10 Myths about the Holy Spirit
One of the biggest signs a believer does not fully understand what happened at the cross of the Calvary, is that they are scared of the Holy Spirit. They view him as a Convictor and Policeman even though Jesus called him the Comforter and Counselor. Their perceptions are shaped by old covenant traditions rather than new covenant truths.
What about you? How well do you know the Holy Spirit?
Here are 10 myths and 10 truths about the Person of Holy Spirit:
Myth 1: The Holy Spirit keeps a record of my sin
Truth 1: The Holy Spirit remembers your sin no more (Heb 10:17)
The Holy Spirit is not forgetful, but love keeps no record of wrongs.
At the cross, justice was done and all your sins were forgiven (Col 2:13). To forgive literally means to send away. Your sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12).
God has reconciled the world to himself and is no longer counting men’s sins against them (2 Cor 5:19). If the old covenant was characterized by remembrance of sins, the new is characterized by forgetting them (Heb 8:12, 10:3).
Myth 2: The Holy Spirit convicts me of my sin
Truth 2: The Holy Spirit convicts you of your righteousness (John 16:10)
How could he convict you of something he chooses not to remember?
Jesus has done away with sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb 9:26). Your sins are not the problem. The real question is whether you trust in the grace of God.
As an expression of his love and mercy, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of the sin of unbelief in Jesus. But the only thing he convicts or rather, convinces, Christians of is their righteousness (John 16:8-10).
Myth 3: The Holy Spirit leads me to confess my sin
Truth 3: The Holy Spirit leads you to confess Jesus is Lord (1 Cor 12:3)
The Holy Spirit will never seek to distract you from Jesus. He will always make you Jesus-conscious rather than self-conscious (John 16:14). Specifically, the Holy Spirit will lead you to recognize Jesus as Lord which means everything you have – including your problems and sins – belongs to him. You don’t have the right to your sins. They are not yours for he bought them with his blood.
Still thinking about your sins? Reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:11).
Myth 4: The Holy Spirit is watching to see if I slip up and fail to finish
Truth 4: The Holy Spirit personally guarantees your salvation and inheritance (Eph 1:13-14)
When you were saved you were marked as one of God’s own (2 Cor 1:22) and sealed with the Spirit for the day of redemption (Eph 4:30). The Holy Spirit is not a fault-finder, but a hope-giver (Rm 15:13). His hope is a firm and secure anchor for the soul (Heb 6:19).
What’s your part in this? Trust him!
Myth 5: The Holy Spirit reveals God’s judgment
Truth 5: The Holy Spirit reveals God’s love (Rom 5:5)
“God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit…” (Rom 5:5, GNB). “So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:18).
If you fear God’s punishment, please allow me to introduce you to the Holy Spirit.
Myth 6: The Holy Spirit inspires us to fear a holy and distant God
Truth 6: The Holy Spirit helps you to know and draw near to God your Father (Eph 1:17, Gal 4:6)
“For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! My Father!’” (Rom 8:15, GNB).
Wow!
Myth 7: The Holy Spirit lives somewhere out there, probably behind Alpha Centauri
Truth 7: The Holy Spirit lives in you (1 Cor 6:19; 2 Ti 1:14, Rom 8:11)
Under the old covenant, God lived in the temple. In the new covenant, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19).
Where does he live? In you! As Ralph Harris says, you are “God’s sacred mobile home.”
Myth 8: The Holy Spirit comes and goes. We need to cry out for him to come
Truth 8: The Holy Spirit abides, dwells, stays with you and in you (John 14:17, 1 John 3:24, Rom 8:11)
In the old covenant the Holy Spirit rested on certain people for certain times. But in the new covenant he abides with us and “makes his home in us” (2 Tim 1:14 AMP).
If you have received the Holy Spirit, be comforted, for he’s not going anywhere. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).
Myth 9: The Holy Spirit plays hard to get
Truth 9: The Holy Spirit is The Gift, sent by Jesus and freely given by the Father (John 16:7, Acts 10:45)
Jesus redeemed us so that we might receive the blessings promised to Abraham, namely, the promise of the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that Jesus has redeemed you? Then you have received the promised Holy Spirit. Who has not received him? The one who doesn’t believe.
Look at what Peter said to those who heard the gospel at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The Holy Spirit does not limit himself to a chosen few.
Believe in Jesus and you will receive the promised Gift.
Myth 10: To receive the Holy Spirit you must fast, pray, attend some classes, get straightened out, act holy…
Truth 10: The Holy Spirit is received by faith (Gal 3:14)
Did you fast and pray to receive Jesus? Didn’t think so. You received by faith. It’s exactly the same with the Holy Spirit.
How do we receive the promise of the Spirit? By faith (Gal 3:14).
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13). Don’t let anyone tell you that you must do stuff to earn what God freely gives. Jesus already did it all.
“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24)
In this article we looked at 10 myths surrounding the Person of the Holy Spirit. In the my next article we’ll look at 10 myths surrounding the work of the Holy Spirit.
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Wow – I must have led a sheltered life. I never heard most of that, even before I Jesus baptized me! How sad. He’s the sweet heavenly dove!
Wow, I love this post! Thank you for sharing these thoughts…I have been one that has been sort of afraid of the Holy Spirit in the past, probably because I wasn’t taught much about him in the early years of my faith. But having received Him, I have found Him to be the most loving, caring, wonderful, ever-present Encourager and Friend! He has cemented so many grace truths into my experience and shown me more than ever that God is love.
Thank you again for sharing! I am so encouraged by all that is in this post..
In Christ,
Sparrow
this is just a great great note. i reposted on my blog….
your messages are such an inspiration!
Thank you, Paul, for another post full of grace and truth!! I found E2R when I was desparately searching for the correct interpretation of 1 John 1:9 several months ago. I have been in many “Christian” churches throughout my life and I have been taught wrong in every one of them. They all mix in law and condemnation with grace to one degree or another. Thanks to your faithfulness I am finally understandig the truth – I am 56 years old. Because of the wrong things I have been taught since childhood, I developed severe depression and OCD/scrupulosity. You may well have saved my life from a tragic end. Bad doctrine badly hurts sincere seekers, but the Truth really does set us free. Thank you, my brother!!
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to write. Bad doctrine does indeed hurt, but thank God for the Truth that liberates!
pretty good myth busting, but do check out RT Kendall on The Sensitivity OF the Holy Spirit – I reckon that will bless you and add perspective to your views.
Is this the book that says the Holy Spirit is like a dove who flies away when He’s grieved? I haven’t read it but right off the bat I’m having difficulty reconciling that theory with His promise that He’d never leave nor forsake us. See Myth 8 above.
I love this site. Paul you have a gift. God bless you! You probably already have seen this but I wanted to pass it on to you and your readers. Hebrews 9:14 shows us that dead works are rooted in the conscience (“how much more will the blood of Christ …cleanse your conscience from dead works”). Hebrews 10:22 sheds further light on the work of the punitive conscience when it says “our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience.” Vines defines this word “evil” as: not evil in nature, but evil in influence by influencing us towards labor, toil and striving!!! The evil conscience influences us towards labor toil and striving by making us self-conscience and in doing so, we behold self and perform dead works (works without faith)in an attempt to get rid of the guilt. I believe most of us as believers have more intimacy with our conscience [knowledge (science)/ with (con)=> knowledge shared with oneself)than we do with the Lord and as a result, we are more occupied with our works than we are with His. Anyway, I wanted to share that because it blesses me. God bless all you guys.
Thanks Lee, that’s a great observation. You are blessed!
Interesting post Paul. Seems a bit lopsided unless I do not see what you are seeing in scripture. You say it is a myth that the Holy Ghost convicts people of sin and then you masterly avoid the very scripture that states exactly that! Would you therefore please interpret John 16:8 for us.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Do I understand you correctly? You say that verse 10 is truth but verse 9 and 11 is myth??? Sjoe Paul, this post has so moved me! I am shocked that someone can handle holy scripture like this! I really hope that you are not a preacher!. God help you if you are and those who listen to you. But then, it is better to listen to the Holy Ghost. If I have Him, He will convict me when I sin, if not, I will blindly fall into eternal damnation…
Thanx Deon
Deon, thank you for your comment. A quick question for you from Hebrews: “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this… ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more’” (Heb 10:15,17). How can the Holy Spirit convict you of something He chooses not to remember? According to your theology either Jesus is lying in John 16 or the Holy Spirit is lying in Hebrews 10. The truth is that neither are lying but you may be confused about what Jesus said. Take another look at Jn 16. He said the Holy Spirit would convict the world (not the disciples) in regard to sin because they do not believe in me. Do you believe in Jesus? Then the Holy Spirit has already done that work Jesus mentioned (1 Cor 12:3).
It sounds like your taking the verse “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” and your saying God wears a blindfold after we are saved. Wow. So after I am saved if I slip its ok, God didn’t see it because He chooses not to see my sin anymore and therefore will not convict me of my sin. That stinks for Ananias and Sapphira. God’s must have been peaking through the blindfold huh.
You’re saying Jesus’ death wasn’t the once and final solution for all sin (Heb 9:26). That stinks for everybody.
Thank you Saint Paul for showing us Jesus in your responses to those of us that are not wearing the lenses of grace. I hope and pray God keeps them securely fastened on your beautiful grace filled head!!!
Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina)
In John we read that the ‘Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, and righteousness and judgement’. The problem is that this has generally been interpreted wrongly as being the work of ‘pricking the unbelievers conscience’ or bringing the unbeliever to a point where they see the wickedness of their sin etc. This is not scriptural and as far as I’m aware unheard of anywhere in the New Testament. This is nothing at all to do with ‘a work’ in the life or mind of the unbeliever. To convict is a legal term. A conviction means a condemnation. The fact that the Holy Spirit could only be sent when Christ was glorified, (His work having been accepted by the Father) proves that the world got it totally wrong about Jesus. They were wrong not to accept him as Messiah, they were wrong to accuse Jesus of being a fraud, when the Father clearly accepts Him as being righteous, and Satan ‘the deceiver’ has been judged. The gift of the Holy Spirit and the wonderful signs that followed vindicated Jesus and His message, thus confirming the message of the gospel entrusted to the disciples. To take these verses out of context and apply them to some ‘mystical’ work of the Spirit in bring unbelievers to faith is simply down to poor scriptural interpretation.
You may be interested in this post on conviction.
Hi Paul. My idea is not to get into any argument with you about the scriptures. There are already enough fighting and division amongst Christians that the name of Jesus is ridiculed by those on the outside. We are on the same side and serve the same Master. Entry into eternal life is NOT possible except through genuine godly repentance. Scripture is plain that faith alone *CANNOT* save. Repentance is not possible without a conviction of sin which is the task of the Holy Spirit and of preachers filled with the *HOLY* Spirit. Spirit filled preachers’ sermons should therefore reveal, convict and cut to the heart as that of Peter at Pentecost. This is foreign to current day preaching. Conviction of sin implies:
1. A passing of a sentence, a guilty verdict from the Holy Spirit. The Word do state that Jesus is the judge and will condemn sinners to eternal fire. So why do preachers not say that and let the sinner believe that?
2. A feeling of despair and condemnation for the accused. Again the Word do say that the sinner is condemned and should tremble before a Holy God so why do the preacher not make the sinner believe that? Are we not supposed to believe the scriptures?
You asked:
How can the Holy Spirit convict you of something He chooses not to remember?
Answer:
Why do the Christian need to confess his sin if there is no personal guilt before God? Don’t asking for forgiveness imply God’s anger and personal guilt? Don’t fathers get angry at children? When a Christian sin, is the Holy Spirit not concerned? Will He not convict him? Will He let you alone in your sin?
Questions?
1. Why will the sinner cry out for a Saviour before he is convinced (by the holy ghost preacher) that he stands personally condemned before a Holy God?
2. You know that Christians still sin. How is their continued repentance possible without a continued conviction of sin? Maybe this is why Christians cannot let go of their sin for there is no real godly sorrow! They have never heard real Holy Ghost preaching.
3. How do you know that everyone that names the name of Jesus in your church has been born of God? Jesus was certain, many will try but few will make it. Does this concerned you? An atheist sin and your Christian friend sin. Are you concerned about your Christian friend? If not, then you have no right to be a preacher. How do you anyway know for certain that the Spirit of God live in you?
4. We know there are wheat and tares in church. Why do most preaching fail to make sin utterly sinful and condemn the deeds of the so called Christians? Just look at that Christian fundamentalist, Anders Behring Breivik. You want to tell me that his faith will save him! What makes the prayer-less, lukewarm, sports loving, worldly, proud, entertainment and pleasure loving Christian adulterer different from him?
The Christians have forsaken the prayer meeting? We can sing, dance and play but we cannot pray! We have no burden, agony, unction and desperation for a lost world in our prayers. When last did you see travail for the lost? Proof: Less than 5% of Christians reach out to a lost and condemned world! The reason for this is plain!
*** The Church of Jesus has no conviction of the terribleness of sin nor the coming wrath of God nor of the defilement in the pulpit and in the pew! This is because we preachers have not been convicted of SIN, RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUDGMENT. ***
God help us!
Does all this concern you, Paul? It should! It concerns me and I am sure it concerns the Holy Ghost…
Deon, you raise a number of issues that go beyond the current post. (And please keep your comments <250 words.) Regarding confession, my thoughts can be found here. My thoughts on lukewarm Christians can be found here. Regarding Anders Breivik – I can assure you he is not a follower of Jesus.
I’ll stick with my earlier question because you did not answer it with reference to scripture but man-made traditions. The old covenant was characterized by remembrance and confession of sins; the new covenant is characterized by complete and total forgiveness. In their own words both God the Father (Heb 8:12) and God the Holy Spirit have said they will remember your sins no more (Heb 10:17). We are not justified on the basis of our acts of confession or prayer meeting attendance. We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). Add any qualifier to that truth – confession, etc. – and you kill it; you set aside grace. It is a revelation of God’s goodness – not out sinfulness – that leads to repentance (Rms 2:4). God help us? He already did!
hi paul.
If a christian sin’s who remindes him of his sin’s.
His wife.
(For a more serious answer, read this post.)
LOL, Good chuckle on that on Saint Paul.
Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina, USA)
Sorry for the long reply. I will try and keep it short.
Revelation 3 shows how God judged and convicted 7 churches for their deeds and threatened some that their names could even be removed from the book of Life if they repent not. Why did He do that? I am sure that He already died for their sins. He did not even need to mention their sins since He forgot all about it. He could just have given them grace and let them continue disregarding or arguing away the fact of their sins yet He makes a very strong case against each of them and judged them. Do you think that the Holy Spirit in the apostle John wanted those churches to feel convicted, confess their sins and repent? This seems to me to be the case. Better to be judged now than that day when all men will stand before Him to be judged for their deeds (not faith).
You said previously that sin is to not believe in Jesus. Do you not regard adultery, lies etc as sins that applies to Christians too? When we truly believe in Jesus, we do not continually and habitually sin(transgress His holy law). We may fall but we cannot live in it. Unbelief leads to sin. Believing in Jesus and continuing to look and lust, does God not regard that as sin in the Christian? Should He convict me and warn me about it ? Did God expect Jimmy Swaggart to confess and repent of his adultery as a Christian.
The apostle Paul warned God’s church. He stated: ‘Be not deceived. *No adulterer*, fornicator etc.. will enter the kingdom of God’. The Holy Ghost seems to want to convict the church through apostle Paul that adultery is sin and that NO adulterer will enter into heaven…
Kind Regards…
Deon – I’m losing sight of your point/question. I think we’re still talking about conviction of sin. You raise a number of interesting ideas suggesting why the Holy Spirit should convict us. My response is unchanged: the Bible explicitly says He doesn’t and Holy Spirit Himself says He remembers our sins no more. You can come up with all sorts of reasons for disagreeing with those scriptures if you like, but I see no wriggle room. I appreciate your views are traditionally taught by sincere preachers – I used to teach them myself. But they are categorically wrong. They do great damage to people and keep the church weak and unproductive.
Those who are in Christ are new – they have new desires and longings. They don’t want to sin. When they do sin Jesus defends them (not their behavior) – see I Jn 2:1. Am I justifying sin? Of course not. I’m saying those whom God justifies (Rm 4:5) are justified. How can we say otherwise? “Better to be judged now?” Nope – better to be judged at the cross. My sins were judged. I was forgiven and now live forgiven. I’m not returning to the cross over and over asking Jesus to come and die again for my new sins; I’m pressing on living free under His gift of no condemnation (Jn 3:18). I have no fear of punishment because I’ve seen the cross and had a revelation of His love (1 Jn 4:18).
Creation waits for the mature sons of God to be revealed but the carnal, infant-like children of God are hiding in church weeping over their sins while trying to manage the sins of their fellow home-group members. It’s a huge win for the devil! He’s got the church completely out of the fight. He’s made the good news look like not-so-good-news. He’s got Christians clinging to the lifeboats in fear of nothing. We’re supposed to be showing and telling the good news of the kingdom. (Don’t get me started.)
Nowhere in Revelations does Jesus threaten to blot out names. This is another classic example of distorting scripture to kill grace and put those whom God justifies under the condemning, death-dealing ministry of religion. I’m not attacking you – you’re no doubt just repeating what you’ve heard. With respect, I encourage you to examine the scriptures through the lens of Jesus and His finished work. (I have pasted here some links to related articles that develop some of my points.)
Don’t get me wrong Paul, I understand the Grace of God and do not want to minimize it. I also understand Christian maturity. My problem with the current day Gospel that the people on this site “praise” is that you state that the Holy Spirit do not convict the Christian of sin and judgment. OK, I agree, if you are a mature, perfect Christian like the apostle Paul, then the Spirit of God probably have very little to convict you of but who in these days of lawlessness can admit Christian perfection?
You remarked: “Nowhere in Revelations does Jesus threaten to blot out names. This is another classic example of distorting scripture to kill grace and put those whom God justifies under the condemning, death-dealing ministry of religion.”
My interpretation of Rev 3:4-5 is: Jesus noted that only *few* of the Christians in the Church of Sardis was worthy to have their names in the book of life for they did did not defile their garments. He therefore encouraged the rest of Chruch to overcome a lifestyle of defilement so that they can be clothed in white raiment and He will therefore not need to remove their names out of the book of life. This indicates that God does NOT just give people Grace indiscriminately but that He expects the grace of God to teach men to deny ungodliness.
Question for you Paul. What happened to the Christians in Sardis who died without overcoming the mentioned problem? Another Question: If there is no threat of peoples names being blotted out of the book of life then why did Jesus even mention that such a possibility exist?
1. I didn’t say the Holy Spirit does not convict the Christian of sin and judgment – Jesus said it. Hopefully you will find nothing original here. Stop crafting a theology to accommodate your carnal experience – it’s there in red and white in John 16. Believe or don’t believe it but don’t pretend He didn’t say it.
2. Answers to your two Sardis questions can be found in my post on Sardis. But briefly, what happens to Christians who die with problems? A: The same thing that happens to Christians who die without problems. Why did Jesus reassure the saints that He would not blot out their names? Probably because religious people have, for thousands of years, been saying the exact opposite. Contrary to what you’re telling me, God doesn’t use correction fluid.
Bro, I think your intention is good in this message, but there is a problem. The Holy Spirit does convict us of sin. I believe you are trying to help people understand that there is no condemnation in Christ, which there’s not, and that the Holy Spirit does not bring condemnation, which He doesn’t. However, He does bring conviction. When you look in the Old Testament, every time Israel repented and turned back to God there was first conviction followed by repentance. Jesus says that we can not understand the Word of God except by the Holy Spirit, therefore the Holy Spirit brings God’s Word to life and shows us where we need to improve. He does not condemn us, but He does convict us. For how can we repent of something we didn’t know was wrong? And how can we know if something is wrong unless convicted by God’s Word and His Spirit. Again, I am not attacking your message here, it is very good. I just wanted to point out that you second myth buster is semi-correct, it is just a seeming confusion between conviction and condemnation. Thanks
James, you are eliding a number of ideas and I won’t attempt to disentangle them. I’ll just stick to the post. I’ve given you a few scriptures showing the Holy Spirit cannot convict us of sin in the new covenant. You’re welcome to disagree but I’m going to stick with the words of Jesus and the author of Hebrews. Since this is an omnibus post, I have written more about conviction and confession here.
in john 16:8-9 Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin – because men do not believe in Him. EVERY Christian has been convicted of this sin (it doesn’t say “sins’) – the sin of not believing in Christ – or else we would never have been born again! However, last time i checked, once you become a believer, you are no longer are a part of “the world”… Jesus is pretty clear about that in john 17:14-16 & john 15:19
When we do something that is wrong, the Holy Spirit convicts believers of this righteousness (john 16:8 & 10) and He gently reminds us that we have been made the “righteousness of God in Christ” (2 cor 5:21, rom 3:22). We usually realize that what we did does not line up with who we really are (1 john 4:17). We can respond to His reminder in different ways… by condemning ourselves, walking in the flesh, or by walking in the Spirit
How about an analogy?… You come up with the wrong answer to a math problem. Your Teacher doesn’t mark it wrong – but instead, gives you the right answer. You can beat yourself up about getting the wrong answer, try to come up with the right answer on your own, OR you can ask Him to show you the steps. The Teacher never told you that you had the wrong answer – He only showed you the right one…
😉
See 1 John 5:4-5 as to how to be an overcomer. Hint: It has nothing to do with you lifestyle and everything to do with your faith.
Or basically by the virtue of the new birth one is an overcomer
Deon,
Paul was perfect as far as righteousness is concerned and IT worked effectively in Paul (It produced maturity, 2 Pet 3:18 & 1 Tim 2:1). In terms of behavior, Paul and Peter weren’t always perfect (Acts 23 2:2-5, Gal 2:11-20).
Praise God he didn’t choose Arch Bishops, but he chose fishermen lol.
I forgot one Acts 16:18, its awesome to know that I’m not the only one who gets annoyed.
Paul, I am sure that I am not the only one who appreciated your patience and grace in continuing to respond to Deon’s comments as they were most helpful in establishing the truth for me. Thank you.
I think conviction may have a different meaning to different people.
I ask the Holy Spirit to lead & guide me and to show me area’s where I need to Change my mind/ways. (Is that asking to be convicted of my sin?)
On occasion, the Holy Spirit shows/or tells me area’s where I need to change my thinking or actions that are in error but the Holy Spirit in doing so NEVER leaves me feeling condemned or judged. Somehow I’m just left Thankful or even humored.
Exp: I was taking a class at a new church which began at 12pm. The minister (teacher) was late, gave no apology, and just made a joke of it. I was steamed,
I thought it was disrespectful, after all, I pride myself on leaving early in case of problems w/ traffic etc. so if anything, I’m a little early but certainly never late and certainly being the leader she should do the same. I have to say I was angry & puffed up in myself. The next week, I got ready for class early so that if anything, I would be a little early , certainly not late. (I was still angry about the teacher being late and wondered if she’d pull that again). I walked into the class at 12:20pm wondering why class had already started and then I realized that I had been confused about the time class started. It started at 12pm & I was late even though I thought I was early. It was so difficult to contain myself from laughing outloud. I said to myself/ Holy Spirit chuckling to myself, “I get it” Thank You! At that point the tension and anger that I was carrying was gone. I LOVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. I’m always left blessed. Convicted of my sins? I don’t know or care because I’m always blessed.
this is really a neat sit.. I was raised a believer but with peoples different theologies, and judgments, I rededicated my life over to God almost 6 years ago and I am learning a lot of new things, and now know to NEVER take a preachers word until I read it myself.. I’m getting more and more sceptic of most teachers and preachers.. I also was raise believing that I would be convicted of my sin and I should be quick to ask for forgiviness. do you mind please giving me those sqiptures on that again . thank-you p.s. Love this site God Bless HUGS
Hi Ophelia,
Question everything! The Holy Spirit is the only Guide who is guaranteed to lead us into all truth. The rest of us make mistakes. You can find many posts on forgiveness indexed in the archives, but the one I would start with is this one: 12 reasons why Christians don’t need to confess to be forgiven.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to me.. I know your busy and I appreciate it much:)
I have just one more question what are we supposed to do when we to slip I know He is always with me to take my right hand.. we all fall short does that fall into Romans 8:1?
I usually do a face-palm. Seriously though, I’m not sure how your question ties in Rom 8:1. Are you wondering if we can wander into condemnation if we slip?
Bro, you are screwing with the Bible! You are living in sin and making yourself feel good while leading others astray! Christians don’t need to confess sin! Question everything! This philosophy is not in the Bible! This is the same as saying, “I think therefore I am.” What you have just stated is proof you are twisting scripture and not founded in God’s Word. I am sorry that you have had bad experiences in church, but that is no reason to blame God and twist His scripture. This website is what Jesus would call, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Act 17:11) I’d rather be a wolf of noble character that a sheep with no mind of its own.
AWESOME……!!!!
when i had the revelation of this truth – that the Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin – it was a rather eye-opening, jaw-dropping experience! and now, when i share this truth w/ others, they usually look back @ me w/ a “huh?/what?” look on their faces… b/c you have to ask yourself, “ok then – just who’s voice have i been listening to…?”
my favorite response for people who want to argue that the Holy Spirit does convict believers of sin: “the Holy Spirit doesn’t nag you about all your sins and everything you do wrong…who wants to live their whole life w/ a nag?!” lol (btw, that’s a JP quote)
This is totally what Joseph Prince teaches 😉
I suspect we’re getting our material from the same Source. 🙂
I am grateful that the Holy Spirit lovingly convicts me of my sin. I want to be more like Jesus every day. That is why I am willing to confess as well because it is a relationship. Can you imagine any relationship where you wouldn’t agree you have messed up sometimes, ie with your spouse. Sometimes pride gets in the way and the Holy Spirit convicts me, I confess ( agree that I was wrong). Afterwords you think how foolish I was. The Greek word for conviction is used at least 17 times. Sometimes directed at non believers and other times directed at believers. Anyone can check this out very simply. However, in the English translation other words are used for convict. Peace to all
Marvin, 17 times you say. That’s a big number. Can you show me ONE time from scripture where it says the Holy Spirit convicts the believer of sin? I am sure we can all imagine many things about our relationships with others, but since God is not like us this is a path to path to error. Dress it up anyway you like, it is projecting human experiences onto God. How can the Holy Spirit convict us when he declares he remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 10:17). The next time your spouse sins against you, I challenge you to try forgetting and convicting at the same time. You will find it is not possible. God is better than us.
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would seek to convince of our righteousness, not our sin. Your own conscience will do a fine job of convicting you in that regard (John 8:9).
I see the confusion because I have definitly have had Holy Sprit nudges after I have sinned but it isn’t so much about the exact sin as a lack of love shown towards the other person or the fact that I was walking in the flesh. It seems more of a encouraging nudge to do the right thing or a reminder of who I am than a focus on what I had done wrong. Don’t know if that much sense?
Colleen, that makes perfect sense. Under the old covenant, sin is defined as law-breaking; doing the wrong thing. It’s fruit off the wrong tree. But in relationship sin is better defined as a violation of trust. It’s neglecting to love. This is why the only real sin is unbelief. It’s saying, “I don’t know God’s love and I don’t trust him.”
These Holy Spirit nudges should not be seen has hand-spankings when we do wrong; they are nudges towards love. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth. He is the One who teaches us how to love like Jesus. He is not convicting us for wrong-doing; he is seeking to reveal Jesus in us and through us.
So, what you are saying Paul, is God almighty, Lord of glory, doesn’t need a wit of help from a bunch of bankrupt people.
hi paul,its very true the holy spirit does not condemn us,but brings us to the knowldege that we are righteousness of GOD IN CHRIST,i have a prayer leadre group who cn enter your house and declare that his spirit is sensing another bad spirit in the house you need to confess and rebute,what about that.
Hello Paul, I am just now accepting God as my Lord and savior and I know he has been with me for a long time since I was little I always felt it and he has lead me around alot of places but always kept me safe from harm. Reading this has made me only want to be by his side more. I thank you for what you have shared with the world.
That’s wonderful Tymme! Your heavenly Father loves you more than you can know or imagine!
Thanks for the good work. The gospel of grace is liberating. The gospel of works teaches those myths – which keep those who don’t know in bondage. Thank God for His grace.
wonderful truth.
I think it’s sad when people read one or two (or more) verses from Paul that talk about faith (without repentance) and then believe that because that verse (or verses) doesn’t include repentance, that they can leave it out. The rest of the bible does not leave it out and Christ did not leave it out. So who do you trust -Christ or Paul?
Repent is what you did when you turned to God. Paul here at Escape is all for biblical repentance. See his article here.
Hi jm
Repentance has not been left out just put into the correct scriptural perspective . So that we do not fall into the error of thinking that it is our repentance that saved, save,s us and not the grace of God.
hi Colleen and Chris,
Thanks for the link. I’m not impressed by it, as you are. It involves the illusion that repentance is about fire and brimstone, about “works” and not “grace,” about “the law” and not grace, etc. IMO, all of this is black and white thinking, lacks critical thinking, big on a particular brand of Protestantism. IMO, this is the same fear the fire and brimstone preachers use -in a polar opposite way (fear of repentance). That link also says that John never mentions repentance and that’s false. John has John the Baptist at the beginning, preaching repentance. Revelations was written by John, and in 2:5: “…Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” I stand by my comment. It’s your choice: believe Paul or believe Christ.
Peace
Have you ever been trapped in a sin that eats you alive from the inside out? That is worse than all the fire and brimstone preaching out there. To add misery to misery being told you have to stop sinning that sin in order for God to be willing to save you is to throw bricks at a drowning man. Repent is not stop sinning and clean up so God will stoop to save you. Repent is being the drowning man and crying out “God save me! I cannot save myself!” Jesus didn’t die for the good kids who got themselves cleaned up for church. He died for sinners that were enemies of God with no strength of their own.
Hi Jm
the book is revelation not revelations it is the revelation to Jesus Christ. You may also have your John,s confused. Understanding the name of the book of revelation is crucial to understanding the book. It is a revelation given to Jesus I would suggest you read the first chapter again and then continue reading.
Don,t trust everything you have been told by those that claim authority by their position, but read the scriptures check everything and then decide for yourself.
hi Chris,
Thanks, I did read that chapter again. And you may be right because we have no way of knowing for sure if the John that wrote the gospel is the same John that wrote Revelation (not Revelations, you are correct), but this is what is commonly known to be true. I have no reason to believe that it is not the same person but if you want to state specific objections as to why you think they are not, I am willing to listen. I’m afraid I don’t agree that the letter “s” is going to change the meaning of the book, at least -not for me. But since you are talking about the importance of names, I would offer that “Jesus Christ” is not his name, that this is a transliteration and has no true significance, just like “God” or “Lord” has no significance but YHWH does. That’s my opinion and I don’t object to your objections. Your last sentence is a projection and it’s a strange thing to say to someone you don’t know; it does not apply to me. Thank you for your input.
Hey Paul,
I feel conviction after I sin
Do you think this is conviction of righteousness? Because if we know what is righteous and that we are righteous, then I think we will know if we did something unrighteous?
That depends on the type of conviction. Do you feel guilty? If so, that’s the ministry of the law operating through your conscience. It’s a common enough experience. You don’t need to be a Christian to have this sort of conviction. Everyone knows it. Or do you feel that you are deeply loved despite what you did? That’s the Holy Spirit. Not everyone knows him. More here.
In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Paul says to the Christians in Corinth “For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” It is clear in the passage that Paul is addressing people that are already Christians in the church in Corinth. Paul says that God wanted the Christians in Corinth to experience godly sorrow for their sin, which led them to repentance. God intended that people who already had the Holy Spirit would experience sorrow (a feeling of conviction) so that they would be brought to repentance. Therefore it is God’s work to facilitate a Godly sorrow in the heart of the Christian so they turn from specific sins and continue to grow into Christ likeness. It is God’s work to make the Christian feel guilty (temporarily) so that they forsake sin and then grow in faith, hope, and love. Roman’s 8:1 says there is no condemnation for the Christian, because all punishment for past and future sins has been paid for by Christ. When God convicts Christians of sin with godly sorrow, it is not condemnation or punishment, but the love of God turning us away from sin that harms, and further drawing us into the fullness of life in Christ.
If God works to make us feel guilty, what need have we of the law, our consciences, or the accuser? Evidently God and the devil are doing the same thing. Not so. This picture of God is at odds with the one Paul paints in 1 Cor 13. A God who keeps no record of wrongs and doesn’t delight in evil will never condemn you or put guilt on you.
Don’t over-spiritualize this. The Corinthians were sorrowful on account of Paul’s earlier letter – he plainly says so (see 2 Cor 7:8). Paul even says he regrets making them sorry but adds that he is now happy that things worked out for the best. The NIV says, “For you became sorrowful as God intended” and “Godly sorrow brings repentance” but neither phrase is actually in the Bible. Read these passages in a literal translation and they become “for ye were made sorry toward God” and “the sorrow toward God reformation to salvation not to be repented of doth work, and the sorrow of the world doth work death.” Paul is distinguishing two types of sorrow, not in terms of their origin but destination. He’s saying, “Hey, if this sorrow led you to repent, that’s great, because in this world sorrow is usually associated with death.”
Paul was very plain about the things that promote repentance and it’s not guilt, condemnation, or sorrow. He said, “God’s goodness leads you toward repentance” (Rom 2:4).
Over spiritualise? I think I am reading it plain. Young’s literal translation is from 1862 – not only is it less accurate than modern translations (older manuscripts have been found since then), it is also written on old english which is obviously very hard to understand. If Young’s is the only translation that says what you want it to, you may be in danger of having your personal theology force a translation on scripture. Check to see if other modern translations agree with your interpretation.
If you want a ‘literal’ translation (as in one which implements a formal as opposed to dynamic equivalence philosophy of translation) that is accurate, use NASB : “for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Same plain reading – it was God’s will that they became sorrowful for their sin.
God can love you deeply, you can feel that love deeply, and still experience godly guilt that leads to repentance. We are not talking about condemnation – let’s be on the same page about that – Christ takes all condemnation away on the cross. We are talking about sanctification. Pay attention to the ‘godly sorrow’ and ‘worldly sorrow.’ Godly sorrow is godly – from God. Godly sorrow cannot be from the devil. I don’t think Paul would have called it ‘godly’ if it was.
Godly sorrow is a sorrow of godly origin and godly destination. Godly sorrow produces good things (growth in faith, hope and love).
Worldly is a sorrow of worldly origin and worldly destination. Worldly sorrow produces condemnation and regret.
“Godly guilt” makes as much sense as “demonic grace.” You seem keen to prove that God does what Jesus never did and Paul said he never would do.
A whole theology has been built on this one verse, one which delights in pointing out the sinner’s faults and making him feel bad and sorrowful. It’s like the cross changed nothing. I’m not saying we won’t experience sorrow when we sin. I’m saying God isn’t the one making us feel this way. If this sorrow was from God, why did Paul regret it? Twice he says their sorrow caused him regret and unhappiness. If their sorrow was God’s doing, why would Paul be regretful and unhappy? A: Because it wasn’t God who made them sorry. It was his letter.
– “You became sorrowful as God intended”? Why would God intend to make us sorry? We are sorry enough. This is a world of sin and sorrow. The last thing we need is to import sorrow from heaven. What we need is good news that brings great joy.
– “You were grieved according to God, that you might suffer loss in nothing by us.” The only good or godly thing about their grief is they weren’t harmed by Paul. His harsh words could have backfired spectacularly, but it didn’t and Paul’s grateful for that.
Paul is basically saying: “I regret that my letter made you sad. But I’m thrilled everything worked out for good. Isn’t that typical of God – how he makes things work out for good?”
Incidentally, the most accurate translation of the Bible is Jesus Christ. How many sinners did Jesus grieve in order to compel repentance? None. How many sinners did Jesus condemn and charge with guilt? None.
Here’s the problem saying that a guilty conscience is part of God’s plan to sanctify a believer: A sensitive believer will end up spending 75% of their time trying to figure out IF they did anything wrong and WHAT scripture really says about this matter or that. That was my experience. I’ve heard J.Prince say that he was burdened by this for many years. I now work toward not ever having a guilty conscience. It is kind of scary to try to get to that place in your thinking. But, it’s been my experience that feelings of guilt lead to sin. Now, there is something pretty similar to feelings of guilt. It’s the bad/sad feeling that you have that the other person (whom you wounded, let’s say) has been badly hurt. You would have this feeling because you LOVE that other person. You hurt because you love them so much.
When Jesus called the pharisees sons of hell, do u think he wanted them to feel no guilt about it? When he told Peter he was going to deny him, and then Peter broke down in bitterness of Spirit do u not think that was the work of Jesus, humbling him and showing him he needed a savior? The end game is not to feel guilt, but to recognise our sin and surrender it to jesus. Philosophical arguments and arguments from experience do not trump scripture. The fact that Paul regretted their sorrow does not override his words that God intended for them to feel it. we must put authority in the word, not in our own theologies.
So not only are you saying that God is doing the Accuser’s work but that Paul regrets what God does?!
Paul had a different understanding. He said we recognize sin through the law (not the Holy Spirit). Don’t confuse the condemning ministry of the law with the 100% affirming ministry of the Father. If God was condemning the Corinthians for their sin, then either the work of the cross was unfinished or God is unjust for judging the same sin twice.
Religion paints a picture of a God who shovels guilt onto sinners, but the gospel that Jesus revealed and Paul preached brings great joy for all who receive it.
Matt- Before my grace awakening(pretty sure I wasn’t even saved before that) I was burdened by guilt, sin and wore myself out trying to be better and do better. Now when I fail I have a momentary twinge about having messed up again but then I get up and move on instead of wallowing in guilt and drowning in self accusation and pity.
For the really big areas that need serious renewal I feel an inner drive to seek out the resources and/or people that will help me grow and change.
God is not a two-faced deity. When He says there is no condemnation for those in the Spirit who belong to Jesus then there is no condemnation. Lest I be misunderstood being in the Spirit is automatic once someone comes to Jesus according to Romans 8.
I once heard it said that no one crawls out from a pile of guilt & accusation wanting to do better.
Matt – The way to find out what “theology” is actually True (there are many with different views claiming Truth in Christianity) is what brings the fruit of the Spirit to believers. For 30 years as a very serious, hard working “Christian”, I had depression and anxiety. In the last year, after learning these Truths, I’ve experience a big growth in all 9 of the fruit of the Spirits named in Galatians. I feel like I’ve been born again…again… My 30 year old son has caught on and has quit heroin and is spending his days right now telling his friends how to get free (from drugs and spiritually). He’s gone from hospitalization grade depression/anxiety to being one of the most fulfilled people I know. I am not exaggerating even 1%. It was really THAT bad with him and it’s now THAT good…
God – Teaching me these things has been the best thing that’s happened in my life. Better than finding my wife. Better than giving birth to my children. Better than starting a company and selling it to Microsoft. Thank you. I needed it so bad. I’m a happy man today. And I think my next 20 years (what I have left) will be great. I hope I can help others to find this pearl.
Godly sorrow is recognition of the sacrifice for our lives.Worldly sorrow is sorrow for sin and in this not acknowledging the sacrifice the purpose of the sacrifice was that we would not be sorrowful but as Paul says joyful. We should not regret the sacrifice.
If you cheat on your wife and don’t feel any guilt, something is wrong with you. If you steal money and don’t feel guilt, something is wrong with you. The Holy Spirit doesn’t ‘gently nudge’ when you commit adultery – he screams “stop destroying yourself and others!” Then you come, receive forgiveness and have him take away all your guilt and are led into deeper love for Jesus. “He who has been forgiven little loves little.” “If grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin.” The Holy Spirit never condemns those in Jesus. But he uses guilt to draw them into deeper forgiveness, grace and love. Thank you God for your goodness!
Am I forgiven by what I do, or by what Jesus has already done? The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us of our sin, because we are already forgiven at the cross. You can’t put faith in your thoughts, you need to put faith in God’s Word, and He says the Holy Spirit convicts nonbelievers of sin, and believers of righteousness. He doesn’t want us to feel guilty of our sins, because Jesus died to remove our sin and guilt. He wants us to see who we are so we act as who we are.
Jesus said to the Pharisees that satan’s kingdom would be divided if Jesus was casting out demons by the power of satan. And that’s the case with God’s Kingdom. If the Holy Spirit was convicting us of our sin, then He would be contradicting the finished works on the cross, and His Kingdom would be working against itself.
Excellent answer Nate.
“”The Holy Spirit doesn’t ‘gently nudge’ when you commit adultery – he screams “stop destroying yourself and others!” Then you come, receive forgiveness and have him take away all your guilt and are led into deeper love for Jesus”
As a born again believer you are already forgiven PERIOD! If what you just said is true then God reinstates your sins after you commit them. Please show me in the new covenant where we exhaust Gods forgiveness and then he reinstates any of them such as adultery? I dont think you understand what Jesus Christ did at the cross. He took away all your sins past-present and the one’s you have yet to commit, consequently you-me have forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His Grace Eph 1:7
Hey Paul I love your posts and it’s an affirmation for me. It’s always seen through the lens of the finished work of the cross and grace. I have one question though. Can you expound on what happened to Ananias and Saphira. If we are completely under grace then how is that they were judged if Christ was already judged for us?
great work , brother i m Indian ,can i translate it in to my mother tongue Malayalam .it will help thousands of confused Christians ……..
Hi Paul,
Thanks for reminding us again that God does not suffer from a “split personality disorder
.” There is so much “unholy” mumbo jumbo about the Holy Spirit in Christian circles. Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday..I reckon this clear teaching should be nailed to the door of every place of worship!! I found myself saying..Wow! and Yes as I read this..Blessings on you !!!
“The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance,
salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”
― William Booth
You are teaching forgiveness without repentance. I pray you see the error in this.
I’m not sure why you think I am opposed to repentance. I am not. However, repentance is not something you do to compel God to forgive you. Repentance is a proper response to God’s kindness.
ALD, I have never seen Paul Ellis against repentance.
Also, I am finding that repentance is happening all the time now to me!
Let me explain. . . .
Every time I believe a truth or promise from God’s Word in my heart, I am giving up the lie or belief that I had held onto about God or His promises (repenting). This (turning from the lie to the truth, repenting) I am finding is allowing His GRACE to come in like a FLOOD.
To me God’s grace is His ability, strength, and power which enables me to live in righteousness, to receive all He has provided for me, in and through His Son Jesus Christ.
Repentance is NOT a bad word as the religious would have us believe.
Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina USA)
In response to Truth #2: “There is none righteous. No, not one.”
You claim the Holy Spirit will convict or “convince” a person of his/her righteousness. None is righteous but God.
“Ye were declared righteous, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God” (1Co 6:11, YLT). In Christ, you are just as righteous and holy as he is.
Why is it so difficult for people to understand and believe in the Grace of God? Is it that the god of this world has indeed blinded the eyes of many? Why are people trying so hard to make our walk with God look so difficult? So to them the Cross didn’t change anything? Well, before the Holy Spirit opened my heart to Grace, I used to argue and stand up against Grace preachers but I thank God for his exceeding Grace. Paul Ellis, Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you.
When you look in the Old Testament, every time Israel repented and turned back to God there was first conviction followed by repentance.”Under the old testament law they had to offer sacrifices for there sins, under the new One sacrifice did what thousands in the old couldn’t:Take away all Sin Hebrews 10:1-18. 2) The holy Spirit did not convict old testament saints of sin because he did not permanently indwell them until Pentacost. He came upon some select individuals but not the common people of Israel.
Absolutely, positively SPOT ON, Paul. Well and succinctly said. I will repost this on my ministry website, with attribution and link back to ETR. For those who misuse the conviction of the Holy Spirit spoken of in John 16, the answer is simple: “the world” is NEVER used in the Bible to mean those in Christ, but rather those in Adam, yet unregenerated.
God the Holy Spirit and God the Son are not found in the Bible. But God as the Holy Spirit and God as the Son are. That is the mystery people should be talking about. If you consider yourself one of the Saints who are loved by God, or one of those who cannot be overcome by temptation because the Spirit of God lives within them and whose will are controlled by God, then of course God the Father will remember your sins no more. Since you will be one of the judges at the end of the days when people alive and dead will be judged not by faith but by their works, then of course you are righteous now and forever. Although we can see from the Scriptures that some of the apostles sinned even after the Holy Spirit was in them.
Each preacher can interpret the word of God as the Holy Spirit tells him. We cannot condemn those whose views contradict ours. As they are blind to our version of the truth, so too we are blind to their version of the truth. God chooses who belongs to him.
Peace.
What you speak of is no mystery , it is very clear from the first verses in scripture. Your view that scripture is for interpretation denies absolute truth, and we have all seen this truth in Jesus.The word of God is read and leads to the truth, Jesus even tells us that all scripture points to him.It does not lead to many truths only one.
Just to add the dead and death has already been judged, for the living there is no judgment.
How did Gentiles who were not Israel, and without law was convicted of sin? I believe God put this in us(Romans 2:13-15). It seems everyone views the scripture with modern lenses. before the Messiah was incarnated how were gentiles convicted of sin and the verse in Romans explains it. We have a conscience Romans 2:15b” their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) “. So Pre-Christians Gentiles were convicted by their conscience and Pre-Christian/Messianic Judaism was convicted by the Law of sin.
So also when Yeshua said cast the first stone, and the people wouldn’t why? because they sinned and knew it. What people are saying is that before the Messiah came there was no conviction or conscience of sin. Well there was! I believe the that Messiah Yeshua died for are sin so we would receive remission thus being reconciled to God. So that we could be in relationship with the God who created all things. So while before only Israel and still it was through Jewish believers that are Israel that the gospel was preached.
Paul, I would really value further input in the whole area of Myth 8 – that the Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go but abides and remains in us. Amen to that ! but I’m coming up against a lot of folk who are hot for revival but who contend that the Holy Spirit is in us for our sakes but is ON us for the sake of others. He is the Dove who wants to rest and remain on us but he doesn’t rest on ALL believers – we can grieve him and then He won’t stay on us any longer but will depart. We have to learn how to keep Him from being grieved throughout our day so He will remain on us, just like He did on Jesus. Then we can minister out of God’s Presence. I don’t want to miss anything from what these guys are saying as they are real Kingdom-bringers but it does make me confused. If Holy Spirit does come and go, on and off us, then potentially He may still be “out there” and I may have to do something to make Him come back and be “okay with me” before i can have a hope of ministering Him to anyone in any kind of meaningful way. Then He might leave again……. That makes me anxious just thinking about it!
In the same way, does experience of God’s presence (especially tangible experience) come to us from outside of us (come UPON us) – which is why many worshippers call for Him to “Come” – or does it come from awareness of the Spirit who is already, everlastingly within us? Is there further reading you can suggest on this please? I’d really appreciate your suggestions.
Thanks a million,
Gilly
John 16:8-11. the Holy Spirit convict the world of their guilt but He does not condemn you in your stand.
hey Paul so i understand how we are made righteous through jesus christ and his blood by faith now im a little confused on how the spirit isnt recieve at salvation dont we have christ dwelling inside us to heal the sick and authority throught the blood do we have to physically get baptised or do we recive the spirit by faith in christ as we did for salvation? I have been doing research on it but some people are have some say that the baptism of the holy sprit is separate from salvation and believing Christ for sins others say that the spirit will never draw attention to himself but only to glorify the son doesn’t he dwell inside the moment you receive Christ as lord and savior?
Thanks for this wonderful truth.
I am working on a book and I think this wonderful truth will be of benefit in the book.
please permit me to share this truth in the book.
Thanks and God bless sir!
Hi Paul, first just want to thank you for writing for all of your books and articles! Has really helped me have a understanding of who I am in christ, that I discovered when I was searching for an interpretation of the letter to church of laodicea. I had always assumed that when you first receive Jesus by faith that you automatically get the holy spirit. I’ve recently heard other grace preachers mention the baptism of the holy spirit as a separate experience. So was wondering which one it is? Do we receive Jesus and his spirit at the same time or do we get the spirit later after we receive the spirit?
Thanks for the help
Thank you, Jeremy. Ephesians 5:18 says “Be filled with the Spirit,” and my Discovery Bible says the verb tense for filled denotes constantly or repeatedly. A good way to read it is “Be repeatedly filled with the Spirit.” My view is we need the Holy Spirit filling our sails every day. So what some describe as a one-off encounter, could be our daily experience. As for coming to Jesus, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3), so the Holy Spirit was certainly there at the beginning. You could not have met Jesus without his aid.
Thanks!
Hi Paul. I love your writing and I wonder if you could help me. I had an unbelievable dream that was realer than real about jesus nearly eight years ago and not long after, I ‘prayed the prayer’. I have definitely changed in terms of my desire and behaviour but have been stuck for all this time unsure of my salvation. I do not speak in tongues or have any sense of God’s presence and its actually driving me into depression and anxiety. I am aware that this sounds a very naive and fleshly outlook but when your eternal destiny is on the line, these little things become huge. I spend all day every day internally wrestling and debating and im exhausted. Could you please explain really clearly how one is saved. Is it, as you encouragingly wrote before ‘a one time work/gift of the spirit’ because I have been trying for 8 years to ‘become saved’ and with no spiritual fruit to speak of I dont know if I am. Yours desperately, Simon.
God’s saving grace is not something to feel, but something to believe. Can you say, with all of your heart, that “Jesus is Lord”? If so, then you are saved, for no one could say that except with the aid of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). And there’s this: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). Believe it – not because you have a feeling, but because God’s Word proclaims it.
Love it! The truth brings peace!
The Holy Spirit is my friend, and He sticks closer than a brother. Closer than a lover, in fact!
Well done! Excellent article.