Active and Passive Christians

 

Christian Life

Active	Passive
Open to new insights from the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit.	Believes what Christian leaders and authority figures say and refuses to think for himself or seriously ask God for deeper understanding.
Willing to learn new ways of understanding and applying eternal truth.	Holds fast to traditional thinking.
Personally seeks to learn more through personal reading and prayer, listening to other Christians and not only the leaders of his or her church.	Passively accepts what is preached and taught in his own church.
Able to read good Christian writing and learn from it, while not necessarily agreeing with everything.	Some passive Christians are not readers but others read the doctrine they are taught and accept everything without question.
Eager to discover and his or her unique calling and gifts and to use them for God with God’s help and guidance.	Tries to be a good Christian.
Expects and receives great blessings in private prayer, meditation and study.	Heavily dependent on meetings, services and conferences for blessings from God.
NKJ John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. Active Christians learn to know and recognise the communication of God to their own hearts.	Cannot distinguish between what preachers or leaders are saying and what God is saying.
Has a close personal relationship with God. Follow Jesus personally, knows Jesus as his or her personal pastor.	Follows Jesus mostly indirectly by following the example and teaching of other Christians, especially teachers and pastors.
Expects guidance from God to know how to pray and expects God to answer his or her own prayers.	Passively depends on the prayers of others for God to help. When a passive Christian prays, he copies the way others pray.

Being Led by the Holy Spirit

 You love God. You experience his love in his presence. The Holy Spirit is not just a theological term for you. You know Him personally, but you are perhaps sometimes misunderstood in your congregation.

You may hear teachings in church that don't sit right with your intuitive spiritual mind.

Preachers and church leaders are flawed people, just like you. They study the Bible and theological teachings and they do their best. Even if they want to learn directly from the Holy Spirit, just like you, they can make mistakes, just like you.

It may be that you hear a teaching or a prophecy from God himself in the church, but you sense that God wants to lead you a different way. God has a unique plan for each believer.
 
Is your personal conviction wrong then? Maybe you have misunderstood God's guidance in your life, but maybe not.

A few years ago I was in a very good church where the leadership followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. I attended a very good meeting every Friday evening.

After the service, the pastor took to the streets in the nightclub neighbourhood. Many others also joined in. They spoke to many people on the street about Jesus. That was undoubtedly from God and I went along too.

But I was tired after my work and the next day I was tired too. I prayed about it. I was supposed to preach the gospel, but how and when?

I realised that I could communicate God's message best on the Internet. I needed peace and quiet and time to pray, read and write.

I continued to attend the wonderful Friday night service, but I stopped going out on the street.

I know Christian women who visit brothels to help prostitutes. I know a woman who came out of the brothels through her ministry and is now very faithful and active in God's service.

Are you called to do this? I also met a preacher who once visited a brothel because God sent him to save a woman. Not everyone can do that and not everyone should try.

What do you hear from God? How can you best follow Jesus?

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

It is very good if you can find a good church where the leadership serves with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but it is even more important that you are familiar with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your own life.