BASICS OF CHRISTIANITY – Part IV

 The Holy Spirit teaches us and takes us deeper into God’s truth as we go along in our Christian life. There is not a person anywhere who can be a Christian without the Holy Spirit. There is not a person who can follow Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sees everything that goes on. He knows what goes on in our hearts. He knows what goes on in our minds. Nothing is hidden from Him. The Holy Spirit is called Holy.

 The Bible says, “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). One of the Holy Spirit’s ministries is to help make us holy—to become more like Christ.

 How Does the Holy Spirit Work?

 First, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8, NKJV). He uses a mother’s prayers, or a tragic experience, or a pastor’s sermon, or some other experience to convict us of sin and of our need to give our lives to Jesus Christ. He points to us and says, “You are a sinner. You need to repent.” We don’t like to hear that, but without conviction, we could never have our sins forgiven, we could never be saved and we could never go to Heaven.

 Second, the Holy Spirit gives new life. The Bible says that we are dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). Our spirit within us, made in the image of God, is dead toward God. Mankind needs life. Yet, we have all sinned and, therefore, are dead toward God.

 The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new life in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). But how is someone born again? What does that mean? The Holy Spirit is the one who makes you born again; it is a supernatural act. It isn’t the good things we’ve done, but God’s mercy through the Holy Spirit that saves us (Titus 3:5). All we have to do is accept the free gift of salvation by accepting Christ.

 Third, the Holy Spirit lives in us. As you read this, you may realize that you are spiritually dead, but God says, “I will put my Spirit in you. I will come to live in you.” That’s the reason we should never take anything unclean into our bodies. That’s the reason we should discipline our bodies. God loves your body. He doesn’t want it polluted by fleshly lusts or harmful substances. The Bible says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

 Fourth, The Holy Spirit gives you power to serve Christ. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Christ is coming back again, and He is ready to come into your heart by the Holy Spirit and make you a new person. Will you accept Christ as your Savior?

 God’s Forgiveness

 Believing in God’s forgiveness of your sin isn’t always easy. But if you have sincerely given your life to Jesus and are trusting Him alone for your salvation, then God has promised to forgive you—and He cannot lie. The Bible says, “This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life” (1 John 5:11-12). That includes you! The key is to depend not on your feelings, but on facts—the fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection for you, the fact of your commitment to Him, the fact of God’s promise to forgive you.

 Feelings come and go, and they can deceive us. The facts of God’s Word, however, don’t change. You can depend on them. Don’t focus on your feelings, but on Jesus Christ and what He has done for you. Imagine for a moment that you had a very wealthy relative, and one day you received a call from an attorney telling you that she died and left you a million dollars. What would you do? You might say, “Oh well, it can’t be true,” but would that be wise? Instead, you would probably accept by faith what he told you, then act on it.

 In a far greater way, Jesus Christ offered you a gift—the gift of salvation—and you accepted it. Now act on it! Begin by thanking Him for saving and forgiving you, then seek to live for Him every day.

 Does God Forgive Future Sins?

 One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that Christ died to take away all our sins—not just part of them, but all of them: past, present and future. You shouldn’t fear losing your salvation every time you sin. If that were the case, we would lose our salvation every day. Even if our actions are pure, our thoughts often are not. And even if our actions and thoughts are pure, we still sin because of the good things we should do but don’t. Never forget: Your salvation does not depend on you and how good you are; it depends solely on Christ and what He has already done for you through His death on the cross.

(More to Come)

https://static.billygraham.org/sites/billygraham.org/uploads/pro/2019/08/GF-Basics-of-Christianity.pdf  (Edited slightly by this site)