Onward Christian Soldiers

There are, in this world, three types of people where the spirit is concerned.  There is the Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit.  This person recognises that Jesus is life, turns over their life to Him and lets the Holy Spirit direct their life.  Then there is the Christian who has accepted Jesus into their life but has not activated the Holy Spirit and is directing their own life, this person will inevitably end up being bitter and frustrated.  The third type of person is the one who has not received Jesus as their Lord and saviour.  This person thinks that Christianity is foolish and not for them, this life will only lead to frustration and worse.

Here are three Bible scriptures that relate to the above people:

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 
The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.  For who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (CSB)
For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.  I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it.  In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still worldly.  For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?

1 Corinthians 2:14 (CSB)
But the person without the spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.

For the spirit filled Christian a daily prayer life is a must, this person must put 100% trust in God and display the Fruits of the Spirit; love, peace, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience and self-control.  Like anything else in life, mastering all nine of the Fruits of the Spirit can take time, so don’t feel disheartened if you are not quite there yet.  This person must always be willing and available to talk about the Gospel to others.

For the person who has not received Jesus into their heart and life, this person can often be a very negative person, one who is quick to anger, does not always show love to others, does not have the peace and joy that a spirit filled Christian has, does not have much patience, can be more judgemental, envious and bitter, can have a heart of stone and not a heart of flesh.  In short this person can often be searching for that missing something but can’t always find what they are looking for.  Often buying material things, but like anything worldly these items will never give this person the fulfilment they desire, material things are short lived.

The person who has accepted Jesus into their life but has not activated the Holy Spirit in themself often has a weak prayer life, this person can have unbelief in certain Bible scripture, does not read their Bible much and does not study it, has frustration in their life, worries quite a lot, does not have 100% trust in God, does not have the love for others as they should.  In short, this is a person who says they are a Christian but still continues to sin a lot.

To summarise a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit:

A spirit filled Christian has a daily prayer life, studies God’s word, trusts God 100%, lets the Holy Spirit guide them throughout their life, applies the Fruits of the Spirit to their life, recognises sin and repents and asks God for forgiveness when they mess up, talks to others about the Gospel and asks themselves, “What would Jesus do in this situation.”

Repent and accept Jesus into your life, ask to be fully activated with His Holy Spirit and trust God 100%.