Frederick Thomas Supporter Rom 3:4 ...let God be true...

Here is a thought that came to me in Acts 5 verse 3:
Act 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 
Act 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 

The Holy Spirit had been given us to GUIDE us into truth.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

"Guide" = If it is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide you He will interrupt your wrong thinking and your wrong intentions and you wrong planning’s and your wrong understandings.

For a Christian to lie, he will have to converse with the Holy Spirit. Going against the conviction or correction of the Holy Spirit, who also tries to direct you to be truthful in your doings, but you can persist to continue against the Holy Spirit's conviction and instructions.

The Holy Spirit's involvement in Christians lives:
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 

"Grieve not the Holy Spirit" must mean you are doing something in opposition to the Holy Spirit's guide for you.

Seal of ownership, you’re God's property and God will protect you even against yourself. (2 Cor 12:7)
God Bless

July 19 2015 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Great question, David Soto!

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2Corinthians 3:18)

Like Isaiah, when we behold Him as He truly is we see ourselves as we truly are, and all we can say is, "woe is me!" Our sins and iniquities are exposed so very clearly in the light of His glory as revealed by the Holy Spirit. "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5).

The Holy Spirit's conviction in the lives of believers is real:

"He brings illumination

Ephesians 1:17-18 See also 1 Corinthians 2:8-10,14-16

He gives assurance about their new relationship with God

Romans 8:15-16 See also Galatians 4:6

He convicts of the need for constant change

Romans 8:5-9 See also Galatians 5:16-23"

--Dictionary of Bible Themes

August 10 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Justin Hale Supporter

Scripture reveals that the Covenant arrangement we enter with GOD through Christ includes a type of fatherly discipline, without which we are not yet being acknowledged as members of the New Covenant or recognized as GOD's legitimate children:

"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE FLOGS EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Hebrews 12:6-8)

This 'flogging' is even described as taking three progressively intense forms depending upon our response to it. For example, all three are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:30-32:

"For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world."

So this fatherly discipline from GOD the Father, arriving along with the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation, promises us that GOD Himself will intervene on our behalf to rescue us from evil, even if it means taking our physical lives before evil can destroy our soul!

That is the most extreme form of this fatherly discipline, of course, (described as 'sleep' and representing an early or unnatural death, in this context), but it is preceded by the lesser two forms of discipline first. 'Weakness' is described and illustrated elsewhere in scripture as the basic inability to accomplish tasks or goals we set for ourselves. It tends to be some kind of temporary impairment of body or mind.

Our response to this weakness is supposed to be repentance and self-examination. If we repent of our perceived error and find no actual error present, the 'discipline' is not a correction of sin but what Christ describes as a 'pruning' (John 15:2), done to improve our fruitfulness. It still 'hurts' but can actually be viewed with joy as Paul describes here:

"And He [Christ] has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 12:9).

In effect, GOD 'weakens' us so that we will step into a more fruitful path prepared for us which exceeds our current understanding. If the Holy Spirit did not do this, we would achieve our conscious objectives but they would not be nearly as fruitful and pleasing to GOD.

The difference between this desirable kind of 'weakness' (which all believers MUST experience), and the kind that takes us further away from Christ is revealed by the presence of 'sickness.' 'Sickness' is described and illustrated elsewhere in scripture as a 'chronic weakness' or an inescapable inability to perform a task or achieve a goal. It cannot be overcome without help or resources outside of ourselves, (if at all). We are 'under its power.'

Sickness is a state representing a spiritual turning point for us. We have the choice to turn to Christ, (through repentance), or to the world:

"Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:14-16)

You should note that the words 'may' or 'might' do not appear in these verses. If we can get to the root of the sin, we WILL be healed after it is openly confessed. If we belong to Christ and we abandon this belief or practice, GOD will remove our soul from the circumstance through 'sleep' to protect us from evil.

October 25 2022 • 8 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report