The Warfare of the the Righteous

THE WARFARE OF THE RIGHTEOUS

          1 Peter 2:11; Galatians 5:16,17; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Matthew 11:12; Luke 22:31-34,56,57,62

          The righteous is always faced with a battle, with warfare. As a Christian, the devil is battling for your soul. If he can, he wants to take you away from the Kingdom. He wants to fulfill this through seemingly small sin. No matter how strong you think you are, a little sin can bring you down. The flesh fights against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Satan will be happy to have you overlook the battle for your own soul and begin to fight against flesh and blood. But if you will be victorious in the daily battle going on within your soul, you need to be violent with self, bad habits or anything that can hinder you from getting into the Kingdom.

          Satan does not like to fight ordinary skirmishes. He is always after significant people. If your life is significant in the hands of the Lord, if you have a significant role in the kingdom of God, if you have taken a stand for the Lord, Satan will be after, not just your physical but most importantly, your spiritual life.  Jesus prayed for Simon Peter. Yet, he fell when temptation came his way. Why? It was because Simon Peter belittled the power, the intention and purpose of Satan. The righteous ought to watch because eternal life is not something that is secured forever if you do not watch and pray.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.  

Warnings for the Righteous

 WARNINGS FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

Hebrews 3:12-14; Exodus 32:30-33; 1 Samuel 12:14,15; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Ezekiel 3:20; 18:24; 33:18; John 15:2,6; Romans 8: 9-13; 11:20-22; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Hebrews 12:15-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-12

 There is nothing like eternal or unconditional security. There exists the possibility of departing from the faith once delivered to the saints. There is nothing like being saved forever. You can fall from grace to grass if you are not careful. Warnings abound in the scriptures of such possibility. There are people who are only careful when they feel that members of the church may discover what they are doing wrong and report them to church leadership. Such people are afraid of only human and church discipline. But if there is no possibility of any member of the church knowing what they intend to do, they go ahead and engage themselves in all kinds of evil deeds. If they know that there will be no way of detecting what they are about to do, if nobody can hold them to it and discipline them, they feel disposed to doing evil. They forget that God’s eyes are watching them. The church may not see you and discipline you.  But God sees you and will take your name out of the book of life if you go into sin. His favor will continue to abide with you only if you are living right as a born again Christian, only if your life is glorifying to His name. If, on the other hand, you rebel against the commandments of the Lord, there will be judgment upon you from the God of heaven. When a righteous man takes things for granted and goes back into sin because he is no more watchful, careful and prayerful, judgment is sure to follow. If you die in sin, secret or open, you cannot get to heaven.  The righteousness of the righteous will not be remembered on the day he goes into sin!     

The Weakness of the Righteous

THE WEAKNESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Judges 8:22-27; 2 Chronicles 15:7, 8,19; 16:7,10,12; 26:5, 7,15-20; 2 Samuel 11:26, 27; 12:7,9,10; Matthew 26:69-75

          We are made righteous by grace. It is not a quality or virtue that is innate or inborn in us. It is by grace that we are saved, not of works. Without grace, we are as ordinary as other people are. Salvation, boldness at the throne of grace, conviction and uncompromising stand on the truth are all by grace. Yet, the fall into sin of great men of God like Noah, Gideon, Asa, Uzziah, David, Peter after they had good testimonies serves as a great warning to all believers on the need  to be watchful at all times. Gideon was a man whom God used to deliver the children of Israel from the hand of the Midianites. The Midianites acknowledged him to be a great warrior.  But more than being a warrior, he was a righteous man. His reply to the request of the Ishmaelites to reign over them shows him to be a man of great humility. But his good testimony was soon stained by his slide into idolatry. Behold, the weakness of a righteous man! Christian, seek not yet repose as there is an ever-present temptation to make you fall.

          Some moral weakness was shown also by King Asa. For thirty-five years he reigned as king, he ruled with the fear of God. There was no idolatry but peace, rest and tranquility in his domain. But later, Asa began to waver in his commitment to the Lord. He became oppressive and dictatorial. The Lord sent His prophet, Hanani, to warn him. But he would not listen. Instead of taking corrections, in his pride he became angry at the prophet’s rebuke. Chastisement or rebuke came by way of disease. The warning was meant to draw him back to the Lord. But he was unrepentant. He could not seek the Lord. Instead, he sought cure from the hands of herbalists and witch doctors. He died from the disease. Uzziah was helped by the Lord to become a highly successful inventor and an engineer. But success got into his head. He became high-minded, arrogant and incorrigible. He died a leper. David, the man after God’s heart, the man who was so righteous that he would not kill his enemy, became so morally weak that he killed the husband of a woman he committed adultery with. Righteous people sometimes can be weak. Peter walked on the water, witnessed the transfiguration of Christ and stoutly defended the Lord his Master by cutting off someone’s ear when they came to arrest the Lord. Yet, thereafter, he denied the Lord thrice.

Bible Doctrine 11; Holy Ghost Baptism

BIBLE DOCTRINE 11      

                                  HOLY GHOST BAPTISM

God’s Word teaches:

That the Baptism in the Holy Ghost is the endowment of power from on High upon the sanctified believer. It is “the promise of the Father” and when one receives this “gift of the Holy Ghost”, it is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking a language unlearned previously, referred to as speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance - Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:8; Luke 3:16; 24:49; John 1:30-33; 7:37-39; 14:16,17,26; 15:26; 16:12-15; Acts 1:5-8; Mark 16:17; Acts 2:1-18; 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-6. We do not teach or instruct people how to speak in tongues: the Holy Spirit gives utterance. We also stress the necessity of purity before power. The Gifts of the Spirit are for believers today - I Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:1-40.

     The baptism in the Holy Ghost is the endowment of power from on High upon the sanctified believer. It is the promise of the Father. When one receives this gift of the Holy Ghost, it is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking a language unlearned previously, referred to as speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:30-33; 7:37).

     We do not teach or instruct people how to speak in tongues; the Holy Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2:4). Jesus Christ the great Teacher preached it and promised it (John 7:37-39; Luke 24:49; and Acts 1:4-8).

     The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is not the new birth, salvation, conversion or regeneration (John 7:37-39; 14:17; 17:6-9,14-16; Luke 10:19-24; 24:49). It is not the sanctification experience (John 17:9; 17:21-23; Acts 2:1-4). Jesus prayed for the sanctification of His disciples and yet commanded them to wait for the endowment of power, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Moreover, sanctification is for purity whereas the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is for power.

     It is also for illumination, feeling of joy, liberty and victory in prayer, self-denial or zeal (Luke 24:27, 31-32, 44, 45; Acts 8:8,14-17).

     The Holy Spirit is not a mere impersonal force. He is not a mere power that we can get hold of and use. He is not a mere influence that we feel. He is a person who seeks to get hold of us and use us. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Personality who we must honor, worship, fellowship with and listen to. He is called the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of the Living God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of your Father, the Comforter, the Eternal Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Luke 11:13; Hebrews 9:14; I Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:3; I Peter 1:11; 4:14; Romans 1:4; 8:2). The Holy Ghost is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and holy. He is the Inspire of the Holy Scriptures, the General Overseer of the militant Church, the Great Teacher, Helper and Guide of all the saints, the character Builder of all members of the Body of Christ (Hebrews 9:14; Psalm 139:7-10; Acts 10:38; Matthew 12:28; I Corinthians 2:10,11; John 14:17-26; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:22,23). The Holy Ghost is the third Person in the Trinity (I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:3-6; Matthew 28:19).

The Holy Spirit:

1.   Searches all hearts (John 16:8-11; I Corinthians 2:10, 11).

2.   Convicts of sin (John 16:7-11).

3.   Regenerates (Titus 3:5).

4.   Bears witness with us (Romans 8:14-16).

5.   Adopts into God’s family (Romans 8:15).

6.   Helps and gives victory in temptation (Romans 8:2, 26-27).

7.   Helps in prayer (Romans 8:26, 27; Zechariah 12:10).

8.   Fills believers with joy, peace and boldness (Acts 13:49-52).

9.   Sanctifies (Romans 1:4; 5:5).

10.  Quickens and heals our body (Romans 8:11).

11. Comforts, counsels and commands (Isaiah 11:1, 2).

12. Intercedes for saints (Romans 8:26, 27).

13. Illuminates and inspires (2 Peter 1:21).

14. Searches and reveals the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).

15. Teaches (John 14:26).

16. Guides into all truth (John 16:13).

17. Creates (Psalm 104:30).

18. Empowers (Acts 1:8).

19. Directs gospel work (Acts 8:26-29).

20. Confirms the gospel (Hebrews 2:3,4).

     The mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit is promised to all flesh; and those who meet God’s conditions can receive God’s abundance (Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Joel 2:28,29; John 7:37-39. Few (very few) of the Old Testament saints had the bulk of the Spirit upon them for some special tasks that the Lord gave them to do. The rest majority of the Israelites lived all their lives without the “special privilege” of having “the Spirit upon” them. Even those who had this privilege did not all enjoy His continuous abiding presence (Numbers 11:25; 24:2; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 14:6; I Samuel 10:9,10; 16:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

     There were great expectations and a “diligent searching” by the Old Testament prophets. They looked forward to the glorious Gospel days in which we live. Even the angels dared to look into these things.

     In as much as Christ’s incarnation, birth, life, dominion, rejection, suffering, meekness, death and resurrection were all foretold, and the messianic prophecies were fulfilled in every detail, so also, will all prophecies concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit must be fulfilled.

     Today, we can all receive the Spirit in baptismal measure. We can be baptized in the Holy Spirit if:

1.  We thirst - have strong desire (Isaiah 44:3; John 7:37, 39).

2.  We receive “a new heart”, "a heart of flesh”, renewal of “the stony heart” “circumcision of heart” (Ezekiel 36:26, 27).

3.  We have “faith” to “receive” (Galatians 3:2, 14; Mark 11:22, 24).

4. We pray to receive (Luke 11:13).