Written by Derek J. Brown |
Monday, January 15, 2024
The Galatians experienced the freedom and joy of the Holy Spirit, not by keeping commandments in order to gain salvation, but by hearing and believing a message—the gospel message. We are all in danger of drifting like these Galatians. After having received the Holy Spirit by faith, we attempt to perfect ourselves by the flesh and in our own strength, trying to earn some favor with God. This is why I believe Jerry Bridges is right when he reminds us to “Preach the gospel to ourselves every day.” The truth of the gospel—the benefits of Christ’s substitutionary life and death on our behalf are received by faith alone—regularly poured into our minds and hearts, will guard us from deadening legalism and subsequent spiritual dryness.

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that spiritual passion, sight, and affections ebb and flow. At times our sense of spiritual realities can be strong and vibrant. Other times our hearts feel like lead weights, and we find ourselves longing for God to visit us once again and bring refreshment (Ps. 85:4-7). These seasons are usually referred to as times of “spiritual drought” or “spiritual dryness” and find intimate expression in many of the Psalms.
David often cried out to God in times where his soul seemed like dust, and he yearned to be refreshed by the presence of the Lord (Ps. 13; Ps. 63). Other psalmists expressed their longing to have their parched souls be replenished by the Lord (Psalm 42). Those who have tasted of the goodness of Christ know what it means to be without that taste; it leaves us pleading, “light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” (Ps. 13:3).
Spiritual drought, though a persistent and unwelcome visitor, is not something with which we must constantly live. There are Biblical means by which we can, by grace, put ourselves in the way of refreshment; we can be restored to once again feel the joy of our salvation. But this can only happen if we are able to discern why we might be experiencing spiritual dryness, so we can take the appropriate action. With this in mind, I would like to suggest a few reasons we may be experiencing a season of spiritual drought and provide the correlating remedies.
1. Unchecked Lust
Peter’s warning could not be more explicit: “Abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (I Pet. 2:11). Impure thoughts and freshly cultivated fantasies will only dull our sense of spiritual things; this is what Peter means when he tells us that lust “wages war against the soul.” Harboring lust defiles our conscience, feeds our sinful flesh, and withers our spiritual vitality.
If we are experiencing the ravages of spiritual drought, it may be because we are entertaining our minds with lust and feeding our sinful desires with suggestive movies, magazines, internet sites, or by simply visiting the local mall. The only remedy called for here is sincere confession and repentance (Prov. 28:13; I John 1:9). In order to find our souls once again enthralled with the joy of our salvation, we must confess these sins and turn from them (Ps. 51:1-12), resolving to no longer make any provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14).
2. Pride
Jesus, in confronting the Pharisees’ desire for self-exaltation, provides a valuable insight as to how pride relates to faith. The Pharisees were unable to see the truth and beauty of Christ, because they were infatuated with their own glory and loved receiving praise from men. Jesus asks them, “‘How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?’” (John 5:44). Saving faith was hindered by their pride.
And although this passage speaks specifically of pride obstructing saving faith, I think we can safely apply this principle to our lives as Christians: pride kills faith in Jesus. If we are nurturing self-love—seeking praise and appreciation from our friends, our congregation, our professors, our supervisor, or those who read our blogs—we will find out very quickly that “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Our souls will shrivel as we fill them with the glory that comes from man. On the other hand, turning from ourselves and our reputations to exalt Christ at all costs will bring about spiritual renewal since “[God] gives grace to the humble.”
3. Love of Money
There is also a direct correlation between our attachment to stuff and our ability to see the glory of God. Jesus connects our physical gaze with our spiritual sight in Matthew 6:19-23. Christ instructs us to store up lasting treasures in heaven rather than temporary riches here on earth. Whether we do this or not will have a significant impact on our affections, for “where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).
Jesus continues, “‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness’” (Matt. 6:22-23). In other words, if we are fixed upon the glitter of earthly riches, the brightness of God’s glory cannot shine into our hearts, and we will only suffer spiritual thirst, not saturation. The solution here is to start taking our eyes off earthly riches. This is often helped through prayer and by regular and consistent giving to our churches, faithful gospel ministries, the poor, and to those in need. Isaiah 58:10-11 is encouraging in this regard,
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
4. Lack of Bible Reading, Meditation, and Prayer
When we neglect Bible reading, meditation, and prayer, we are cutting ourselves off from essential nourishment for our souls. It is impossible to thrive spiritually without feeding our minds and hearts with God’s Word. Psalm 1 reminds us of the benefits of meditation:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, or stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the sear of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, in all that he does, he prospers (Ps. 1:1-3)
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To pursue this objective the word nation was replaced by the word ethnicity. But it won’t work!  It may have some success in Christian families, in the church were members of various nations all change their allegiance to Christ, and it may have some success within a common geographical boundary where the Ten Commandments of the Christian Faith still have the force of law, but outside of these, I believe it is ultimately a recipe for disaster. 
America is no longer a nation in the biblical sense.  It is an empire.  A nation has the four boundary markers I have just mentioned, but an empire is a combination of nations living under one authority, usually under some type of tyranny.

When I was a young minister, I never heard of the word “ethnicity,” but today it is as common as pumpkins in the Fall.  My contention is that this word is relatively new, and that it was intentionally created by modern America to replace the concept of a “nation” as it is used in the Bible.  It has become a popular word in the church too.  The word ethnicity is not used in the King James Version of the Bible.  Not that I am a KJV-only person, but the more ancient language translations do give us the mindset of the past.  For example, in the typical English translation of the Greek language, Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of all the nations, not of all the ethnicities. The word “ethnicity” comes from the Greek term “ethnos” which is generally translated as nation in the English Bible.
The English word “nation” is derived from the same word as “nativity” which reminds us of the birth of Christ.  The word nation was chosen in older translations because it describes a people group with the same birth or ancestry.  In the distant past there existed patriarchs (like Abraham), and from such men came forth generations to follow.  This created a nation.  The most common element of a nation was being of the same birth.  Later, the word “race” was used in other translations, but again, this is a relatively new word that was not used in the old KJV (except as in running in a race).
In the New Testament the Apostle Paul adds to this definition of a nation, when preaching on Mars Hill, he said that God created the nations and defined them by borders as well as birth.  “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).
Luke tells us of another common attribute of nations when he describes the nations gathered at Pentecost in Acts 2:5-6 as having a common language: “Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.  And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.”
The Bible obviously includes one more marker in the concept of a nation, and that is a common religion which produces a common culture with common traditions and customs such as the celebration of Christmas and Easter. The great commission (Matt. 28: 18-20) is a command to change the religion of each nation by the preaching of the gospel and by the power of the Holy Spirit. This assumes that a nation, as defined in the Bible, still remained a nation even after receiving the gospel, but the God it worshipped was changed (like in Ninevah).
Nations as defined in the Bible are here to stay.  Actually, nations even as defined by these markers will appear before God in heaven. Heaven is described as a place where, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Rev. 21:24).
Thus, the four common marks of a biblical nation are a common birth, a common border, a common language, and a common religion.
We still think of nations with these markers when we think of the Japanese, the Chinese, the Dutch, and even such nations as Israel.  They are typically nations with a common border, a common language, a common ancestry, and a common religion (communism in China).
This was true of the United States in its earliest days.  America for much of its early existence consisted of mostly White Evangelical Protestants who spoke the English language. The nation had borders (that eventually covered the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans). Blacks came to America under compulsion via the institution of slavery and eventually became part of the sinews of our nation, even though they were of a different birth and ancestry.  Indians (native-Americans) were incorporated into the United States by force under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.  Ellis Island opened this nation to other European descendants. Jews and Muslims would follow.
Why has the word ethnicity replaced the word nation?  Because it aligns more with the American notion of a nation, which is contrary to the biblical view of a nation. The word ethnicity empties the word nation of three of its major markers—a common ancestry, a common language, and a common religion.  Like all generations, we tend to read the Scriptures through the lens of our culture rather than read the culture through the lens of the Scriptures.  America prides itself on the diversity of nations living within a common geographical boundary with different languages and religions where democracy guarantees freedom and peace for all eternity.  Democracy has become our new god.
To pursue this objective the word nation was replaced by the word ethnicity. But it won’t work!  It may have some success in Christian families, in the church were members of various nations all change their allegiance to Christ, and it may have some success within a common geographical boundary where the Ten Commandments of the Christian Faith still have the force of law, but outside of these, I believe it is ultimately a recipe for disaster.
America is no longer a nation in the biblical sense.  It is an empire.  A nation has the four boundary markers I have just mentioned, but an empire is a combination of nations living under one authority, usually under some type of tyranny.
Protestant pluralism is waning as a significant force in America.  We now live under a secular polytheism.  The United States Constitution was created for a Christian people, and not for a muti-cultural conglomeration of various nations with their different ancestors and different religions living within one geographical border.
America has been balkanized and there is no longer unity under the banner of Christ.  This is one reason why there is so much political upheaval. One good example of this is the hatred now seen on college campuses where there is a verbal war between Jews and Hamas-sympathizers (who represent Muslims). The Middle East has been imported to our American geographical boundaries, and the result is the seed of hatred between these various nations living within our country.  As other nations are imported into America (some in the middle of the night by airplanes), the danger of the demise of this great nation is at hand.
Somewhere along this timeline the word ethnicity replaced the word nation to accomplish a goal contrary to the Bible. Never in the history of man since Adam and Eve have different nations with different religions lived in peace within the same boundaries, except by the force of war.
However, America, in its arrogance and its belief in the goodness of man, thought she could ignore the biblical concept of a nation and create a new tower of Babel where a multitude of nations could live together within the same border in a peaceful existence without a common religion. The goal was a melting pot, but we have created a boiling pot. The word ethnicity was a means to this end. That’s why I don’t use the word.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
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Micah’s prophecy resounds with the hope of redemption and restoration. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah quote Micah to reiterate his prophetic promise that even though “Zion shall be plowed as a field” and “Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,” nevertheless “in the latter days” the “mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established” and “all nations shall flow to it” (Isa. 2:2–4; Jer. 26:17–19; Mic. 3:12–4:3). 

The prophecy of Micah is the sixth of the twelve Minor Prophets. His three oracles (Mic. 1:2–2:13; 3:1–5:15; 6:1–7:20) predicted the judgment of the Lord on the rebellious Northern Kingdom of Israel, rebuked the prevailing injustices of the prosperous Southern Kingdom of Judah, and proclaimed the hope of the promised coming Messiah.
1. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea and shared in their message of calling Israel to repentance.
Micah ministered during the second half of the eighth century BC during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, a generation after the prophets Amos and Jonah. These were tumultuous days. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser sacked Samaria, conquered Israel, and threatened Judah. The rich oppressed the poor. Political corruption, cultural decline, and spiritual declension ran rampant. Like all the other prophets, Micah, Isaiah, and Hosea shared a common message calling God’s chosen people to repentance. Like Zechariah, the message was to declare the words, statutes, and commandments of the Lord that the people might be overtaken and repent (Zech. 1:6). Like Joel, the message was that they might put on sackcloth and lament (Joel 1:13). Like Ezekiel, the message was that they might repent and turn from all their transgressions lest iniquity be their stumbling block (Ezek. 18:30). This is the constant refrain of hope in the prophets:
Zion shall be redeemed by justice,and those in her who repent, by righteousness.” (Isa. 1:27)
Of course, Micah’s message of repentance was not exactly a welcome one—even if it was a refrain of hope. It wasn’t in the days of the prophets, and it still isn’t today.
2. Because of this native resistance to the message of repentance, the prophets were often cast in the role of God’s “prosecuting attorneys.”
Sometimes, the prosecutorial role of the prophets is very explicit, as it is in Micah’s prophecy (Mic. 6:1–8). You will notice all the elements of a dramatic courtroom scene, with charges brought by the Lord against His chosen people. The case is called from the very throne room of heaven (Mic. 6:1). All of the teeming creation—from the mountains and hills to the very foundations of the earth—is summoned to hear the evidence and bear witness to the proceedings (Mic. 6:2).
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