|
The Bible says:
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye
have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if
so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:15-18
Salvation is more than a decision made at a point in time. It is a new life
in which one learns to walk after the Spirit of God. This is eternal life, and this life is in Jesus
Christ. Salvation is a relationship with God, and as such, we can know by his
Spirit that we are the children of God.
The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of
God. We are aware of His witness as we walk in the light, just as Jesus is in
the light. We are also aware of his witness when we sin and come under his holy
conviction.
You may ask how you can know if you are truly
receiving the witness of salvation from the
Holy Spirit and not some other spirit. You must not believe every spirit that
bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. You must test that
spirit to see if it is really the Holy Spirit who is giving you assurance of
salvation rather than evil spirits who are counterfeiting his witness. Yes, evil sprits
are practiced in counterfeiting the work of the Holy Spirit, and giving false
assurance of salvation is one of their specialties. That is why so many
Christians are serving sin and therefore the master of sin (Satan) while being
convinced they are true Christians.
If you sow to the Holy Spirit (obey God according to
the Spirit's leading which will not contradict Scripture), he will bear
witness that you belong to God. If you sow to the flesh, you will be convicted
of your sin by the Holy Spirit. However, if you ignore him repeatedly and for an
indeterminate amount of time, you will sear your conscience as with a hot iron.
If this occurs you will open yourself to seducing spirits (these come to
Christians who quench the Holy Spirit by heeding Satan's voice instead of God's) who will
lure you straight to hell while you remain certain that you are in a saved but
unholy state.
The Bible says that without
holiness no man will see the Lord, but the evil spirits that work to counterfeit
the assurance of the Holy Spirit have no problem working on your mind to get you
to "explain away the scriptures" or go along with
a false teacher
anointed by Satan to "explain them away" for you. Please do
not give Satan place. He will take it and take you much farther than you want to
go.
Many who regard themselves as Christians live so as to
please their flesh. Due to the fact that they they have faith in "the
day they prayed the sinner's prayer" rather than in the living Lord Jesus
Christ (who will not allow them to sin without convicting them by his Spirit),
evil spirits give them false assurance that they are right with God when
actually they
are right with Satan.
This is very important.
If sin does not grieve you, you are either not truly
saved to begin with, or in the process of searing your conscience and falling away from the
true faith of Jesus. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit. (See Ephesians 4:30)
If the Holy Spirit is in you and bearing witness that you are a child of God, he
will be grieved when you sin, and because you are in agreement with him, you
will be grieved too. The true witness of the Holy Spirit is not in
agreement with sin. Christ and Belial are not in agreement: "And what concord
hath Christ with Belial?" 2 Cor. 6:15
None of us perfectly walk in the Spirit at all times. Sometimes we sow to
the flesh rather than to the Spirit. That is why we have God's gracious promise and provision that
if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Confessing our sins and
forsaking them is God's command, and as we walk in the light as he is in the
light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and we continue to receive
the blessed witness of the Holy Spirit that we are the sons of God.
The Holy Spirit's witness to our spirits that we are the children of God is so
precious and reassuring. That is why we must heed the Bible's command to
"grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" and "quench not the
Spirit." Our assurance of salvation is directly associated with our walk of obedience which
demonstrates the authenticity of our faith in the sight of God, and therefore
our salvation. Genuine faith in the genuine Lord Jesus Christ is genuine
salvation.
Real Christians have received the Spirit of adoption into the family of God.
They are privileged to call God Abba, which is a term of endearment like
"Daddy." Those who are truly God's children know that because they are
heirs with God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, they will suffer with him that they
may be glorified together with him. But they also know the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.
We must have the Holy Spirit's witness that we are the children of
God. We must not be deceived by evil spirits seeking to counterfeit the true witness
of the Holy Spirit or by the
witness of a person—who could be wrong.
True
Gospel Vs False Gospel Articles
|