The Apostle Paul said, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (II Corinthians 13:5). If you are one who thinks it is important to follow Paul’s advice, consider what I have to say as you examine yourself. In another passage, Paul said, “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, THEY are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). If you can positively determine that you are one of the people who are “led by the Spirit of God,” then you can have strong assurance of salvation. You may wonder, “What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God?” Rather than attempt to write an exhaustive answer to this question, I would like to present you with one clear method to help you determine if you are one of the people who are “led by the Spirit of God.”
Ask yourself, “What is the main thing God is doing in this age?” If you can answer this question correctly, then you should be able to ascertain the main direction that God’s Spirit leads His people. I suggest that the answer may be found in the last book of the Bible.
“I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wide hath made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Revelation 19:6-9).
In this age, God is calling a people out of the kingdom of darkness to form the Bride that will be presented to His Son. Everything in God’s unfolding history is leading to this glorious wedding feast. This is the age of the harvest. “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together” (John 4:36-37). Since God is directing everything to this end, we can be assured that this His Spirit is leading the sons of God in such a way to bring it all to pass. While He may move us to do many specific things from one day to the next, we can be assured that the general thrust of a life led by God’s Spirit will be in harmony with the overall direction of God’s purpose to call out a people that will be presented as the Bride to Jesus at the wedding feast.
As you examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, consider if your life is in harmony with God’s ultimate purposes. If it isn’t, then you can conclude that you are not one of the people that are “led by the Spirit of God.” Jesus said, “He who does not gather with me, scatters” (Luke 11:23). As you look back over your life, can you conclude that you are one of the people who “gathers with Jesus?” Are you looking out for His interests by advancing His Kingdom? Are you fulfilling the commission Jesus gave to you to go and make disciples? Since it is the gospel that is God’s means to bring forth salvation, do you communicate it? Are you fulfilling your role as priest to intercede for people, pleading with God to save them? If you cannot answer these questions affirmatively, you have reason to doubt that you are one of the sons of God who are led by His Spirit. If you can answer them positively, you may still need to ascertain if you are doing these things with the correct motives before concluding that it is the Spirit of God who is doing the leading. If you do these things because you desire to see God glorified, this is good. But if you are doing them for any other reason, your motive may be fleshly, not Spirit-driven.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23). Since many people will be surprised on judgment day to learn that they are not sons of God, I wrote this hoping it will help you make a sober judgment now so you will be prepared for that day. May God give you a discerning heart in this important matter.
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