In the last several posts we have focused on the gift of grace of the Father, the gift of Jesus. “For God so loved the world he gave His only Son…”
Then we looked at the gift of grace of Jesus– the gift of the Holy Spirit.“I will not leave you as orphans, but I will send you another Helper like me”.
Before we look at the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit- which would be spiritual gifts we want to look deeper at the gift of Jesus- the Holy Spirit and the function of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Show More
Our natural inability to live without sin
The entire Old Testament of the Bible clearly
The Two results of sin
This brings up the question, “what is sin”? Is it lying, stealing, coveting or murdering or is it something else? The breaking of the 10 Commandments is a symptom of not believing in God! When we talk of sin, we tend to focus on the symptoms instead of the cause. The cause is that we don’t believe what God has said or in the one whom God sent to redeem us, Jesus. Not believing or trusting in Jesus is the only reason one is condemned to Hell.
The Solution
The Father sent Jesus to deal with the “death” or going to Hell issue, once and for all, by dying on the Cross. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection was the assurance of our own resurrection or life everlasting. The sin that condemned us was the sin of unbelief in Jesus; that Jesus was God and is God in the flesh. That He was the evidence of God’s love for us. The most well-known scripture in the Bible is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.
As I said there is only one sin that condemns a person to Hell, and that is the sin of not believing in the one whom the Father sent. Look at the verse that follows John 3:16- John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”. A person who does not believe in Jesus is condemned already.
The evidence that we have truly been saved is that we begin to reject and repent of those habits and ways of thinking that do not glorify God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. These symptoms of our old-self are referred to, in the Bible, as the deeds of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 describes the deeds of the flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”.
These deeds of the flesh are all part of our sin-nature, which through Jesus Christ has been broken. As a result of what Jesus did, we are now part of the glorious church of the Redeemed.
We need help
Since the deeds of the flesh have been such a part of our lives, we need help to recognize what is good in God’s eyes and the power to overcome the habits of a lifetime. That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us so that we would be able to live victoriously in a sinless relationship with Him and under His blessings. The Fruit of the Spirit shows us what the nature of the Holy Spirit is and how we should function in our new relationship with God! Galatians 5:22-23 says, “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead or Trinity, He is not an “it”
- He “illuminates” the Word of God,
- He brings to “remembrance” the teachings of Jesus and
- “convicts” us when we go astray.
The Holy Spirit is the agent by which we become “transformed” into the image of Jesus. In other words, we become more like Him.
Transformation
When we first come to Christ our spirit is renewed, but are minds or souls initially are unchanged. Romans 12:2 says, “do not be conformed to the world but be transformedby the renewing of your mind”. In a very real sense, we have been brainwashed by our society and culture and many of the things we have learned are contrary to God’s view of right and wrong. We need to change, but that change must come from the inside out. That is what transformation is, it is the Holy Spirit changing us from the inside out.
Conformingmeans that we learn how to walk, talk and look like a Christian, but have not been changed on the inside.
The Book of Judges in the Old Testament
There are many who call themselves Christian and look like Christians in public but have a dark side in private. That means that they have not been transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit on the inside. We should never judge someone else’s salvation because all Christians are what I call, “works in progress”! Salvation is instantaneous but developing God’s character takes a life time and we will not be complete or perfected until we see Jesus face to face in that Day.
1 Corinthians 3:1 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ”.
Getting back to Romans 12:2, “do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Conforming is a human work; transformation is a Holy Spirit’s work. Conforming means if you talk like a Christian, dress like a Christian, act like a Christian you must be a Christian. Well, as you know that isn’t necessarily true!
Surrender to the Work of the Holy Spirit
A Christian is one who has accepted Jesus and has surrenderedthemselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Their minds are being changed as they accept by faith the truths that have been revealed by God. They are replacing the old ways with new ways. You see the change must begin with a mind that is being renewed or changed by the Holy Spirit. This transformation process will produce the outward characteristics of a true Christian. In a true sense we are taking off the old ways and putting on the new.
- Ephesians 4:20 “But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness”.
- Colossians 3:8 “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all”.
All of this means that becoming who Christ wants us to be is a process. We are all “works in progress”. First, as the Holy Spirit reveals to you and you begin to recognize what does not line up with what God says and then repenting or turning away from the old ways and putting on the new ways of thinking, living and behaving. We start out as diamonds in the rough, and then through the polishing of the Holy Spirit of God we are transformed into precious gems reflecting the glory of God.
I can’t stress enough the importance of the Bible especially the New Testament, which was written for the Christian. The Holy Spirit can only draw out of you what you put in. The more you put
You may be a work in progress, but the finished work is assured that is why Paul the Apostle could say in Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. Who is the He in this verse? It is the Holy Spirit! Surrender to the Holy Spirit of God and let Him do the work only He can do in your life.