As a young preacher, I greatly admired an older man who had a spectacular ministry of miracles. He also taught very forcefully that it is possible for a Christian to live without ever sinning. Yet eventually, he divorced his wife, married his secretary, and died an alcoholic. Other well-known and successful preachers have experienced similar personal tragedies.

Fruits—Not Gifts

When confronted with cases such as these, people often respond, “But surely if a person misuses one of these gifts, God would take it away!” But the answer is, “No!” The gifts of the Spirit are exactly what the name implies: genuine gifts. Not loans with conditions attached or a repayment schedule.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29)

Once we receive one of these gifts, we are free to use it, misuse it, or just not use it at all. Ultimately, however, God will require an account of what we have done—or not done—with the gifts He has given us through His Holy Spirit.

We need to always bear in mind the admonition of Jesus:

You will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:16)

Not by their gifts, but by their fruits—which will be the focus of our next Teaching Legacy letter.

Another Warning

Jesus followed up this admonition in Matthew 7 with an explicit warning—that the exercise of spiritual gifts is not necessarily a passport to heaven:

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21–23)

This warning indicates that it is possible for a person to exercise spiritual gifts and at the same time to “practice lawlessness.” What is “lawlessness?” It is an arrogant assumption that God’s moral and ethical standards no longer apply to those who are able to exercise gifts of supernatural power.

How Do We Respond?

When we see this arrogance regarding the gifts of the Spirit, it confronts us with the need to make difficult personal decisions. How should we respond?

First of all, we must keep in mind Paul’s warning to Timothy:

Do not … share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22)

Second, in regard to these unethical ministries, there is the reminder Jesus gave—that heaven is for those who do the will of the Father. You and I need to ask ourselves: “What is the will of God in my life? What does my Father expect of me?”

For my part, I feel the Lord has given me a clear, simple answer: “This is the will of God, that you should be holy.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) To this the Holy Spirit has added a warning: “Without holiness

Der Heilige Geist

*Browse Series