Gospel Living

I was talking to a church member this week who was troubled that a family member viewed the Holy Spirit as a force.  While reading the Nicene Creed, I was struck afresh by the early church's view on God the Spirit. The Nicene Creed, originally penned in AD 325, was amended in 381.  The whole creed is as follows: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;  And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and si...

This Grace Gem message is quite à propos today: Such weather vane preachers are worthless! (Frank Hall) A weather vane preacher  is any preacher who changes what he preaches or how he preaches when the wind changes direction. The preacher who alters his message or his method because of the ever-changing advice, counsel, and opinions of men is not a leader, but a follower.  Such weather vane preachers are worthless!  They only do harm to the souls of men, and they need not preach at all. True, gospel preachers are pillars in the church of God-- not puppets in the hands of men. "On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please men but God , who tests our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:4 "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to ...

Pray then like this ...   forgive us our debts (Mt 6:9, 12) We are all born the enemies of God (Rom 5:10).  Consider: God is holy , and we are not.  We chaff at the separation from sin we so love that He calls us to. God is omniscient , and knows every sin we do in secret.  Cf. Ps 139:7–8, Mt 12:36.  We chaff that we can’t have a moment to enjoy sin without His eye catching it. God is omnipotent , and can bring us low at any moment.  We chaff because He can destroy our bodies and cast us into Hell for sinning, and there’s nothing we can do about it. God is immutable , and we want Him to move.  We chaff because we have no hope that He will change His mind on sin, or that He will forget what we have done, or that His power would falter.  We can only have two responses to God.  We can continue to shake our fists at Him, or we can humble ourselves, asking Him to forgive our debts against Him. Romans 5:10 says, “For if while we ...

Considering how long ago the Q and A session was, this question amazingly still arises from time to time.  Phil Johnson addresses it adequately here: https://www.gty.org/blog/B131030