By A.W. Tozer
These are the times that try men's souls. The Spirit has spoken expressly that in the latter times some should depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Those days are upon us and we cannot escape them; we must triumph in the midst of them, for such is the will of God concerning us.
Strange as it may seem, the danger today is greater for the fervent Christian than for the lukewarm and the self-satisfied. The seeker after God's best things is eager to hear anyone who offers a way by which he can obtain them. He longs for some new experience, some elevated view of truth, some operation of the Spirit that will raise him above the dead level of religious mediocrity he sees all around him, and for this reason he is ready to give a sympathetic ear to the new and the wonderful in religion, particularly if it is presented by someone with an attractive personality and a reputation for superior godliness.
Now our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, has not left His flock to the mercy of the wolves. He has given us the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and natural powers of observation, and He expects us to avail ourselves of their help constantly. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," said Paul (1 Thess. 5:21). "Beloved, believe not every spirit," wrote John, "but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1). "Beware of false prophets," our Lord warned, "which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Mat. 7:15). Then He added the word by which they may be tested, "Ye shall know them by their fruits."
From this it is plain not only that there shall be false spirits abroad, endangering our Christian lives, but that they may be identified and known for what they are. And of course once we become aware of their identity and learn their tricks, their power to harm us is gone. "Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird." (Prov. 1:17)
It is my intention to set forth here a method by which we may test the spirits and prove all things religious and moral that come to us or are brought or offered to us by anyone. And while dealing with these matters we should keep in mind that not all religious vagaries are the work of Satan. The human mind is capable of plenty of mischief without any helpfrom the devil. Some persons have a positive genius for getting confused, and will mistake illusion for reality in broad daylight with the Bible open before them. Peter had such in mind when he wrote, "Our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto to their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
It is unlikely that the confirmed apostles of confusion will read what is written here or that they would profit much if they did; but there are many sensible Christians who have been led astray but are humble enough to admit their mistakes and are now ready to return unto the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. These may be rescued from false paths. More important still, there are undoubtedly large numbers of persons who have not left the true way but who want a rule by which they can test everything and by which they may prove the quality of Christian teaching and experience as they come in contact with them day after day throughout their busy lives. For such as these I make available here a little secret by which I have tested my own spiritual experiences and religious impulses for many years.
Briefly stated the test is this: This new doctrine, this new religious habit, this new view of truth, this new spiritual experience - how has it affected my attitude toward and my relation to God, Christ, the Holy Scriptures, self, other Christians, the world and sin?
By this sevenfold test we may prove everything religious and know beyond a doubt whether it is of God or not. By the fruit of the tree we know the kind of tree it is. So we have but to ask about any doctrine or experience, What is this doing to me? and we know immediately whether it is from above or from below.
One vital test of all religious experience
is how it affects our relation to God, our concept of God and
out attitude toward Him.
God being who He is must always be the supreme arbiter of all
things religious. The universe came into existence as a medium
through which the Creator might show forth His perfections to
all moral and intellectual beings: "I am the Lord; that is
my name: and my glory will I not give to another" (Isaiah
42:8). "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour
and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy plesure
they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11).
The health and balance of the universe require that God should be magnified in all things. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable." God acts only for His glory and whatever comes from him must be to His own high honor. Any doctrine, any experience that serves to magnify Him is likely to be inspired by Him. Conversely, anything that veils His glory or makes Him appear less wonderful is sure to be of the flesh or of the devil.
The heart of man is like a musical instrument and may be played upon by the holy Spirit, by an evil spirit or by the spirit of man himself. Religious emotions are very much the same, no matter who the player may be. Many enjoyable feelings may be aroused within the soul by low or even idolatrous worship. The nun who kneels "breathless with adoration" before an image of the Virgin is having a genuine religious experience. She feels love, awe and reverence, all enjoyable emotions, as certainly as if she were adoring God. The mystical experiences of Hindus and Sufis cannot be brushed aside as mere pretense. Neither dare we dismiss the high religious flights of spiritists and other occultists imagination. These may have and sometimes do have genuine encounters with something or someone beyond themselves. In the same manner Christians are sometimes led into personal experiences that are beyond their power to comprehend. I have met such and they have inquired eagerly whether or not their experience was of God.
The big test is, What has this done to my relationship to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? If this new view of truth - this new encounter with spiritual things - has made me love God more, if it has magnified Him in my eyes, if is has purified my concept of His being and caused Him to appear more wonderful than before, then I may conclude that I have not wandered astray into the pleasant but dangerous and forbidden paths or error.
The next test is, How has this new experience affected my attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ?
Whatever place present-day religion may give to Christ, God gives Him top place in earth and in heaven. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," spoke the voice of God from heaven concerning our Lord Jesus. Peter, full of the holy Spirit, declared: "God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Again, Peter said of Him, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). The whole book of Hebrews is devoted to the idea that Christ is above all others. He is shown to be above Aaron and Moses, and even the angels are called to fall down and worship Him. Paul says that He is the image of the invisible God, that in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily and that in all things He must have the preeminence. But time would fail me to tell of the glory accorded Him by prophets, patriarchs, apostles, saints, elders, psalmists, kings and seraphim. He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. He is our hope, our life, our all and all, now and forevermore.
All this being true, it is clear that He must stand at the center of all true doctrine, all acceptable practice, all genuine Christian experience. Anything that makes Him less that God has declared Him to be is delusion pure and simple and must be rejected, no matter how delightful or satisfying it may for the time seem to be.
Christ-less Christianity sounds contradictory
but it exists as a real phenomenon in our day. Much that is being
done in Christ's name is false to Christ in that it is conceived
by the flesh, incorporates fleshly methods, and seeks fleshly
ends. Christ is mentioned from time to time in the same way and
for the same reason that s self-seeking politician mentions Lincoln
and the flag, to provide a sacred front for carnal activities
and to deceive the simplehearted listeners. The giveaway is that
Christ is not central: he is not all and in all.
Again, there are psychic experiences that thrill the seeker and
lead him to believe that he has indeed met the Lord and been carried
to the third heaven; but the true nature of the phenomenon is
discovered later when the face of Christ begins to fade from the
victim's consciousness and he comes to depend more and more upon
emotion jags as a proof of his spirituality.
If on the other hand the new experience tends to make Christ indispensable, if it takes our interest off our feeling and places it with Christ, we are on the right track. Whatever makes Christ dear to us is pretty sure to be from God.
Another revealing test of the soundness
of religious experience is, How does it affect my attitude toward
the Holy Scriptures?
Did this new experience, this new view of truth, spring out of
the Word of God itself or was it the result of some stimulus that
lay outside the Bible? Tenderhearted Christians often become victims
of strong psychological pressure applied intentionally or innocently
by someone's personal testimony, or by a colorful story told by
a fervent preacher who may speak with prophetic finality but who
has not checked his story with the facts nor tested the soundness
of his conclusions by the Word of God.
Whatever originates outside the Scriptures should for that very reason be suspect until it can be shown to be in accord with them. If it should be found to be contrary to the Word of revealed truth, no true Christian will accept it as being from God. However high the emotional content, no experience can be proved to be genuine unless we can find chapter and verse authority for it in the Scriptures. "To the word and to the testimony" must always be the last and final proof.
Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with a lot of caution until it can furnish scriptural proof of its validity. Over the last half-century quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among the truths that were to be revealed in the last days. To be sure, say the advocates of this latter-daylight theory, Augustine did not know, Luther did not know, John Knox, Finney and Spurgeon did not understand this; but greater light has now shined upon God's people and we of these last days have the advantage of fuller revelation. We should not question the new doctrine nor draw back from this advanced experience. The Lord is getting His Bride ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb. We should all yield to this new movement of the Spirit. So they tell us.
The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days: it teaches the exact opposite. Nothing in Daniel or the New Testament epistles can be tortured into advocating the idea that we of the end of the Christians era shall enjoy light that was not known at its beginning. Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church. The best way to deal with him is to rise and leave his presence. You cannot help him and he surely cannot help you.
Granted, however, that the Scriptures
may not always be clear and that there are differences of interpretation
among equally sincere men, this test will furnish all the proof
needed of anything religious, viz., What does it do to my love
for and appreciation of the Scriptures?
While true power lies not in the letter of the text but in the
Spirit that inspired it, we should never underestimate the value
of the letter. The text of truth has the same relation to the
truth as the honeycomb has to honey. One serves as a receptable
for the other. But there the analogy ends. The honey can be removed
from the comb, but the Spirit of truth cannot and does not operate
apart from the letter of the Holy Scriptures. For this reason
a growing acquaintance with the Holy Spirit will always mean an
increasing love for the Bible. The Scriptures are in print what
Christ is in person. The inspired Word is like a faithful portrait
of Christ. But again the figure breaks down. Christ is in the
Bible as no one can be in a mere portrait, for the Bible is a
book of holy ideas and the eternal Word of the Father can and
does dwell in the thought He has Himself inspired. Thoughts are
things and the thoughts of the Holy Scriptures from a lofty temple
for the dwelling place of God.
From this it follows naturally that a true lover of God will also be a true lover of His Word.
Anything that comes to use from the God
of the Word will deepen out love for the Word of God. This follows
logically, but we have confirmation by a witness far more trustworthy
than logic, viz., the concerted testimony of a great army of witnesses
living and dead. These declare with one voice that their love
for the Scriptures intensified as their faith mounted and their
obedience became consistent and joyous.
If the new doctrine, the influence of that new teacher, the new
emotional experience fills my heart with an avid hunger to meditate
in the Scriptures day and night, I have every reason to believe
that God has spoken to my soul and that my experience is genuine.
Conversely, if my love for the Scriptures has cooled even a little,
if my eagerness to eat and drink of the inspired Word has abated
by as much as one degree, I should humbly admit that I have missed
God's signal somewhere and frankly backtrack until I find the
true way once more.
Again, we can prove the quality of religious experience by its effect on the self-life.
The Holy Spirit and the fallen human self are diametrically opposed to each other. "The flesh lusteth againist the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot dod the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). "They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit... Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be" (Romans 8:5,7)
Before the Spirit of God can work creatively in our hearts he must condemn and slay the "flesh" within us; that is, He must have our full consent to displace our natural self with the Person of Christ. This displacement is carefully explained in Romans 6, 7, and 8. When the seeking Christian has gone through the crucifying experience described in chapters 6 and 7, he enters into the broad, free regions of chapter 8. There, self is dethroned and Christ is enthroned forever.
In the light of this it is not hard to
see why the Christian's attitude toward self is such an excellent
test of the validity of his religious experience. Most of the
great masters of the deeper life, such as Fenelon, Molinos, ,
Madame Guyon and a host of others, have warned against pseudo-religious
experiences that provide much carnal enjoyment but feed the flesh
and puff up the heart with self-love.
A good rule is this: if this experience has served to humble me
and make me little and vile in my own eyes, it is of God; but
if it has given me a feeling of self-satisfaction, it is false
and should be dismissed as emanating from self or the devil. Nothing
that comes from God will minister to my pride or self-congratulation.
If I am tempted to be complacent and to feel superior because
I have had a remarkable vision or an advanced spiritual experience,
I should go at once to my knees and repent of the whole thing.
I have fallen victim to the enemy.
Our relation to and our attitude toward our fellow Christians is another accurate test of religious experience.
Sometimes and earnest Christian will,
after some remarkable spiritual experience, withdraw himself from
his fellow believers and develop a spirit of faultfinding. He
may be honestely convinced that his experience is superior, that
he is now in an advanced state of grace, and that the hoi polloi
in the church where he attends are but a mixed multitude and he
alone is a true son of Israel. He may struggle to be patient with
these religious worldlings, but his soft language and condescending
smile reveal his true opinion of them - and of himself. This is
a dangerous state of mind, and the more dangerous because if can
be justified by the facts. The brother has had a remarkable experience;
he has received some wonderful light on the Scriptures, he has
entered into a joyous land unknown to him before. And it may easily
be true that the professed Christians with whom he is acquainted
are worldly and dull and without spiritual enthusiasm. it is not
that he is mistaken in his facts that proves him to be in error,
but that his reaction to the facts is of the flesh. His new spirituality
has made him less charitable.
The lady Julian tells us in her quaint English how true Christian
grace affects our attitude toward others: "For of all things
the beholding and loving of the Maker maketh the soul to seem
less in his own sight, and most filleth him with reverent dread
and true meekness; with plenty of charity to his fellow Christians."
Any religious experience that fails to deepen our love for our
fellow Christians may safely be written off as spurious.
The apostle John makes love for our fellow Christians to be a test of true faith. "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him" (1 John 3:18-19). Again he says, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and knoweth God. he that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:7-8).
As we grow in grace we grow in love toward all God's people. "Everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him" (1 John 5:1). This means simply that if we love God we will love His children. All true Christian experience will deepen our love for other Christians.
Therefore we conclude that whatever tends to separate us in person or in heart from our fellow Christians is not of God, but is of the flesh or of the devil. And conversely, whatever causes us to love the children of God is likely to be of God. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another" (John 13:35).
Another certain test of the source of
religious experience is this: Note how it affects our relation
to and our attitude toward the world.
By "the world" I do not mean, of course, the beautiful
order of nature which God has created for the enjoyment of mankind.
Neither do I mean the world of lost men in the sense used by our
Lord when He said, "God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though
him might be saved" (John 3:16-17). Certainly, any true touch
of God in the soul will deepen our appreciation of the beauties
of nature and intensify our love for the lost. I refer here to
something else altogether.
Let an apostle say it for us: "All
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:16-17).
This is the world by which we may test the spirits. It is the
world of carnal enjoyments, of godless pleasures, of the pursuit
of earthly riches and reputation and sinful happiness. It carries
on without Christ, following the counsel of the ungodly and being
animated by the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
works in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2). Its religion
is a form of godliness, without power, which has a name to live
but is dead. It is, in short, unregenerate human society romping
on its way to hell, the exact opposite of the true Church of God,
which is a society of regenerate souls going soberly but joyfully
on their way to heaven.
Any real work of God in our hearts will tend to unfit us for the world's fellowship. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). It may be stated unequivocally that any spirit that permits compromise with the world is a false spirit. Any religious movement that imitates the world in any of its manifestations is false to the cross of Christ and on the side of the devil - and this regardless of how much purring the leaders may do about "accepting Christ" or "letting God run your business."
The last test of genuineness of Christian
experience is what it does to our attitude toward sin.
The operation of grace within the heart of a believing man will
turn that heart away from sin and toward holiness. "For the
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13).
I do not see how it could be plainer.
The same grace that saves, teaches, and its teaching is both negative
and positive. Negatively it teaches us to deny ungodliness and
worldly lusts. Positively, it teaches us to live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world.
The man of honest heart will find no difficulty here. He has but
to check his own bent to discover whether he is concerned about
sin in his life more or less since the supposed work of grace
was done. Anything that weakens his hatred of sin may be identified
immediately as false to the Scriptures, to the Saviour and to
his own soul. Whatever makes holiness more attractive and sin
more intolerable may be accepted as genuine. "For thou are
not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil
dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou
hatest all workers of iniquity" (Psalm 5:4-5).
Jesus warned "There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect." These words describe our day too well to be coincidental. In the hope that the "elect" may profit by them I have set forth these tests. The result is in the hand of God.
This article is part of A.W. Tozer's book "Man: The Dwelling Place of God"