"Family Tensions and the Holidays"

Here is a good article to read before going home for the holiday's by Russell Moore.

Question Box: "How Can the Holy Spirit Indwell Sinners?"

Here is a question I received in the questionbox.  Submit your questions by clicking the questionbox link.

Question:

I have been wondering how it's possible that God can dwell in us through His Spirit even though we are still sinners? Because He can't be in the presence of sin, right?

Answer:

First, let’s look the question broadly and then we will zoom in on it.  We must understand that it is only partially true to say “God cannot be in the presence of sin.”  It is true because God is holy, holy, holy, and will destroy all sin.  However, it is not true because God is omnipresent (everywhere).  So, God is present everywhere, even where sin is being committed. We see this in Job where Satan comes before God with a proposition to test Job.  Here the father of lies is in God’s presence.  Furthermore, even in Hell God’s presence cannot be escaped.  But, His presence in Hell is not the same as His presence in Heaven.  In Heaven, His presence is experienced as joy, light, irresistible beauty, and glory.  His presence in Hell is experienced as heavy judgment, darkness, sadness, and torment (God is still glorified in demonstrating his righteous judgment, but it is not a wonderful glory for those in Hell).  So, in the big picture it is helpful to realize that it is not precise enough to say “God cannot be in the presence of sin.”  Instead, we say, “God is holy and so sinners cannot dwell in His Kingdom when it comes in its fullness.”  

Now let’s zoom in to the particular question at hand.  As a Christian, how is that God indwells me (through his Spirit) while I am still a sinner?  First, we affirm that the Bible says this is a reality.  Passages like Romans 8:9 make it clear that every child of God has the Spirit of God.  But that still doesn’t answer the question, “How can this be?”.  For that we could look at other verses in Romans 8, namely verses 3 and 10, but let’s look at Ephesians 1.

Ephesians 1 begins with several verses about our salvation.  We were chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless (4). We are redeemed through the blood of Christ and forgiven of our trespasses according to the riches of God’s grace (7).  After rehearsing these, and other truths about the amazing grace of God in our salvation, Paul says, 

“In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13-14). 

The Holy Spirit is given to us at the point of salvation (“when you heard….”).  The Holy Spirit seals us with God’s kingly seal, indicating we are His children and heirs of His inheritance.  So, it is at the point of our being forgiven of our sins in Christ Jesus that the Holy Spirit comes into us.  That means all our sins, past, present and future, have been covered by the blood of Christ, and we are justified.  That is, we are positionally holy and righteous by virtue of the work of Christ who obeyed God perfectly for us.  Even though we still sin in our daily lives, we remain justified and each of those sins has been covered by Christ.  So, it is no contradiction for the Holy Spirit to live in us: we are holy in God’s sight though we still fall short of holiness in practice.  And, it is one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit to make us more in practice what we already are in position (this is sanctification- the process of growing in holiness).1    

1Passages such as 1 Corinthians 6:17-20 tell us that we should put aside sin since we have been “joined to the Lord” and have the “Holy Spirit within” us.  These passages indicate that our unity with Christ is incompatible with sin. The Holy Spirit indwells each believer, making our body a temple of God.   So passages like 1 Cor. 6:17-20 give us a clear call to put aside sin based on our union with Christ and His Spirit.

5 Signs of Spiritual Maturity

...it’s not wrong for a new believer to be immature any more than it’s wrong for a child to be childish.

Puerility is only annoying in an adult. When a four year old dons a cape and wears his underwear over his pants, claiming x-ray vision, it’s cute. When his dad does that, it’s concerning (or certifiable).

I think you can see where the analogy is going.  Here is the link to the whole article on spiritual maturity.  Check out the five signs of maturity he gives.  Surely there could be more then the 5 he lists, but these are some good ones to think about.  Let's press on toward maturity in Christ.

Happy Palindrome Day

This from Kevin DeYoung

11/1/11 was cool. 11/11/11 will be another fine event. But today may be the best palindrome day of the month.

Happy November 2, 2011 (11/02/2011) everybody.
Or as the cool kids say: 11022011.
Today is one of only 12 eight-digit palindrome dates this century. It’s also the product of 1001 x 11 x 1001, another palindrome. Pretty sweet. 11/1/11 and 11/11/11 won’t appear for another century. But 11022011 won’t appear for another 20,000 years, not until January 10, 22011. So make sure today is an extra special day for you and yours.

"God's Will for Your Wait"

Maybe you feel as though you are in a time of "waiting" for the right person to marry or for a job offer or grad school decisions.  Here is a link to a great article by Paul Tripp on how we should view "waiting" in the Christian life.  He focuses on how those in ministry should "wait," but no matter what the "waiting" is for, this article will be helpful.  Here are two excerpts:

Usually our view of waiting is the doctor's office. We see it as a meaningless waste of time, like a man stuck in the reception area until he has nothing left to do but scan recipes in a two-year-old copy of Ladies' Home Journal.

Our waiting on God must not be understood this way. The sort of waiting to which we are called is not inactivity. It is very positive, purposeful, and spiritual. To be called to wait is to be called to the activity of remembering: remembering who I am and who God is. To be called to wait is to be called to the activity of worship: worshiping God for his presence, wisdom, power, love, and grace. To be called to wait is to be called to the activity of serving: looking for ways to lovingly assist and encourage others who are also being called to wait. To be called to wait is to be called to the activity of praying: confessing the struggles of my heart and seeking the grace of the God who has called me to wait. We must rethink waiting and remind ourselves that waiting is itself a call to action.

....

So as you wait, tell yourself again and again: Waiting is not just about what I get at the end of the wait, but about who I become as I wait.

"Did Jesus Use the NIV? How Did We Get Our Bible?"

Here is a link to some audio of Dr. Timothy Paul Jones speaking on the subject of how we got our Bible.  This always seems to be a pressing question, one that we should be prepared to answer when critics ask (not to mention it is encouraging for us to know the facts). 

Reflecting on the Sermon: 10/23/11

We have moved into the a portion of Romans that becomes explicitly practical (beginning in Romans 12).  In light of all the mercy we have received (1-11), we are to go and show mercy (12-16).  Some people just want to discuss doctrine but never think about how it is applied.  This section reminds us that theology is meant to impact our everyday lives.

Rod spent the last two weeks on Romans 12:1-2. God didn't save you or me so we could just continue living for ourselves.  That was the root of our original problem.  He came to free us from that.  We are called to not be "conformed" but to be "transformed."  In other words, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold, but let your new nature be expressed in your body.  This really happens by the renewing of our minds.  So Christianity isn't just a way to modify behavior.  We must start with our minds, what we are thinking and wanting, if we are to ever see true transformation in our lives. 

What areas of thinking in your life need to be changed?  To figure it out, ask," where am I being conformed to the image of the world and not transformed by Christ?"