Repentance

When sin gains a victory in our lives, we should deal with it quickly. The first step is repentance. Repentance means to change direction or to change our mind. The idea is that we stop following sin and that we turn to God and approach Him.

Sinful habits have a powerful influence over people. To defeat them requires a purposeful choice and a totally new view of them. We must learn to hate sin as God hates it. We need to realize that sin will destroy us. Sin will rob us of joy, peace and happiness. Sin leads only to death and destruction. God wants us to turn away from sin because sin is harmful. God wants what is best for us. He wants us to enjoy a full and abundant life.

When we repent and confess our sin before God, we can obtain forgiveness. The Apostle John wrote, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'' (1 John 1:8,9)

Now it is essential that we understand that confession and forgiveness are centred in Jesus Christ. We can only obtain forgiveness of sin from God because Jesus died for us. We must approach God in repentance through Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.'' (John 14:6)

Consider also the words of 1 John 2:2, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.''

The prophet Isaiah links the suffering of the Christ with forgiveness of sin. He wrote, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.'' (Isaiah 53:5)

In Jesus Christ, God offers not only forgiveness of individual sins, but complete forgiveness for being sinful! Through Faith in Jesus Christ alone, God offers complete forgiveness and a home with Him for eternity.

When a Christian sins, he needs to confess that sin to God. Sin will not keep a Christian from heaven. Once a person places his Faith in Jesus, he is eternally secure in Him.

However, sin will disturb a person's relationship with God. It will hinder prayers. The Holy Spirit will convict and make a Christian feel miserable. A person will suffer because of sin. So we should confess our sin and ask God to help us to overcome it.

Knowing God's Word

Our first line of defense against the attack of sin is a knowledge of God's Word. Psalm 119:9-11 says, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word. With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.''

The Bible gives us God's perfect standard of right and wrong. By learning the principles taught in Scripture, we can know what God wants us to do and avoid sin.

If you want to please God, you must study the Bible. If you want strength to defeat sin, you must give the Holy Spirit ammunition to use. This means memorizing Bible passages. Each of us has weaknesses in different areas. When we discover a weakness within ourselves, we should memorize Scriptures dealing with that weakness. These Scriptures will help us to overcome sin in these areas.

For example, if you often say things that you regret, you might memorize James 3:6, which tells us, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.'' Remembering this verse will help you to think before speaking.

Overcoming Sin

In Romans chapter seven Paul gives an account of his struggle with sin. He wrote, "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.'' (Romans 7:21-25)

This passage describes the war that every Christian has raging within him: a war between selfish desires and the Holy Spirit that lives within his spirit. In my next few posts in this blog, I will give a some hints on how to win the war against sin.

Fruit of the Spirit

The fruit of the spirit is evidence that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by Him. In other words, a person who is filled with the Spirit of God will obey God and His Word. He will live a sanctified and pure life.

In Galatians 5:22,23, the Apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He wrote, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.''

Here is the divine test that we can use to judge if a person is walking in the Spirit or not. This is the divine test that we can use to judge if we are walking in the Spirit or not. A person who is Spirit filled must demonstrate these characteristics because they are Spirit given.

The closer a person is to God and the more mature as a Christian he becomes, the easier it will be to detect the Spirit's fruit within his life. By this we should judge our Christian walk. It is our day to day lives that show how close to God we are.

Spiritual Gifts of Ministry

There has been such an overemphasis in the last few years on the miraculous spiritual gifts that other aspects of the Holy Spirit's work have been ignored. Miraculous spiritual gifts are not for today. However, the Holy Spirit does give Christians gifts of ministry.

Consider the Apostle Paul's teaching in Romans 12:5-8. He wrote, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.''

These gifts are not miraculous gifts. When Paul mentions the gift of prophecy in this chapter, he is referring to proclaiming the truth not telling the future.

There are several important facts that we need to understand about these gifts of ministry. First, every Christian has some gift of ministry. The Apostle Peter wrote about the same type of gifts as Paul discusses in Romans 12. In 1 Peter 4:10,11, Peter wrote, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.''

Peter is not writing of miraculous gifts. There is nothing in the context that would support that. He is speaking about using gifts of ministry to support and help one another within the local community of believers.

Notice, Peter states that every Christian has one of these gifts of ministry. Every Christian has a part to play in serving God. It is not the job of clergy to do all the work of the Church. Every member has a part to play.

This is what Paul taught in Ephesians 4:11,12. Paul wrote, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.''

According to the Apostle Paul, the leaders in a Church are to prepare God's people for the work. The leaders in a congregation are not to do all the work. They are to train, teach and encourage the membership to do the work.

Christian friend, God has given you a special capacity, a gift of ministry, to be used in His service. You will find joy and peace as you faithfully use God's gift to help others.

Miraculous Spiritual Gifts

When we consider the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, the most important Biblical passage to consider is 1 Corinthians 12-14. These three chapters contain the most complete discussion of this topic in the Bible.
Because of the current conflict over this doctrine, every Christian should prayerfully study this section of Scripture. As Christians we should do all things according to the Bible. God's Word must be the basis for what we believe: not man's opinion, not our feelings, not our understanding.
For our lesson, let us concentrate on one section from these chapters. 1 Corinthians 13 is the great love chapter of the Bible. Beginning with verse 8, the Apostle Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit begins to compare love with the miraculous spiritual gifts.
Verses 8 and 9 read, “Charity (i.e. love) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.''
This passage makes it clear that the miraculous gifts being practiced by the early Christian Churches would come to an end. They were not permanent. Love lasts forever, but these other gifts are temporary.
Paul tells us why they are temporary. They are incomplete. They do not provide us with a complete picture of what God wants us to know. In the next verse Paul tells us when they will end and then in verse 11 he illustrates what he is saying.
Paul wrote, ``But when that which is perfect is come, than that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.''
This is the area in which controversy comes. What was Paul speaking about when he said ``when that which is perfect is come?'' Paul has just been talking about knowledge. What is our source of perfect knowledge? What can we trust to be absolute truth? What is perfect and complete?
It would be good to consider what the book of James tells us. In James 1:22-25, we are told, ``But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh in the PERFECT law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.''
James tells us that God's Word is perfect. It is our source of perfect and complete knowledge: all that God wants us to know about spiritual matters. James also compares God's Word to a mirror.
Back in 1 Corinthians 13, the next verse, verse 12 says, ``For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face (i.e. clearly): now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.''
When Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church, the New Testament was not complete. There was much that they did not yet understand. Once the Bible was completed, after John wrote Revelation, the perfect Word of God was complete. No further revelation is needed.
The miraculous spiritual gifts were used in the first century of Christianity to prove who was of God and who was not. Two men might visit the Church at Rome. Both say that they are teaching the truth. Yet what they say may disagree. The Church did not have the New Testament to study to know who was telling the truth. How could they know?
The one to whom God had given the power to do miracles was the one telling the truth. Maybe, he was an unlearned man from Galilee, but he would start talking in Latin. Maybe, there would be someone sick present and he would heal them. These signs would prove that he was preaching the truth.
Once the New Testament was complete these miracles were no longer needed and they ceased. We do not need them today. We have God's perfect Word.

Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead. He is very active in the world today. He holds this world together by His power. His work of convicting the lost, brings people to a knowledge of their sinful condition.

Those who trust in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells. He brings their spirit into fellowship with God. He gives them eternal life. He empowers them that they might live pure and holy lives before God. He reveals sin in their lives that they might turn from it and forsake it. Within every saved person the Holy Spirit of God is at work.

In the next few posts in this blog will consider three aspects of the Holy Spirit's work. We will consider the miraculous spiritual gifts, the spiritual gifts of ministry and the fruit of the Spirit.