Are you a leaking Christian?
The American evangelist Billy Sunday said, “If you have no joy, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere.” Sometimes the “leak” is the result of deliberate sin, and at other times, it is simply a matter of us neglecting the needs of our souls.
Another famous American evangelist, D.L. Moody, said: “We are leaky vessels, and we have to keep right under the fountain all the time to keep full of Christ, and so have a fresh supply.”
What did Moody mean, “full of Christ,” especially since Jesus already lives within every believer? Are there situations where a believer’s soul is not “full of Christ”?
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In a sense, yes. That is to say, there are times when our heart and mind are not consumed with Christ and our soul is not flowing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy …” (Galatians 5:22). Whenever we offend the Holy Spirit with our thoughts, words, or deeds, we impede the growth of joy in our soul. Hence the biblical directive: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit …” (Ephesians 4:30).
The Apostle Paul gave this instruction to believers: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The verb tense literally means: Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.
You see, being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time action, but rather, something that can happen every day in the life of a Christian. “Be filled” instructs believers to seek this filling every moment of every day as we yield our hearts and minds to the will of God, prayer, and Scripture meditation. And the more we “say ’No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions,” (Titus 2:11) the more fruit of the Holy Spirit we experience in our life.
The Lord instructs His people: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). How can you stay “fired up” as a believer? “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Grumbling and complaining drive joy from the heart.
If you find yourself in the uncomfortable situation of having lost your joy, ask yourself these critical questions: Am I relying upon the cross of Christ as the basis of my right standing before God? And am I relying upon the blood Jesus shed on the cross to wash away my sins, or have I started to embrace the false teaching of works of righteousness?
This particular false doctrine, more than any other, has led souls far from Christ.
As an example, false teachers infiltrated the churches in Galatia 2,000 years ago. The Judaizers taught that a person had to be circumcised in order to be saved. And this legalistic requirement was wreaking havoc in the hearts of those in the Church.
Paul wrote, “What has happened to all your joy?” (Galatians 4:15). You see, these professing Christians were leaking badly. And they were even in danger of walking away from the faith altogether. This is what the poisonous pill of works righteousness does to the soul. It robs you of joy, and even worse, threatens your very relationship with Christ.
The sad reality is that millions of people will spend eternity in Hell as a result of their reliance upon works rather than on Christ. This is no minor theological error. Why else would Paul have come down so hard and so directly on this issue?
The apostle wrote, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:1-3).
They had been seduced by works righteousness and were attempting to justify themselves before God by the Law, rather than the Gospel. As a result, they were slipping away from Christ. Rather than being “full of Christ” and filled with the Holy Spirit, they had started to believe the lie that their works could make them righteous in God’s eyes.
Paul wrote, “Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:3-4).
What about you? Are you attempting to justify yourself before God by your religious deeds? If so, your soul is on very thin ice. In order to get into Heaven, you will need to stop relying upon your works to be forgiven, and instead, rely upon the sacrifice Jesus made for your sins on the cross.
“All who rely on observing the Law are under a curse…clearly no one is justified before God by the Law, because, ’The righteous will live by faith’” (Galatians 3:10-11).
If you will trust Christ alone for salvation, and follow Jesus as your King, the joy of the Lord will be your strength, and Heaven will be your eternal home.
Jesus told his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:9-11).
So how are things going in your spiritual life today? Have you lost all your joy? If so, there is a way back.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
