Our Spirit’s Witness

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' 23 Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’" – Matthew 7:21-23 HCSB

Exterior modification without spirit transformation is useless. The Lord uses a man’s spirit as a lamp, searching all the innermost parts of his humanity.[1] The Holy Spirit amplifies our conscience. God’s Wind[2] interacts with and operates through our “neshamah ch’ay”, our God-given “breath of life”.[3] It is our spirit that speaks the truth and honestly reveals our character.

It is easy to speak words that do not reflect the heart. Even when we speak “from the heart”, we do not necessarily speak from our spirit’s will.[4] After all, the “spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”[5] The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick – who can understand it?[6]

This is why an intelligent person restrains his words.[7] Keeping a cool head, an understanding spirit, a wise heart and a discerning mind is only possible when our lips are shut.[8] Instead of primarily relying on the testimony of our lips, we should allow our loving and obedient spirits do the talking.[9]

It is not that the Ransomed advocate a “silent witness,” never confessing our Lord’s sovereignty in our lives to others. Not at all. It is simply that we recognize the futility of unbacked words. Talk is cheap after all.

Unfortunately, so is action. Even a life characterized by so-called good works is apparently insufficient to book sure passage to glory. Prophesying, public identification with the Lord, exorcism and miracle working – none of these categorically indicate a regenerate heart!

So we shrink from urging unbelievers to pray the “sinner’s prayer” (a phrase that appears nowhere in the Scriptures). We don’t want them to place their faith in some mantra as though it were some kind of Christian voodoo. Instead, we call them to consider the cost of discipleship and then to simply pray from their heart. We do not put reliance on some verbal ritual, or on the act of approaching the front of a church during an altar call. We put our reliance on a change of spirit.

We count our spiritual birth from the point at which we began to see the fruit of the spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self control. When we see these multiplying in our spirits, we take heart and feel properly authorized to speak. When others see them, we are granted opportunities. When the Lord sees them[10], we hear “'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master's joy!”[11]

[1] Proverbs 20:27
[2] Ezekiel 37:9-10; John 3:8; Acts 2:2
[3] Genesis 2:7 Strong’s #5397 + 2416
[4] Romans 7:15-24
[5] Matthew 26:41
[6] Jeremiah 17:9
[7] James 1:19
[8] Proverbs 17:27
[9] John 14:15; 1 John 5:3; Proverbs 20:11
[10] Jeremiah 17:10
[11] Matthew 25:21