gentleness, goodness, faith, meek ness, self-control. Spirituality then, is a moment-by-moment yieldedness to the Spirit of God. There are basically two principles to spirituality—one negative, the oth er positive. The negative is confes sion. We as God’s children need to confess any known sins in our lives. Jesus gives us this principle when He gives the illustration of the vine and the branches (John 15). It is not the job of the branch to bear fruit. It is simply to make certain it is rightly related to the vine. In this manner, organically, it will bear fruit. Notice the contrast in Galatians 5 between the works of the flesh, and fruit of the Spirit. Anything mechan ical can do work. But only some thing living can bear fruit. As you abide in Christ He will work and flow through your life (I John 1:9). The word confess is the exact oppo site of rationalize. Do not say, “Lord, I am sorry, but you know how angry she made me.” You are the only one to blame. The second step to spirituality is simply a commitment to the Spirit of God (Romans 6:13; 8:3-4; 12:1,2). In Galatians 5:16-25 we are told to walk in the realm of the Spirit so that we may have the fruit of the Spirit flowing through us. A Chris tian is simply a mind through which Christ thinks; a heart through which Christ loves; a voice through which Christ speaks; a hand through which Christ helps. David Livingstone, the great pioneer missionary, once de clared, “I will place no value on any thing I have, or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. To Him I owe all my hopes in time and eternity.” The Believer needs to come to the position where, having confessed any known sin, he com mits his life totally to the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapters five and six of Gala tians Paul teaches spirituality by faith. It is the basic doctrine of sanc
tification, though he does not specifi cally use that word. This simply means to be set apart unto God. The vessels used in the worship of the Old Testament were sanctified, or set apart, for the ministry in the Taber nacle or temple alone. To be sancti fied does not mean sinless perfection. To “sanctify the Lord God” in our hearts does not mean that we make Him sinlessly perfect. It does mean to set Him apart, as well as our selves, in a very special way. When my wife and I were first married, she did not know too much about how to live with a man. One day I walked into the bathroom to shave. Taking my razor I began the daily ritual. All of a sudden two great big streaks of blood came run ning down my face. I turned to her and asked, “Honey, have you been using my razor?” She replied inno cently, “Well, no, only to cut some cardboard.” A firm rule was made then and there. That razor was to be used by me alone, and for but one «purpose—shaving! In a sense, I had sanctified that razor. It was set apart for a specific task. God wants to set us apart for Him self alone. Scripture speaks of three kinds of sanctification. There is that which is positional so that the mo ment you believe, God sets you apart and declares that you are personally owned by Him. Practical sanctifica tion is the moment-by-moment expe rience whereby God is bringing us progressively to the point of yielding ourselves completely to His will and work. The final is perfect sanctifica tion. When the Lord Jesus comes again, we are told that we shall be like Him. No wonder these bodies groan for that wonderful coming day. Quit asking God to help you, and ask Him to do it all through you. You would not buy a brand new automobile with a four or five-hun dred cubic-inch engine, and then try to push it down the road. That is
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