The Right Stuff
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Wrong Doctrine = Wrong Conduct
False teachers do not have the Spirit of God. No matter what they think or say, the spirit they have is not the Spirit of God. The true Spirit of God confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, that the incarnation is true. If a teacher has the Spirit of God dwelling in him, then he confesses the incarnation, the wonderful truth that God did become Man and did come to earth to save man. The Spirit of God cannot confess anything other than the truth; therefore, every teacher who has the Spirit of God will confess the same truth. He cannot confess anything else because the Spirit of God Himself dwells within him. If he confesses anything else, then the spirit within him is not the Spirit of God.
Remember
Believers are called on to remember the spiritual truths given to them by the spoken word (2 Peter 3:2 – OT Prophets, Jesus, and Apostles) as well as the later canonized written word (possibly some parts of the NT were circulating at this time).
Read, memorize, sing, pray, journal the Bible.
Practice learning prayer
Build Yourselves
“Build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit”
Seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When we look at the apostles in the book of Acts they were empowered by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Read Acts and see how powerful the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was and IS!
Pray in the Holy Spirit
Our prayer should include adoration and praise to almighty God. When Paul asked the Christians in Rome to pray for him, he wrote: “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me” (Romans 15:30). The word for “strive” is agonize. We are to pray like that.
Be Merciful
Witnessing: third, be merciful and rescue people. Verse 22 is a difficult verse to translate from the Greek. Anyone who looks at several English translations clearly sees this. The outline follows the New American Standard: “And have mercy on some who are doubting.” Note three points:
- Show Compassion to the Confused
- Save the Indifferent
- Show Compassion to the Contentious
Navigate Confusion
If there is no God then anything goes. People want the Kingdom without the King. There is no objective moral standard unless some God exists. Do you want to have a conversation or just a monologue? There is only harm if God exists there is only harm if there is an objective moral standard. We should respect people even if we disagree with them.
Challenge
The important thing to remember is the LOGIC of LOVE. Speak the truth in love. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.