In Chemical terms all liquids have a pH. It measures the acidity or alkalinity of the solution and is based on the number of ions of a type in the solution. A pH of 1 is very acid and will burn you if it touches your skin. Likewise a pH of 14 is very caustic (alkaline) and will burn you if it touches your skin. Pure water is about pH 7 (actually between 6.8 and 7.2 and is soothing. Both extremes of pH become irritating, harmful and if extreme enough, dangerous.
In the spiritual sense there is a pH. On one hand is the strict adherence to the word without grace, on the other the complete freedom of the spirit without bounds. On the one hand there is legalism on the other lawlessness. On one hand you are rigid and on the other you are flaky.
But there is a medium. It is not compromise. It is balance. It is not straying to one side or the other, it is holding a center course between the extremes.
This is not a course that can be steered without effort. Quite frankly it is easy to stray to one side or the other. I have done it. In fact I can chart a course through my life. Right now I believe I am somewhere near the symbolic 7.0. I I have strayed in recent years it is on the side of grace. But I know from experience that I have strayed enough to be irritating at times without recognizing it. That is where we become our brother's keeper, we help keep each other way.
So how does this look from a spiritual sense?
Let's look at the word movement of the 50's which I was a part of not to be confused with the word movement of the late 70's that I was also a part of. This back-woods movement came out of the Pentecostal movement of the late 40's. It was following the spirit with little emphasis on the word. It was tongues, shouting, and making a joyful noise to the Lord and it was good. But as time went on it went flaky,. It deviated from the word to the extent that some of the music of that time I cannot stomach, it was moving, it was stirring but it violated scripture in more than a few places. Ironically some bodies in that time were very legalistic and on the other side. Let's assign it a pH of maybe 6.0, a little irritating but tolerable. As the word movement of the mid-50's started to correct these errors it swung through 7.0 and continued upward. The flakiness left but it was soon replaced with rigidity. Soon it became Phariseeism. Let me assure you, I have been a part of this without really knowing that I have been on the pendulum as it swung. Without a reference it is not possible to determine where you are. I went through a similar swing in the late 70's and early 80's. Then came the prophetic movement and the movement lost the focus somewhat on the word.
I was more mature at this time, I had a reference from several past swings, I knew what the surroundings enough to see that the swing was going from legalism to flaky, I tried to be the watchman God called me (as did others) to be but alas, the great men of the times, the ones who were drawing thousands to themselves by their personal charisma and notoriety held the sway with the church. It was not fashionable or profitable (not "prophetable") to be oriented to the word or better balanced. It was thus saith the Lord today, no matter what. If the prophet said it, that was enough. And some of the prophets were neither grounded in the word or attuned to God speaking today. So the pendulum swung. Music writers wrote music that was published that was not biblically sound. Our own worship leader wrote a song one Sunday morning before the service - used it that morning - hot off the press. And I nearly puked. It had several lines that were not scriptural.
I should have gone to him and said, "This is a piece of garbage, just file it in the trash can and don't use it again." And I probably should have told him he needed to get up and repent before the congregation. No, that is not extreme. He presented it in front of the whole congregation. But I was new in the church - my wife and I had just started to worship there a few weeks before. I didn't want to rock the boat. I assumed someone else in leadership would have brought that message. In retrospect the leadership (which as much unknown to me except one couple) was not as grounded in the word as leadership I was accustomed to and leadership I walked as a part of nine years ago in the predecessor to this church. I really didn't know the man except a figure with personal charisma on the stage on Sunday. I really didn't know how to approach him. Maybe if I had just walked up to him and asked to talk to him, just maybe what happened within a year wouldn't. He rose up in pride and told the pastor he would do what he wanted to do no matter if it fit the ministry there. He wanted to be a pastor, not a worship leader and he told the pastor he wasn't doing worship any more. It was gross rebellion and he left the church. He took about fifteen people with him. He has floundered since and has not done significant ministry. Many of the fifteen have fallen by the wayside. What a waste.
I spent several years in the late 80's and the early 90's studying the prophetic. I learned more about hearing personally from God and that channel has been very free. Actually it was long before that but I didn't recognize it. But I know that if I rely only on that I will eventually hear something from the enemy and not recognize it. So I must maintain the balance. I must press for a neutral pH.
Let me ask this. What is your spiritual pH?
Are you driven by points of the law to the extent that there is little or no grace? Can you find something wrong with everything? Let me give you examples. Does every sermon you hear have flaws? Does every song you hear have flaws? Does everyone you meet have a problem living up to your standards of righteousness? Do you consider various translations of the bible heresy? Are there theologies not related to the gospel, the birth, death, resurrection, ascension and certainty of the return of Jesus Christ that are so important that you think anyone who does not subscribe to them is going to hell, no matter what?
Are you driven by the experiential to the extent that what you have experienced is more important that scripture? Is the stirring nature of a song more important than it's message? Do you embrace a modern day prophecy without questioning if it is in line with scripture? Do you measure a prophecy by it's motivation or the word? Is the experience or the one who gives it more important? Do you judge it by the person giving it or by the word?
Litmus paper is used to determine if a liquid is acid or basic. If it remains light blue-green it is neutral. As it turns pink and then nearly red it goes to acid. As it turns darker blue to violet it is alkaline. At deep red or deep blue/violet it will harm. Take the following litmus test to see where you are.
PS: If you want to read a little about the chemical pH, see this simple web site
God bless.
