1 Corinthians 1:10-25 Factions in the Church of Corinth

1 Corinthians 1:10-25

Factions in the Church of Corinth

1 Corinthians 1:10 is an appeal for doctrinal agreement within the church. Scriptural adherence is the backbone of any church and is completely necessary for true unity.  Paul was urging the church to be “put back together”.  Verse 11 indicates this was not the case in Corinth as Chloe’s household reported there were factions within the church.

Contentions had arisen because of favouritism (partiality) towards particular leaders within the church and this led to factions with each group reportedly pitting their chosen leader against other leaders within the church. This not only weakened the Corinthian church but also weakened its witness to the unbelieving world.

Verse 13 gets to the point of the rebuke: Christ is not divided nor should his church be! Sectarianism or obsessive attachment to a particular leader is a threat to Christian unity and undermines Jesus Christ’s purpose for his church. (Ephesians 2:21-22, Ephesians 4:16)

1 Corinthians 1:18

¹⁸ For the ^[a]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The primary message of the true church must be the gospel in its fullness. (1 Corinthians 2:2, Romans 1:16) Those who are in the process of salvation believe the gospel and are in the process of awaiting their complete redemption. (Romans 8:23) Those who view the gospel as foolishness are perishing because they have not believed in the wisdom of God. (John 3:18-19)

Verse 19: The God of the Bible is the all powerful LORD Most High or Elohim Yahweh in Hebrew. Elohim Yahweh does not share his glory with man or any idols. (Isaiah 42:8) In His complete supremacy of majesty, sovereignty, power,  knowledge, and wisdom: The LORD Most High purposed that salvation would not be possible through the wisdom and understanding of man but only by His divine revelation of the gospel message.

Verse 20-25 Human adoration of worldly wisdom or human reasoning or human philosophy (love of wisdom) is completely inadequate in relation to salvation and how to obtain it. (Isaiah 19:12) God in his infinite wisdom; purposed that men would be saved by believing the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. To the intellectual of the earth who merely sought after intellectual novelty; the message seemed foolish. To the religious Jews; the message lacked miraculous signs that they were so accustomed to. (Mathew 12:38-44) Regardless of the many Christ rejecters and the various forms they may take; the cross of Christ remains God’s true wisdom and only provision to save mankind from damnation in hell. (John 8:24, Acts 4:12)

I Corinthians 1:1-9 Paul’s greeting to the saints in Corinth

I Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul’s greeting to the saints in Corinth

Verse 1-2: Paul firstly establishes his credentials as an apostle (sent one) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus making his epistle authoritative as though it was written by Jesus Christ personally. Paul is writing to the church of God in Corinth. He acknowledges they have been sanctified by Jesus Christ and set apart from sin. (Ephesians 4:1, 1 Peter 2:9) He calls them saints because everyone who is in Christ Jesus is a saint. (Ephesians 1:1) They are set apart from sin unto God. Anyone who confesses the name of Jesus Christ as lord is considered a saint according to the Bible.

Verse 3 Paul greets the Corinthian church with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is unmerited favour that God the Father bestows upon those who demonstrate saving faith in the lord Jesus Christ. Peace with God is also a by-product of saving faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8, 9, Romans 5:1, John 14:21)

Verse 4 Paul acknowledges that God lavished grace upon the church in Corinth; saving them from their sins and baptising them in the Holy Spirit. (Mathew 3:11, Acts 1:5). This act of unmerited mercy on behalf of God the Father is marvelous, irrevocable, and un-repayable. Paul acknowledges that grace in which the church in Corinth stands and thanks God for them.

Verse 5-6 The church in Corinth was complete in Christ and not lacking in spiritual giftedness. They possessed both speaking gifts for spiritual transference as well as gifts of knowledge for accurately presenting truth without error. (Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3). Their genuine giftedness stemmed from the fact that they believed in the true gospel message and thus were conferred grace from God. (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)

Verse 7-8 Not only did the Corinthian church possess giftedness in knowledge and speaking; which was primarily used for evangelism; but they were also equipped with every other gift for the building of the church (1 Corinthians Ch. 12-14) The apostle Paul was also looking to future glory that would happen to the Corinthian church at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:52)

Verse 9 God is completely sovereign in his election (Romans 8:30) therefore the Corinthian’s salvation was considered complete from God the Father’s perspective. God would prove faithful to provide the grace necessary to bring about their eventual glorification. (Ephesians 5:26-27) 

Fundamentals of the Faith Week 2 – How to study scripture

Fundamentals of the Faith Week 2 – How to study scripture

Key Scripture 1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.

Assuming you have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour... You are sorry for your sin and have confessed your sin to God and you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you and rule your life. You’ve acknowledged that you cannot save yourself so you are trusting entirely on Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for your sin debt. Since the Bible is God’s word it is essential that Christians systematically learn what it says and what it means. The Christian life must be characterized as nourishing on the word of God.

Let’s look at the why:

Reason #1 Growth:

When we are born into the family of God; we are characterized as newborns or babes. As such; we need nourishment in order to grow towards maturity. 1 Corinthians 3:3 says: I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. In other words; we all need nourishment but sometimes we are not ready for deep truth (meat) and require basic truth (milk) Scripture can either be taught as milk or meat depending how deep are understanding goes; depending on receptivity or aptitude. Colossians 2:6-7 says: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Reason #2 Defeating Sin:

Eph 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We are unable to defeat Satan’s temptations if we are ignorant of the word of God. The word is our offensive weapon against the enemies’ temptations. We see this during the temptation of Jesus found in Mathew 4:1-11. Jesus defeats all of Satan’s temptations by quoting scripture at him. Key Scripture: Psalm 119:11 declares: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The Holy Spirit brings to remembrance the word that we’ve been exposed to as added defense but He cannot remind us of something we are unfamiliar with. Psalm 119:9 declares: How can a young person stay on the path of purity?  By living according to your word.

Reason#3 Prepare for Service:

We need God’s word readily available to us if we are to perform Christian ministry work successfully. There is no substitute for the word of God when we are doing God’s work.

Joshua: 1:8 declares: Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

1 Timothy 4:6 says: If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

Reason #4 To Be Blessed:

Do you want to be happy and blessed? Most of us desire to live victorious happy lives. Those who study scripture receive just that! Psalm 1:1-2 affirms this: Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. See also Joshua 1:8-9

Reason #5 To Help Others:

There e are hurting needy people everywhere we go. We need God’s solution to man’s problems in order to help ourselves and others. 2 Tim 2:2, 1 Peter 3:15 says: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Let’s look at the how...

Key Scripture: 1 Peter: 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

Principle: Confess and repent of Sin before you attempt to study scripture. Sin blocks us from learning truth. If you are angry, telling lies, acting like a hypocrite, envying and talking bad about people behind their back; you are not craving that which is good for you...the word of God. Prepare yourself for study with a time of prayer and confession if need be so that you can effectively learn. James 1:21 confirms this:  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

How do we study scripture?

Obviously, we have to read Bible! Even a book people are afraid to read (Revelation) promises that those who read it will be happy (Rev1:3) Paul instructed Timothy (2 Tim 4:2) to read the Bible. The key is repetition.  

Key Scripture: Isaiah 28:10 ^For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

You should try reading one new testament letter once a day for 30 days. Start with 1 John because it is short.  At the end; you will know what the book contains. This will allow your mind to remember the book and where the stories in it are found and you will develop a mental picture of the text your Bible. People can also write in their Bibles to give themselves more visual cues and reminders. For longer books like the Gospel of John; divide the 21 chapters into 3 and read the first 7 chapters every day for 30 days, then chapter 8-14 once a day for 30 days, and finally 15-21 once a day for 30  days. After 90 days; you will know the Gospel of John! This method may seem tedious but think about this... We have our whole life to learn the scriptures...We might as well learn them properly. With this strategy; you’ll complete the entire new testament in 2.5 years.  The old Testament is mainly history and narrative so reading it straight through throughout your life is a better strategy for learning it.

A quick note about translations: According to John McArthur: ”The most popular dynamic-equivalency translations, which dominate the evangelical world, are the New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), The Message (MSG), The Living Bible (TLB), the Good News Bible (GNB), and the New Living Translation (NLT). Of those, the NIV is the most reliable... The four most popular formal equivalency translations in English are the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the English Standard Version (ESV). “

Now unto studying...

Now that you’ve read your entire New Testament in 2.5 years; you are mostly able to interpret the meaning since scripture the Bible is best interpreted by itself. Multiple passages can reinforce the meaning of one another.

As far as studying goes; choose a topic that interests you such as prayer and start searching for the different prayers offered up by different people in the Bible. Find out what they asked for and how God responded. Or choose a character such as David and study their biography. You can study God’s attributes and learn how God consistently acts. 

Study Aids: You can also supplement your study with Christian literature to get some outside perspectives. Watch out for poplar books that is mainly fiction or a testimony that is a superficial one time read; choose books that will supplement your referencing capabilities. A concordance is a book that has word definitions in it. The popular ones are: Strong, Young, and Crudens. Another important tool is a topical index. A topical index contains all the Bible verses on a particular topic.  There is Monser’s Topical Index; there is Nave’s Topical Bible.  Finally; A good commentary explains the meaning of every verse in the Bible such as Wycliffe Bible commentary.

Teach others what you learn: Motivate yourself by having someone to pass on your knowledge. This will help to keep you motivated to keep learning. We should be responsible to God and fulfill our charge in the ministry. If you are a new Christian or only know a little... remember, someone out there is a newer Christian than you or not a Christian at all.

Find a pattern that you can copy: Find a mentor, a pastor, a Godly person, a brother or sister. Keep a relationship with the person so that you can speak concerns, ask questions, and learn experiences that can apply to you.  

Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Find good teaching...Make sure whoever is teaching you is teaching you the word of God. Submit yourself to systematic teaching of the Word of God someplace. 

Justification by Faith Alone

Justification by Faith Alone

Philippians 3:9 

⁹ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

God’s way of obtaining grace is by “Faith” in Jesus Christ

God is seeking those who would whole heartedly believe on His son the Lord Jesus Christ and the finished atonement (reconciliation with God) that was fully accomplished through his death, burial and resurrection for their justification. (Being made right with God judicially) The gospel message is activated in our hearts when we trust that the son of God bore our sins and absorbed the full penalty thereof on the cross. Jesus Christ died so that sinners could be fully forgiven and reconciled to holy God. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ (Almighty God) as our sin bearing substitute; God judicially transfers our sin debt to Christ’s account and Christ’s righteousness to our account. This is commonly referred to as “substitutionary atonement” and it amounts to us being made righteous through Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:6 

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Romans 1:17 

 ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Romans 3:24 

²⁴ being justified ^[a]freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

2 Corinthians 5:21 

²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Possible objections that need to be overcome

Don’t let these vices prevent you from being justified by Jesus Christ:

Love of sin, pride, works based religious activity, self righteousness, love of riches over love for God, conceit through education, reputation, or a false sense of virtuous morality. The Bible says we are all sinners in need of grace and only Jesus Christ can provide forgiveness for our sins.

Romans 3:23 

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the ^[a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How to qualify to receive forgiveness of sin

To be made righteous; we must first approach the throne of mercy as sinners; utterly hopeless, destitute, lost, dead in our sins, blind, and under God’s wrath. We must then ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive our sin debt by faith; fully trusting in his substitutionary  death, burial, and resurrection for our redemption; the forgiveness of our sin; leading to justification.

Luke 19:10 

¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Believing the gospel message is the only way to be saved

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by ^[a]Cephas, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have ^[b]fallen asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. ⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

No other possible way to be justified in the sight of holy God

Justification is only possible through faith in the sinless blood sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross as a propitiation (just payment acceptable to holy God) for all sinners who would only believe upon the Lamb of God that was slain for the remission of the sins of the whole world.

Romans 4:5

⁵ But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Sadly; most people in the world from various false work based religions are deceived in believing that somehow their vain contributions, religiosity, rituals, perfunctory duty, observance of sacraments, religious posturing, piety, moral behaviour, self righteousness, or legalism will attain or somehow aid in their achieving salvation. Tragically; anyone believing that salvation is achieved of their own merit is deceived and will one day face the sovereign, Most High God of the universe; who will declare emphatically on Judgment day: and will be cast out into everlasting fire and it will be declared to them:

 ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Hebrews 10:29 ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. Moral Restoration for Canada

⁶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Moral Restoration for Canada

1 Timothy 6:6

As Christians; we need to cultivate a heart of gratitude for that which the LORD has provided for us. Whether in our faith, family, jobs, friendships, health, social standing, finances, possessions, personal experiences and so forth. The scriptures assure us that if we stay rooted in Jesus Christ; we will bear good fruit. (John 15:4)

Our contentment problem does not lie with the fruits themselves; but rather in our poor understanding and attitude regarding truth and virtue. Intangibles like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and a heart of praise or thanksgiving, or a righteous and holy life may seem insignificant to Christians today. This is tragic since those are the fruits Christians are privileged to appreciate daily during their earthy lives. Godliness and contentment are the day to day blessings of walking closely with the LORD Jesus Christ. Additionally; as we studied last week; we are promised eternal rewards for a life of obedience, faithfulness, and abiding trust. (2 Cor 5:10)

Why do so many Canadians (even many in the church) struggle to find contentment in God even while being blessed materially? I believe the primary reason is ignorance of the one true God coupled with idolatry. The prophet Hosea puts it this way:

Hosea 4:6

⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

In the Book of Hosea; we read of the children of Israel enjoying a time of economic and national growth but forsaking the one true God and seeking after worthless idols instead. The result is moral degradation and certain judgment (Hosea 5:1); until God once again rescue and restore Israel. (Hosea 14:1-3)

Our culture has become so flippant, callous, and indifferent towards the word of God that it barely has a foundation from which to frame truth and virtue. This moral rot has gradually infiltrated the church to the point that the church resembles the world in its worldly pursuits. Christians today are reading their Bibles far less than previous believing generations and have allowed the world to reshape its truth and virtues. It’s no wonder that faithful followers of Christ are seen as aloof and out of touch with reality.

The solution for Canada is the same as was the solution for ancient Israel. We need to forsake our idols and return wholeheartedly to the LORD our God. Amen. (Hosea 14:1-4)

14 O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; ² Take words with you, And return to the Lord. Say to Him,“Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices^[a] of our lips.³ Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods. ‘For in You the fatherless finds mercy.” ⁴ “I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.

Judgement Seat of Christ

Judgement Seat of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:10-15

The judgement seat of Christ or the “bema” is where Jesus Christ will evaluate the entire life of every Christian alive during the Church Age. (Pentecost to the Rapture of the church) This is not a judgement to see whether or not we enter into heaven. Christians have already been judged at the cross and we are passed the point of condemnation. (Romans 8:1, John 5:24, Galatians 2:20)  Rather this judgement is when God will personally reward us based on our earthly lives. (1 Corinthians 4:5) This judgment  will happen between the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53) of the church and the second coming of Jesus Christ. (Luke 14:12-14, Revelation 19:8)

Bema: A place reached by steps or a platform. In Greek culture; it was where Olympians were awarded their medals. In the New Testament; it was also used to describe the judgement seat of Pilate and Festus.

2 Corinthians 5:10-15

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

·         Phaulos translated “bad” which means worthless or useless describes the mundane, neutral things that we did during our earthly lives that will not carry any eternal reward.

 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Romans 14:10-12

¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of ^[a] Christ. ¹¹ For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

¹² So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

• This meeting is inescapable for all Christians alive during the Church Age.

·         God will ultimately judge our lives so we shouldn’t set ourselves up as judges towards other Christians.

1 Corinthians 3:10

¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

·         Each Christian Life will look different but faith in Christ is always the beginning.

1 Corinthians 4:5

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the ^[a]counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

·         Our reward will personally come from Jesus Christ. (John 5:22)

1 John 2:28

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[a]when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

·         It is possible that we will be ashamed if we squandered opportunities to serve Him.

Principles to Live By

1)      Make the most of your time to serve Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-16

¹⁵ See then that you walk ^[a]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

2)      Never quit serving God because your reward is promised at the bema.

Galatians 6:9

⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

3)      Don’t dwell on past failures but keep your gaze fixed on moving forwards in your Christian faith.

Philippians 3:12-14

¹² Not that I have already attained,^[a] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have ^[b]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

4)      Pursue God’s glory above selfishness.

Matthew 6:33 

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The Holy Spirit- Our Promised Helper

The Holy Spirit- Our Promised Helper

John 15: 26 - 16: 15

The Holy Spirit empowers believers to witness and proclaim the gospel

²⁶ “But when the ^[a]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. ²⁷ And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Convict, sanctifies, guide, teacher, empowerer, comforter, guarantee of salvation, gift, baptizer, commune, witness

The world opposes the proclamation and witness of the gospel.

16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And these things they will do ^[a]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when ^[b]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Jesus promised his disciples that he would sent them the Holy Spirit after he departed

⁵ “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

The Holy Spirit convicts people of their need for the savior Jesus Christ

⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He^[a]will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Note: People will be damned if they do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior! (John 8:24)

Digging a little deeper…

The Holy Spirit is God. When a person places their faith in the Crucified and Risen Christ for His/her Salvation; they are baptized by the Holy Spirit and become permanently adopted in God’s Family. This moment in time is called conversion. At the moment of conversion; a person receives Salvation. Salvation is a permanently binding condition that can never end. Not only is the Holy Spirit our entry into Christianity; but He is our lifelong companion in conforming us to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also gifts the believer and empowers them for Christian service and worship. (Gen 1:2, psalm 139:7-10)

A few Holy Spirit pronouns and adjectives: Deity, Divine, Godhead, Creator, Holy, Immortal, Invisible, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Immutable

In the life of a believer: The Holy Spirit gives believers life giving power (John 7:37-39) and is an indwelling presence (John 14:16-17) He guides, communes, teaches, comforts, convicts, gifts, empowers, seals, sanctifies, searches the mind of God. (John 15:26, 27, 1 John 2:27)

In the life of an unbeliever: The Holy Spirit works to bring about repentance (which is inseparable from faith) The Holy Spirit convicts the unbeliever of sin with a desire that the sinner would repent and believe. The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus Christ and teaches men to believe on the Son. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is necessary for a sinner to repent / believe. Unbelief and attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan is considered blasphemy and will not be forgiven in the age to come.

In our world: The Holy Spirit is the ultimate restrainer of evil in the world. He acts as salt and light in a corrupt fallen world and also restrains God’s inevitable judgment of sin. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7)

Our reaction to the Holy Spirit: When we obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit; we commune with God and are rewarded in the heavenly. When believers disobey the promptings of the Holy Spirit; they grieve Him. Unbelievers are unable to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit until conversion occurs. (Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Holy Spirit in Eternity Future: The Holy Spirit will continue to be God forever and we will have perfect communion with Him when we are glorified. (1 Cor 2:11, 1 Cor 13:12)

The Holy Spirit during Judgment: The Holy Spirit bears witness to the deeds of people and testifies accurately to the truth. The Holy Spirit bears witness that Jesus is the Christ. For believers; the judgement has already passed (John 5:24) for unbelievers; during the great white throne judgement (Rev 2-:12, 20:15) the Holy Spirit will testify accurately and affirm the perfect judgement of Jesus Christ the righteous. (Mathew 12:37)

Testing the Spirit: The Holy Spirit will always affirm the deity and lordship of Jesus Christ and will teach people to obey God’s word and refrain from sin. (1 John 4:1-3)

Worship and the Holy Spirit: We are incapable of worshiping the one true God if we are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is right and proper to worship the Holy Spirit and glorify Him as deity. We should not attribute characteristics that are unbecoming of God to the Holy Spirit since that is the sin of Blasphemy. (Psalm 139:7-10, 1 Cor 2:10-11)

Conclusion: The Holy Spirit is God and deserves all praise, glory, and honor; now and forever; Amen. (Galatians 1:5)

Notes:

Evangelism – sow the seed

Evangelism – sow the seed

Luke 8:5-8

⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ^[a]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Our responsibility is to sow seed:

The sower in this parable is the evangelist. His duty is to sow seed (proclaim the gospel message) the “seed” is the gospel message:

1)      God is Holy and has already judged sinners because of their unrighteousness

2)      Mankind is sinful, guilty of breaking God’s law, and stand condemned in their sin

3)      Jesus made redemption (forgiveness of sin) possible trough the cross

4)      Mankind is responsible to repent and exorcize saving faith in Jesus Christ to be saved

God will determine the outcome of our sowing based on the different types of soil the seed encounters. The soil represents the heart of the hearer.

1)      Wayside soil – This heart is too hardened by a love for sin and a stubborn self will to receive the truth of the gospel

2)      Rocky soil – This heart responds superficially but only lasts a little while and then fades away when trials come

3)      Thorny soil – These hearts still love the things of this world too much and can’t let go of earthly riches.

4)      Good soil – The heart that abandons sin and follows after God and righteousness instead.

Notes:

Repentance – God’s command to sinful mankind.

Repentance – God’s command to sinful mankind.

Mathew 3:1-3

Defending the Gospel against “Cheap Grace”

Repentance: The act of definitively turning away from our sins and seeking after God instead.

Question: Is Repentance optional to become a Christian?

Answer: No. We must forsake our sins in order to receive salvation. This command goes against our carnal, sin loving hearts but is necessary for salvation; otherwise, God would not have made it so emphatically clear in His word.

Matthew 3:1-3

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”

Acts 2:38

³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ^[a]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 55:6-7

⁶ Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷ Let the ^[a]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

Luke 5:32

³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Luke 13:3

³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Luke 24:46-47

⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, ^[a]and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 20:20-25

²⁰ how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, ²¹ testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 15:7

⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine ^[a]just persons who need no repentance.

Don’t believe in “cheap grace”

A required component of the gospel message is repentance. Repentance is necessary in order to experience saving faith in Jesus Christ. It is not enough to simply give intellectual ascent that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world and ask him to take away our sins if we have no intention to forsake the sins that so offended Holy God in the first place!  Being “saved” apart from repenting of our sins is no salvation at all.

Think about this analogy:

As part of your church’s maximum security prison outreach; you visit a shackled, convicted murderer under high security guard supervision. You are escorted into the felon’s cell and seated across from Him separated by a plain wooden table. After warning Him of the eternal judgement to come for his murders; you begin pleading with the man that he repent of His sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

He responds:

“I really desire to be saved from the eternal consequences of my heinous actions and truly believe Jesus Christ died for my sins…That’s why I’ll enjoy strangling you to death all the more with the knowledge that my sins are forgiven!”

With that the convicted murderer lunges for your throat with a devilish grin only to be violently snapped back in place by the iron shackles that restrain Him.