3 But in order to provide true Christians with more help when exploring their own status, I will point out some situations or doubts below and provide brief answers, because these situations may prevent some people from be comforted in a state of happiness. Bread for children should not be hidden, even if it may be snatched away by dogs when brought out.
Scenario 1. "I doubt whether I was born again because I don't know the exact time of my conversion, nor can I fully tell the specific steps of how it happened."
Answer: While it is very gratifying to be able to tell the beginning and gradual development of God's work in our souls, as some saints can so clearly do, yet because the manner in which the Holy Spirit works remains a mystery, it is difficult to confirm the truth. This is not necessary for grace. In this case, a person would be happy enough if he could say like the blind man in the Gospels, "I know one thing: I was blind but now I can see" (John 9:25) . Just as we know a fire when we see a flame, even though we don’t know how or when it started, so we can discern true grace within ourselves, even though we don’t know how or what it is. Time enters the heart. If you can feel the joyful change produced in your heart, if you find your mind enlightened and your will inclined to obedience to the will of God in all things, especially in harmony with the divine plan of salvation, including the redemption of the crucifixion Lord, then there is no need for you to trouble yourself and refuse comfort because you do not know how and in what manner these changes occur.
Situation 2. "If I had new life, sin should not have triumphed over me like this."
Answer: Although we cannot give hypocrites a safe pillow, Because they indulge in their sins, serve their lusts with the doctrine of God's grace, and lie contentedly in the bonds of depravity, like those who love gold chains, but we must still admit that "the righteous man seven times a day fall,” evil may prevail in the children of God.
But if you are groaning under the burden of your mortal body and corrupt nature, hating yourself because of the sin in your heart and life, striving to put your lusts to death, and flee to Christ every day. seek pardon in the blood, and implore His Holy Spirit for sanctification, then, though you must say with the psalmist, "Iniquity has overcome me," you may add with him, "As for our trespasses, you shall Forgive” (Psalm 65:3). The new life does not yet have the house to itself; it has to live with a bad neighbor, the remaining remnants of corruption, of a corrupt nature. Both sides competed with each other for sovereignty. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." (Gal. 5:17) Sometimes corruption triumphs, and God's children are captured by the law of sin (Rom. 7:23). So in this case, do not conclude that you are not a child of God because of the victory over corruption; but be humbled by it, more alert, and more eager to desire Jesus Christ, His blood, and His Spirit. This disposition, then, is itself an evidence that you have a wellspring of grace within you, striving to destroy the sin that so often overcomes you.
Situation 3. "I found that after the Lord began His work in my soul, the movement of sin in my heart was stronger than before. Is this consistent with the change in my nature?"
Answer: Many people do experience God’s amazing work in their souls and intend to change, but then they abandon all restraints and do immoral and blasphemous things openly and wantonly. It seems that The devil returns to his heart with seven demons worse than before; woe to such a man! The only thing I can say to such people is that they are in a very dangerous state and may be guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, these people should be told to repent quickly before it is too late.
But if this is not the case with you; though corruption stirs you more strongly than before, and it seems as if all the power of hell is unleashed to seize or recall its fugitives, yet these disturbances may be related to The change in your nature is consistent. It is not surprising that when the restraint of grace is first laid upon the neck of corruption, its action becomes more violent than before, for it is at war with "the law of my heart" (Romans 7:23). When new life comes to drive sin out, the action of sin can really become very violent. When sunlight shines through a window, previously invisible dust and its movements are seen; similarly, the light of grace may enable people to see previously unseen corruption in a different way than they have ever seen before. Ebbs and flows, despite the fact that they do not become more violent.
In addition, in the soul of a regenerated person, sin is not actually completely dead; it is only in the process of death, and it is still struggling in its death throes after being crucified. No wonder people struggle fiercely when their hearts are sad and death lurks at the door. In addition, when Satan tries to catch you who have escaped from his clutches, he may of course use more and more powerful temptations than when he just wants to keep an eye on you. “Remember the past days when you were enlightened. Enduring all the sufferings of the great conflict,” the apostle says in Hebrews 10:32. But “do not throw away your courage” (verse 35).
Remember, His “grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9), and “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
Pharaoh and the Egyptians never behaved as fiercely in front of the Israelites as when the Israelites were brought out of Egypt and stood in front of the Red Sea, but this was when these pursuers were about to be completely defeated ( out 14). So, don’t let this situation destroy the foundation of your faith, but continue to empty yourself, be strong in the Lord, draw strength from the power of God, and you will be completely victorious.
Scenario 4. “But when I compare my love for God with my love for pleasure in certain creatures, I find that my affection for the creature is more intense than my affection for the Creator. Intense. How could I still call him Father? No, oh! all the changes in my heart, all the shining feelings I had for him, were gone; so I feared that the love I once had for the Lord was gone. A mere impulse of emotion, as hypocrites often do."
Answer: It cannot be denied that oblivious love for the world is a sure sign of the unregenerate state, as "1 John Chapter 2:15" says, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." However, the strongest emotions are not always the strongest emotions. Sometimes one's emotions may be moved more by an object of little notice than by another object of special affection, just as a stream sometimes makes more noise than a large river. The strength of our emotions is measured by the solidity and solidity of their roots, not by the intensity of their movement.
Suppose a person meets a friend who has been abroad for a long time and finds that his passion for this friend was stronger than his passion for his wife and children at that time. Can he say that he loves his friend? Friends more than wives and children? Of course not. Likewise, although the Christian sometimes finds himself more moved by his love for creatures than by his love for God, yet we cannot therefore say that he loves creatures more than his Creator, for the love of God is always more solid. Being rooted in the heart of the blessed is not like the love for the pleasures of creation; when the two are in an either-or competition, this can be seen in people's choices.
So, do you know what your situation is like? Examine your heart and compare these two hobbies to see which one holds more weight for you. As before God, ask yourself, if it were entirely your choice, would you give up Christ for creation, or would you give up creation for Christ? If you find that the inclination of your heart is to give up what you love most in the world when Christ calls you, there is no reason for you to conclude that you love creation more than God. On the contrary, your conclusion should be Yes, you love God more than creatures, although in your love for God you do not feel the same impulse as the love for some creatures. Matthew Chapter 10 Verse 37 says, “Anyone who loves his father or his mother more than Me is not worthy of Me”; Luke Chapter 14 Verse 26 says, “If anyone comes to Me and hates his own Parents..., you cannot be my disciples.” Comparing these two passages, we can infer that those who are willing to hate their parents for the sake of Christ, that is, to be separated from their parents, are loved in the eyes of our Lord. His parents love him less, not his parents more than he loves him.