Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
How can we truly know we’re saved? Is it even possible to know for certain that we’re children of God? Absolutely! Three things stand out to me:
1. The Witness of the Word
2. The Outer witness
3. The Inner witness
The Witness of the Word (the Bible) is an understanding of the Gospel as given in Scripture. We read in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” John in his epistle elaborates on this in 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” We can know we have eternal life…by believing the Gospel centered on Jesus Christ.
Secondly, there’s also the Outer Witness which is a changed life. Jesus said you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:20). As C.H. Spurgeon said, “A faith that does not change my behavior, will never change my destiny.”
Thirdly, there’s the Inner Witness. When a person is born again and becomes a child of God (John 1:12-13; 3:3) the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 6:16). As we read in our passage for today, the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness from within. The witness of the Holy Spirit is powerful because He’s so close and personal. His witness may include communication and even feelings but it’s deeper than that, it’s fellowship. I know I’m a child of God because He lives within me.
Do you have that peace knowing you’re a child of God? Praise God if you do! If not, I would encourage you to draw near and search your heart. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.” I would encourage you to talk to God, go to church, and maybe even speak with a pastor. We’re here for you. Our heart is that you would be saved and that you would be sure.
Your brother in Christ,
-Manny
Category Archives: Doctrine
Blessed
November 30, 2018
Psalms 32:1-2 “A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
Sometimes I sense that we as Christians don’t really realize how blessed we are.
I’ve been reading through the book of Romans and I came across this passage from Psalm 32 quoted by Paul in Romans 4:7-8 as one of Paul’s Old Testament examples of someone who was saved by simple faith. The salvation of David meant that his transgressions of murder, adultery, and so much more – were forgiven, his sin was covered, his iniquities were cancelled and not counted against him. That’s amazing! but not only were David’s sins forgiven, David had all the beautiful, wonderful, perfect and absolute righteousness of Christ imputed (transferred) to his own personal account.
In God’s sight, David was no longer in the hole, he was flawlessly holy.
Wow!
You would figure that Paul would stick with people like Job, or Joseph, Jeremiah, or Daniel – but David? David had a good heart (most of the time) but what he did to Uriah and Bathsheba – murder and adultery (see 2 Samuel 11) – how could he do that after all God had given him? David was so accountable as the king of Israel, a Bible writer to the world, the spiritual leader of the land, but then that fall – he fell so hard, so far!
How could he be a poster child for the church?
Here’s how…we’ve all sinned – and not just against Uriah or Bathsheba, but against God, and I know this is a hard one to swallow (get ready) – – – but we’re all guilty of murder and adultery (please see Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28; James 2:10-11).
We were all just as guilty as David, but now we’re just as innocent and righteous as the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Himself. Christians are blessed because we’re forgiven and given the righteousness of Christ. I hope you know that my beloved friend, just keep believing in Jesus – keep the faith, bask in the blessings and may His amazing grace and everlasting love help you walk in the newness of life.
Your brother in Christ,
– Manny
The Baptism & Filling of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:5 “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Jesus was speaking to His disciples and informed them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in the very near future. But what exactly does it mean to be “baptized” with the Spirit and how is one “baptized” anyways?
Well, this is a very long discussion, but let me see if we can summarize this important part of the Christian life in a neat little nutshell.
Prior to becoming a Christian, the Holy Spirit is “with” you (the Greek word is “para”). He convicts you of your sin, and shows you your need for a Savior. We read in John 14:17a “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…” (see also John 15:26; 16:8 on how the Holy Spirit’s job is to point you to Jesus when He is “with” you).
After becoming a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives “in” you (the Greek word is “en”). If you finish the above passage in John 14:17 “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.” When Jesus breathed on the disciples in John 20:22, they received the Holy Spirit, and He came to live “in” them. Paul mentions the fact that under the New Covenant, God lives “in” us Personally and Congregational – yes God lives in His people (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19).
But that’s not all, there is one more Greek preposition and that is “upon” (the Greek word is “epi”). This is subsequent to salvation when the Holy Spirit comes “upon” the people to empower them for service and sanctification. We read Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come UPON you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
As you read through the book of Acts you will see the way the Holy Spirit came upon the people the first time (when they were baptized), and then He came and empowered them again and again, as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9, 52). It’s for that reason Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation {wasted life}; but be filled with the Spirit.”
How about you? Are you walking in the power of the Holy Spirit? Is He upon you with power – to the point that you’re walking under His influence? How can we receive that power?
Two words stand out to me – pray and obey! Don’t quench the Spirit through doubt, and don’t grieve the Spirit through disobedience (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30).
Two Scriptures would be appropriate in closing:
Proverbs 1:23, “Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my Spirit on you…”
Luke 11:13, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”