In the early 70’s, I remember a resurgence in interest in the Spirit. One of the characteristics of that resurgence was the idea that the Spirit of God would make you feel urges to do certain things. It was the idea that God would move you by your emotions and somehow communicate to you directly without any reference to the Bible. It is true that this was not a new idea, there had always been this idea among people enamored with the idea of spiritual gifts, but this resurgence was not limited to those religious groups that had always championed these beliefs, but rather was affecting groups that never had accepted such ideas.

In the sixties, there had been a heightened tendency to distrust reason and reject recognized authority and traditional ideas. Perhaps that promoted a resurgence in such ideas. But, now in the 21st century, these ideas are still around, attracting the attention of some. We see references to “Spirit-filled lives,” Spirit-led Christians and “Spirit-driven churches.” But, just what does all this mean, and how does the Spirit of God move us and make changes in us?

The failure to differentiate between the guidance of the Spirit and our feelings and emotions is a very serious mistake. It is a sort of Pandora’s Box. Once opened, there is no end of the destruction and hurt that awaits.

So, according to God’s word, how does the Spirit communicate with us? First, it is necessary to notice that the problem in determining the correct answer to this question has to do with time, past and present. We are dealing with two different eras. The first, an era of revelation, the word in the process of being delivered, the second, our era, the word already delivered. Not realizing that there is a difference between the two is the basis of much misunderstanding.

It is evident to most that there is a great difference between the Old Testament law and what we find in the new. Some have tried maintain part of the Old Testament law and merge it into the new. But, the truth is that it is totally different. To understand this better, it would be good to notice these scriptures:

Galatians 3:23-26 But before faith came, we were kept under Law, having been shut up to the faith about to be revealed. 24 So that the Law has become a trainer of us until Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But faith coming, we are no longer under a trainer. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

These verses make it clear that now that we are justified by faith under the law of Christ, we are no longer under the law given to Moses.

Galatians 5:1-4 Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and do not again be held with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do all the Law, 4 you who are justified by Law are deprived of all effect from Christ; you fell from grace.

Paul, being inspired by God, teaches us that now we are no longer under the Old Testament, but under the new Testament. Returning to the Old Testament law is referred to here as returning to the yoke of bondage. Those who want to be return to Old Testament law are mentioned here as having lost the salvation in Christ and having fallen from grace.

But, the Old Testament still has many things to tell us:

1 Corinthians 10:6-11 And these things were our examples, that we should not be lusters after evil, as they also lusted. 7 Nor should we be idolaters, even as some of them, as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit fornication, as some of them fornicated, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted Him and were destroyed by serpents. 10 Nor murmur as some of them also murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 And all these things happened to them as examples; and it is written for our warning on whom the ends of the world have come.

The Old Testament serves as history, instruction, and examples, but we are now under the law of Christ:

1 Corinthians 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

If we don’t understand which testament we are under, we wouldn’t know how or what to obey, because the New Testament is different from the Old Testament. We are under the law of Christ, not he law given to Moses.

Jeremiah 31:31-32 says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

The Jews, themselves, with whom God had made the first covenant are the ones who broke the agreement that He had made through their disobedience. Since it was broken, Christ has established a new covenant or testament, but, not just with the Jews alone, but with all people. Therefore, we are no longer under the Old Testament, but under the New Testament.

Since the new law was to be different, it had to be revealed. The next several verses we will consider will show how that took place and what that has to do with the present subject.

1 Corinthians 2:11-13
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Here we see that the Spirit gave the words.

2 Peter 1:20-21
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Here again the Spirit moved them to speak, which involved words.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here the inspiration of the Spirit involved doctrine, which is teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. This all has to do with words, because it is by words that the Scripture does these things.

Ephesians 3:1-5
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles 2 —if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

Here again, when revelation was done, it was in words that could be read and understood.

2 Peter 1:12-19
For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

Notice that when Peter says that he would “ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.” he is referring to the writing of the inspired word so that it would be available after his death.

Jude 3
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

The Holy Spirit, by using the phrase “once for all” is indicating that through the written word, the faith was to be preserved throughout future generations and would not be given by inspiration again.

1 Corinthians 13:8-9
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Here the Scripture does not say “he who is perfect,” as if it referred to Jesus’ coming, but it says “that which is perfect.” So we understand that having referred to the prophecy of inspired men of God as “in part” (that is to say given piece by piece), he now refers to the Bible as a whole, fully revealed, when he says “that which is perfect.” Therefore we see that the complete, perfect revelation of God’s word is able to to make us “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work,” as we learned from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Since we have the Scripture, we have everything we need!! There is nothing else that will be revealed!

So, we see that what we have given to us in the New Testament was given during the time that the Holy Spirit was revealing the word so that the believers could have what they needed to live, worship, and work in the Christian age. For that reason it speaks of inspiration and direct revelation. What was needed for all Christians in future years was preserved by God through writing, so that we might have everything we need. Once that revelation was written, there would be no more, and people would be dependent upon the New Testament, the complete guide for Christian living.

Since all the word has been given, and those who received that inspiration have died, we have no more such revelation. The word remains and is the only way that God guides anyone. Notice God’s words in Ephesians 6:17 “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” This indicates that the Spirit does his work though the written word, and that is the same word that we use to do our work.

The Spirit does not use feelings, emotional nudging, dreams, or small voices in the night to guide us. He uses the revealed, written word. Does the word of God make us feel emotions? Yes, but the emotion comes from the word; we are not guided directly by feelings or emotions, but rather by the word of God. Know the difference between the two, and apply it, because our feelings can be wrong. Jeremiah 17:9 says about the human heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Emotions, feelings, and intuition can be mistaken! We cannot be guided by them! Only listen to and follow God’s written word. Study it and understand it. It is never wrong and it is the only way that God guides us!

Sometimes people put a path of raised stones in their yard as a path to the back gate or some other feature of their lawn, or simply as a decoration. They do serve as a place to step when there is excessive rain, but sometimes when one is crossing the yard and not noticing, they can be stumbling blocks instead. There is a great comparison between this and our lives as Christians.

It is true that there is difficulty and suffering in this world. Many who have lived their lives conscientiously and devoutly know the kind of things that await all true Christians. Paul, by the inspiration of God, put it this way in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

It is necessary to clarify that the suffering we are referring to here is not the natural suffering that comes from living in this world, that which comes from illness, or crime, or natural circumstance, catastrophe or poverty, but suffering that comes directly because of choosing to obey God’s word, instead of following what others are doing or what they expect us to do.

This is not an easy life we live, as Christians, but it is the only one that will help us to become what we need to be to live with God for eternity. Some, having suffered much in their lives, can sometimes begin to think that there should be an easier way, that perhaps all the effort and suffering that they have endured perhaps is too much, and they begin to lay out stepping stones, we might say, to give us the benefit of their “enlightenment” and show us how to make this life a little less difficult.

One of the favorites messages is to tell people that God is good and that He wants the best for us, that He would not want us to suffer, that He wants us to prosper and enjoy life. This message sounds good, because no one really wants to suffer. Peter, after hearing Jesus announce the suffering and death that he would have to face, presented a similar message to Jesus as we see in Matthew 16:22-26

22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Christ’s knowledge that He would have to suffer in this way weighed heavily on His heart. He had just prepared His disciples by telling them what was going to occur. It would have been great if Peter would have accepted it and would have attempted to comfort his Master in His sufferings, but instead he began to correct Him and tell Him that it such was not necessary. How much Christ wished that it were not! But, His disciple telling Him that the suffering was not necessary was a temptation from the Devil, and it was delivered by none other than one of his own disciples! That is why Christ answered as he did.

Jesus went on to explain that suffering is a natural part of following Christ. This is what it means when He said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Suffering is necessary, and when others tell us differently, we can be sure that such a message comes from the Devil, and that its purpose is to tempt us to avoid suffering at all cost, even at the cost of failing to do what God says and carrying out his will in our life. This will cause us to fail to be come what we need to be in order to live with Christ eternally. In Philippians 3:8-10, we find this point illustrated well where Paul the apostle of Christ said:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Here God shows us through these words that it is though these sufferings that we endure to obey God in this wicked world that we become like Christ. When we by faith obey, even though we suffer, we, by that, become like Him because we follow the same path of obedience as He. So we become like Him. To avoid suffering and refuse to obey would result in the opposite, that is, not being like Him.

As 1 John 2:6 expresses it: “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” And, as we find it in Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

Another “stepping stone” that many would provide for us so that we may, as they would explain it, have a happier and more prosperous life in Christ, is the message that we are saved by faith only, by grace, not by works, so we should not be so concerned, and that everything will be just fine. This is a comforting message indeed, and it has been a great consolation to many. It has been welcomed as the way to free countless multitudes from a burdensome and fretful life of “legalism.” And has supposedly brought back great joy to the Christian life, freeing us from the burdens that many in the past have had to carry. But this teaching, although it seems quite comforting, is not true.

Just as the first lie of the devil directed toward the human race, recorded in Genesis 3:4 varied from God’s word by one word “not” this message varies from the teaching of the Scripture by one word, “only.” While it is true that we are saved by grace, through faith, but God has never taught that it was by faith only. Faith, that is: certainty concerning the things hoped for and conviction of that which we cannot yet see (Hebrews 11:1) causes us to act in certain ways. In the Scripture faith was never a matter of simple mental acceptance of a fact, but a certainty and a conviction that would cause one to do something and to live in a certain way. So, faith and action (works) were always considered as two things that always went together. The rest of Hebrews 11 shows that to be true, repeating the pattern “by faith someone did something.” When we get to James 2, we see faith and works separated, not by God, but by in the mind and practice of man. We see that some considered faith as a mental assent that did nothing. And, in that same chapter, we find it condemned as being worthless, useless, dead and something like the attitude of the demons, certainly nothing that could relate one with God. The explanation in James 2 ends with the words in verse 26, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” So for our certainty and conviction, to be worth anything, must be shown by what we do.

So, faith only is a devilish concept that is condemned by God and is worthless and dangerous. Now how about grace. We know that grace is unmerited favor. But, who receives that favor from God?Consistently in the Scripture, it is the one who makes his best effort to do what God has revealed in His word, the Bible. Paul, the apostle, in Romans 2:6-11, teaches us clearly who it is that receives that unmerited favor:

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

God does not show his grace upon those who willingly disobey or are careless or negligent. We see that He will give that favor only to those who continue in doing well. He does not give his grace in a willy-nilly fashion or to those who live carelessly or disobey, but to those who are always applying themselves to do good.

Yet another “stepping stone” that many would provide for us is to tell us that God wants us to be prosperous and wants us to have all the material things we might desire. It is natural that we should think of God as one who provides. In James 1:17 we read:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

It is true that God provides our needs, but he should not be thought of as our celestial servant that we simply call upon to provide everything we want.

In Colossians 3:2 God tells us: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

James 4:3 explains the great mistake it is to perceive of God as only a source of material things for our own enjoyment: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

In Matthew 6:19-33, Christ teaches us much about how our way of looking at things makes all the difference:

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

In our Bibles the sections indicated by the paragraphs of the Scripture above are considered as different topics and some editions may include separate titles such as, “Lay up treasures in heaven,” “The light of the body is the eye,” “You cannot serve two masters,” and “Seek first the kingdom of Heaven.” But, in reality, the whole passage is talking about the same thing—the way that we look at life and what is most important in life.

The first paragraph speaks of using what we have to serve God and help others rather than piling it up here, and how that affects our mentality. The second paragraph refers to our way of seeing life and says that an attitude of placing our emphasis on material things will cause us to be blind spiritually. The third says that we cannot put material things first and still serve God. It must be one or the other. The forth tells us not to allow our felt physical needs to cause us to put material things first, because in the end, we cannot really provide for ourselves. It must ultimately be God that provides, or there will be nothing. He knows our needs and if we put first the spiritual things, all the material things will come along in their time. So, God is seeking to change our way of seeing things from one focused on self to a spiritual way of thinking, so we will not be trapped into slavery to material things, and we can be freed to serve God.

And we find in, Colossians 3:1-7:

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

So this way of looking at things, the inordinate desire for material things is described as part of the old life that we had before coming to Christ. It is something that must change. It makes serving God impossible!

Then we must ask, are these “stepping stones,” we have considered in this lesson, these efforts to make religion easier and more pleasant for people really helping, or have they not rather become “stumbling blocks” which prevent us from seeing what is really important in life and keep us from taking up our cross and following Jesus? The purpose for this journey that we make through life is not to be free from suffering, free from the responsibility to do good, or to have all the things we want. So these stepping stones that some place to guide us on our way through life, are stumbling blocks, not stepping stones. They do not help us become more like Christ, but rather they make us more like the rest of world. They keep us distracted from the real goal, and from being willing to pass through those experiences which, although they are not pleasant, are those which gradually transform us into people who think as God thinks, speak as God speaks, and do as God does. They keep us from becoming like Him.

So, those who would make serving God easier for us are inadvertently preventing us from growing into the type of people who can live with God eternally. Our purpose is not to have the best possible life here, but to be transformed into the image of Christ and to be ready for the best possible life anywhere, a life with God in Heaven.