As one year passes away and another takes its place, we should consider this as a particularly appropriate point in time to review our spiritual condition. At the end of its accounting year, the leaders of a business will, no doubt, consider its financial health and commercial prospects; so we as individuals may use the turn of a calendar year as a special opportunity to consider our spiritual health and prospects. At such a time, when we ought to be conscious that we are now a full 12 months closer to eternity than at the previous New Year, we might first give special consideration to such questions as these: Have I found Christ? Am I on the way to heaven?
We should always be conscious of the shortness and the uncertainty of time. We should always have before our minds the fact that we will not be in this world for long. So we should “seek . . . the Lord while He may be found” (Is 55:6), during that short window of opportunity God is allowing us, which He may bring to an end at any moment, perhaps unexpectedly.
We are further directed in Scripture: “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10). The order is important: we are first to examine ourselves to see if we have been effectually called, if God has called us into His kingdom in such a way that we have been made able and willing to enter in by faith in Christ. Only if the call of the gospel has been made effective for us, can we possibly determine if we were elected; only those who, by God’s grace, have actually been brought to Christ can conclude that they were chosen by God from all eternity. Effectual calling reveals election. And if, as we review our spiritual condition, questions remain about whether we have been effectually called or not, where does that leave us? It leaves us before Christ, who is still calling us: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
Another, related question is: Am I living a godly life? Not only, Am I converted? but further, Am I living in consistent obedience to God’s commands, not only outwardly, but also in my thoughts and my motivation? Paul is an example for us here, when he told Felix: “Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts
24:16). He was striving – taking pains – to act uprightly in all his relationships with others, and especially with God. Yet he knew that, in spite of his sincere striving, he was imperfect. If that was true of Paul, it is true of all believers. How are they to react to imperfections, when these are all sinful? They are to come before God with the prayer: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps 51:2). When they do so, they are asking for two things: that the guilt of all their sins would be removed, and that the power of sin would be taken away through the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. And they are to ask the Lord to keep them from sinning, both outwardly and inwardly.
In reviewing our spiritual condition, we might further ask, Am I properly concerned about Christ’s cause in this world? In one sense, we need not be concerned, for He is in control of everything, and He rules over His Church and everything connected with it. But His people should be very disturbed about the weakness of the Christian Church today, which is clear when we consider how many parts of it are condoning, and even promoting, heresy and unscriptural practices. It should be no surprise that the world opposes the truths of God’s Word, yet one is shocked by the extent to which recent generations have rewritten morality – for instance, in forcefully opposing God’s standard for marriage – as between a man and a woman (see Mt 19:5) – and in the various other ways in which the distinction between male and female is being blurred. And while it is still generally considered a serious matter to mistreat or kill a child, hundreds of thousands of unborn children are killed in Great Britain every year (over 218 000 in 2018).
God’s glory is to be seen whenever the Holy Spirit works in the heart of individual sinners, so that they believe in Christ for salvation and begin to live holy lives. God’s glory was seen more clearly on the Day of Pentecost, when 3000 souls trusted in the Saviour; it was again remarkably obvious in many places during the Reformation when numbers of sinners were born again and the Church was purified to a significant degree; and in every true revival, when large numbers begin to follow the Good Shepherd. Correspondingly God’s glory in this world is hidden when error, unbelief and idolatry sweep over the Church, and the Holy Spirit is restrained, so that few sinners are brought into the kingdom of God. And when such a state of affairs has continued for several generations, as has been largely true in Britain and other countries, do we not have much cause to mourn over the spiritual desolations around us? Even when we realise that God is in control and that He is bringing judgement on the Church for its unfaithfulness and on countries for their departures from Him and His statutes, we must join Eli’s daughter-in-law in mourning that “the glory is departed” (1 Sam 4:21).
How should God’s children react to this dire situation? Whatever else may be their duty, they are all called to pray. In many ways we may feel we are in the same position as Jehoshaphat when the forces of Moab and other tribes came to fight against him. He felt completely inadequate, but he came boldly to the throne of grace. He acknowledged God’s power and authority as he asked, “O Lord God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven? And rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in Thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee?” He confessed, “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do:” his enemies were too strong for any army that he could muster. Yet he did not despair; believably he added, “But our eyes are upon Thee” (2 Chr 20:6,12).
So God’s children today must acknowledge that Satan is too strong for those who desire to be faithful to God’s revelation in Scripture. Those who are doing Satan’s work in the professing Church and outside it are also too strong for them. And those parts of the visible Church which, in any degree, have the same desire to be faithful, must recognise that they are weak in comparison with those who oppose the truth. Yet the answer cannot be to despair. Not while it remains true that nothing is too hard for Him (Jer 32:17); not while the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16); and not while He is able to answer prayer as He did Jehoshaphat’s cry.
Satan, though he may use his great power and subtlety to the utmost to oppose God’s revelation of true religion and right morality, will never wipe out the Church of God from this world and he will never prevent the fulfilment of God’s purposes. God may for a time – indeed for a long time – allow Satan to exercise great power over individuals and nations, and over their thinking and actions, but he will never gain the final victory. Satan is a defeated foe, for Christ obtained the victory at Calvary. And for a prolonged period of time on the battlefield of this world, He will yet show that He is infinitely stronger than Satan – when “the kingdoms of this world [will] become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ” (Rev 11:15).
“The suddenness and unexpectedness of the German Reformation” has been noted, and “the Reformation in Scotland was equally sudden and unexpected when it came in 1559; and the same thing happened a third time at the Second Reformation in 1637”.1 Should this not encourage God’s children today to pray earnestly for another reformation, and for such a reformation to take place soon and quickly, however weak the Church now is and however dismal the outlook? Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
1Douglas W B Somerset, “Martin Luther and His Influence on Scotland” in Scotland’s Debt to Martin Luther, Scottish Reformation Society, 2018, p 23.