortification are in vain. Men may attempt this work based upon other principles, but they will come short. It is a work of the Spirit, and it is by Him alone that we are to experience victory. Mortification from self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, to the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion."

Secondly, to mortify sin is a lifetime process for every Christian. The verb tense used for the term, "you put to death", is a present tense. This means that our war on the presence and influence of indwelling sin will never let up until we are taken to heavenly glory. There are no vacations, no weekend getaways, no breaks whatsoever from this work in the life of the believer. We will always have to be mortifying sin somewhere in our lives. Again, consider the wise counsel of John Owen:

"When sin lets us alone, we may let sin alone; but sin is always active when it seems to be the most quiet, and its waters are often deep when they are calm. We should therefore fight against it and be vigorous at all times and in all conditions, even when there is the least suspicion...Sin is always acting, always conceiving, and always seducing and tempting. Who can say that he has ever had anything to do with God or for God which indwelling sin has not tried to corrupt? This battle willl last more or less all our days. If sin is always acting, we are in trouble if we are not always mortifying. He that stands still and allows his enemies to exert double blows upon him without resistance will undoubtedly be conquered in the end."

Third, to mortify sin is not to eradicate sin but to subdue it, to deprive it of its power, to break the habit pattern we have developed of continually giving in to the temptation of any particular sin. We cannot eliminate indwelling sin in this life. It will be with us until we die (see Rom.7:14-25). However, in the work of mortification, we can sap sin of its strength, rooting it out, and depriving it of its influence. And this is really at the heart of what it means to mortify sin. It is a lifelong process of draining sin's power and influence which has been wielded over us. We are literally seeking day by day through the Spirit to take away everything that gives sin its strength and power in our lives.

In my next post, we will consider the last two ways that Romans 8:13 defines mortification.

Mortification: The Christian Response to Personal Sin

One of the great acid tests of proving whether or not someone is a Christian, is to ask the question: how do you deal with your own personal sin? For instance, do you repent of it or do you molly coddle it and make excuses for it? Also, is your heart broken over personal sin because it is an offense against God or because it just makes you feel bad? Further, when you do sin, do you keep short accounts with God - confessing it immediately to Him for what it is as "sin?" All of these questions are vital for our own self-examination as professing Christians.

Think about it: there are a lot of people in the visible church who cry down the sins they see in others, but do not ever consider the vileness, guilt, and pollution of their own sin. They are the proverbial "hypocrite" whom Jesus warns us about in Matthew 7:1-5. They are quick to point out the "speck" of sin in their brother's eye, while never seeing the "log jam" of sin in their own. It is a tragically comedic picture of the fool who is always condemning others for the tiny particle of dust in their eye, while not seeing the massive tree trunk gaping out of his own eye. In short, such a person never deals with his own personal sin. But what's worse, by never giving admission to his sin but instead denying it - he is actually proving that he is a total stranger to saving grace (see I Jn.1:8,10).

So, again, how do you deal with your own personal sin? If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ, what do you do about the sin that remains in you (cf. Rom.7:14-25)? The biblical answer to these questions takes us to a passage of Scripture that I intend to camp out in for my next several posts. The passage is Romans 8:13, which says: "...but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." In the language of exhortation, this verse describes what is true of every Christian, in relation to the remaining influence and corruption of sin that dwells in our bodies: by the power of the Holy Spirit, a Christian seeks to kill sin wherever he finds sin in his flesh.

This is how a Christian deals with his own personal sin. In fact, this is a Christian's only course of action he takes by virtue of his life in the Spirit - he puts sin to death! This means that even if a Christian may fall in a state of going back to certain sins, it is only for a season; because his new nature and the indwelling presence of the Spirit will renew him to repentance and declare a revived war on personal sin. In other words, a true Christian does not and cannot live in sin (see Rom.6:1-14; I Jn.3:9), though they commit sin - but instead, the Christian life is a life of war on all known sin that remains in our mortal bodies.

Now the theological term for this warfare is what's called "mortification." This word is derived from a Greek verb Paul uses in Romans 8:13, translated in the words: "you put to death." The King James Version of the Bible actually translates these same terms as "mortify." So then, when it comes to dealing with personal sin in our lives as Christians, we are called by God to "mortify sin."

But what does this mean practically? How do we mortify or put sin to death? My first approach to these questions must be to underscore what mortification does not mean. First, to mortify sin does not mean covering sin up. You can obscure sin from the sight of others, but that is not mortification. Until we confess and forsake our sin we have not begun the work of mortification (Prov.28:13). Second, to mortify sin does not mean to only internalize sin. If you forsake the outward practice of some evil yet continue to ruminate on the memory of that sin's pleasure - beware. Although you may have moved that sin into the privacy of your imagination, where it is known only to you and God, yet it has not been truly mortified. Third, to mortify sin does not mean to exchange one sin for another. What good is it to trade stealing for lying or to trade gossip for gluttony? Neither sin has been mortified. Fourth, to mortify sin does not mean to by-pass the cleansing of our conscience. Having a good conscience is to work through the issue of our guilt. We should be ashamed of our sins, and let that sorrow do its full work in our hearts to produce a deep, honest repentance (II Cor.7:10). Finally, to mortify sin does not mean to merely repress sin. To push sin back rather than to deal with it forthrightly in the light of God's Word, will not bring about true mortification. Instead, it will only create more problems as it remains brushed under the proverbial rug, and allowed to fester and gain more influence. This therefore is not mortification.

Some Sage Wisdom for Fellow Pastors

For the past 20 years I have served in the ministry, I have gleaned most (second to the Bible!) from the writings of Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) as a wise counselor, exhorter, and friend to fellow pastors. One of my favorite books by Spurgeon is An All-Round Ministry (published by Banner of Truth Trust). This book is compiled of Spurgeon's Presidential Addresses at the Annual Conference of the Pastor's College that Spurgeon had founded in 1855. These lectures by Spurgeon are convicting, comforting and quite humorous in certain places. So to any fellow pastors who read this blog, I hope you enjoy the following excerpts from An All-Round Ministry:

When to leave a church?

"I am afraid that there are some ministers who get into a pulpit, intending to stick there. There is no moving them, and they never move the people. It is sometimes remarked to me, 'Some of your men move about a good deal.' 'Yes,' I reply, 'many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.' I like the self-sacrifice of a man who feels that he can move, and will move when he can do more good elsewhere. Never move or stay for selfish reasons, but hold yourself at your great Captain's beck and call.

An old Scotch minister, as he was riding along, saw, according to his own description, something coming which greatly alarmed him. It was a gispy riding aloft upon an ass which he had loaded high with faggots. The beast, which the minister was riding, was alarmed as well as its rider, set its feet down very firmly, and put its ears back, after the manner of amiable horses! 'And,' said the minister in describing it, 'I prepared myself for a fall, so that I fell somewhat more easily.' 'But,' said a friend, 'I should have got off.' That idea had never crossed the worthy man's mind.

So it is with some ministers, they prepare themselves to be dismissed by their people, but never propose to remove of their own will. It is within my knowledge that a brother, not of our Conference, said to his people, when they were in a most earnest manner endeavoring to get rid of him, 'It was the Spirit of God that brought me here, and I shall never go till the Spirit of God leads me to go away, and that will be a very long while.' The last sentence cast suspicion on all that preceded it, for, surely, he could not foretell what the mind of the Spirit might be. Stay or move, brethren; go to Africa, or America, or Australia...only do accomplish your mission, and glorify God. Be holy, be gracious, be prayerful, be disinterested, be like the Lord Jesus; thus only will your lives be consistent with the gospel you are called to preach."

Be simple and clear in your gospel preaching

"Sometimes, young men are fascinated by some famous preacher whose style is grandiose, sublime, or involved. They see the thing done very splendidly, and as they look on, they marvel, and by degrees they think they will try that style, too; and so they put on the seven-league boots, large enough for them to live in, and the result is ridiculous, nay, worse than that, it is spiritually useless. When a man tries to do the magnificent, with elaborate sentences and pompous diction, and grandeur of manner, it must and will come to nought...Speak from your heart, and never mind about eloquence. Do not speak after the manner of the orator; speak as a lover of souls, and then you will have real eloquence...What you have to do is to be the means of saving souls, and look you well to that."

Be always found faithful despite the size of your ministry

"Remember, dear brother, if you give your whole soul to the charge committed to you, it does not matter much about its appearing to be a somewhat small and insignificant affair, for as much skill may be displayed in the manufacture of a very tiny watch as in the construction of the town clock; in fact, a minute article may become the object of greater wonder than another of larger dimensions. Quality is a far more precious thing than quantity...We must never think, because the particular work we have in hand seems to be insignificant, that therefore we cannot do it, or should not do it, thoroughly well. We need Divine help to preach aright to a congregation of one. If a thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well...Many a minister has acheived fame, and, what is far better, has brought glory to God, in a congregation which could be counted by units, while another has presided over a large church, and though at first there was a great blast of trumpets, it has ended in the silence and sadness of utter failure. Know your work, and bend over it, throwing your heart and soul into it; for, be it great or small, you will have to praise God to all eternity if you are found faithful in it."

Be masters of the Bible

"Our main business is to study the Scriptures. The smith's main business is to shoe horses; let him see that he knows how to do it, for should he be able to belt an angel with a girdle of gold, he will fail as a smith if he cannot make and fix a horseshoe. It is a small matter that you should be able to write the most brilliant poetry, - as possibly you could, - unless you can preach a good and telling sermon, which will have the effect of comforting saints and convincing sinners. Study the Bible, dear brethren, through and through, with all helps that you can possibly obtain.

Be well instructed in theology, and do not regard the sneers of those who rail at it because they are ignorant of it. Many preachers are not theologians, and hence the mistakes which they make. It cannot do any hurt to the most lively evangelist to be also a sound theologian, and it may often be the means of saving him from gross blunders. Nowadays, we hear men tear a single sentence of Scripture from its connection, and cry, 'Eureka! Eureka!' as if they had found a new truth; and yet they have not discovered a diamond, but only a piece of broken glass. Had they been able to compare spiritual things with spiritual, had they understood the analogy of the faith, and had they been aquainted with the holy learning of the great Bible students of past ages, they would not have been quite so fast in vaunting their marvellous knowledge. Let us be thoroughly well acquainted with the great docrines of the Word of God, and let us be mighty in expounding the Scriptures. I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository...I cannot too earnestly assure you that, if your ministries are to be lastingly useful, you must be expositors. For this purpose, you must understand the Word yourselves, and be able so to comment upon it that the people may be built up by the Word. Be masters of your Bibles, brethren; whatever other works you have not searched, be at home with the writings of the prophets and apostles. 'Let the Word of God dwell in you richly.' "

Led By the Spirit: The Normal Christian Life

One great reality of the Christian life is that of being "led by the Spirit of God" (see Rom.8:14; Gal.5:18). To say this another way: if you are a Christian, then you are someone whose life experience is led by the Spirit of God. This of course implies that if there is no such leading of the Holy Spirit in your life, then you cannot be a Christian.

Now making such a bold proposition like this obviously raises questions of practical concern. And there are two questions that I want to consider in particular: first, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? To begin with, we must understand what it does not mean. It does not mean anything that has to do with fanaticism, auto-suggestion, or hearing fictitous imaginary inward voices. Furthermore, it does not refer to anything which contradicts the clear testimony of God's written Word. No one can claim to be led by the Spirit whose words or actions are in direct opposition to the teaching, the commands, and the history recorded in God's Word. In fact, if any of our words or actions are not in conformity and obedience to the Word of God, then we cannot claim under any circumstances to be led by the Holy Spirit.

So what does it mean then to be led by the Spirit of God? To be led by the Spirit of God is to be guided, directed, and governed by His divine power, persuasion, and providence. This means of course that there is a general and particular leading which the Holy Spirit is always exercising in the life of a Christian. First of all, the Spirit's leading is "general" in the sense that we are always under the Spirit's sovereign control in sustaining and governing the affairs of our life. So, for instance, the only reason we can be promised in Romans 8:28 that "all things" are working together for our good is because the Holy Spirit as God (in relation to the Father and the Son who are each equally God), is bringing all events and circumstances to fulfill His divine purpose for our lives (see also Eph.1:11).

Second of all, the Spirit's leading is also "particular" - whereby He empowers, illuminates, and persuades us in the life-long process called "sanctification" (I Thess.5:23). In this respect, the Holy Spirit's leading can be grieved (Eph.4:30) and quenched (I Thess.5:19) by Christians who fall into sin and disobedience. Thus when we read in Romans 8:14 that all Christians are "led by the Spirit of God", we must understand that this is not a forced, mechanical kind of leading which never takes into account the personal responsibility of the Christian to trust and obey. As John Owen (1616-1683) once wrote concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer:

"[The Holy Spirit] does not so work in us that it is not still an act of our obedience. The Holy Spirit so works in us and upon us, as we are able to be wrought in and upon, and yet He preserves our own liberty and free obedience. He works upon our understandings, wills, consciences, and affections, agreeably to their own natures. He works in us and with us, not against us or without us, so that His assistance is an encouragement as to the accomplishing of the work."

So then, as we are led by the Spirit of God, it is not without our own responsibility to be obedient to what God has called us to do. However, on the flip-side of this truth we must remember: it is only by the Spirit and under His divine influence and power that our obedience to God is effectively carried out (Rom.8:13; Gal.5:16; Eph.5:18). We cannot trust and obey God without the Holy Spirit's leading in our life!

But with this humble admission we must now face our second, and more practical question: how do we know when we are being led by the Spirit of God? Let me offer six ways that we can discern biblically if and when we can honestly say, "I am being led by the Spirit of God." First, we are being led by the Spirit when we are in pursuit of holiness and not in pursuit of sin. Lest we forget, the Spirit of God is most commonly referred to as the Holy Spirit - which tells us much about His charecter. Moreover, as God Himself (co-equal with the Father and the Son), the Holy Spirit cannot sin and is thus completely without sin. He is opposed to sin (Gal.5:17). So the only direction the Holy Spirit will lead us is away from sin and to be at war with sin (Rom.8:13; Gal.5:16) - but never will the Spirit lead a Christian into sin. Indeed, let none of us dare excuse any of our sinful actions as being what the Holy Spirit "led me" to do! When we sin as Christians we have grieved the Spirit not followed Him.

Secondly, to be led by the Spirit is to be led into the truth of God's Word with understanding and delight. The Holy Spirit is also called "the Spirit of truth" (Jn.16:13) whom Jesus promises, "will guide you into all truth." Not only that, but the Holy Spirit in that guidance, will also bring to the believer "illumination" (Eph.1:18), so that he can understand the Word of God (I Jn.2:20,21). Therefore, if we are being led by the Spirit of God then the Word of God will not be a closed book but an opened book; whereby we will have an understanding, hunger and thirst which will saturate our hearts and minds in the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, this dynamic of the Spirit's leading will create a growing desire to obey God's Word. We will say with the psalmist, "Make me walk in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it" (Psa.119:35).

Thirdly, to be led by the Spirit is to be fueled with passion and power to exalt Jesus Christ as His witnesses. Here is a sure test to know if you are being led by the Spirit of God: does your life, by word and deed, make much of Jesus Christ? When we are under the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will be a people who spread the truth and glory of Jesus Christ to others with joy and eagerness (Acts 1:8; cf. Jn.16:14). Furthermore, by the Spirit's leading we will be jealous to guard and defend the truthfulness of who Christ is as God incarnate (I Jn.4:1-6). Fourthly, to be led by the Spirit is to be led into a great love for the Church. To say this another way: to be led by the Spirit is to have a great love and desire to be in the fellowship of God's people. This is a hugely important point regarding how the Holy Spirit leads every believer in Christ. Since He places us into the body of Christ at the moment of conversion (see I Cor.12:12,13), then there is nothing more "normal" and expected for a Christian than to congregate with other Christians in both worship and service to Christ.

Look at Acts 2:42, for instance. One of the clearest and initial signs of the Spirit's work in the early church was that these new believers "devoted themselves to...fellowship." This does not mean they had frequent "potluck" dinners. Rather, it means they took great interest and love in one another for each other's spiritual welfare (e.g., Heb.3:12-14; 10:24-25). But to demonstrate such a loving interest in fellow believers meant that they made the time to be together. They did not forsake their gathered assemblies. In fact, those who choose to have no part of any church and yet claim to be led by the Spirit - are deceiving themselves! Worse yet, they are also calling into question their own claim to be a Christian (see I Jn.3:14).

Fifthly, to be led by the Spirit is to have an increasing awareness of sin within. Since the Holy Spirit leads us to be at war with indwelling sin (Rom.8:13); then He is going to likewise lead us to be more aware of all sin that remains in our members (Rom.7:14-25). Those people however who claim to be Spirit-led but never give admission to the guilt of their own sin nor have godly sorrow over their sin as being against God - these people are neither led by the Spirit nor are they even saved (see I Jn.1:8,10)! A true Christian is someone who agonizes over indwelling sin, makes every effort to kill its remaining influence, and seeks to live in such a way that the holiness of God is faithfully represented in their thoughts, words, and deeds. This is the only path which the Holy Spirit will lead God's people in relation to sin. The presence of sin will be mourned over, confessed and mortified in our lives if we are under the leading of the Spirit of God.

Finally, to be led by the Spirit is to have a greater manifestation of the Spirit's fruit in one's personal life. Galatians 5:16-23 sets forth this great proof of a Spirit-led life: when we are walking by the Spirit (v.16) we will increase in the fruit which the Holy Spirit produces - namely - the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In other words, by the Spirit's leading in the lives of God's people, there will be an increase in the character and conduct of godliness and righteousness. In short, a Spirit-led life is a life growing to be more like Jesus. And this above all, is the normal Christian life!