The Stagnant in Spirit
Posted on December 20, 2011
Filed Under Exhortation, OT History, What I'm Studying... | 1 Comment
As we have been studying Old Testament History, we have come to the time of the prophets. Recently, we have been looking at Zephaniah, and I noticed a particularly interesting verse. In chapter one, as Zephaniah rebuked the people of Judah for their disobedience before God, he expressed one condemnation that seems a bit different than the others. The expected rebukes are of course present: condemning idolatry, condemning the leadership of the priests, princes and kings, and a condemnation of the violence that had filled the streets of Jerusalem. However, in verse 12, Zephaniah reveals a condemnation of a different sort:
It will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the men
Who are stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good or evil’
Zephaniah 1:12 (NASB)
Zephaniah said that God would punish the men who were “stagnant in spirit.” These were the men who had given up on God’s interaction with them completely–He could do neither good or evil for them. Because they gave up on God, they were not active in their duties and responsibilities. The New King James Version says:
“And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’ (Zephaniah 1:12)
This is the same idea. They are “settled in complacency.” Because they had lost faith in God, they refused to fulfill their duties and responsibilities as dictated by Him. Sadly, the same thing has happened today. There are many who have lost their faith in God’s abilities to do anything for them, and so it is not surprising that they will not do what God has commanded. It is not that these people are not “religious,” but being religious, and having faith are two completely different things! There are many Christians who would never miss an assembly, and yet they do not really have faith that God can do anything today. They read the passages about God’s power and might, and attempt to explain them away in one manner or another. There are many Christians that do not even believe that God has the ability to answer prayer, and rely only on the medical advancements of the day for healing power. I wonder, if this is the case, why not lay our prayers at the feet of the doctors and nurses?
As men move away from believing in God’s ability to answer prayer, they move away from an active faith. If we become convinced that God is incapable of doing anything for us, it will not be long before we, like the people of Judah, begin to ignore His instructions for us. Perhaps this is what is really at the heart of the inactivity that is so prevalent in many local churches today! If we begin to believe that God only gives us his minimum attention, then it would only be natural for us to give Him only our minimal attention.
How can we, as believers, think that God will not do good or evil for us? How can we read the New Testament and come to the conclusion that He is inactive, and is only waiting for us to die so He can sort us into the “lost” or the “saved”? For brevity sake, consider just a couple of passages that clearly indicate that this is not the approach that God has determined to take with us:
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. (James 5:16–17)
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:3–11)
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26–27)
How can a person read these passages and think that God is not active, working for our good? If we can accept that He is doing great things for us, then we will never be able to sit by, in our complacency, stagnant in spirit. Instead, we will be compelled to work diligently for His sake, and the Kingdom! If we lose heart, and fail do become stagnant in spirit, the same condemnation stands for us as stood for the people of Judah. So, will we be active in His kingdom on this day, or will we be settled in our complacency?
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Kris,
I always enjoy your posts here. Being complacent shows a lack of faith and that is certainly a sin as pointed out in Hebrews 3:12-13. If we don’t believe God is working in our lives as Christians today we are denying plain Bible teaching. It seems that Israel saw God’s power working in their lives for the forty years of their wandering in the wilderness and still couldn’t believe it. Being “lukewarm” is an indication of being stagnant (Rev. 3:16) which will cause many to be rejected by God.