The difference is so stark that is as if there were two Christian churches. One is religious the other alive. One is as dry as dust, the other vibrant and refreshing. One is a place of condemnation and fear, the other of freedom forgiveness. Nor is always obvious which is which, because it's not about outward appearance. I have encountered both churches, and have been surprised to find the living church among the old and ornate, with their liturgies and candles, whilst I have felt an absence of life in some very loud meetings with plenty of loud music and vigorous activity. The secret to a good church is not whether the service is quiet or loud, or whether it's in English or Latin. God knows Latin as well as English and can whisper as well as shout. The difference is in whether God is considered the Host or merely the Guest of Honour.
When the Lord is our Guest, man sets the agenda and God is merely a polite onlooker. But when he is allowed to be Host, he is freed to show men what he is capable of, and when the church lets the Holy Spirit out of the box of religion, then God is allowed to be God and things begin to happen. Catholic, Protestant; Baptist, Evangelical; Pentecostal, Charismatic: No matter. God is not impressed by labels, only hungry hearts. If we wear our labels lightly and focus our attention and passion on knowing him, the rewards are lavishly disproportionate to our meagre efforts. God is our Father and like the father of very young children, he desires to do far more for us than we are capable of even asking. It's an entirely unequal relationship, yet he treats us with unimaginable consideration, loving-kindness and respect.
He is open-hearted, open-armed and an extravagant giver on a sumptuous scale. He's always smiling, except when he laughs. His words are as gracious as his presence is comforting, and healing is in his touch. This is my God, and I wish more people knew him like he is. But, as I say, there is a cost. Nor is it a small cost: because it is everything. It's all our pride, all our ego and all our self, both as individuals and as a church; because the church is not an organisation, the church is an organism. The church is his Body and he is our Head and what a difference it makes when we recognise that.
When we're properly connected to our Father his life flows through us and outward towards others. When we exalt Jesus above our traditions and welcome the Holy Spirit who Jesus died that we might receive, the church becomes a beautiful bride and not the wizened old hag that so many have supposed her to be. Out goes legalism and in comes grace. Censoriousness is banished and replaced by acceptance. For the first time newcomers discover a God whose holiness is not their enemy but the means of their salvation; who requires not their performance but their heart; who offers his love and not judgement or condemnation.
To be the true Church of God, means truly knowing the God of the Church. And to know God is to experience him in ways that the world can hardly imagine. The thing is; talk is cheap. Anybody can call themselves a Christian, but where are, what John the Baptizer once called, 'the fruits worthy of repentance'? (Luke 3:8)
'Finally!' some of you may be thinking. 'I wondered when he would get around to that.' But, if you are, I suspect you may be surpirsed to learn what the New Testament actually means by 'repentance'. Too often, repentance is taught as a variant of works, or performance-based salvation. If you want to please God you need to say you're sorry and change how you behave. Is that what you were taught?
In fact, the Greek word we translate as repentance is 'metanoia', which means to change ones mind. In Romans 12:2 Paul refers to believers being transformed by having their minds renewed, which is pretty much the same thing; so repentance is not just a one-off deal but a continual process. And it's important to understand John's admonition in Luke 3:8 in its context, which was during a confrontation with religious Jews. Listen! He is saying: you need to have a different understanding of your relationship to God and be less complacent in your reliance on the Old Covenant.
John is actually preparing the way for the Gospel by warning the religious people that religion is not what makes them righteous. And that was profound paradigm shift: and that required 'metanoia'. Repentance is not about changing our behaviour. Repentance is about changing the thinking that governs that behaviour. And while in Greek, that means changing the way we think in our head, to John's Hebrew mind, true wisdom and understanding reside in the heart.
That's why repentance always preceded baptism; because outward cleansing always comes after the inner mind-change of metanoia, never the other way around.
Baptism never cleanses us, but is an outward act in acknowledgement of an inner change.
That's why Jesus insisted that John baptize him, in Matthew 3:15, saying it was fitting to fulfill all righteousness.' The word translated here as 'fulfill' is 'plero-ow', which in this context actually means to 'verify' or 'confirm'. Jesus had no sins to repent of but submitted to baptism nevertheless as a public attestation to his own righteousness.
So, what are these 'fruits of repentance', then?
For one thing, because repentance is a change of mind, it is an acknowledgement that saved believers are who God says we are, namely:
That because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross, we have been made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21);
That God will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and our iniquities he will remember no more (Hebrews 8:12);
And, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
Then, out of this new way of thinking arises a new way of living. No longer do we submit to sin as tamely as we once did but, as Paul says in Romans 6:14:
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. Did you get that? Grace is not a license to sin, but the power not to. But that's just the start because John the Baptizer said something else believers need to grasp:
'I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.' (Matthew 3:11; see also Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16 & John 1:33)
In the past, this has been quite an area of contention in the church, but is more widely accepted today, as the 'Baptism of the Holy Spirit', following which we not only grow in confidence, realising who we actually are in God's eyes, but begin to move and operate fully in the gifts of the Holy Spirit which often manifest in power as signs and wonders, including the gift of tongues, healing and prophecy.
One thing that needs to be said here is that these are 'gifts' that we have received, not fruit that we have cultivated. They are not badges of special merit or medals for performance, and Christians who speak in tongues, heal the sick, raise the dead or prophesy are no better than any other believer. Chances are, though, they are probably more hungry and willing to receive. Again, it's down to this issue of repentance, because once we are fully assured that our right standing before God owes nothing to our own performance but everything to Jesus' finished work at the Cross, then we realise that the issue is not one of how righteous we are, but how righteous he is.
When we get to that place, then healing is not so hard, because we don't need to fret whether I have the faith to heal; we only need to be confident that Jesus has the faith to heal, and command it in his name.
Likewise, when we operate in the gift of prophecy, we don't need to worry about our own ability but trust in the Holy Spirit to operate through us.
You may have to learn the underlying principles involved to operate successfully in such gifts, but they are neither complex nor exclusive to some super spiritual elite, but the right of every believer to exercise.
There are only two qualifications to operating in the gifts: you have to be a believer and you have to have a go. Both require faith, and godly faith is always requited.
Indeed, healing and prophecy often flow together, because one important function of prophecy is to assure the subject that God knows where they are. And once they've been encouraged by that assurance through a word of knowledge or some vision or other, their own faith is elevated to a higher level, facilitating their healing, which is vitally important, because even Jesus could not heal in the absence of faith (Mark 6:4-6).
So, if you're not already operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, might I suggest you repent and be baptised. And if you've already done so but are not yet seeing results: have a go!