Walking the Spiritual Walk

 

Romans on Living Life in the Spirit

 Life in the Spirit is a journey, and while there are many great passages throughout Scripture that discuss the role and person of the Holy Spirit, Romans 8 is perhaps one of the most insightful. Here are 7 suggestions that will fuel a passion for the things of the Spirit and further educate how to live a life directed by him.

1. Walk in the Spirit (Rom. 8:4)

 There is no shortcut to learning how to walk with the Spirit. It's not just for ultra-spiritual people nor is it reserved for charismatic Christians. Life according to the Spirit is not simply trying to do the right thing, nor is it trying to live according to God's Law. Walking in the Spirit is the central metaphor for describing what it means to live as a Christian. The person who walks according to the Spirit will in fact have the essence of the Law fulfilled in his life.

2. Set your minds on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5)

 The question "how does one overcome the pull of the flesh?" sounds like an old riddle: How can someone extract all of the air out of a drinking glass? The most direct way to get all the air out of a glass is by filling it with something else. You cannot extract thoughts that displease God from your mind. Like [the solution to the riddle], you need to be filled up with thoughts—indeed with an entire mindset—that is oriented toward the things of the Spirit ( Gal. 5:22–23).

 3. Put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Rom. 8:13)

 The person who has been regenerated by the Spirit is not stuck in sin. By the Spirit, the pull of the flesh can be resisted. To "put to death the deeds of the body" is pretty much the same thing as "saying no to sin," but unlike the anti-drug campaign among youth many years ago, just say no by itself will never be successful. Just saying no will never allow you to consistently overcome sin. Then what must you do? You must say no by the Spirit.

 4. Be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14)

The Holy Spirit leads us broadly (always) and more specifically (sometimes). He always leads us through his written Word, which was revealed to the prophets by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20–21). We are to prayerfully, carefully, and humbly apply broad biblical wisdom to the situations we face in our lives.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit leads us directly. The Holy Spirit can choose to act in any way and according to any timetable that he wishes; we do not dictate to him how or when he will move. Since the Bible gives many examples of him acting more specifically, we should anticipate that he will sometimes choose to lead us directly if we are open and available to his guidance.

5. Know the Fatherhood of God by the Spirit (Rom. 8:15–17)

Without the Holy Spirit, we would never know our freedom and identity as God's adoptive children. Thankfully, God has freely given us his Holy Spirit, and these verses from Romans 8 display three amazing things the Spirit does:

He acts as the go-between who takes us out of a place of slavery and fear and brings us into a place of adoption and acceptance.

He helps us to cry out to God as Father.

 He testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

 6. Hope in the Spirit (Rom 8:22-25)

 The biblical concept represented by the English word hope is so strong that it is almost a synonym for "eager expectation." The focus of the expectation isn't that life will get better here; it is absorbed with the glorious life to come.

7. Pray in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26–28)

These two verses (Rom 8:26–27) are so rich and helpful in our lives in the Spirit.

We learn that we are weak when we come to prayer. We often don't know what to pray for in any given situation. The concern is not about the manner of prayer (the "how"), but rather the content of our prayers—what do we actually pray about?

We learn that the Spirit joins to help us when we are struggling to know how to pray by interceding for us with wordless groaning. It is not, as some propose, that we should just pray whatever we want since we don't have any idea how to pray, and that the Spirit fixes them up and prays on our behalf to the Father. Rather, the verb often translated as "helps" has a preposition attached to the front of it, which suggests that it really means "joins to help."

 The Spirit is searching our hearts and knows that we have a mind-set that is focused on him, even if we do not know exactly what we are supposed to pray.

The result is that our prayers are prayed "according to the will of God" because the Holy Spirit is moving us thus to pray and is presenting the prayers that he is guiding us to pray to the Father.

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in all this? Rom 8:23 says: "We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." Paul claims that it is because we have the Spirit, not despite it that we groan. In this passage, it is precisely the presence of the Spirit within us that causes us to feel this particular kind of suffering—the longing for final redemption in the midst of a fallen world. In this way, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives reminds us of the stark contrast between the wonderful things God has prepared for us who believe and this fallen world that is so full of sin, suffering, and futility.

We will need God’s Holy Spirit

 

The Bible declares that the Holy Spirit is the power of God (2 Timothy 1:7 ), that it leads us into all truth (John 14:17, 26 ), that it enables us to discern spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:11, 14 ), that it is our guarantee (“seal”) of eternal life in the resurrection (Ephesians 1:13-14 ), and that without it we are “not His” (Romans 8:9 , emphasis added). You need God’s Spirit to be a Christian!

 But how do you acquire the Holy Spirit? How do you know if you are being led by it and producing the fruit of the Spirit? What is the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in someone’s life?

 And is the Holy Spirit a person—the third person of a Trinitarian Godhead? (Hint: The early Church did not teach that the Holy Spirit is a person. It took hundreds of years for this doctrine to develop!)

 As we search the Bible, we will find that the Holy Spirit is the nature, power and essence of God. It is also a gift that God can impart to a human mind to promote and inspire spiritual growth in that individual and enable that person to become a member of the family of God.

The Scriptures contain much information on this important topic. Be sure to study this section carefully so you can prove from the Bible what the Holy Spirit is and what it is not.

 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

 John 14:17 (NKJV)

 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

 1 Corinthians 2:11-14 (NKJV)

 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV)

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[a] is the [b]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

 Romans 8:9 (NKJV)

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

How to repent—what does the Bible say?

 

John the Baptist’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2, see also Mark 1:15 and Luke 3:3, 8).

 

When Jesus started His public ministry, He also called for repentance. Matthew 4:17 records, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Jesus says of repentance, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).

 

In Mark 6:12, the disciples also “went out and preached that people should repent.” This preaching continued in Acts. Peter preached to Jews, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Paul preached to Gentiles, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). And later he testified, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21). And, similarly, “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).

 

As demonstrated in the passages above, repentance is an important part of an initial response to the gospel, but it is also an important part of the life of the Christian. Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul says, “Now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended” (2 Corinthians 7:9). To the church at Ephesus, Jesus says, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5).

 

Even though repentance is extremely important, there is no Scripture passage that explains what repentance means or how to do it. This is probably because repentance is not an inherently theological word. When people heard the command to repent, they knew what it meant because it was a normal word with a normal meaning. Essentially, repent means “to change one’s mind” about something (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, methane). Of course, when a person has a change of mind about something, the result is a change of behavior as well. If a driver is headed south on a highway and suddenly realizes that he is going the wrong direction, he will then get off at the next exit and head in the opposite direction. He has repented—he has changed his mind about the direction he should be driving. If he realizes he is going the wrong direction but decides to continue on without making any changes, he has not really repented. He has, by his actions, shown that he is just fine with the current direction of travel. In the New Testament, repentance is associated with a change of mind about sin.

 

Saying, “Sorry,” being sorry or even feeling sorry are not the same as repenting. A person can feel emotionally sorry for something without addressing the underlying issue. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Judas felt great remorse over what he had done to Jesus, but he did not repent. Instead, he committed suicide (Matthew 27:3–5). Peter also felt great remorse over his denial of Christ (Matthew 26:75), but in his case it did result in genuine repentance and a change of direction, as later he boldly proclaimed Christ in the face of persecution (see Acts 4).

 

When a person is doing something that he has chosen to do and may even enjoy a great deal, but then, based on his exposure to the Word of God, he repents, it means he has changed his mind about it. The repentant person comes to believe what she once loved is wrong and that she should stop doing it. In accepting the gospel, repentance is the flip side of faith. It is possible that someone can become convinced that what he has been doing is wrong and then attempt to “mend his ways”—and he may even succeed. But if such a person does not place his faith in Christ and the righteousness He provides, then he simply trusts his own moral reformation. Biblical repentance is the recognition that we are helpless to save ourselves—it is turning from sin and to the One who paid for it and can forgive it.

 

So how does a person repent? Like faith, repentance is a response to the work of God, who convicts and convinces a person that he is in error. In Acts 11:18, the Jewish believers “praised God, saying, ‘So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.’” Second Timothy 2:25 highlights the same thing: “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to knowledge of the truth.” These verses indicate a tension between God’s work and human responsibility. We gently instruct sinners in the hope that this intervention will be the means that God uses to bring them to repentance. It is the truth of God’s Word lovingly and accurately presented that God uses to bring about repentance.

 

If a person is having an extramarital affair, he or she may “know” or “believe” that it is morally wrong. However, repentance that results in a genuine change of mind would cause the adulterer to cut off the relationship. If a person really wants to repent, he needs to not only mentally agree that a thing is wrong, but ask himself, “If I really believe this is wrong, what will I do differently?” And the answer will be to do that different thing. As John the Baptist said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8). He followed the command with some specific examples in Luke 3:10–14:

 

“‘What should we do then?’ the crowd asked. John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’

 

“Even tax collectors came to be baptized. ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’ ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them.

 

“Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.’”

 

An unbeliever’s desire to know how to repent and trust in Christ is evidence that God is working. If a believer wants to repent of sin that has crept into her life, it is because the Holy Spirit is working in the life of that believer. However, it is possible for a person to come to the point of admitting that a particular attitude or behavior is wrong but then refuse to submit to God’s truth regarding a change. That’s not repentance. Repentance is agreeing with God’s evaluation of the sin and then being willing to follow God’s leading in a new direction.

 

A person will be in a better position to repent if he is continually feeding on God’s truth through reading and studying the Bible, listening to biblical preaching and teaching, filling the mind with truth so that the mind begins to think the thoughts of God, and associating with like-minded Christians who will foster accountability. In some cases, a Christian may know that something is wrong and that she should change, but she doesn’t really want to. In that case, there is nothing wrong with praying, “Father, I know that I should change, but I am unwilling—please make me willing.”

Truth Telling

Of all the endangered species, truth is the most endangered.

 Someone said, “Truth, absolute truth, defines and governs the cosmos. It exists independently of our perceptions or our capacity to comprehend reality.”  Truth is not subject to our thoughts, biases, or desires.  It is what it is regardless of how well we may or may not understand it. It is what it is whether we accept, reject, or ignore it. Truth is constant and immutable. It is unchanging. Finally, absolute truth is internally consistent: it cannot contradict or be in conflict with itself.

 In the Biblical account between Jesus and Pilate, Jesus said, “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” In reply to Jesus’ declaration of his mission, Pilate asks this most important question: “What is truth?”

Indeed, Jesus came to earth for the important and influential purpose: to be a truth teller. We may surmise correctly that truth is very important.

Jesus indicates that we should not be seeking political power. In the end, it is not power that can right wrongs, but something more enduring than power. It is the truth. Jesus instructs us that telling the truth is the best remedy to the political, social, religious, and any other wrongs of any time.

 Someone said the opposite of being a truth-teller is to be a teller of lies. Whereas truth works, lies frustrate. Whereas truth endures, lies falter. Whereas truth expands, lies diminish. Whereas truth welcomes discussion, lies become defensive. Whereas truth promotes reconciliation and healing, lies lead to betrayal and distrust. Without truth-tellers telling the truth, a civilized moral, ethical, and honorable society cannot exist.

 Brigham Young said something like this, “How easy it is to live by the truth. In every circumstance of life, no matter whether among the humble or lofty, truth is always the surest guide and the easiest to square our lives by. I delight in this, because truth is calculated to sustain itself; it is based upon eternal facts and will endure, while all else will, sooner or later, perish.”  He also said: “Our religion is simply the truth. It is all said in this one expression, it embraces all truth, wherever found, in all the works of God and man that are visible or invisible to mortal eye.

 It is important to learn some truths about truth. The answer to Pilate’s question “what is truth?” is long, for the list of truths are endless.  The marvel of truth is that it is self-sustaining as it needs no artificial support.

The discovery of truth is a lifelong search. With the desire to learn, discover, and tell truths, we may learn truths through different methods such as philosophical, historical, and scientific methods. As truths are discovered they are found to exist at different levels.

 Dr. Henry Eyring said about truth in science, “If a thing is wrong, nothing can save it, and if it is right, it cannot help succeeding.”

Henry David Thoreau observed that many of us are not very curious. Thoreau paraphrased said, “It is remarkable how long men will believe in some stated fact without taking the trouble to examine it for its truth content.” Thoreau points out how rare it is for humans to search for the truth and how much more willing we are just to accept that which we are told. Thoreau admonished us to search thoroughly for the truth, settle ourselves, and work through the mud and slush of opinion, prejudice, tradition, delusion, and appearance . . . through church and state, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom which we can call reality. Yet, in these days of information overload and opposing opinions, few will seek any clarification and evidence of truth. 

Truth requires us to examine our narrow interests, assumptions, a priori beliefs, biases, prejudices, and customs. As Socrates recounts, the search for truth is usually difficult, requires great effort, and can be uncomfortable. However, the journey is rewarding as one’s worldview is expanded and one’s knowledge of truth is increased.

We need to be careful that our search for truth does not just reflect to us what we want to be true or what just benefits us or confirms our biases. We need to look deeper into the premise, beyond a mere superficial reflection of our preconditioned belief. Truth is often at the bottom of our search, and it can be hard to discern.

 Speaking of the dangers of seeing only what we want to be true rather than what is actually true, Hugh Nibley said, “True knowledge never shuts the door on more knowledge, but zeal often does.” Nibley reminds us that though we know many great truths that have been passed on down to us from earlier scientists, philosophers, historians, prophets, and others, there are endless truths yet to be discovered, encountered, and learned from. We should embark on a continuous, conscientious, honest acquisition of knowledge.” This knowledge we seek after should include historical, scientific, social, and moral truths.

We need to look for the truth ourselves, for there is a self-reliant aspect to truth-seeking. Being self-reliant in our truth-seeking emphasizes the importance of studying difficult issues out in our own minds and of being willing to change our minds. A most challenging task as who among us wishes to be wrong about an issue.  Even on the most trivial of issues!

Always willing to change his mind, Socrates sought out others to prove him wrong. He liked to be proven wrong, for in that case, he could discard a mistaken idea and learned something new. In contrast, to be proven right is not to learn anything new.  An important insight in truth-seeking. Socrates engaged in dialogue after dialogue with religious leaders, politicians, artists, and philosophers, always trying to learn something new, always willing to change his mind.

Often, however, Socrates’ fellow dialogue participants were not as eager to learn new truths, for they were reluctant to acknowledge they had been wrong. Also, new truths required them to reassess and modify their worldview.