The fact that salvation is safe for the one who really has it should in no way lead the believer to carelessness and laziness, because sin still dwells in us; and not as a disabled bomb or an extinct volcano. As we have said many times, sin has ceased to be our king, but it is still our enemy, and its goal is to lead us to the worst; that is the lesson of the apostle Paul in Romans 6, as well as in 7: 14-25, just to mention a few.
Octavio Winslow says that in all of us there is a "secret, perpetual and alarming tendency to distance ourselves from God". And if that tendency is not monitored and kept at bay, it can subtly separate us from our intimate communion with Him and cause serious damage to our spiritual life. "Such a detour – Winslow continues – devours the soul of its vigor, its strength, its spiritual energy; and incapacitates the believer, on the one hand, to serve, love, obey and delight in God; and on the other hand, to resist the temptations of the flesh, the world and Satan. "
Notice that we are not talking about a particular sin here. We refer, rather, to a state of deterioration in which the graces that Christ has implanted in us, such as faith, love, joy, hope, meekness, are in frank decay; it is a state in which our communion with God has descended to its minimum expression.
And the terrible thing about this condition is that it begins in a subtle, secret, imperceptible way for the people around us, and sometimes even for ourselves. With regard to external conduct, this believer is not distinguished from the other brothers of the Church. But his soul is in a frank and open spiritual deterioration. There is no vigor in their faith, there is no increase in their love, they do not experience the joy of knowing themselves forgiven and belonging to Christ, nor the joy of obedience; he does not live protected by hope, he does not manifest humility and meekness; and his communion with God is rigid, external, ritualistic.
And we ask ourselves, how is it possible for a true believer to fall into such a painful spiritual state? Before answering this question, let me correct a misconception that many have when evaluating the state of their spiritual life. Some believers realize that something is not right in their Christian life, that their piety and their relationship with God have declined, as well as their service in the kingdom. But in wanting to find the cause of their deterioration they fall into what we may call the Adamic syndrome. What did Adam do when God confronted him with his sin? He blamed his wife. And what did the woman do? Blame Satan. Everyone is guilty of my misfortune, except me.
However, according to the divine evaluation in Genesis 3, each one was responsible for their sin and each received the consequence of their actions. Dear brother, dear sister, no cause external to you can be responsible for your spiritual decadence. That evil began in your heart and developed in your heart (compare Mt. 15: 17-20).
If you want to find someone to blame for your condition you will surely find it, but you will not solve your problem. It may at first make you feel better about yourself, but the source of your decline will continue to produce toxic products that will not let you out of the state you are in.
And, of course, when we blame our fault on a wrong cause, we will inevitably come to a wrong solution. That is why many people cite the hope of their improvement in a change of circumstance: "A change of air will come in handy; Maybe if I change friendships, or church, or work, even from a country, my situation may improve. "
But if we understand that the evil lies in our own heart, then we can apply the appropriate medicine in the proper place. What, then, is the true cause of spiritual decadence? I will talk a little about this in the next entry, if the Lord allows it.
© By Sugel Michelén. All captive thoughts. You can reproduce and distribute this material, as long as it is non-profit, without altering its content and recognizing its author and origin.
Author: Sugel MichelénHe studied for the ministry in 1979. Later he was sent by the Biblical Church of the Lord Jesus Christ (IBSJ), in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to the city of Puerto Plata, to begin a work there. But at the end of 1983 he was called to be part of the IBSJ pastor corps, where he serves the Lord since then, regularly exposing the Word on Sundays. He is also the author of the blog All Thought Captive.
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