This month I will wrap up my lengthy study on the subject of the process of salvation. Living the Christian life is not easy. The sinful nature is a force to be reckoned with. God does not expect us to be able to conquer it on our own. Yet many of us seem to want to try to prove to ourselves and to God that we can. We believe if we do, we have gained God's approval. But He requires quite the opposite. He wants our total trust and reliance on Him in all things. He wants to be our Father in the deepest sense. We need to begin thinking about doing things God’s way, disconnecting ourselves from the logic of this world as much as possible.                                

I do not believe that most Christians realize the honor God has placed upon them to do His bidding. So let us be proactive with the gifts and talents we’ve been given to accomplish God’s purpose through us. Let us strive to walk in the Spirit, humbly accepting whatever task we have been given, however great or small, knowing that He will not abandon us. But we can stray from Him. We can study our Bibles and pray in the Spirit to guide us in righteous living. Although we must partner with His Spirit according to the Word.  For most of us, the willingness to give up control is the most difficult part of the Christian life. But God is always there, waiting for us to ask Him for help and even for faith. Sometimes He may mercifully intercede when we're in denial or just too proud to admit our weaknesses. Though we will never be as perfect as Jesus, we have been given the great privilege to call upon Him any time for real, tangible strength. With all the reasons God has given His chosen to love Him, perhaps the most poignant is simply, "We love Him, because He first loved us".
We may soon find ourselves before our Savior to give our account.

Let us stand confident when the searing light of Truth shines upon us, knowing we have been His faithful witness.     

The Relationship Between Faith and Obedience
Our faith allows God to supernaturally infuse us with an ever increasing desire within us to obey Him.  So obedience is   the evidence of faith while faith is a fruit of obedience, and the source of and impetus for both is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is true we first surrender to the gift of God's grace by faith and not our obedience, because, being lost, we do not yet know how to obey God.                                                                                            

I also believe God deals with each of us individually concerning our faith and obedience.  Paul wrote  to the Philippian assembly, "... carry out and fully complete your own salvation with reverence and trembling, carefully watching out for temptation...that you may show yourself to be blameless and innocent children of God." 

Our faith and obedience open our lives to Him so He may accomplish His will through us. Without both, our praise, worship and prayers would mean nothing. Without both, it would not be possible to bear spiritual fruit, and therefore bring no substance to our works. Without continued faith and obedi-ence to His Word, we would simply be unsaved hypocrites.

What is Fruitfulness?
By "fruit" we are not just talking about the results of godly acts. We are also talking about the building up of spiritual character as a result of godly obedience. Since faith is a fruit of the Spirit, one who consistently shows no fruit also shows they do not have  an interest in pleasing God. Remember earlier how we covered the degrees of faith? One can believe in the gospel and the Christian doctrine without exercising the personal faith and obedience that would activate the awaiting Spirit. This explains why so many who have vowed to give their lives to Christ and been baptized, go on to live eventless spiritual lives.

* "I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that stops bearing fruit He cuts away and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit...Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without being vitally united to the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me." 

* “Remember from what heights you have fallen. Repent and do the good works (of love) you did when you first knew Me, or I will visit you and remove you from your place."309  This essentially means that God will compromise our relationship with Him, our service to Him or worse.                                                   

* In II Peter 1:3 through 11, we read, “ For whoever lacks these godly qualities (fruit of the Spirit mentioned in verses 3 thru 8) has become spiritually blind. Not only have they not moved forward in the full knowledge of God, but they cannot even remember back when they were cleansed from their sins. They cannot see beyond earthly things to the heavenly. So because of this, be virtuous, and strengthen your calling and election so it may be steady and sure, and you will never stumble.  In this way, your entry into the fullness of eternity will be assured.

* John gives this example, "But if anyone has this world's resources for sustaining life and sees his fellow believer or neighbor in need, but closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the agape love of God live and remain within him?

Works 
"For we are God's handiwork, born anew. Our creator has taught us His good works He planned beforehand which we should continue to live by to bring His will to pass." (Eph. 2:10) Notice we do not do good works to earn God's grace, but rather because we appreciate the grace of God and love Him. Second Corinthians 9:8 assures us that He will continue to supply us with whatever we need to do His good works. These works glorify God and also help to bolster our faith.                                                                                  
Works has become a dirty word in many churches. It is easy to see how a casual Bible reader may get the impression that righteous works, even those inspired by the Holy Spirit, amount to nothing:         

* Paul wrote to Titus, “The love of the Savior appeared to man not because of righteous works we have accomplished, but rather by His mercy...”                                                           
* He also wrote to Timothy, “God has  given us the hope of salvation and called us not because of the works we have done, but according to His divine purpose."                                                           
* Ephesians 2:8 and 9 is more specific. We read, “By grace you are saved through your faith and not by anything you have done. Salvation is a gift of God and cannot be gotten through works that are inspired by man, for it is something man cannot achieve."                                                               
These verses are referring to what man believes are righteous or moral works, but are actually outside the Spirit in purpose  and motivation. It is a dangerous mistake to neglect teaching the importance of good works. God does not intend for us to rest on the laurels of His grace and become "lazy servants".  If we do not perform works of love, we are not allowing God's divine grace to work through us. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus and born anew that we may do those good works which God planned for us ahead of time, and that we should continue to walk in them."

Now, James wrote, "By works of obedience we are justified and not just by faith." He explained, “What does it profit a man if he says he has faith but cannot show the works to back it up?..Likewise, faith is powerless and ineffective if it does not have good works to support it. You believe there is one God and you believe correctly. But even the demons believe and tremble at the mention of His name. Was not our forefather Abraham justified by his works when he brought his own son to the altar to be sacrificed at God’s command? You can see that his faith worked in tandem with his actions, and his faith was completed and reached its supreme expression through his actions.  Abraham had trust in God's promises and proved it by his actions, and it was the source of his righteousness... So you see that we are justified through works of obedience and not just faith.” In other words, faith and works cannot be separated, because they are dynamically related. Even Jesus spoke of Abraham's acts of obedience in terms of works.                                                     

Surprisingly, there is no contradiction between Paul’s and James’ writings. Paul often corrected Jewish Christians who were still looking to the works of the Old Law to earn their salvation. A main focus of James' epistle was obedience to the Royal Law and the Ten Commandments, both of which are fulfilled by the practice of love. In both cases, a multitude of good works and deeds that are accomplished by our own volition and motives cannot earn our justification. Only those acts guided by and accomplished through His Spirit will be fruitful in fulfilling His purpose and bringing us to spiritual maturity.
Also, consider this; Paul described faith as  an inward commitment to God, while James was speaking of works as a complimentary outward commitment. Where one is present, we will find the other. The Holy Spirit often emphasizes different facets of the same doctrine. These two views must be combined as a whole before it can be seen that they are not contradictory at all. 

God loves and respects a persistent and passionate prayer. David had absolutely no timidity in approaching God with his most raw emotions. No matter what the trial, he exhibited complete confidence that God had heard his cries. There was urgency in  his petitions that proved his faith in God's deliverance, and he actively awaited His answers.                                                              
Now we have an interesting question:  Should we pray passionately in faith for anything we desire, even selfless requests, or are we to pray for God's will, as it is plainly stated even in the Lord's prayer? When pertaining to prayer, there is one Greek  noun for God's will that is used most often. Boulēma means "a wish or desire" and is  emotional by nature. Thelēma describes something that will not or cannot be changed. An excellent example of where this usage of the word "will" might be misunderstood is, "...for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should repent." Obviously, if God willed (thelēma) that none should perish, then none would perish. But it is the emotional desire of His compassionate heart that none of His cherished human creation should be destroyed. It can only be a desire, because their destruction is the result of the decisions they make with the free will He has given them.                                                                                  
Now let's look at more scripture concerning our prayer to God that uses thelēma. I John 5:14 and 15 read, "And this is the confidence which we have in Him: we are sure that if we ask anything according to His (determined) will, He listens to, and hears us. Therefore, we can be also fully assured that our prayers are as good as answered." The prerequisite to answered prayer here is asking for those things that are in agreement with what God has prepared and wants to give us. We can only ask for such things through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit and using our Bibles as a guide. 

As an interesting note, Jesus told His twelve on certain occasions whatever they prayed for would be answered, with the qualifier "if it is God's will" curiously absent. "And I Myself will grant whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified and extolled through the Son. Yes, I will grant whatever you shall ask in My Name." (John 14:13,14) "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you, that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may remain and abide in you, so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He may give it to you." (John 15:16)  "And when that time comes, you will need to ask Me no questions. I assure you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My Name." (John 16:23)  "Up to this time you have not asked a single thing in My name; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy may be full and complete." (John 16:24)  "At that time you will pray in My Name, for it will be unnecessary for Me to pray to My Father on your behalf." (John 16:26) 

The common thread that runs through all these verses is that Jesus had not yet been glorified and resurrected. But after Christ's resurrection and the indwelling of His Spirit, man could pray directly to the Father in the name of (by the authority of) His Son, and the power of His Spirit. No more mediation or animal sacrifices by the priests of the Law was needed in order for God to hear the requests of His people.

Jesus full well knew His twelve were going to be faithful to their task, because it was not by their power that they were chosen to accomplish it. They could ask for anything, because it was foreordained by God that they be obedient and faithful in establishing and nurturing the young church.

Although the verses above were spoken to Jesus' disciples at that time, we cannot assume that because they were specially chosen by Christ they had the unique privilege of asking for anything whereas we do not. This privilege is available to all saints because they are called to accomplish God's work. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone with steadfast faith in me will be able to do the things I do and even greater, because I must go to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name so the Father may be glorified through Me."  

But none of this is possible unless we strive to be obedient to Christ's teachings. "If you abide in Me and My teachings remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask for whatever you like, and it shall be done for you." "If we are of clear conscience concerning our sins, we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and practice what is pleasing to Him."  These will certainly surrender to the Spirit in what to ask for. 

So we can conclude, we must pray persistently and passionately by the leading of the Spirit while maintaining a faith-filled, obedient life. Then the mountains will move! If we find all these things difficult, God has graciously given us the privilege of praying for more strength! 

Prayer is yet another privilege of grace. There is the initial "sinner's prayer" that brings a lost soul into the realm of salvation. Then there is the prayer of faith, which will open all doors to God's blessings, no matter how great or small.                                                           

Why does God require of us to pray? He wants us to realize our sin and how it separates us from Him. God wants us to understand that He is our source for all things. Prayer is the most efficient and effective way to bring God's will to pass on this earth. We may ask God for anything, but the more we mature in our walk with Him, the more we will focus on spiritual needs for others and not ourselves.

Prayer is the most powerful of all God's graces for the believer. It is also probably the least understood and practiced. God wants us to pray without feeling restricted by rigid or legalistic protocol. But He also wants us to be educated in more effective prayer. I will cover this topic in a fair amount of detail based primarily on scriptural instruction.

Let us first examine the basic types of prayer. These need not be in any particular order:
1) supplication (personal needs), 2) intercession (prayer for others), 3) thanksgiving for what God has done, 4) praise for who God is, and 5) and personal devotion (a time set aside over and above regular prayer, as we are moved by the Spirit). Of course, within these types we find more specific prayers.  For example, we can pray for salvation for others, protection against evil, Christ helping us in our weaknesses, spiritual restoration, miracles, healing, God's justice, the growth of the church, effectiveness of evangelism, spiritual knowledge, and prayer for our enemies.

We always pray to the heavenly Father, and in the name (power and authority) of Jesus Christ. But notice that the Lord's prayer does not have the closing words "in the name of Jesus". This is because at the time Jesus gave the Lord's Prayer as an example, He had not yet been glorified and given all power and authority in Heaven and on earth by His Father.

The Bible is clear that the assurance of our prayers being answered depends upon our willingness to walk along side and obey His Spirit, and whether or not our requests are God's desire to grant. "If we are of clear conscience concerning our sins, we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we obey His commandments and practice what is pleasing to Him." And what He expects of us is to rely upon and trust in Jesus as our Savior and love one another. If we do this we will naturally ask for those things the Holy Spirit wants for us. This may sound as if  God will not obligate Himself to answer our prayers if we do not show Him enough courtesy to obey Him. However, the real reason is simpler. When we disobey God's Word, we are disabling His Spirit from moving in our lives. It is not that God will not honor our prayers. It is that He cannot do so. It would violate His purpose to give us free will. Does this mean we have the ability to affect God's determined will? No. He has already seen our thoughts and actions beforehand and made provision for them in His sovereign plan.

If our faith and obedience play such a great part in God receiving the believer's prayer, it makes sense that we begin our prayers by confessing our sins. This is the way many of David's psalms begin. Let us keep in mind, our forgiveness is contingent upon forgiving others. Confessing our sins should put us in a state of humility before our majestic Creator. When we are in this frame of mind, we are much more open to the surrender of our hearts and minds. This allows the Holy Spirit within us to initiate the prayers that God wants us to pray. During this time, it is very beneficial to engage in pre-prayer meditation, or "waiting
​on the Spirit". This is because the Spirit knows when we are not ready for prayer. Maybe we are distracted with worldly affairs, have an unsettled conflict with someone, or maybe the motivation behind what we ask for is not pure. We may find ourselves getting into a rut, setting rigid daily prayer times that eventually grow into a chore we resent. While we are still students in prayer, we may make inappropriate requests and tend to be verbose and redundant. If we find ourselves doing this, we need not be discouraged. The Holy Spirit will perfect our earnest and innocent efforts while He teaches us.   He automatically interprets, refines and conveys our requests to the Father. 

Next month I will write more about prayer, for there is in the Bible much written about it. Again, if we have an earnest and honest heart when we pray, we need not be so concerned about exactly how we pray. Everyone prays differently. I just feel we might benefit from what the Bible says about applying it's principles to our lives.                                                                                            

We are going to finish examining the workings of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. As I have mentioned before, I have excluded the massive number of  footnotes. If you have a question about something, write a comment in the box below, and  I will find the supporting scriptures for you.

Comforter
Thank God He has given us the Comforter who gives us peace of mind in the most harrowing situations. The Spirit frees us from the bondage of fear, " For the Spirit which you have now received is not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit through which you can call yourselves children of God, in which we confidently cry, Abba! Father of protection! (Romans 8:15)

As Stephen was being stoned to death, he saw the heavens open and the glory of God shone down. Our spiritual character is refined by suffering and sacrifice. This is not a popular doctrine, but it is completely biblical. In his letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul wrote, “We boast to other churches about your endurance and patience in persecution... which is proof that you may be considered deserving of His kingdom." James wrote, “Be joyful when you encounter trials of any kind, because the proving of your faith brings more endurance, steadfastness and patience… When you have stood the test and been approved, you will receive the crown of eternal life which God has promised to those who love Him." "But we  can be rest assured that those who persecute God's loved ones will be repaid when Christ returns." Furthermore, "If you are censured and suffer abuse for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you..."

Jesus underwent intense suffering through obedience to His Father in order to become the refined sacrifice required of Him. It is clear He expects the same from us. “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let them forget themselves and their own interests and take up their cross and follow me to the death, if necessary. All the apostles wrote much the same message, “Since Christ died and suffered for us, prepare yourselves with the same thought and purpose; to suffer for Him. For whoever has suffered for Christ has finished sinning intentionally and stopped pleasing himself and the world.” This refers to the painful process of disconnecting ourselves from the sin we are so comfortable with.                                                        
We do not seem to understand that when we take that step of faith into the blinding light
of God's logic, we are in a far, far better place than we could have ever made for ourselves. Yes, when we dedicate ourselves completely to Jesus, we will be ridiculed by the world. We should have the passion to gladly accept such a thing if it is His will. Praise God for the Comforter!
 
Gifts of the Spirit
The Bible makes it clear that, through His Spirit, God entrusts us with the talents and spiritual gifts we will need to fulfill His earthly purpose through us as individuals and as members of the body of His church. Not only that, but the Spirit will reveal those talents and spiritual gifts if we ask Him.

I'm going to sidestep the issue of whether or not spiritual gifts are manifested today in the same way they were in the apostolic dispensation. I have dedicated another blog to that topic. Let us just say that God does not always work in instantaneous, miraculous, "larger than life" ways. Nor do we have the right to assume how or when the Spirit will operate. It is He who decides when, where and how He will manifest Himself, because He knows the will of God. This is the reason why some become discouraged and lose faith when God does not move in the way they expect Him to.                                                                                     

It is important to view spiritual gifts in their proper place. In Jesus' ministry, miracles were the identifying mark of the Messiah to come. "If I am not doing the works (of power and grace) of My Father, then do not trust in Me as His Son.  But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, at least believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may come to understand that the Father and I are one." In other words, if the Jews would have opened their minds and hearts just a little, the Spirit would have revealed to them who Jesus was through Old Testament prophecy of the One who was to come in  the power of miracles and authority to save souls. Miracles were used to authenticate  the apostles as messengers and representatives of Jesus' life and teachings.                         
Each of us has also been given a gift that God will not take back. This brings upon us a great responsibility to use them, and we will be held accountable for the opportunities we did not take advantage of. We do not receive God's gifts as a reward, for we have done nothing to deserve them. "Now there are varieties of gifts, all of the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, all of the same Lord Jesus. And there are varieties of working. But it is the same God who inspires them all in everyone."                                    

Spiritual gifts are also used for the physical growth of the church, and there are many biblical instances of the Holy Spirit facilitating evangelism through preaching and prophecy.         Some may not recognize their gift(s) at first, but with prayer, the Spirit will reveal it to them at the proper time. Some may even be initially disappointed in a gift they've been given, considering it a lesser gift. But in the assembly, all gifts and their appropriations are divinely appointed and have intrinsically equal importance.                                                                               
Of course, the greatest gift of all is godly love. It also seems to be the most difficult to achieve and elusive to maintain. This is because it is not us who can achieve it. We cannot feel or extend God's love to the world unless we first receive it from above through the Holy Spirit. As believers, God's love is continually received by us, but we can block it by insisting upon retaining the fruit of our carnal selves. The more we walk in a state of surrender to God and others, the more His love will live in us and flow through us.
 
The Fruit of the Spirit
Just as the Holy Spirit plants the seed of the gospel in one's heart, then waits for it to spring forth into salvation, He also continues to nourish the emerging plant. The Spirit fully expects the believer to cooperate in his growth. If that believer is willing to surrender to God's desires, the Spirit is able to bring forth spiritual fruit in their lives. Once again, this fruit is nothing we can achieve while owning sinful natures.  Otherwise we would call it "the fruit of us".                                                  

Jesus told his disciples, “You will know them by their fruits.” What did He mean by that? The quality of one's personality and behavior tells of their relationship with Christ. We can bear good or bad fruit. But we will not consistently bring forth spoiled fruit unless we are in some way controlled by ungodliness. Sadly, some believers allow the cares, riches and pleasures of the world to keep their fruit from maturing. Love, joy, peace of mind, faith, patience, even temper, kindness, benevolence, meekness and self-control is fruit that is identified with a Spirit-changed heart. It is also possible to bear no fruit at all. These are rotting, apathetic, atrophied vines that can affect the entire congregation of unobservant believers. We need    to try our best to make sure our works are anchored in the Holy Spirit. We should never take our fruit lightly. “God cuts any branch from the vine that does not bear any (or stops bearing) fruit. But He prunes every branch that bears fruit, so it may bring forth more excellent fruit."
 
Fellowship
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Many believers are familiar with Hebrews 10:25 as the argument for attending church. But there is other scriptural evidence. Many attend church for what they can get out of it, rather than what they can contribute. We must take on the role of the servant as Christ did in order to be great in Heaven. The gifts and talents God has given us prove God has designed His plan to be carried out in unity. "As it is, God Himself has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each one of them, just as He desired and saw fit, and with their best effectiveness in mind." Keep in mind Christ's body is not just a local congregation of church. It is all true believers.                                                                  

Fellowship is a simple concept. "If two lie down together, they are warm. But how can one be warm alone?" "If a brother falls, another will lift him up. But woe to him who is alone, and when he falls there is no one to lift him up." In church "we can be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other's faith." Christians are not impervious to pains and sorrows. It is often not enough of a relief to talk to a friend or relative for consolation. But the church can offer true spiritual answers and healing.

Alone, we can easily lose sight of the importance of being accountable for our actions. We have the difficult task of trying to gauge our spiritual performance without constructive feedback. But as part of an assembly, we must take responsibility for ourselves and others. We enjoy a balance of giving and receiving that promotes healthy spiritual growth. We find ourselves becoming more compassionate, forgiving, patient and humble, all the while finding our salvation by fulfilling the Royal Law that would have been impossible to do by keeping to ourselves.