The Holy Spirit Convicts

We are convicted by the Holy Spirit before our conversion. Many have been under conviction who have resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). They have spurned the Spirit of grace to their own just condemnation (Hebrews 10:29). Conviction of unbelief by the Holy Spirit is grace common to all mankind. He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8). Yet, conviction without believing on the Lord Jesus Christ brings no salvation. 

The Holy Spirit convicts of the sin known as unbelief. It is the sin that separates us from the grace and love of God in Christ Jesus (John 16:7-11). Only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ are we saved from condemnation and eternal judgment (John 3:36; Acts 16:30-31).

The Holy Spirit likewise convicts of righteousness (John 16:8). He convinces us that we need the righteousness of Christ. This is conclusive evidence that our self-righteousness can never save us. Only the righteousness of Christ, accounted to us by faith alone, can please God (Romans 4:5). 

The Holy Spirit convicts of unbelief before regeneration and conversion. Our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ gives all the glory to God, knowing that the Spirit of grace brings conviction before our conversion.

How God Is Sovereign

Dr. J. I. Packer wrote, "God's knowledge is linked with his sovereignty; he knows each thing, both in itself and in relation to all other things, because he created it, sustains it, and now makes it function every moment according to his plan (Ephesians 1:11). The idea that God could know, and foreknow, everything without controlling everything seems not only unscriptural but nonsensical."

When we consider God is sovereign without including his omniscience, we could come to errors in our theology. For example, we could see sovereignty as arbitrary or even fatalism. Dr. Packer wrote, "God's knowledge is linked with his sovereignty." Understand that God is not arbitrary in His sovereignty, nor is it fatalism.

Dr. Packer understood sovereignty includes God's knowledge. To isolate one of God's attributes without considering the context of others revealed in Scripture could lead to wrong conclusions. All believers should agree with the testimony of the Bible that God Almighty is our sovereign LORD. But, one attribute of God must be considered with others.

God is sovereign over all. Rejoice that God is sovereign, because he alone knows and foreknows all things. So, let us understand Dr. Packer's conclusion: "The idea that God could know, and foreknow, everything without controlling everything seems not only unscriptural but nonsensical."

God Leads Us to Repent

The goodness of God leads us to repent (Romans 2:4). Left to ourselves, we have no desire to turn from the old life of sin and unbelief. We have pleasure in our sin and depravity. We see no reason to trust in Christ. Only when the Holy Spirit convicts and convinces us of our need for Christ are we awakened to our lost condition. The Spirit of grace awakens us to our sin of unbelief (John 16:8-11). 

When we are awakened to our true condition before God, we are enabled to repent and trust Christ. The Spirit of grace awakens us and enables our repentance. We turn from the old life to become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God grants repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). The Holy Spirit enables us to have faith in Christ (Galatians 5:5). By the grace of God, we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

God leads us to repent through a change of mind. We are transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). 

God leads us to repent, turning by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is when we turn from the sin of unbelief to faith in God through Christ. That is repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). 

Our Access to God

William Reid's book, The Blood of Jesus, was published in 1866. This book focused upon the blood of Jesus for salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and true prayer. William Reid was absolutely confident that the Holy Spirit always bears witness to the blood of Jesus. Access to God in true prayer is based upon the blood of Jesus.

William Reid wrote, "In all true prayer, great stress should be laid on the blood of Jesus. Perhaps, no evidence distinguishes a declension in the power and spirituality of prayer more strongly than an overlooking of this. Where the atoning blood is kept out of view, not recognized, not pleaded, not made the grand plea, there is a deficiency of power in prayer."

When we speak of the blood of Jesus, we always refer to his atoning sacrifice at the cross. The word blood speaks of a violent, sacrificial death. In the Old Testament, blood sacrifices were in the place of those who offered them. They pointed toward the one and only sacrifice that could take away our sins. There is power in true prayer, based upon the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:1-10).

The priests of the Old Testament prayed with access to God on the basis of a blood sacrifice. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat, praying for the people of Israel. He could not enter the Holy of Holies without the blood (Leviticus 16:11-14). Access to God in true prayer is through the shed blood of Jesus. 

Be Righteous in Christ

Righteousness is God's gift in Christ to believers. Upon trusting in Jesus Christ, believers are accounted righteous through our Savior and Lord. It's known as imputed righteousness. Through faith in Christ, believers are accounted righteous before God. It is never self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ.

Believers are righteous by faith in the gospel of Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Martin Luther called it the great exchange. Christ takes away our sin and gives us His righteousness.

Believers are righteous by faith in Christ alone. The Christian life can never be based upon our self-righteousness, which is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). To the contrary, we give up our self-righteousness, and become righteous before God in Christ alone. Christ gives us perfect righteousness from God. Simply stated, believers are righteous in Christ alone.

Believers are righteous before God in Christ. Our sins were imputed to Christ as our sacrifice for sin at the cross. His righteousness is credited to us by faith alone. There is only one way we can be righteous before God. Believers receive the righteousness of God by faith alone in Christ.

How We Are Blessed

We are blessed by God in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "You believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1). All the blessings of God come to us in Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Believers are blessed by God in Christ.

Unbelief is the sin which rejects God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Unbelief cannot receive God's blessings in Christ. Unbelief spurns the goodness of God. Unbelief is the choice of a heart that is hard against the goodness of God. It never considers that it could be wrong, even eternally wrong. Unbelief defiantly says, no, to all that God graciously offers in Christ. Unbelief is the sin that rejects the love, goodness, and grace of Christ. 

The Holy Spirit comes to expose the sin of unbelief. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit convicts of unbelief, "of sin, because they believe not in Me" (John 16:9). Don't let unbelief rob you of God's blessings in Christ. We receive all the blessings of God in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

Faith is an abiding gift of the Holy Spirit; unbelief rejects the gift of God in Christ. Faith testifies that Christ is trustworthy; unbelief will not trust in Christ. Faith walks in the light of Christ; unbelief is satisfied to stand in darkness without Christ. Faith in Christ comes from a heart transformed by the grace of God; unbelief comes from a hardened heart rejecting Christ. We are blessed by God in Christ.

Predestined In Christ

The word predestination (proorizo) means to mark off beforehand. The death of Christ was predestined by God (Acts 4:28). Believers are predestined in Christ to adoption (Ephesians 1:5), to an inheritance (v. 11), and to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29).

The root word for predestination pictures the horizon of the sky and earth. At a distance, we may see where the landscape of the earth ends and the sky begins. That's a line drawn by God Himself. Our destiny in Christ draws the line between those who are saved and those who are not. God has "marked off beforehand" to save all who believe in Christ (Acts 16:31). Believers in Christ are predestined to an eternal inheritance, which is to be conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Predestination means all believers shall be glorified in Christ (Romans 8:29-30). We shall be glorified in a body like unto that of our risen Lord. We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). That's our destiny foreordained, as believers in Christ.

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a destiny foreordained by God. That is our security as believers. Yes, we are predestined in Christ. God's plan for us is certain. We have an eternal destiny as God's adopted children, through faith in Christ, unto an inheritance to be glorified in Christ. Believers in Christ are predestined unto an eternal inheritance.

How Christ Is for Us

Charles Spurgeon wrote: "Jesus will never betray the confidence we place in Him. As we place our faith and trust in Him, remember that He is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption  (1 Corinthians 1:30)." 

Christ is redemption for us. He paid the price to set believers free from the curse of sin and condemnation. It is nothing but the blood of Jesus. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are blood bought. Jesus paid it all.

Christ is righteousness for us. Self-righteousness will never please God. By faith in Christ, believers receive the only righteousness that can possibly please God. We become righteous by faith in Christ alone. We receive the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Christ is sanctification for us. Trying to sanctify ourselves is nothing more than self-righteousness. Only the blood of Christ and the Spirit of Christ can surely sanctify us before God. Jesus Christ alone is our sanctification.

Christ is wisdom for us. He is every believer's Counselor, sharing with us the wisdom of God. His words in Scripture speak wisdom and counsel for our life situations. He speaks wisdom as we read His words in the Bible.

How Christ Is Revealed

Christ is revealed in the Bible. All Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). He reveals Christ in Messianic prophecies and promises of the Old Testament, as well as the fulfillment and assurance of those promises in the New Testament. 

Christ is revealed in the Old Testament, with foreknowledge and vision given to the prophets. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ in prophecy. Today, the same Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us. Scripture is the revelation of the Holy Spirit, given through the prophets and apostles (Ephesians 2:20). Christ is the Revelation (Revelation 1:1).

Christ is revealed in the Gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:5). He is revealed as our salvation, by the Spirit of grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9, 18). The Lord Jesus saves to the uttermost all who come to him by faith. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ saves and keeps us (John 3:8, 16). What he begins in us, he is more than able to complete (Philippians 1:6).

Christ is revealed by the Holy Spirit. He opens our eyes of understanding to see the light of Christ (John 1:9). Without the Holy Spirit, the purpose and point of God's truth is not seen (John 16:13). The hymn Amazing Grace includes these words, "I once was blind, but now I see." That's spiritual blindness, but the Holy Spirit opens our eyes of understanding to see the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord.

God Our Father's Love

Andrew Murray wrote, "God is love and speaking with all reverence, he can't help loving. We see his goodness toward the ungodly and his compassion on the erring. His fatherly love is manifested toward all his children." God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).

God our Father's love comes to us through His only begotten Son. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16). God's love is received as we believe His Son Jesus. His love for us as  believers is everlasting. Nothing, not even death, can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39).

God our Father's love gives us freedom from fear. The heart of God is the heart of our loving Father. God the Father's children are delivered from fear, receiving the fullness of His love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. But he who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18). God the Father's perfect love gives us freedom from fear.

God our Father's love comes to us through the Holy Spirit. Every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ experiences the love of God our Father, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). The greatest abiding gift of the Holy Spirit is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). God our Father's love is in us through the Holy Spirit.

Why We Come to Christ

Jesus said, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). Again, Jesus said, And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself (John 12:32).

No one comes to Christ unless God the Father draws us (John 6:44-45). Albrecht Oepke, the author of a Kittel's article on John 6:44 and 12:32, explains how the Father draws us: "There is no thought here of force or magic. The term figuratively expresses the supernatural power of the love of God or Christ which goes out to all ... but without which no man can come" (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged Edition, ed. Gerhard Kittel) 227.

God the Father draws you to Christ without any violence to your will. There is no coercion. The Spirit of God's love works in your heart to transform our lives (Romans 5:5). You come to Christ loving Him, because He first loved you (1 John 4:19).

John 12:32 teaches that you come to Christ because God draws you, as well as people out of all nations. Likewise, Jesus said that He would be lifted up from the earth, that is Christ crucified, drawing all people unto Himself. The word draw in John 12:32 is the same word used in John 6:44. Understand that God works in you both to will and do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). God the Father draws and enables you to come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.

God's Wisdom for Us

God's wisdom is a gift for us in Christ, according to the Bible. God's wisdom is for every believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is our wisdom for all of the decisions in life. Receive God's wisdom confirmed with peace in your hearts.

God's wisdom is a spiritual gift. In making the decisions of life, believers in Christ ask and receive God's wisdom (James 1:5). Always trust God's wisdom to lead you. Wisdom is based upon the truth, because wisdom comes from God. Follow the words of God's wisdom in your Bible, and you will have no regrets. 

God gives wisdom confirmed with the fruit of peace. Wisdom and peace come from the Holy Spirit. When we have God's wisdom, peace confirms it. God always confirms wisdom with the witness of peace. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Colossians 3:15).

God's wisdom has a counterfeit that seeks to lead us the wrong way. It disguises itself as wisdom, but notice the fruit. Wisdom of this world cannot compare to the wisdom coming from God. Worldly wisdom is selfish, sensual, and brings confusion. God's wisdom in Christ is proven with good fruit. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits (James 3:17).

The Voice Like a Trumpet

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. (Revelation 1:10). John was in the Spirit when he heard the voice of God. It was beyond the natural senses, through the Holy Spirit. The message of the Revelation would come to him.

John heard the voice like a trumpet on the Lord's Day. That is Sunday, the day of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The deity of Christ was confirmed through His resurrection. Jesus is the God-Man. He is Lord of the church and Lord over all. All who believe in His resurrection confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9).

Jesus our Lord is the Alpha and Omega. That expression refers to the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. That means He is the First and the Last. All knowledge is revealed through the letters of the alphabet. God knows all things from the first to the last. Nothing is beyond His knowledge. As the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus our Lord is God incarnate. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

The voice like a trumpet told John to write what he saw and put it in a book. That is the book of Revelation. John writes in the authority of our Lord. The book was to be sent to seven churches (Revelation 2-3). Today that book is a blessing to all of God's people in Christ.

From Guilt to Grace

Guilt is a cruel master. Guilt attacks our memory, with constant reminders of all that we have done wrong. Guilt has no solution and gives us no hope. Guilt not only condemns us, but prods us to condemn ourselves. Guilt will not go away, but day and night its work continues without end.

God's grace is greater than all of our sin (Romans 5:20). Grace is the sure solution for your guilt. Grace sets you free from all condemnation (Romans 8:1). Grace releases us from guilt. Grace will not fail, because grace comes from God. Guilt becomes helpless in the face of grace. God's grace sets us free from all guilt in Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's grace is at the cross where Jesus died in our place. Grace shows us the Savior of sinners, who suffered in our place. Grace teaches us that Christ died for all our sins. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9). That's God's saving grace for you.

God's grace introduces us personally to Christ risen from the dead. Grace will bring us into union and communion with Christ. Then we can say, But by the grace of God I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10). God's grace redeems us as believers in Christ from the guilt of sin.

The Circumcised Heart

John Owen wrote, "What is it to have the heart circumcised, the apostle declares, 'It is the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ' (Colossians 2:11); that is, our conversion to God. It is the giving 'a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:4)."

In the Old Testament, circumcision was a sign of entering into a covenant relationship with God. It was performed by man in the flesh. However, only the Spirit of God can circumcise the heart. The New Testament teaches circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit (Romans 2:29). Circumcision here is used as a metaphorical expression for a change of heart.

The circumcised heart makes you a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your heart is a symbol of your inward person. It's your mind, will, and emotions. Your mind is transformed to understand the will of God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:16). Your will is changed with a desire to do God's good will (Philippians 2:13). Then, you love the LORD your God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6). 

The circumcised heart becomes responsive to the things of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:14). Your heart is changed to become responsive to God's word and will. The mind, will, and emotions are changed by the grace of God in Christ. How about your heart?

How God Adopts Us

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He was begotten by the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth. All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are God's adopted children. In Christ alone, God adopts believers into His family. You are redeemed to receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:5).

God adopts us in Christ to be free from the bondage of sin. At the cross, Jesus died to redeem us from the slavery of sin. Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son (Galatians 4:7). You are adopted as a child of God, because of redemption in God's only begotten Son. In Christ alone, you are adopted as a child of God.

God adopts us to have a personal relationship with our heavenly Father. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba Father (Galatians 4:6). The Holy Spirit indwells every believer to confirm your adoption. We experience God the Father's love in our hearts as His adopted children (Romans 5:5).

You are adopted to be an heir of God in Christ (Galatians 4:7). You have a blessed hope for the future. You have a predestined inheritance to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Galatians 4:7). For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). That is your glorification in Christ, as God's adopted child. 

How God Calls Us

God calls us out of spiritual darkness into the light of Christ. When we see the light, it comes quickly to dispel darkness. The change is sudden and abrupt. Darkness is defeated immediately in the presence of light. That's how God effectively calls us. Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus Christ is the light.

God's effective call opens our eyes of understanding to the truth of Christ. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12). We are called by God to see the light, that we may know the truth of God in Jesus Christ (John 8:31). He is the light of life. Salvation comes through the gospel, as God calls us out of spiritual darkness into the light of Christ.

God calls us to freedom from spiritual darkness. It is not our achievement. Rather, the light comes to us from without, changing our hearts within. Light is Jesus Christ coming into our dark hearts. Then we may testify, "I saw the light." Give all the glory to Him who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

God calls us to walk in the light. When we see the light of truth, then we are able to walk in the light. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). God calls us out of darkness, to walk in the light of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ Our Surety

Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). A surety is a guarantee. In Bible days, the word surety was used to describe someone who guaranteed another person's debt would be paid. All of us have a sin debt to God. The good news is Jesus paid it all. The surety of every believer is in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We all have a sin debt to God. We have broken God's law. Our conscience testifies as much. The good news is Jesus paid it all. Look to the cross of Jesus, where He died in our place. Our sin debt to God's justice was paid, not in part but the whole. Believers are free from a debt that we could never repay. 

Jesus Christ is our surety to the promises of God. In the new covenant, God makes four promises to every believer, guaranteed through Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). These promises are: (1) God will put His laws in our mind; (2) God will be our God and we are His people; (3) We will all know the Lord; (4) God will forgive our sins and remember them no more.

Christ is our surety as believers through the gospel. Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead for our justification. We are children of God by faith in the Lord Jesus (Galatians 3:26). Jesus intercedes for us as believers, that the Father will keep us from the evil one (John 17:15). This is the present day ministry of Jesus, as our High Priest (Hebrews 7:20-25). Jesus shall return to glorify all who believe in Him (1 John 3:2). We are saved by grace through faith in Christ as our surety.

Why God Saved Us

Why did God save us? God saved us unto the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). He delivered us from the law of sin and death. Give God all the glory for His love, mercy and grace in Christ!

God created us to bring glory to His name. We have all sinned, which is to fall short of the glory of God. Anyone living in sin has missed the purpose of God for his life. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). When we live in sin, we fall short of the glory of God.

God saved us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the praise of His glory alone. Give God all the glory for your salvation in Christ Jesus!

God saved us to the praise of His glory, through the Son of His glory. Our salvation in Christ is to the praise of God's glory alone. Believers are to live for God's glory in all things, now and forevermore. 

The purpose of life may be defined as living for the glory of God. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The will of God is the glory of God. All of life is to God's glory. To God alone be glory now and forevermore. Give God all the glory!

Concurrent Sovereignty

Sovereignty without human responsibility leads to fatalism. On the other hand, teaching human responsibility while neglecting God's sovereignty leads to deism, where God is simply not ruling in our world. Then, God is nothing more than a spectator. Neither can ever be acceptable according to Holy Scripture.

God's sovereignty is concurrent with our responsibility. The Bible teaches both. Consider this illustration. The farmer plows the soil, sows the seed, and continues to cultivate the field. Yet, only God can give the increase. This was the illustration given by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). Here we understand the sovereignty of God concurrent with our responsibility.

God is sovereign over all. He is the Almighty, beside whom there is no other. He is the Creator, sustaining and ruling over all. Yet, God has given us choice that makes us responsible and accountable to Him. Therein, we find the basis of God's judgment. Therefore, God speaks to us in the Bible with exhortations and commands.

In the Bible, God's sovereignty is concurrent with our responsibility. Theological systems that teach God's sovereignty without our responsibility will lead to the error of fatalism. God is sovereign. "For of Him and through Him and to Him  are all things, to whom be glory forever" (Romans 11:36). We are responsible to God. "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). That is concurrent sovereignty.