Resisting a Critical Spirit

God, is that you?

This event began as a regular Bible college chapel service and became a weeks-long worship event, drawing in thousands of believers. Not only did the event draw people; it elicited many, many opinions across the American nation.

The awakening and renewal of hearts were challenged. False testimonies arose against one’s brothers and sisters in Christ. Slander was across social media. The potential work of God was heavily doubted and mocked. These were Christians’ harsh responses to an event called the Asbury Revival. I firmly believe that such responses to the Asbury Revival reveal an unhealthy form of skepticism—driven by the pride of self-righteousness—often disguised as “godly discernment.”

Regarding the revival at Asbury, this blog post is not to elicit my opinion or yours. However, surrounding the event’s conversation, I want to discuss something deeper that was more rather apparent: a critical spirit. While believers are called to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” and to have “powers of discernment… to distinguish good from evil,” believers are not called to cause others to feel inferior because of theological disagreements (1 John 4:1; Hebrews 5:14).

Why is it that when God does a supernatural work in our lives, we don’t question Him, but when He does the same to others outside of our theological circle, we question Him and His work? Why is it that when Jesus chooses to reveal Himself in a dream to an ISIS Jihadist, we refuse to believe that the limitless God can do such a thing today? Why is it that when God heals someone suffering from an incurable disease, we call it craziness and foolishness, and even perhaps attribute it to the work of Satan?

If God so chooses to work beyond our theological tradition, who are we to speak against Him? Have we forgotten that the Word of God is more authoritative than our theological tradition, friends? Have we limited God to our theological tradition, making the supernatural God a natural god?

Woe to us. I say again, woe to us. We have become no greater than the scribes and the Pharisees. Even when we don’t think we are like them, we are them. Perhaps we’ve made our theological tradition (whether it be Reformed, Baptist, Presbyterian, Charismatic, Wesleyan, etc.) the biblical standard. Perhaps we’ve limited the unlimited God to what we can only finitely perceive in the mind. Friends, we need to repent from traditionalizing the faith with our human theological systems. If we don’t, we will have a low view of God and a critical spirit.

(Note: I must clarify that I am not advocating for a complete voidance of theological tradition. I am rather asserting that we must let Scripture shape our theology rather than letting human theological traditions shape Scripture. For example, just because I might lean towards the Reformed tradition, I should not read Scripture through the lens of the Reformed tradition. Unlike Scripture, Reformed tradition is not inspired nor inerrant or infallible. I must let Scripture shape my theology rather than shaping Scripture with my presupposed theology.)

Signs of a Critical Spirit

When we have a critical spirit, we will often have the tendency to elevate ourselves on a self-righteous pedestal and put God in a box. There are four signs of a critical spirit that I want us to be aware of, and when I mention them, I must say to evaluate yourself—not others.

1. We question the authenticity of a work of God beyond measure.

A critical spirit is quick to ascribe the works of God to the works of deceiving spirits when God performs a supernatural, divine work. A critical spirit mocks God just as the brothers of Jesus did when they said, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! You can’t be famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” (John 7:3-4 NLT). A critical spirit will ask and say: If that is a work of God, why isn’t He doing that here? Surely, that is not God. Questioning the authenticity of God beyond measure only reveals we don’t really know who the supernatural and all-powerful God is.

2. We point out the sins of others without recognizing our very own.

A critical spirit will see the sins and mistakes of others before their own, and is judgmental, seeing others as inferior to themselves. When we have a critical spirit, we will often believe we are morally and spiritually sufficient compared to others. Self-righteous comparison occurs when we assess the failures of others to our self-righteous successes. Scripture says, “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3). Not recognizing our own sins before God prevents us from rightly repenting.

3. We use Scripture to demean others.

A critical spirit will often use the Word of God to attack others for their disagreeing beliefs, and will not recognize when they pervert the Word of God towards others. God’s Word is misused when we employ it without love. Using Scripture in such a way is a clear sign that we are those who “honor” Him with our lips while our hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:7-9). Demeaning others with Scripture shows that we haven’t truly grasped the Word’s purpose and Christ’s love at all—whether it be for us or others.

4. We always complain.

A critical spirit will often complain, being unable to find any sense of gratitude at all. It is difficult for us to find gratitude in God when our hearts are consumed with indignation. When we complain, we are like the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3). The Israelites couldn’t find gratitude in the fact that God delivered them from Pharaoh’s enslavement and harsh treatment.

Having a critical spirit prevents us from praising God for what He’s done, what He’s doing, and what He’ll do, especially when He chooses to work beyond our human theological tradition. Constant grumbling only reveals how worldly we still are and diminishes our gospel witness to the world when we do so to our own brothers and sisters in Christ.

Resisting a Critical Spirit for Others

Love like Jesus (John 15:12-13; 1 Peter 3:9). Friends, we are commanded by Jesus to love our neighbors just as He loves us. When we are met with unexpected words, we must seek to display the love of Jesus. We cannot love others if we do not see others the way that Jesus sees them—that is, in the imago Dei.

Encourage others (Romans 14:19; 15:2). We are to pursue peace and edification with others. When we feel our theological differences prevent us from having peace with others, we must acknowledge commonality in the gospel. For the edification of our Christian friends, we must build them up with both truth and love.

Extend grace and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32). We are to forgive others as we have been forgiven by God. We can only forgive one another by having a tenderhearted kindness. And if we ever forget what forgiveness looks and feels like, let us look to the forgiveness we have in Christ.

Resisting a Critical Spirit for God

What can we do to resist a critical spirit for God? For the believer, a critical spirit is often a product of a misaligned heart before God. Sometimes when our hearts are misaligned, we will be prone to experience what is known as “spiritual dryness.” Being spiritually dry causes us to have no joy in God and no desire to fellowship with other believers. So, as believers, we must come before the Lord and be in His Word. We must pray. We must be restored to the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12).

Friends, we must get right with Jesus now. The bad news is: we’ve sinned and need to repent. The good news is: His love is for you; His promise is for you; His grace is for you; His forgiveness is for you. His arms are open wide for sinners like you and me.

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Jesus is our good treasure. So let us be filled with the awe and wonder of Jesus. Let us be filled with the praise of Jesus.

Worthy of Praise

Souls are being saved at events with which we might have theological disagreements, but Jesus is worth the praise. God is being magnified in ways we don’t expect, but Jesus is worth the praise. God is choosing to work outside our human theological tradition, but Jesus is worth the praise. Is Jesus worthy of your praise?

*Special thanks to my sister in Christ and friend, Grace Vang, for providing this blog’s wonderful and illustrative picture of grapes, symbolizing our hearts in spiritual dryness.*