D&T Essays

The process of growing in holiness as a Christian is called sanctification. Explain both the motivation and the method for growing in holiness. (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 8, pp. 171-174, 155-163)

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying." (Titus 3:4-8) We see four things here. 1. The MOTIVATION of salvation - God is motivated by his essential character. He reveals himself to us in his kindness and love for us and the whole world. His motivation is not to harm you, to diminish you, to use you, to ignore you, to dispose of you or to sidetrack you, to get you out of the way of his purposes, but to be kind and loving to you. How does that understanding of God who is spirit and truth, the Father of all creation, make you feel? Does it make you trust your Maker and Savior? You know that he is motivated for your benefit, for kindness and love is inherently unselfish. Kindness and love is caring for the other above oneself. His motivation is to bless you, to do what is best for you. 2. The JUSTIFICATION of salvation - The reason God saves us is not because of anything we have done to deserve it, for we can never claim that God is in our debt.the reason God saves us is because of the mercy of God in Christ. God has appeared to us in Christ and revealed his grace. That justification becomes ours in relation to others. The reason we love others and wish to do them good is not because of what they have done to deserve our attention but because of the mercy we have received which we pass on to them. No one has a claim on us that is greater than the claim God has on us. The more we realize God's mercy to us in Christ giving himself to us to redeem us, the more we will give ourselves to others. We are eager to do them good because God in Christ has redeemed us. 3. The METHOD of salvation - Salvation is accomplished in us through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of Christ. It is not accomplished by anything that we do except to welcome and receive, which is the meaning of faith. The Holy Spirit of God comes into residence in the life of the believer, and he is then baptized... Faith, then, is sealed by the outward and visible sign of baptism, and the inward and spiritual grace of the Holy Spirit received into the life. This marks the beginning of a new life. We are spiritually reborn, our minds are renewed, and we are given a new heart. This method of salvation is the means by which we become agents of salvation in the world. It is not by our might, our power, our will, that we can accomplish anything of worth but through the Spirit of Christ (Zech.4:6; Acts 2). It is the fruit of the Spirit not of the flesh. We seek to be filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit. 4. The RESULT of salvation - We inherit the sure and certain hope, the assurance of eternal life. We enter into the eternal life of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are promised the knowledge of the hope of the riches of God's glorious inheritance in the saints, an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for us. This result of salvation, this inheritance of the hope of eternal life, should give us confidence in the future. It is a trustworthy saying, something we can count on, so that dying and death need hold no terrors for us. (From notes - 7 promises of salvation) 1. Heart satisfactions 2. Forgiveness 3. Fulfilled promises/perseverance 4. Reward 5. Circumstances (perfect combo of blessings and trials) 6. Provision for needs 7. Eternal life

The Bible is foundational to every other Christian belief. Using the characteristics of Scripture, describe how the Bible is our source of saving knowledge from God. (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 4, pp. 56-57, 60-64)

2 Peter 1:16-21 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. The central focus of all Scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 1:16-18, Peter boldly states that the apostles were not following cleverly devised tales when they made known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus. Rather, the experience that they had on the mount of transfiguration, when they saw Jesus' majesty and glory, was a prophetic glimpse of the truth that He is coming again in power and glory to reign. So Peter's first point is, we have the solid foundation of the prophetic word, which was further confirmed by the apostles' experience of seeing Jesus' glory on the mount of transfiguration. The apostolic witness to Jesus Christ, which we now have in the New Testament, is one leg of the foundation of our faith. The other leg is (v. 19), we have the prophetic word made more sure. his meaning is that the apostles' experience on the mount of transfiguration confirmed and clarified the truth of the Old Testament, that the Messiah will come again to judge the world and to reign in glory over His redeemed people. Therefore, Peter tells us to pay attention to that word as a lamp shining in the dark, until Christ returns. According to verse 19, we must ask ourselves, "Are you paying attention to the lamp that is shining in the darkness?" Do you read the Word regularly to gain the light that you need to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord? Are you living in light of His coming, when we all will stand before Him to give an account of how we have lived (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10-12)? We have the solid foundation of God's Word, but we must pay attention to it in view of the coming day that surely will dawn. Also, we must be careful to interpret God's Word correctly (v. 20), because it is not the word of man, but rather the inspired Word of God (v. 21). Thus, since we have the solid foundation of God's inspired Word, we must pay careful attention to it and interpret it correctly. First, we must always interpret a text in light of its context. Second, the Bible interprets itself, especially, individual authors interpret themselves. Third, interpret the Bible based on grammatical, linguistic, and historical considerations. So, Peter's point is, we are not free to interpret the Word in any way that we please. Why not?Peter continues, "for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." Satan relentlessly tries to blow up the foundation of our faith, which is the Word of God. His very first temptation challenged Eve (Gen. 3:1), "Indeed, has God said ...?" He has attempted to bring down our faith through liberal theologians, who undermine its veracity. Our higher educational system is now dominated by skeptics who sneer at God's Word. Evolution, which, against all reason, is accepted as fact in our public educational system and does away with the need to submit to the Almighty Creator. Yet, in spite of the attacks, the Word of God endures forever (1 Pet. 1:25). It gives us a solid foundation on which to build our lives and to stake our eternity. Make sure you pay attention to it by spending consistent time reading and studying it. Be careful to interpret it correctly. Walk by the light that it gives you to avoid the pitfalls in this dark world.

A)Define doctrine and theology and explain why they matter. B) Describe humble orthodoxy and how it is produced. (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 1, pp. 9-11, 16; Chapter 5, pp. 85-86)

A) Doctrine is defined as the set of beliefs that are held by a particular religious group, and in this case, Christ-centered theists. The doctrines we study shape our theology, and help us live according to those beliefs. The biggest doctrine of our christian faith is that of Jesus. We must build our theology on the doctrine of Jesus that tells us the truths of who he is and what he's done. When we engage with our doctrines, our lives and emotions are given something to stand on, a reason to worship, and feelings of gratefulness, adoration, and awe. From Doctrine, we get Theology, that is, knowledge of God - the study of the nature of God - who He is, how He acts, how He thinks. Theology matters. It does not matter because our knowledge of God will help us receive an "A" on a test, rather, theology matters because what we know about God shapes how we think and how we live. It's impossible for anyone who calls themselves a christian to escape theology because we are all constantly living in a way that reflects what we know about God. Our right thinking about god - the concepts we believe - direct how we live. If we get theology wrong, our whole lives will be wrong. B) Humble orthodoxy grows in God's grace with an unrelenting focus on the glory of God and the welfare of others. Earthly motivations are countered when the worship of God becomes our all-consuming focus. True worship must always be the driving passion behind our pursuit of biblical orthodoxy. Not to prove ourselves right or better than someone else but to better worship the holy God, the one who forgives and accepts us for Christ's sake alone. When our supreme desire is to delight in the God of truth, we'll often find that humble, holy affections follow in the wake of genuine worship. When our supreme desire is to delight in the God of truth, we'll often find that humble, holy affections follow in the wake of genuine worship. God's mercy alone—not our intellect, personal righteousness, good works, or any other factor—is the reason why we've embraced Christ. Regularly returning to this foundational truth will help slay pride and cultivate true humility.

The Holy Spirit is the often-overlooked member of the Trinity. A) Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do? B) What is the "baptism of the Holy Spirit"? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 9, pp. 179-180, 186-187, 190-193, Articles/Blogs, notes)

A)The Holy Spirit draws our attention towards Christ and His work on Earth. His presence with us is noticeable and experiential. In order to experience Him we must have faith and believe and also seek Him and ask the Father to experience more of Him in our lives. He is the down payment for us on Earth of what is to come later in Heaven with God. He works to produce godly character in believers. The Holy Spirit empowers believers with boldness, courage, and confidence to proclaim the gospel to the world. The Holy spirit also grants us with spiritual gifts that are meant to help us build up the kingdom. B) It's impossible to follow God unless we are led by the Spirit. And the only way to be led by the Spirit is to follow God's command to be filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Interestingly, God contrasts being filled with the Spirit with being drunk. Somebody who is drunk with wine or alcohol is controlled by and consumed by alcohol. But somebody who is "drunk in the Spirit" is controlled and consumed by the Spirit, who helps us live holy lives. How are we filled with the Spirit? The Holy Spirit entered you when you decided to give your life to Christ, to become a Christian. But we need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to help us do the things God wants us to do. When we're growing as Christians, we should allow the Spirit to take control over more and more areas of our lives. The Holy Spirit plays many roles. You can read about some of them in these passages: John 14:15-27, John 16:5-15, Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 5:16-26. In John 14, for example, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will comfort us when we're hurting. "I will not leave you as orphans," Jesus says (14:18), promising that the Spirit will bring us peace (14:27). Jesus also says the Spirit will help us recall the things we've learned about God (14:26)—which also means the Spirit will help us when we tell others about our faith. In John 16, Jesus refers to the Spirit as a "Counselor" who will guide us in our everyday lives. One way he'll guide us is by convicting us of sin (16:8). And this is really a good thing: God wants us to get rid of the things that displease him, and the only way to identify those things is to be convicted by the Spirit. The Spirit works through our conscience to make us aware of sin in our lives. Romans 8 tells us the Spirit will help us stop sinning and do the things that please God. A verse later in that chapter also tells us that the Spirit helps us pray (8:26). We've all gone to God and said, "Lord, I'm just not sure how to pray or what to say." The Holy Spirit helps us in those times, and actually intercedes for us, saying the prayers for us. All Christians receive the Spirit upon their conversion and in this sense all Christians have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. This means that they are saved and that they have all they need at that time to be able to live godly and holy lives. 1 Cor. 12:13 says, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." The issue now seems to be whether or not Baptism of/in/with the Holy Spirit is a subsequent event occurring after salvation. It would seem that this is the case. In John 20:22, Jesus commanded that the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This means that they were saved since the Holy Spirit is not received by the unregenerate. Then, later in Acts 1:4-5 we read, "And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." The danger of this phenomena is the potential division of the body of Christ into two categories: those who are "regular" Christians and those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. This, of course, would be an incorrect way of looking at Christians, and this is why. If you were to step outside into a soft mist, it would take a long time to get completely wet. On the other hand, if you were to step into a torrential rain, you'd be drenched quickly. Those who have not experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (meaning a sudden and powerful experience) are not second-class citizens by any means. They are the ones in the gentle mist who experience the Lord over a long period of time and get just as blessed as those who suddenly step into the torrent of the Spirit's presence. In fact, the Baptism of the Spirit can be a pitfall since so many people who have experienced it long for it again, almost to the point of putting the validity of their faith in the experience instead of the clear teaching of the word of God.

Every one of us is ruined and corrupted by our sin and deserves God's wrath. Explain how God has dealt with our guilt and sin in order to make us good again? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 6, pp. 106-108, 111-112)

As corrupt sinners, God hates us and hates the sin within us. Even though this is true, God demonstrated his faithfulness to his people. Despite their sin, he promised a solution - a substitute. The Bible teaches that sin requires death, and therefore requires the shedding of the blood of a sacrifice. Blood is the symbol of life. To shed blood means to take life, to die. Blood in the Old Testament was a graphic visual of paying for sins by taking a life, but the people understood the significance. In view of this God sent His son, as a scapegoat and a sacrifice for us and our sins. Like the scapegoat that bore the sins of the people, Jesus was taken outside the city when he was crucified. Jesus is then called the Lamb of God because he was sacrificed by God for our sins - a penal substitutionary atonement. Penal Substitutionary Atonement refers to the doctrine that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His own holy standard. We not only are now "neutral" with God, we also inherit Jesus' favor from God, making us coheirs to the throne with Jesus. The opportunity for us to become coheirs requires our own repentance and faith in Christ, and His work which made us clean by His blood.

Jesus is often viewed as a moral teacher and a positive example, but He is so much more than that. A) Explain the work and mission of Jesus and why it is significant. B) Explain the person of Jesus and how it relates to His work. (Dug Down Deep chapter 5, pp. 86-90)

From right at the beginning, in the book of Genesis, we read of a descendant who would come and reverse the effects of Adams sin. We read of a promised 'seed' who would destroy the effects of sin . As we continue we read of this descendant being the focal point of the promises which God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - that he would have victory over enemies and that he would eventually bring a blessing to all the nations of the earth. This hope of a 'promised seed' was known to the Jewish people as "The Messiah" - the savior. Many prophecies were given by the prophets concerning this one who would come to bring men back to God. The Bible speaks of how the people of Israel were chosen by God and that he established a Kingdom for them in the past. However due to disobedience this Kingdom was destroyed but the Bible teaches that the Messiah would be the one who would restore the Kingdom once again to Israel - but this future establishment would be everlasting and the rule of the Messiah would be righteous. As a reward for following the example of the Messiah the Bible teaches that we too can be given eternal life to rule in this Kingdom. it was right Jesus died because he was of "flesh". He possessed sin-prone and mortal nature - the source of human sin. Jesus' sacrifice declared that God was right to execute His judgement on man because of sin and because man bears this nature. The Bible teaches us that Jesus has indeed become the "mediator" between God and unrighteous, sinful man (1 Tim 2:5) and that God is willing to impute righteousness to us if we associate ourselves with him through baptism. This is the immediate benefit of being associated with Him - that, in the eyes of God we are counted righteous and are able to approach unto God to seek forgiveness of sin. However the ultimate befit is to be given eternal life when Christ returns to the earth. To have our vile bodies of sin prone flesh destroyed and made into immortal bodies. To have our natural natures we in inherit from Adam, destroyed and to be given the gift of an immortal nature. The promised seed then that was in God's purpose from the beginning was indeed Jesus Christ. All the faithful men and women of old looked forward in faith to his coming sacrifice. We are in the privileged position that his sacrificial mission has been fulfilled and must have faith in it's effect. In his first coming he opened a way for men to have salvation and to draw near to God and in his second coming he will restore the Kingdom of God on the earth.

What is the task or mission of the church, and how is your life to be part of it? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 10: pp. 207-208)

God's enduring purpose for His church is to proclaim the Gospel to the unbelieving world, and to build up the saints in sound doctrine. Our authority for this is Jesus Christ himself, who says in Mark 16, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Proclaim the Gospel to the world, and build up the saints in sound doctrine. Every bit of the church's legitimate work comes under those two purposes, those two headings. The church is to teach biblical doctrine so we can be grounded in our faith. Ephesians 4:14 tells us, "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." The church is to be a place of fellowship, where Christians can be devoted to one another and honor one another (Romans 12:10), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and most importantly, love one another (1 John 3:11). The church is to be about the business of ministering to those in need. This includes not only sharing the gospel, but also providing for physical needs (food, clothing, shelter) as necessary and appropriate. The church is also to equip believers in Christ with the tools they need to overcome sin and remain free from the pollution of the world. This is done by biblical teaching and Christian fellowship. So, what is the purpose of the church? Paul gave an excellent illustration to the believers in Corinth. The church is God's hands, mouth, and feet in this world—the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We are to be doing the things that Jesus Christ would do if He were here physically on the earth. The church is to be "Christian," "Christ-like," and Christ-following.

When some people learn about God's passion for His own glory, they may feel unloved and accuse God of selfishness. Explain how the God-centeredness of God is not selfishness, but rather the best thing for us. (notes, prezi)

In some ways the idea that God is God-centered is simply the basic idea of the true God. The true God cannot be man-centered or He would be exchanging love for Himself for the love of man. He would also be changing from what is right, true, and holy to what is not right, untrue, and unholiness. There must be a moral rectitude with God that flows from His inner being as well as men who must serve God from the heart as well. Men want to think of themselves as good if their outward actions are good and they try to apply that to God as well. Men want to think of themselves as loving if they do good things to others and if they don't do harm to others. They also try to judge God by those attitudes as well. But again, those are nothing but the fallen man's way of trying to make God like himself. It is nothing but the heart of the fall repeated when man wants to be like God but what man tries to do is to make God like himself. Any Being that is truly God and the only true God from whom all things came and come is the only true and living God. The only God worthy of worship is a God that is truly self-centered in His holiness and in His love and in all He does. If He alone is worthy of worship, then He alone is truly worthy of living in perfect love within the Trinity and doing all He does out of love for Himself and His own glory. If He alone is truly worthy of worship as the only Savior of human beings for the love and glory of God, then human sinners are saved for the glory of God and He saves them out of love for Himself as triune. If God is not self-existent and self-moved, then we can throw a true and free-grace out and be sure that there is a system of works after all. No, but instead the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of God and it is the Gospel of free-grace alone. He saves for the sake of His own name Deuteronomy 4:35 "To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 39 "Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

What is ordo salutis and what happens in each part of the process? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 7, pp. 124-126, 129-131, 133-134, 136-140)

Ordo Salutis is Latin for "the order of salvation" and deals with the steps or stages in the salvation of a believer. There are nine steps in the order of salvation. 1. Election - Before creation, because of His sovereign good pleasure, God chooses some people to be saved. 2. Calling - God summons people to Him through the human proclamation of the gospel so they respond in saving faith. 3. Regeneration - God secretly and sovereignly imparts spiritual life to those who have been called. 4. Conversion - We willingly respond to the gospel call, repenting of sin and placing faith in Christ for salvation. 5. Justification - An instantaneous legal act of God in which He declares that our sins are forgiven and Christ's righteousness is ours. 6. Adoption - An act of God in which he makes us members of his family. 7. Sanctification - A progressive, lifelong work of God and man that frees us from sin and makes us more like Christ. 8. Perseverance - All those who are justified will be kept by God's power and persevere as Christians to the end of their lives. 9. Glorification - God will finally remove all trace of sin from the Christian and give him a resurrected body.

Salvation is not merely praying a prayer, making a commitment, or trying hard to be a better person. What all happens in salvation that makes it a supernatural work of God? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 7, pp. 124-126, 129-131)

The Bible not only gives a full revelation of Jesus Christ as the Savior but also reveals in detail what happens the moment a person is saved. It becomes very obvious as one studies this in the Bible that salvation is something that God does for us, not something we do for God. We merely respond to what God has done for us. First, God elects to save us as sinners and calls us to come to him through the gospel. When we respond in faith, God regenerates our body spiritually, saving nothing from the dead, sinful body. We are then called to repent and turn from our sins to a life for God. Then God justifies us and declares that our sins are forgiven. He does this by grace alone and adopts us into his family, giving us the Holy Spirit, making us coheirs to His kingdom. When a person believes in Jesus Christ as his Savior, one of the dramatic results is that he is born again, or regenerated. When an individual is born again he has received a new nature like the human nature in Christ. Just as a child born by natural birth receives the nature of his parents, so in the new birth a Christian receives that which corresponds to God's nature making possible fellowship with God and many other aspects of Christian experience. Because the new birth by its nature cannot be reversed any more than natural birth can be reversed, it points to the fact that a Christian who is saved by God can have assurance of salvation for time and for eternity. Having received a new nature, however, a believer retains his old nature as well. Holy Spirit: The work of the Holy Spirit in baptizing provided a new union with Christ, a new position in Christ, and a new association with Christ and a Christian's fellow believers. The filling of the Spirit occurs when a believer yields himself to the Spirit. The fact that Christians have been baptized into Christ and into His body means that they are identified with Him in that they have a new position in Christ. Because they are in Christ they receive the blessings that have been purchased for them by Christ's death on the cross. The new union described in the baptism of the Spirit unites them not only to Christ but to every other fellow believer and provides the important context of our relationship to other believers in this life as well as in the life to come. As all the work of God in salvation is surveyed, it is clear that the moment a person is saved he is born again and receives new life in Christ, he is baptized into the body of Christ and into Christ, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit as well as by God the Father and God the Son, and he is sealed by the presence of the Holy Spirit until the day of his resurrection.

All of life for the Christian is lived by faith. Explain the process by which faith produces obedience, joy, victory over sin, etc.

The good news is that everything in the Christian life flows from faith in Christ — joy, peace, and hope (Rom 15:13), love for others (Gal 5:6), victory over sin (I John 5:4), power over Satan (Eph 6:16), and obedience (Rom 1:5; Heb 11:8). So when we lack any of these, the problem is with our faith. Which means that to strengthen these areas we need to fight the fight of faith (1Ti 6:12; 2Ti 4:7). 1. Turn immediately to Jesus and trust Him to help you - Don't try to change yourself first. You can't. But Jesus can and will. So turn to Jesus with your worry, lust, or laziness and trust Him to help you. Because of His mercy He accepts you as you are and He will change you into what He calls you to be. 2. Earnestly plead with the Father for more of the Spirit's work - No matter how weak your faith, no matter how unspiritual you feel, the Holy Spirit has the power to transform you (Luke 18:27). So earnestly ask the Father to increase the work of the Spirit in you, to strengthen your faith, show you His glory, and break the power of sin. Pray passages like Psa 13:3; Mark 9:24; Eph 1:17-18. 3. See your unbelief - Don't be too introspective, rather, focus more on God and His promises than yourself. But it does help to look inside and see what you are trusting to satisfy you more than Christ. So ask yourself what are you desiring more than Jesus? And what is causing you to disobey Jesus? That's what you are trusting. It can also help to ask which of God's promises you are not trusting. 4. Confess your unbelief - See and feel how you have dishonored God by trusting other things to satisfy you more than Jesus, or by not trusting God's precious promises. Understand that your unbelief has been sinful. Confess it to God without excuses. Ask Him to forgive and cleanse you through Jesus' death on the Cross. Trust Jesus to forgive, help, change, and satisfy you in Himself. When you do, you can be assured that you are completely forgiven and that God is passionately committed to helping you. 5. Direct your heart towards Christ as He is revealed in His Word - This might be difficult. Let's say you are working too much because you want to impress people. That shows you are trusting people to satisfy you more than Christ. And it will take intense, Spirit-empowered effort to turn your heart from trusting people back to trusting Jesus Christ. But pray for the Spirit's help, and then set your heart on Christ as He is revealed in His word. 6. Pray passionately over the truths of God's Word until you feel the Holy Spirit changing your heart - Ask Him to increase your faith in God's promises (Mark 9:24). Plead with Him to free you from sin's lies (Jer 13:25). Call upon Him to open your eyes so you see the all-satisfying glory of Jesus (Psa 119:18). God might do this quickly, or He may take some time. Before your heart is changed you may need to leave off prayer to pick up your kids from school. But then return to prayer, because in time God will meet you. Even seeming delays are part of His loving plan to bring you the greatest joy in Him. So trust His timing. Continue battling in prayer. He will deliver you. As you press in with prayer and God's Word, the Holy Spirit will work. He will change your heart so you feel the beauty and certainty of God's promises, the emptiness of sin's promises, and the all-surpassing glory of Christ. Once again you will trust all that God promises to be to you in Christ Jesus. And you will experience renewed joy and peace (Rom 15:13), love for others (Gal 5:6), and a passion to obey Christ (Heb 11:8).

What supernatural benefits does the Holy Spirit provide to the believer? (notes)

The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer falls into two well-defined categories. The important subject of spiritual gifts as bestowed by the Holy Spirit must be considered first, as the preliminary to all the operations of the Spirit. Second, the work of the Holy Spirit in filling the believer, with consideration of its Biblical conditions and results, must be presented. The two aspects together determine the place and fruitfulness of every believer. First, the nature of the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be determined from the Scriptures. This at once distinguishes the true from the false. Second, spiritual gifts which clearly abide throughout the Christian dispensation must be examined and analyzed. Herein is provided the gifts without which even saved men would find it impossible to minister for God. Third, spiritual gifts as found in the apostolic age must be studied to determine whether, indeed, they are included in the program of God after the apostolic age. In other words, certain spiritual gifts were given to the apostles for specific purposes. It is clear that the whole idea of spiritual gifts necessitates a supernatural work of God quite distinct from any natural powers of man, or even from any spiritual qualities which are universal among the saved. Spiritual gifts by their nature are individual and come from God. Nine specific gifts from the Holy Spirit: 1. Word of Wisdom - first gift Paul mentions, associated with fearing the Lord, gives the ability to distinguish between biblical and nonbiblical situations 2. Word of Knowledge - gives the ability to remember scriptures, knowledge of God and His ways, those with the gift of knowledge know when to speak particular words, when not to, and what words to speak with 3. Faith - tend to exude confidence in all situations, this is a person more like God, they see things that aren't as if they already are 4. Healing Hands - may be in relations to the power of prayer , confirms that Jesus Christ's name had power and that God was working in the church 5. Miraculous Power - associated with faith healers, prayer warriors, these people assist in the miracle of human conversion 6. Prophecy/Speaking - teaching or speaking, associated with those who are teachers or pastors, literal translation is that it is "publicly speaking" the Word of God 7. Discernment - distinguishing between spirits, ability to discern scriptures and their application to believers in the church, being able to tell whether someone is earnest and sincere or whether they are a fraud 8. Speaking in Tongues - (somewhat self-explanatory) the ability to speak in different tongues 9. Interpretation of Tongues - someone who is able to interpret another tongue or language (typically a holy language)

Salvation is a free gift that God graciously gives to undeserving sinners who could never hope to earn it by their works. Once God has justified a believer, what changes begin to take place in the believer's life? (Dug Down Deep, Chapter 8, pp. 151-154; Chapter 9, pp. 190-193)

What is justification? It's a legal acquittal given to us by God. We must have faith in God and in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Each of us must acknowledge and repent of past sins, be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins and believe that those sins are forgiven. We must then commit to living our lives according to God's will as revealed in the Bible. This is the process of justification, and it is why being justified by God is so important for our salvation. The Bible says the just are to live by faith. Therefore, the new life in Christ will be a life of faith and obedience to God's laws. Lawlessness and transgressing God's commandments are behaviors that are unacceptable to God in the justified Christians. So a lawful life of obedience to God is what a just person will do to demonstrate his or her faith. The apostle James stresses that good works will accompany faith in the just man. Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed the law in all its spiritual intent. He wants us to live a lawful, obedient, righteous life as well. God has standards for what a "just" man will do, living a life of obedience and faith. So ultimately "not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified" (Romans 2:13). Christians are to be just by God's reckoning. If a just person falls into a sin, he or she must seek forgiveness from God and atonement for the sin by the blood of Christ.