Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Everyone will stand before God in judgment. Genuine salvation is never found except among those who have heard the Word of God. Less extreme than the deists is the Pelagian viewpoint, holding that man is inherently able to understand the truth and make his own decisions in relation to it. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. Reason would point, however, to a number of contributing factors all of which are used of God to check the course of sin. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, Look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Attitudes While Waiting For Second Coming. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all, And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, will in those days pour forth of My Spirit, And I will grant wonders in the sky above, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. The work of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin is seen, therefore, to be an important work of God, essential to divine providence, and a part of the work of God for His own. I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. First, the unsaved must understand that salvation depends upon faith in Christ. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7). And they were saying to one another, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled backit was very large. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. Bible Questions & Answers MP3 Series Listing - Dake Bible .com Mary & Martha: We Need Both. Verse 14. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org, How will they preach unless they are sent? So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. The work of the Holy Spirit in revealing the Gospel to the unsaved is peculiarly a ministry of enablement to understand the way of salvation. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. In relating the Word of God to the doctrine of common grace, two extremes in doctrine may be observed. Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. It is antecedent to the effectual call of God to the elect. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Christ said the Holy Spirit would convict the world Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged (John 16:11). A devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. These things are foolish to them. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. T Abstain from every form of evil. This article was taken from the Theological Journal Library CD and posted with permission of Galaxie Software. So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. What is spiritual blindness? | GotQuestions.org But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. Without this ministry, the world would be an impossible situation for the Christian, and Gospel preaching would be fruitless. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. What does it mean that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin It is designed to articulate the preaching of the Gospel and the plan of God to give a universal call to faith in Christ. The view partakes of all the errors of false mysticism, going far beyond the relation of false mysticism to the Christian, and attributes even to the unsaved the power to receive special revelation and understand it. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. (This is a desert road.) The work of the Holy Spirit for the unsaved world constitutes another proof that God is a God of infinite grace and condescension, working in those who are the objects of His righteous judgment, striving to bring them to the knowledge of Christ as Savior. PDF Sunset ible hurch - Statement of Faith ARTILE III - Statement of Faith It is founded on a desperate need for enablement to understand the Gospel. Plus, you'll also get some beautiful graphic goodies to go along with the lessons, the new scripture writing plan, and the monthly scripture writing questions. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. . Of himself or of someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. The cross is the power of God over Satan. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The unsaved need to know that sin was judged in the cross, and for those who trust in Christ there is deliverance from judgment upon sin and deliverance from condemnation. He cannot understand them because only people who have the Spirit of God can test them. The Scriptures reveal that it is characteristic of the Holy Spirit to minister in scenes of disorder and sin. Publisher: OpenBible.info. It provides for the inability of man and makes possible the salvation of souls. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. The work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the unsaved world is most important for a number of reasons. Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. He thinks they are foolish. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. G The mystic assumes that God gives direct revelation to all who will receive it, and that truth so given can be understood properly by the recipient. 5:23 ). Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. R However, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says that there will be many who will say to him 'Lord, Lord' to whom Jesus will reply, 'I never knew you.'. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. It should therefore be expected that the Holy Spirit should have a special ministry to the unsaved world in every age, particularly in the age of grace during which the Holy Spirit is resident in the world in the Church. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. . For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of Gods Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. In fact it can be said that the whole Bible is evangelistic, because it focuses on the salvation that Christ vicariously provided. Can God Use An Unsaved Preacher to Lead People to Christ? - TeachingTheWord You have made known to me the ways of life;You will make me full of gladness with Your presence. Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 3 He shall be like a tree. We could get a parrot to say "Jesus is the Lord" and he might say it over and over, but it would not be a sign that our parrot is speaking by the Holy . For they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The question concerning the identity of this one who restrains sin, in the light of the Old Testament, is easily settled by referring it to the Holy Spirit. I Have A Spirit - Middletown Bible church And Peter said to them, 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. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. The importance of this ministry of the Spirit must be recognized before the necessity of prayer for the lost can be realized.