What happens when Christians become soulish? In his epistle Jude speaks about people in the church who “are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts … sensual [soulish] persons, who cause divisions, not having the [Holy] Spirit” (Jude 16, 19).

When the soul of a Christian is not submitted through his spirit to God, he becomes a channel through which every kind of carnality and divisiveness can infiltrate the church. This is the true, underlying cause of divisions in the Body of Christ.

The Downward Slide

But it doesn’t stop there. In James 3:15, the apostle speaks about a form of wisdom which does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual [soulish], demonic. James depicts a downward slide in three successive stages: from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic.

When Christians become earthly, they lose the vision of eternity. They cannot see beyond the affairs of this life: success, pleasure, health, and wealth. They are only interested in what their faith will do for them in this life!

Concerning such people Paul says: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Christians like that often consider themselves prosperous and successful. But what does God think? He considers them pitiable.

After the earthly, the next stage in the downward slide is soulish. To be soulish is to be egocentric—self-centered. For such people, the Christian faith is a way to get what they want out of life. They suppose that “godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5).

The soulish stage opens the way for the demonic. This is one key way in which demons infiltrate the church. The question is often asked: Do Christians ever need deliverance from demons? The words of James provide a clear answer. This downward slide from the earthly, to the soulish, to the demonic, exposes both individual believers and whole congregations to the activities of demons.

Cultivating Discernment

In many places today, the church is an ungodly mixture. No clear line is drawn between the spiritual and the soulish, and therefore there is no barrier to the demonic. Genuine manifestations of the Holy Spirit are interspersed with manifestations that are clearly demonic. As a result, many sincere believers are confused and bewildered.

To protect ourselves, we must cultivate scriptural discernment. We must learn to distinguish between what is truly spiritual and what is soulish. There is only one instrument sharp enough to do this: the Word of God.

For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Two Conditions

Further on, in Hebrews 5:14, the writer states two conditions which we must fulfill in order to exercise this kind of discernment:

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use [practice] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Our Value, Our Worth

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