Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | charis | 27259 | ||
Dear Saints and Fellow Forumers, Greetings in the name of Jesus! Many use this Scripture to prove that we are indwelt (filled) with the Holy Spirit the moment we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Yet, I also hear many saying that if a person 'backslides,' it is really that he was never really saved to begin with. How can we reconcile these two common beliefs? Is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit truly 'automatic,' synonymous with salvation? What of Luke 11:13 NASB, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" ? How can we on earth know that a person is saved? I know that we can 'look at the fruit' of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23), but what of those that HAVE manifest this fruit, yet through depression or temptation yielded to sin and returned to their former ways? Were they 'never saved?' (To be fair, I find it hard to believe that a person can go through multiple saved-unsaved-saved...states.) Blessings, one and all, this blessed season! In Christ Jesus, charis |
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2 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | Makarios | 27279 | ||
Greetings my friend! You ask me how I know that I am saved? Because He lives within my heart! :-) And that is enough evidence right there for me to know that He has indeed saved my soul. And I know, that regardless of what happens, that I will NEVER renounce Him as my Lord and Savior, even if I am faced with death. I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will always find myself "renewed" in Spirit by His endless love, which covers over the multitude of my sins! Yes, I keep sinning. But I have never failed to renounce my sin and to seek to turn away from it. The Lord truly lives inside of me!! And I would never renounce Him as Lord, no matter how badly my sin looks. I believe that that is the *key*, my friend: If a person ever goes so far as to renounce Christ completely, turning their back on the Lord for whatever reason, then they were never given this inexplicable joy and love and regeneration in their hearts that all who believe now enjoy!! Jesus truly becomes a part of you, a part of your very self. He is much closer than a family member, and we must be honest with Him, confessing our sin, and know that He will love us no matter what. And we must continue to strive to please our Savior, who is much closer than even a spouse! If we have this, my friend, then we are truly saved! If we believe in Jesus with all of our heart and mind, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, then we will be saved! How could anyone who has ever experienced His presence truly renounce Him? May this never be! It is beyond my capacity as a human being to do so, and I will never renounce my Lord and Savior, even faced with death! Praise the Lord! So the *key* is in the renouncing of Christ. If a person who claims to be a Christian sins, and is willing to completely turn away from that sin rather than to turn away from Christ, then that in and of itself is *evidence* that a person has been truly saved. However, if a person ever renounces Christ, based on whatever circumstances and not knowing the fullness of the Love that they have abandoned, then they have never experienced this endless Love and Joy in the first place.. How could anyone truly turn away from Christ, if they have truly walked with Him? I believe the *key* is in the renunciation of Him, something that I hope and pray never happens! Blessings to you, Nolan |
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3 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | charis | 27331 | ||
Dear Nolan, Greetings in the name of Jesus! My friend, you are right! As 'karlgraff' noted, the Bible is for OUR assurance, not for measuring the salvation of others. I share this assurance, this holy confession with you. :-) I know that some will say, "Hymns are not the Bible," but I would share this hymn with you and our forum fellowship. When Rev. A.H.Ackley had his faith in Christ sneered at by an atheist, he was unable to answer. Defeated and depressed, he went home and wrote on the back of an envelope: I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today; I know that He is living, whatever men may say, I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer; And just the time I need Him, He's always near. In all the world around me I see His loving care, And tho' my heart grows weary I never will despair; I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast. The day of His appearing will come at last. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing. Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. None other is so loving, so good and kind. (chorus) He lives. He lives. Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life' s narrow way. He lives, He lives, Salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. Nolan, my fellow saint, I would put this song of faith, this confession of Christ, right up there with a thousand pages of 'Bible commentary!' (Unfortunately, this still does not answer my question about the Bible clearly making the indwelling or baptism of the Holy Spirit synonymous and synchronous with salvation or justification. :-)) Blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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4 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | Makarios | 27387 | ||
Greetings charis! Thank you for reciting that hymn! That was exactly what I was thinking when I wrote my former post! :-) As for your original question, I would cite Acts chapter 2, which is heralded by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.. Verse 37 states that they were "pierced to the heart".. Now just what did "pierced to the heart" mean? I believe that this reflects a regret over their former rejection of Jesus and it reflects a new belief in Jesus! In other words, when they were "pierced to the heart", the people were "pierced" by the presence of the Holy Spirit.. And what other "agent" or 'force' could cause the people to be "pierced to the heart" other than the Holy Spirit? Of course, Peter did preach a good sermon that day.. :-) But it was the power and influence of the Holy Spirit behind that sermon that had such a great effect on the people! And when those people where truly brought to repentence because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, then they were saved! And they willingly repented of all their sins, and then underwent water baptism, (v. 41) after they had received this awesome presence of the Holy Spirit, convicting them of their sins and leading them into repentence and salvation. When the Holy Spirit came, He was able to lead others to salvation through power and conviction! And by seeing the Holy Spirit work all throughout the book of Acts and the NT, we can see that the Holy Spirit is the "persuader" that God uses to draw men to Himself, by "piercing" people to the heart through another Christian, a sermon that is preached, a Bible tract, etc, etc, and "breaking" people, making them willing to come to repentance by His presence, and thus planting a seed in an unsaved person forever that they now make the choice to be truly saved and follow Him! So, in short, I would use Acts 2 and the coming of the Holy Spirit as "evidence" of the Bible making it clear that the indwelling or baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at salvation. Blessings to you, Nolan |
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5 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | Hank | 27389 | ||
Nolan, you say that "the indwelling or baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at (the time of) salvation." That is also my position, so you must be right :-) --Hank | ||||||
6 | Automatic Holy Spirit? | Eph 1:13 | Makarios | 27400 | ||
Thank you again, my friend! We must have "great minds" or something like that... :-) (joking, of course..) - Nolan! | ||||||