Two kinds of people live in this world. Most don’t even know it. The other (smaller) group knows, but often forgets. Yet, the fact is of the greatest importance—for many reasons. Indeed, everything that the one group thinks or does differs from the other group. Beyond the fact that they are both physically alive, they are even different creations!

“That’s nonsense,” you may be tempted to say.

Granted, it is unusual to think or talk in that manner. But it’s true, and I’d like to explain.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, the apostle Paul wrote

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

The Christian is a new creation of God. Yes, like all others who are not believers, he too was physically created. But because of what God has done through the saving work of Jesus Christ he has become a new spiritual creation as well. He is a creature who belongs to another world as well as this one, who holds primary allegiance to a King Who rules him from the heavens, and who has new power through His Holy Spirit to live above the sin that once ruled his life.

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Recently I read some thoughts by a biblical teacher regarding holiness. Much of what he had to say was not only interesting, but helpful. And it was truly biblical. There was, however, a section in which he spoke of having experiences—both for himself and others—that made the places where they occurred “holy ground.”

It is true that we all have places and experiences that particularly influence us by bringing back to our memories what happened, how we were affected by it, and so forth. But does that make it “holy” ground? Well, the answer depends.

To simply leave the phrase no further defined is troublesome. Yes, it is holy ground in the sense that it is special to us, but it is not holy in reference to God. Let me explain.

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Do you have any idea what the following verses ought to mean to you?

Revelation 2:5; 2 Peter 1:5; James 1:23; Hebrews 13:21; James 6:1; 2 Timothy 3:22; 1 Timothy 6:11; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Colossians 1:10; Galatians 1:6-9; Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 2:10? Each, in its own way, has something to do with your spiritual growth (or, as the theologians call it, sanctification). Do you see it? OK, you see they are connected—but now, look again, and answer this question: How? What factor is common to all? The answer is that they all emphasize that one must put forth effort in order to grow more like Christ.

Now, there is a strange teaching that is traveling in today’s biblical counseling circuits. Strange, I say, because it seems to set forth the opposite. But strange, also because it is ill-defined, and hard for those who don’t believe it to express it in words.

People are confused by it, and have begun to ask questions; this is understandable, in light of the verses above. The problem with the teaching is that it tends to confuse justification with sanctification. While properly emphasizing the cross of Christ as central to our Christian faith, it goes on in one way or another to suggest that contemplation of what Jesus did on the cross is the way to spiritual growth. One is sanctified, according to this view, it would seem, by contemplating, remembering and meditating on the sacrificial death of the Savior for His people. Certainly, that is fine to do; but is it the way for a believer to grow? Will this seemingly Romish quietistic mysticism—or, at least, what borders on it help one to grow?

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There are reasons and there are reasons. And, usually, it’s the reasons behind actions that make the difference. When Paul wrote “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8) he was getting at the heart of the matter. Those who are “in the flesh” are those who have only the unchanged human nature with which they were born. Such people (the unsaved) CAN DO nothing—absolutely nothing—of which God approves. He says in Proverbs that “even their plowing (i.e., their everyday work) is sin.”

“What if they do good things to help others—feed the poor, help old ladies across busy streets?’

Nope.

“I don’t understand that!”

It’s simple. The reason behind the action is vital. If God is not in the picture—if pleasing Him and obeying Him is not one’s ultimate motive (reason)—then a work, no matter how good its social effects may be, does not please God.

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Many consider that the only things that matter are those that have earthly consequences. But in God’s plan of things, He created both the temporal and the eternal, the physical and the spiritual. Others who see this connection between the two have a different view of how things matter.

These two fundamental ideas comprise two various different philosophies which, when seriously adhered to as guides for thought and conduct, lead to two quite distinct ways of life.

That is why some fix their concerns upon the preservation of all that they can in this life. They have only one world, only one life to live. And they intend to make the most of it.

On the contrary, Christians have two worlds, both important, but one more important that the other. Indeed, it is thought by some that all the Christian cares about is the world to come. Pie in the sky when you die bye and bye, if you will. Not true. An informed Christian knows that he can begin slicing the pie right now! He sees both worlds as inseparably linked. What happens in the one affects what happens in the other.

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Darkness doesn’t come on slowly. It doesn’t come down upon the earth like a curtain at the close of play. Indeed, it is subtle, stealth-like. If you’ve ever tried to watch its approach, you’ve noticed that, imperceptively, only to the slightest degree, can you discover a difference from one moment to the next. And even then, you will have to turn away from it for a time before looking back to notice the difference.

Darkness in the soul is like that. A believer is to be a child of light. He is to have no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. Paul urged us, instead, to walk in the light. Darkness, in the Scriptures, is a symbol sin, error, misery and death. It is from such things that God is in the process of delivering us. But there is still darkness that has not yet been driven away by the light. And—worst of all—darkness that, from time to time, may creep back into the soul of a Christian.

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“Of what? Watermelons? Peppers? Tomatoes?”

No. You know what I’m talking about.

“Yeah . . . Christians.”

Right. There’s the one who simply doesn’t care; the one who does care, but has a hard time changing . .

“And the kind that has changed a bit, but doesn’t show it in his/her life.”

And the one who is growing and changing every day.

“Right. Now, what are you getting at?”

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“Hey! When are you going to stop all of that nonsense and get serious about your life?”

Oh, just a few more years after I’ve had my time, sown my wild oats, and the like. I’ll settle down then.

“What makes you think so?”

Oh, I don’t know. I just suppose it’ll be that way.

“Any guarantee you’ll be able to change then? Or that you’ll even make It before those oats have spring up?

No, but I’ll take my chances.

“Sounds risky to me.”

I like risks.

“Yeah. But look at what you’re risking—it’s the rest of your life. What you’ll do with it; how you’ll make it count.”

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Beware of those who frequently use the word “nuance,” or some derivative thereof.

“Why?”

Because they may be attempting to “snow you” by using that term.

“What does the word mean?”

It comes from a French word that means “shades,” and refers, for instance, to various subtle shades of color.

“I still don’t get it.”

You see, such persons are claiming, “I don’t see things quite as black or white, they way you do. I see various delicate shades of meaning that you don’t,” while all the while the differences are wide enough to drive a Mack truck through.

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“Who’s a saint?”

I am, why are you asking?

“Because some Mormons I met claimed that they were and I wasn’t. Am I?”

God knows.

“Can’t I know too?”

Sure. But I can’t.

“Why can’t you? I want to know.”

Well, because I can’t look into your heart. Only God can infallibly read hearts. The rest of us operate on the basis of what we see and hear—“by their fruits,” you know.

“But can’t I know something or other about it?”

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Christian, what is it that is keeping you from serving Jesus Christ as you should? Perhaps, I should rephrase that question to read. “What is it that you are allowing you to keep you from serving Christ?”

After all, nothing really can, you know. Oh, you could be imprisoned, but that wouldn’t mean that here was no way of serving Him (check out Philippians 1 to learn how Paul served Him in prison).

You could be lying flat on your bed, but so long as you had your senses, you could serve in prayer.

So, if nothing can prohibit you from it, why aren’t you serving Him, believer? If you can read this blog, you can do so.

We could begin to list excuse after excuse at this point, but what good would that do? If you are in the excuse-making mode, then you will always find another. Call it a good reason, but you know down deep that it’s an excuse—don’t you?

You could talk about past successes, but that has nothing to do with the present. What are you doing now?

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Amusement! What an interesting word. It has in it the idea of thinking, considering. But then, to that idea, the Greek alpha privative is added, negating the word itself. Thus the word comes to mean to do, enjoy, something without much thought about it. An amusement park is a place where you park your mind at the gate!

Our culture is an amusement and entertainment culture. It wants to be tickled physically or otherwise. It is concerned with laughs, lounging and lethargy. And, the results are beginning to be felt. For too long, we thought we could get away with it. Now, in the current economic conditions, among other things, surely God is providentially telling us that we can’t.

Will we wake up? When a Christian regularly spends more time and money on amusements than he gives to God and His church, something is very wrong. He is out of touch.

“Out of touch? I thought to be a part of this amusement culture was to be in touch.”

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Singing hymns—can you imagine it?

“What’s wrong with that?”

Nothing; but you must admit it was unusual to say the least.

“OK. Tell me what you are talking about.”

Paul and Silas, naturally. Who else do you know about who sang hymns at Midnight, with beaten, bloody backs, when in prison?

“No one on my street, certainly.”

And not on many other streets either. It was in Philippi, the first city in Europe to which they preached the Gospel. What a greeting my ancestors—Europeans—gave them!

But everything changed when God heard their prayers and freed them.

“A few more details, please, my European ancestors didn’t mention the event.”

Kinda’ flip in your answers today, aren’t you?

“I’ll flip a coin in order to give you an answer.”

Bad! That one wasn’t even near—why not cut it out and let me make my point?

“OK. OK. Go ahead.”

Well, you see there was a slave girl who had a demonic spirit. Her masters made good money, evidently, from what she’d predict when fortune telling. Then, Paul and Silas come along and cast the demon out and—whoosh!—their source of money dries up. They were angry, and dragged the preachers to the authorities, protesting that they were teaching an illicit religion. Of course, this was simply a cover up for the fact that they were about to lose their source of income, as Luke tells us in Acts 16:19. You can read the whole story, about the jailer’s conversion and baptism, later on in that very chapter.

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I spoke last week on a cruise and returned with a doozie of a cold that I’m now in the process of fighting. I have read that the older you get, the less you are subject to colds. Why? Because since there are a hundred or so different types, by the time you reach my age, you’ve had most and built up antibodies to them. In other words, you only get ones you haven’t had before.

Well, so much for the science—or pseudo science, as it may be—I haven’t bothered to look up the facts behind what I read, since they are of no practical value to me except after catching a cold. It’s true, however, that I had many more colds when younger than now. In fact THIS IS THE FIRST IN YEARS.

But unlike colds, the amount of sin in your life doesn’t cease with age. I wish it were like colds in that respect. It’s true that you do build up a sort of antibody to particular sins by replacing habits of sin with habits of righteousness (an expression borrowed from J.I. Packer, to whose writings I owe much). The problem is, the older you get, the more reflective you get, and so, the more you begin to recognize within yourself sins that previously, you may have never even considered such. While you may grow in spirituality, as a part of that growth you also grow in spiritual discernment, which enables you to look down nooks and crannies that you may have missed before.

So, while age has its spiritual advantages (some day I may write about them), many of which you’ll never recognize until you approach 90 or so, you can be sure that you will have to go on overcoming sin in your life. So—the lesson? Learn how to do so early! (see Winning the War Within)

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Give me one reason for what you’re doing.

“Well, I think that it’s a useful thing to do. Perhaps we can stop the abortion legislation.”

My friend, do you, as a Christian, believe that aligning yourself with Mormons, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Greek Orthodox people is the right way to solve the problem?

“I suspect so. Why not? After all, there are several well-known Christians in the group.”

Is that your standard of faith and practice—what famous people do?

“Well, no. But they seem convinced that it’s right. I’m sure they have their reasons.”

Do you know what they are?

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