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How does The Holy Spirit work on your heart?

The Preacher Leave a comment

While talking with a denominational preacher about reaching the lost he said, “Some people just aren’t interested in spiritual things, they don’t study and don’t have many conversations about spiritual things. In these cases, all we can do is let the Holy Spirit work on their heart.”

This man would say that he doesn’t accept Calvinism, but he was vocalizing the false doctrine. To remind you of what Calvinism teaches allow me to summarize…

  • Total Depravity: All mankind is born into sin, including babies.
  • Unconditional Election: God picks and chooses who will be saved or lost and it’s unchangeable.
  • Limited Atonement: That God picks only a few individuals to be saved and all else will be lost and you can’t change it. Including babies.
  • Irresistible Grace: That if you’re among those being chosen to be saved, then you cannot prevent it nor resist it.
  • Perseverance of the Saints: Once God saves you (even if against your will) then you can never lose your salvation ever, no matter how sinful a life you lead or even if you change your belief.

Now this is my summary of their belief and if you asked a Calvinist, he will spin it so it sounds better, but the result will be the same; IT’S UNSCRIPTURAL. Another thing you might find is that there are denominations that accept all or part of the above. Belief (faith) comes from hearing the written word of God [John 20:30-31; Rom 10:17].

A partial belief is what this preacher had accepted. He rejects most of Calvinism, but his statement, that the Holy Spirit will work on a person’s heart even as they have no interest in spiritual things, no reading, nor studying with others from the bible, proves it.

HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVERT?

No Bible believer questions the fact the Holy Spirit saves sinners (John 3:5), the question is HOW? We only have 2 options a) direct operation of the Spirit or b) through the influence of a medium (the Gospel, Romans 1:16).

The Scriptures teach us that the Holy Spirit’s work, in the redemption of mankind, is the work of divine revelation. God originates, Christ procures, the Spirit reveals.

Review the chart on the next page to see HOW the Holy Spirit works to save sinners. What you will find is that people are converted through the Holy Spirit revealed word of God that utilized teaching, preaching or reading of the scriptures. Yes, the Holy Spirit does work on our hearts, but He does it through our diligent study of God’s divine word.

ILLUSTRATION: When a person says, “my spouse made a nourishing dinner,” who did it? Were they nourished by the spouse or the food? If a person and an instrument perform the same task, the person is working THROUGH the instrument.Thus, the Holy Spirit saves through the influence of the written word of God [John 3:5; 1Pet 1:22-23].

The Holy Spirit converts a person when they engage in seeking the Kingdom of God, Bible reading and a diligent study of God’s word, rightly divided. [Matt 6:33; 2Tim 2:15]

4 Easy ways to improve your Bible reading

The Preacher Leave a comment

LET’S FACE IT, WE ALL could be doing a better job of reading our Bibles. It’s just that we’re very busy. Although true, it’s still no excuse. After all, we are instructed to study… “Study to shew thyself approved unto God…” 2Timothy 2:15

Instead of trying to keep pace with one of the myriad of Bible reading plans, let’s take an approach that emphasises STUDY over just reading which could work better with your own busy lifestyle.

Study for the Bible classes. The congregation here at Franklin St. church of Christ, has determined to study through the whole Bible during our two weekly Bible class hours. This will take us about 5 years to study (not just read) the entire bible. By preparing for each Bible class, you’re reading the Bible!

Study Topically. So many of us keep a bookmark of “biblical references” in our Bibles. We keep them handy so that we can refer to them when a question arises during our personal work. What’s wrong with taking a few moments each day to study through one of the topics on the bookmark? For example, you could dedicate a week (just a few moments a day) to read all of the scriptures pertaining to baptism or the plan of salvation etc. I have personally used this method to improve my readiness when doing personal work.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” 1Peter 3:15

There are other resources you can use to engage in this type of study, topical Bibles which simply list every scripture on a given subject, as well as concordances. Other trusted resources like, “Ready Reference for Growing Christians” or “Nichol’s Pocket Bible Encyclopedia” can be very helpful in your studies. Doing this is called reading your Bible.

Read what you can, when you can. Another strategy you can use is to keep a Bible handy. Download an app on your phone, or keep a pocket Bible in your purse or in your car, so that you always have God’s word with you to read during those many moments of pause. You know those moments of pause, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, or at the orthodontists office etc. Keep a Bible in every room of your house for quick access to His word. A friend of mine keeps her Bible open on the kitchen counter (away from the sink of course) as a constant reminder to take time to read. This too is called reading your Bible.

Make an appointment with yourself and God. Someone once told me, “nothing ever gets done until a deadline is set.” Make an appointment, or set an alarm on your phone, to spend time reading His divine instruction for your life. As an examle, set a goal to read the Gospels in a month. Everyone has time to read the Gospels. Look at these stats….

Matthew:        1 hour, 14 minutes
Mark:              46 minutes
Luke:               1 hour, 18 minutes
John:               1 hour, 3 minutes
The Four Gospels:  4 hours, 21 minutes

Looking at it another way, you could read…

  • Mark in the typical span of 1 or 2 quarters of NFL football.
  • John in the time lost watching commercials in 4 hours of TV.
  • Matthew in the average span of 4 Major League Baseball innings.
  • Luke in the typical length of 1 half of an NBA game.

Please understand, I’m not advocating that you give God the crumbs that are leftover from your day, what I am saying is there are multiple opportunities, during a day, to read the bible if we would just make it a point to take advantage of the time.

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:16

This verse from Ephesians should serve as a warning. Let us use the time remaining to protect ourselves from the evil that vexes our souls daily. What better resource do we have to do that than God’s own Word?

8 things that happen when you read the Bible

The Preacher Leave a comment

One of the things we as evangelists work hard to do, is to get our members to READ their Bibles. I’m reminded of the great commandment that our Lord quoted from De 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Mr 12:30) The rest of the passage in Deuteronomy goes on to teach, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” (De 6:6 ) It appears that the continued study of God’s word is connected with the very Love of God.

There is much emphasis in the Bible for all Christians to study it. With that in mind, I would like to share with you

8 things the Bible says will happen to you when you read….

…you will….

1- Gain Understanding – The Apostle Paul wrote that we could understand what he knew by revelation, “when we read”. (Eph 3:4). Luke also wrote so that we, “may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.” (Lu 1:1-4) With the instruction you will gain Instruction in Righteousness – By reading the Bible, we will have godly instruction and become “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim 3:16, 17). In Romans, Paul tells us that even the Old Testament was “written for our learning.” (Ro 15:4) When you read, you will read better, be better at business, life and Godliness.

2- Gain Utterance – “And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,” (Eph 6:19)
You will become clearer about your faith.

3- Gain confidence / boldness – When the Apostles were preaching the gospel, the prayed for boldness, “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,” (Ac 4:29 ). We can have boldness, not only through prayer, but through our continued study. (1Ti 4:13)
You will have more confidence to share your faith.

4- Know the Truth – “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (Joh 17:17) The Lord promised to send a Helper, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:” (Joh 16:12-13) We will also recognize error.
If you know the truth, the error will become evident.

5- Be Ready – Peter tells us to “be ready always to give an answer..” (1Pe 3:15) And Paul writes, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” (Col 4:6) If we read, we can be prepared to share our faith.

6. Apt to Teach – The writer of Hebrews rebuked the brethren, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,” (Heb 5:12) There are plenty of passages about us becoming teachers, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Mt 5:14) as well as, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,” (Eph 4:11) – Ro 12:7; Eph 4:1Co 12:28;
You will be able to, and perhaps desire to teach.

7. Believe – Our Lord and Savior said that the written word served the purpose of helping folks believe, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…..” (Joh 20:31)
You will become more firm in your faith.

8. Have Salvation – In the same passage He also said, “…and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (Joh 20:31) When questioned whether he would stay or go, Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (Joh 6:68) By reading, we keep His word, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” (Joh 8:51) By reading, we are showing that we are receiving His word, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him–the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Joh 12:48) By reading the Bible, you will learn what it means to “…obey the Gospel.” (1Pe 4:17)
You can be certain of your salvation.

As I wrote this, I was reminded of the quote from Mark Twain, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” But his words pale in comparison to the words of God spoken through the prophet Hosea,

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Ho 4:6)