While all forces of law and order tend to restrain sin, they are not such in their own character, but rather as they are used and empowered to accomplish this end by God. (Eph- esians 2:1) A Christian has both the fleshly and the spiritual natures. They will receive the greater condemnation.. Just as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!. When we are regenerated, we are made alive together with Christ ( Ephesians 2:5) and renewed by the Holy Spirit ( Titus 3:5 ). Serving Wholeheartedly. J But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. P For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. That is where your battle comes in. The Scripture speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit among the unsaved. Two unsaved men may understand the Gospel equally, and yet one never comes to the point of saving faith while the other trusts in Christ and is saved. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Mary & Martha: We Need Both. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, We shall hear you again concerning this. So Paul went out of their midst. The chaos of the primeval earth as described in Genesis 1:2 was not without His presence. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean. (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) B The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. T The spirit of an unsaved man is aware and knows about the things of man (man's thoughts and interests and activities) but he is totally insensitive and blind when it comes to the things of God (God's thoughts and ways and works)--see 1 Corinthians 2:11,14,16 and Isaiah 55:8-9. H Most of the attention of theologians during the Christian centuries has been directed to the latter ministry, that of revealing the message of salvation to the lost and providing enablement for saving faith. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. We are reminded in the New Testament that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation! So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. The church corporately has done much to influence the world, even though it has failed to measure up to Biblical standards itself. Common grace provides none of the normal experiences of the Christian such as are produced by the unhindered indwelling Holy Spirit. And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. The Holy Scriptures We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matt. In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And I answered, O Lord GOD , thou knowest. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. This revelation is inseparable from the Gospel. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. As the Word is preached, the Holy Spirit attends with power to make it known to those who naturally are blind to the truth and unable to comprehend it. For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. Throughout the Old Testament, then, the power of the Holy Spirit guided human events into the path of divine providence. It all sounds foolish to them and they cant understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Needless to say, the subjects included in the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the unsaved should constitute an important part of effective Gospel preaching. In view of the power of Satan and his evident hatred of Christians and the truth, the work of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin is required to explain the relative freedom allowed the Christian in the world and the preservation of those conditions which make possible the preaching of the Gospel and the maintenance of some order in the sinful world. Man and beast are distinguished in this way. Some were saying, What would this idle babbler wish to say? Others, He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. While the Word of God is not necessarily related to the general works of God in restraining sin, in providence, and in acts of sovereignty, the revelation of the truth of the Gospel comes only through the Word of God. The doctrine is, therefore, important in its significance and necessary to a full appreciation of proper Gospel preaching. World English Bible Now the natural man doesn't receive the things of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to him; and he can't know them, because they are spiritually discerned. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. New American Standard Bible Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. The person without the Spirit doesnt accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. L Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 39 views, 0 likes, 1 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Gethsemane Baptist Church, Idaho Falls: Sunday Evening February 5, 2023 And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Salvation is God's gift provided by His grace. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, Cornelius. And he stared at him in terror and said, What is it, Lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Will God forgive me for losing hope and the will to live? It is important that we understand what the Spirit seeks to accomplish in the lives of unbelievers so that we can cooperate with His agenda and thus be used by Him in the lives of non-Christians. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. The judgments which followed rejection of His striving against sin (Isa 63:10-11) had their effect. And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Psalm 1: The Saved and the Unsaved. The work of the Holy Spirit in revealing the Gospel to the unsaved is rather a sovereign operation of God, not conditioned upon the receptivity of man. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. He thinks they are foolish. The unbeliever does not welcome the Word of God. But while human governments may be agencies in the restraining work of the Spirit, we believe that they in turn are influenced by the Church. Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. In the fall, man did not lose his moral determination. Someone living at the merely human level doesnt accept the things of Gods spirit. Matthew 18:11 Verse Concepts [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. and there they continued to preach the gospel. A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. Even so no one knows the things of God except [by] the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11 1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? It would seem a preferable interpretation to view all restraint of sin, regardless of means, as proceeding from God as a ministry of the Holy Spirit. The importance of this ministry of the Spirit must be recognized before the necessity of prayer for the lost can be realized. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Man's triunity . What prevents me from being baptized?, [And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.]. O But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The love, joy, peace, and other fruit of the Spirit are never found in those who have merely experienced common grace. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Is there a scripture of God casting our sins in a sea of forgetfulness? But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead., Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, We shall hear you again concerning this.. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!. The phrase "the old man" (found also in Romans 6:6; Colossians 3:9) is here illustrated by the description following: which is being marred in virtue of the lusts of deceit. 1 Blessed is the man. The theory that Satan is the great restrainer of lawlessness is, accordingly, untenable. Y The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth? 11. And I will grant wonders in the sky aboveAnd signs on the earth below,Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Now a natural man does not accept the things of the, But a person who denies spiritual realities will not accept the things that come through the Spirit of God; they all sound like foolishness to him. Related Readings 24 more readings on Spirit 34 more readings on Man In it all the Holy Spirit is working, striving to bring men to the knowledge of Christ. The character of this work of restraining sin varies slightly in different ages, however. Blog, A U The present age enjoys the ministry of this restrainer whose presence and ministry make impossible the manifestation of the man of sin. Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. The Bible, wherever it has gone, has produced its attendant effect not only on those who believed it but also indirectly has influenced the thought and action of the unsaved world. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. The work of the Holy Spirit in revealing the Gospel to the lost is essential to the whole program of completing the purpose of God to call out the Church in this age. What is the name of the Father? But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. (This is a desert road.). The doctrine of the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing the Gospel to the world is most important not only in its relation to the plan of God but also in carrying out effectively the preaching of the Gospel. Section 2. The mystic assumes that God gives direct revelation to all who will receive it, and that truth so given can be understood properly by the recipient. Satan, also known as the Devil is sometimes referred to as the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), prince of demons (Matthew 9:34), father of lies (John 8:44), "ruler of this world" (John 12:31) and god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). The view of the mystics is based on speculation rather than Scripture or experience, and must therefore be dismissed. Am I not free? And so, because he was a prophet and knew that, God had sworn to him with an oath to seat, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that, He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken, Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted, You have made known to me the ways of life, You will make me full of gladness with Your presence. We receive it by faith, experiencing the salvation only God can provide. Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? And he said, Well, how could I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. While Isaiah 59:19 is not as clear a reference, it infers a similar ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is designed to articulate the preaching of the Gospel and the plan of God to give a universal call to faith in Christ. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. To him the gatekeeper opens. If it be conceded that the Holy Spirit undertook to strive with men to restrain sin in the Old Testament, it is even more evident that a similar ministry will be found in the present age in which the Spirit is present in the Church. Ministering To The Unsaved. D The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. They cant understand them. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. Section 1. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:The Lord said to my Lord,Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christthis Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Water! Paul perceived the matter and told him to quickly repent. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. By the wife; literally, in the wife.The bond is still holy; its holiness rests in the believing wife or husband. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in restraining sin in the world is most important, however, though few direct references are found in Scripture. In the cross Satan met his defeat. 2 John 1:8 Verse Concepts Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The cause of spiritual blindness is made quite clear in the Scriptures: "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). Water! If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. He retains ability to understand natural things and may rise in this realm to unusual heights. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all, And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, will in those days pour forth of My Spirit, And I will grant wonders in the sky above, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 10. The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,But as for a broken spirit who can bear it? The work of the Holy Spirit in restraining the world from sin is found in every age, except during the period of unprecedented sinfulness during the great tribulation, when it is Gods purpose to demonstrate for the first time what unrestrained sin is. But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. I encourage us all to stay focused and sober in our assessment of current events, prophecy, and the realities of the present time and to pray without ceasing as we serve the Lord and hold the line. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. He doesn't see them as sin, in fact, he will often deny the very existence of sin. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. Common grace in its broader sense may have the effect of restraining sin, and it is often regarded as including this aspect. Do we have to live a perfect life to go to heaven? Are they the same thing? 5:18; John 16:12-13). And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. Who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. This article was taken from the Theological Journal Library CD and posted with permission of Galaxie Software. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself., And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation!. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. been overemphasized by the church, these sacraments do reveal in symbol the Gospel message, and the Lords Supper in particular is to be observed because it shows the Lords death till he come (1 Cor 11:26). 2 Timothy 4:6 "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.". But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. While it is not in the purpose of God to deal finally with the world while the Church is in the world, the sovereignty of God overrules the wickedness of men and the power of Satan to make possible the accomplishment of His purpose to call out a people to His name. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. But people who arent spiritual cant receive these truths from Gods Spirit. THE SPIRIT OF AN UNSAVED MAN IS DEAD AND DESPERATELY WICKED When person is no born again, he has what I call an unsaved spirit. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org, How will they preach unless they are sent? Therefore he does not accept it as infallible, authoritative truth that by its very nature demands his submission. An unspiritual person refuses to accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him such things are foolish. Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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