Our salvation comes as a gift of God’s grace and appropriates by the response of faith. To understand the process of salvation, we must understand these two words. They are like cousins. They relate to each other.Saving faith is faith in Jesus Christ and God’s requirement for receiving His gift of salvation. Faith is what …
God freely offers us eternal life in Christ Jesus. However, understanding the process by which that life becomes available to us is sometimes difficult. However, God paints various pictures in the Bible to help us grasp the concept. Each one with its unique emphasis. Salvation is the first, which means deliverance. In the Old Testament, …
No church can function without designated leaders. For example, the book of Acts, chapter fourteen, verse twenty-three, indicates individuals appointed to be an elder or overseer or bishop by spiritual persons. These two men were spirit-filled missionaries who sought God’s will through prayer and fasting. However, following spiritual qualifications by the Holy Spirit makes someone …
Scripture declares that believers must test all things alleging to be from the Holy Spirit. In First John chapter four, verse one explains not to believe every spirit but test it to see if it comes from God or not. A genuine baptism in the Holy Spirit will cause us to love, magnify and glorify …
Believers must recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit in God’s redemptive purpose. Many Christians have no idea what difference it would make if there were no Holy Spirit in this world. Without the Holy Spirit, there would be no creation, no universe, no human race. Without the Holy Spirit, there would be no Bible, …
New Testament Christians consider speaking in tongues as a God-given sign accompanying the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This Biblical pattern for the Spirit-filled life is still valid today. Speaking in tongues is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is a Spirit-inspired utterance whereby believers talk in a language they have never learned. …
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all who profess faith in Christ. They are born again spiritually by receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. One of Christ’s goals in His earthly mission was to baptize His followers in the Holy Spirit. He instructs His disciples not to begin witnessing until baptism in …
The impartation of the Holy Spirit by Jesus to His disciples on resurrection day was not the baptism in the Spirit as experienced at Pentecost. It was the disciples’ initial new covenant experience of the regenerating presence of the Holy Spirit and the impartation of new life from the risen Christ.During Jesus’ last discourse with …
Regeneration or spiritual birth is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. Without the new birth, one cannot see the kingdom of God and receive eternal life and salvation through Jesus Christ. Regeneration is a re-creating of spiritual life in the human heart by God and the Holy Spirit. Through this process, the eternal life …
What is wrong with riches? The prevailing view among the Jews in Jesus’ day was that to be wealthy was a sign of God’s special favor and to be poor was a sign of God’s displeasure. The Pharisees, for example, thought this way and derided Jesus for His poverty. Although this false idea recurs at …
