Speaker: Mark Driscoll
Venue: Together on a Mission 2008 Conference
Location: Brighton, England
Topic: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1

In the apostolic age, there was the greatest outpouring of the Spirit of God that ever was; both as to his extraordinary influences and gifts, and his ordinary operations, in convincing, converting, enlightening, and sanctifying the souls of men. But as the influences of the true Spirit abounded, so counterfeits did also abound: the devil was abundant in mimicking, both the ordinary and extraordinary influences of the Spirit of God, as is manifest by innumerable passages of the apostles' writings. This made it very necessary that the church of Christ should be furnished with some certain rules, distinguishing and clear marks, by which she might proceed safely in judging of the true from the false without danger of being imposed upon. The giving of such rules is the plain design of this chapter, where we have this matter more expressly and fully treated of than any where else in the Bible. The apostle, of set purpose, undertakes to supply the church of God with such marks of the true Spirit as may be plain and safe, and well accommodated to use and practice; and that the subject might be clearly and sufficiently handled, he insists upon it throughout the chapter, which makes it wonderful that what is here said is no more taken notice of in this extraordinary day, when there is such an uncommon and extensive operation on the minds of people, such a variety of opinions concerning it, and so much talk about the work of the Spirit.

The apostle's discourse on this subject is introduced by an occasional mention of the indwelling of the Spirit, as the sure evidence of an interest in Christ. "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him; and hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." Whence we may infer, that the design of the apostle is not only to give marks whereby to distinguish the true Spirit from the false, in his extraordinary gifts of prophecy and miracles, but also in his ordinary influences on the minds of his people, in order to their union to Christ, and being built up in him; which is also manifest from the marks themselves that are given, which we shall hereafter notice.

I have been making an argument, over the past three weeks, that the place to begin our journey with Christ, and the place to go back to again and again in order to continue our journey, is humble faith in Christ. I have also argued that faith must always begin with a proper object. Only when faith is in Christ does it make a difference. I concluded the last article by noting that such faith is a living, active trust that should rightly be called "the obedience of faith." In this final article, we shall see that a proper theological procedure will always lead us to a truly humble and modest evangelical theology, a theology that is solus Christus, centered in Christ alone.

A Great Danger for Theology
A significant danger for all orthodox theology is to claim too much. For sure, we can claim too little. Minimalism is hot with many young evangelicals today. I stand squarely against it, especially in the pluralistic context of much that falsely calls itself evangelical. This approach, which casts doubt on everything from the Trinity, to the centrality of the bodily resurrection of Christ, is "Christianity lite," In the end it will lead to something that is not distinctly Christian at all. (We still need a J. Gresham Machen to remind us that such liberalism is not really Christianity!) I do believe that there are real dangers in some brands of evangelicalism that will lead people back to the existential dangers of the older liberalism. These dangers may be without the obvious social trappings of the triumphalistic era at the beginning of the twentieth century, dubbed by some as "The Christian Century." But there will always be a real danger-the danger that we deny truths that are central to knowing Christ. But I am more interested, in these four articles, to show how orthodoxy can go to seed, a problem not recognized enough in modern evangelicalism.

Spiritual warfare is one of the most popular topics in theological discussion today. C. Peter Wagner wrote Warfare Prayer (Seattle: YWAM, 1990) in which he charges Christians to expel so-called "territorial spirits" from their cities. This turns task of evangelism into magical confrontation with demonic forces.

Cut to the flickering images of children writhing in a spiritual trance on a chapel floor while being hectored about the glory of dying for Christ, and one knows exactly where the first Christian suicide bombers will come from.
Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International

Evangelicalism's views on science and politics are so polarizing that almost any viewer, whether Orthodox, agnostic, or atheist, is bound to have an elemental reaction from the first shot of six-year-olds weeping in religious ecstasy.
Sara Brady, Premier Magazine

Needless to say, The Jesus Camp, a new film directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, has created quite a buzz in the world of independent film. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the film, the following is a brief synopsis from the film's website, www.jesuscampthemovie.com, where you can also find the film's trailer along with other video clips.

There is a widespread and growing interest in mysticism in our time. This is especially evident among younger Christians who hunger for something beyond rational categories of faith. But the word mysticism is notoriously difficult to explain since definitions vary from one writer to the next, both in the ancient world and the modern. The most fruitful line of approach is to examine mystical experiences for common patterns.

I write this article with the taste of several different cheap women's perfumes in my mouth. Today I went to a Christian bookstore, the largest and most popular in the area, and upon entering the doors stepped into a sea of overly excited women. The mixture of the perfumes alone was enough to knock me unconscious. It did not take me long to discover the occasion for this mass gathering of women with giddy schoolgirl smiles. Every available display table at the front of the store was full of the latest Joyce Meyer book entitled The Confident Woman. Beside the tables was a pallet with stacks of boxes, at least a hundred cases of the book. That's when it hit me. She was here. Joyce Meyer, the queen of charismania was here. I moved into the store to discover several hundred people, mostly women, waiting in line to get her autograph. As they stood in line they discussed how "anointed" she was while clutching her books, posters, and bobble head dolls. Strangely, there were a few men in line as well. Most of them had just come from the Thomas Kinkade section where they were looking for a new picture to put above their aquarium.

No picture of the Christian life is more frequently cited throughout the ages than that of a soldier engaging in mortal combat. Perhaps this is because all true believers instinctively understand that they are called to a fight-a fight against the world, the flesh and the devil. In every age the church has had to face this battle on all three fronts. Our age is no different.

Spiritual Warfare as a subject for Christian reflection is not often associated with prolonged biblical exposition of any text, let alone a consideration of the book of Numbers. Rarer still is a discussion of spiritual warfare in connection with Numbers chapters one and twenty-six, the census passages. What passes for Christian teaching about confronting the forces of evil on the bookshelves most accessible to our fellow Christians and what the Bible actually teaches are often two entirely different things. When solid pastors fail to wrestle with the struggles of their congregations and declare the truth in liberating and practical ways, charlatans and novices rush in to fill the void with dangerous results. This reflection on the book of Numbers is an attempt to biblically ground our understanding of spiritual warfare in this reality: In the midst of spiritual warfare, God's covenant faithfulness is the source of our hope and strength.

Ten years ago the news media began reporting a remark- able phenomenon occurring at a Pentecostal church near the Toronto airport. Instead of the expected signs of spiritual anointing, speaking in tongues or being "slain by the Spirit," church members were manifesting a behavior called "holy laughter." Leaders of the Vineyard church where this was happening were quick to link this behavior with the behavior which led to the apostles being accused of "drunkenness" after the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Acts 2). It was, they claimed, a manifestation of the joy which St. Paul lists as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).