God’s Word

04
Jan
2020

Trusting God’s Word

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on April 6, 2017.

Written as a letter to someone doubting their faith and realizing that they are merely “going through the motions” of attending church. They often question and doubt that the Bible is, in fact, the Word of God.

God’s Trustworthy Word

by Sarah Couture

My dear friend,
I know you have been struggling lately. First, I want to reassure you that you are not crazy. Having questions about the Bible and its teachings is completely normal. In fact, I think it is healthy to ask tough questions. You may feel like these concerns you have are driving a wedge between you and your Savior, but I truly believe that expressing your concerns and seeking answers will only bring you closer to the Lord.

You have previously expressed that you are not completely convinced that the Bible is God’s inspired Word.  I can understand this concern. Many Christians defend the validity of the Bible using circular reasoning. For scientific thinkers, such as you, circular reasoning does not hold much weight. “The Bible is God’s Word because it says in the Bible that it is God’s Word” leads people like you to have further doubts and questions. I’d like you to take a step back and look things from a different angle. A friend once explained it to me this way:

We have numerous accounts, outside of the Bible, that speak of Jesus. In fact, we have more proof that Jesus existed than Julius Caesar. Knowing that a man named Jesus existed is where we’ll start. Now let’s take a look at the resurrection. We see accounts of this event in all four of the Gospels. Each of these accounts provides a unique view and different details of the resurrection of Jesus. If the authors of the Bible were writing about a fictional event, they would try to keep their stories vague in order not to contradict each other. In reality, the testimonies are unique and provide unique perspectives on the event. Furthermore, during this time in history, women had little to no power or influence. Therefore, if the disciples were trying to convince people of a fake resurrection, why would their accounts have women be the ones to find the empty tomb? Finally, after the resurrection many disciples were martyred for their beliefs. In the case of Peter (as told by the historian Eusebius), he was forced to watch his wife die before him, and was told that all he had to do was admit Jesus was not God and did not resurrect from the dead. None of the disciples gave in. If the resurrection was a lie, why would these men let their families and themselves be killed brutally? They would not.

I know you have many other questions running through your brain. For so many years, you have gone to church and Bible study and believed everything that was taught to you because a master of theology with a white robe said it was the truth. Friend, I encourage you to voice your thoughts and concerns openly. Ask questions and seek answers.  I promise you that others have similar questions.  You will not be judged. People will not look down on you for asking challenging questions.  And if they do, they are not acting as proper ministers of the faith.  The fact that you are concerned about your lack of faith is comforting because it shows you continue to have faith.  Please do not be discouraged.  Read the Bible, especially on days you have doubts.  You’ll be amazed how the Holy Spirit works through the Word.

Posted by David Sellnow
27
Dec
2019

Are you listening?

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on December 10, 2015.

Deuteronomy 18:15 –  The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

A Prophet Like Moses Will Come

by Amanda Becker

It happened again, as it had happened many times before.   I had given my students directions for an important assignment.  Immediately a hand went up and a student asked the dreaded question: “So what do we have to do?”

My immediate thought was, “Didn’t I just explain this thirty seconds ago?”

Have you experienced this with your own children, family, friends, or coworkers? Have you ever found yourself asking the words: “Are you even listening to me?”

Can you imagine how Moses felt every time the Israelites didn’t listen to him and God’s commands? How many times did he have to tell them to stop worshiping false idols, stop complaining, stop mistrusting the Lord? Can’t they just follow directions?

How many times have we been like the Israelites, not listening to the Lord? How many times aren’t we like children, asking, “So, what do we have to do?” when God has already told us. But instead of turning away from us in frustration, God sent us a teacher whose word we needed most of all. He sent a prophet like Moses but better than Moses – his very own Son, Jesus. We listen to Jesus because our very souls and eternal life are at stake. The ultimate Prophet, Jesus, tells us, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).

Are you listening to Jesus?

Prayer: Dear Lord, forgive me when I fail to listen to your commands. I never have to demand to be heard by you, for you always listen to my heart.  You are a God of love and forgiveness. Please help me to be a more loving listener to you and to the people in my life, and forgive me when I stumble. Amen.

Posted by kyriesellnow
27
Dec
2019

An invitation to church

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on June 12, 2015.  The following was written as a “letter to a friend” assignment in one of my Bible courses.

Come to church with me!

by Elizabeth Jeske

Hey, Jack!

It was so good hanging out with you last week! It seems like it’s been so long since we have spent some quality time together. It totally felt like the moment we left off though, as if no time had passed since we last hung out. I’m glad that we are that close!

You know that I care about you very much and only want the best things for you. Because of this, I can tell when you are not doing so well. I have noticed that you have not been going to church lately. I am not making any accusations and judgments, merely stating what I have observed. I know that there are dozens of reasons that people miss church, like sickness or traveling. But since this has been happening frequently, I have become a bit worried as to why you are regularly missing church.

The Bible has quite a bit to say as to why we attend church. First and foremost, it is a way to preserve and strengthen our faith.  We are encouraged to “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:22-25).

This section of Scripture speaks about several reasons we should go to church. First, we go to church because we are sinful beings. We consistently sin. I mean, we can’t NOT sin. We always are falling short of what we are supposed to be doing, falling short of what is expected of us. What better way is there to be reminded of our forgiveness, to have our consciences cleansed, than immersing ourselves in the Word in worship?

Another purpose of church is to get us into the habit of fellowship. The ability to profess your faith with other Christians is a wonderful experience. Being able to worship with other Christians helps strengthen our faith. It is also encouraging to see others in the faith worshipping alongside you. And Christ says that when two or more are gathered together, he is also there.

Faith needs to be nourished and stay active.  An idle faith is sure to lead to no good. When we do not use our faith, it is not growing. It is not doing anything. An idle faith is not prepared for the temptations and devastations of the world. Regular worship is beneficial to keeping faith refreshed and prepared for the sin that constantly surrounds us. Continually going to church is a good way to stay active in our faith.

You might say that it is not worth going to church when your heart is not in it. While it might seem that way, it is quite the opposite. Going to church, even when our hearts are not in the right place, allows the Holy Spirit a chance to enter into our hearts. Closing our minds to going to church eliminates any chance of that happening. Going to church might be exactly what our faith needs.

Look, I know that hearing this from a friend is not the easiest thing to deal with. I know it might change our friendship a little bit, but I care about your faith-life enough to express my concerns. This is by no means a way to claim I know everything about you or to make you feel belittled. I just care enough to try to be helpful when I can.

If you would like, I would love to take you to church sometime. We can even explore a new congregation that we have not been to before, if you’d like. I would not mind if we went out to brunch afterwards. Just let me know!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Elizabeth

Posted by kyriesellnow
26
Dec
2019

Speak to Your Nation’s Soul

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on July 4, 2014

I decided to post something nation-related on the 4th of July in 2014, abridged and adapted from a sermon I once delivered.

 

Speak to Your Nation’s Soul

by David Sellnow

The country in which we live has its share of problems — problems of crime, of corruption, of callousness.  In every direction, from drug abuse to abuse of power, from security threats at airports to random shootings at schools, we are a nation in need of more decency and order, more right and less wrong, more truth and less media spin.  But we won’t bring about a more God-fearing populace by passing new laws.  We won’t remedy human problems by authorizing more funding for education or social programs.  We won’t be redeemed by a change of administrations in the government.  Whatever happens in our national politics and elections, we can be quite certain that the day after any votes are counted, we still will have our work cut out for us as people who speak for God in this world.  “In these last days” (Hebrews 1:2), we are called to speak the word of Christ in whatever nation where we live.  And our nation — like nations all through history — is full of people who need that message spoken.

The prophet Ezekiel serves as an example for us.  The LORD God said to Ezekiel:

“I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:3-5).

The nation in which we live and speak for the LORD is not much different than the nation in which Ezekiel prophesied.  We Americans likewise are proud. We are stubborn.  Our biggest weakness often is the very thing that made this nation strong — we are so fiercely independent.  That independent streak goes beyond national pride.  Our independent streak becomes a strong will set against the will of God.  “I am independent and self-sufficient,” we say.  “I can do what I want to do, have what I want to have.”  It’s not just other Americans who take such an attitude.  You and I are cut from the same stubborn cloth.  Every one of us is instinctively rebellious and obstinate, resistant to the words of God.  We all share the same human problem.  We bristle and balk at whatever God commands.  Our souls (all human souls) are naturally in a state of revolt against God.

But while human hearts naturally don’t want to listen to God, the only way to redeem human hearts is by the words that God speaks.  So we keep speaking — whether others listen or fail to listen.  And we keep praying that the Spirit will do his work — one by one, convincing one soul at a time, just as he has convicted us with God’s law and convinced us with hope in the good news of Jesus.  The word of Christ has spoken to our hearts … and we will speak those same words to our neighbors.  “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45).

Posted by kyriesellnow
26
Dec
2019

Martha – An Example for Us

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on July 29, 2014

 

Martha, Martha — an example for us

by David Sellnow

I generally don’t pay attention to all the minor feast days in the Christian calendar.  It’s traditional within the church to designate certain days to remember people of faith from our past.  Persons who died martyr’s deaths are typically remembered on the day of their deaths — the day they went on to be with the Lord in glory.  Others simply have dates assigned by tradition.  I’m not the type to pray to persons from the past. I believe in relying on the LORD God alone.  But we do recognize the lives of trust that our predecessors lived and we desire to emulate their confidence in Jesus. Scripture urges us to ponder how they lived by faith (cf. Hebrews 11).  “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

July 29 is the traditional day for remembering Martha of Bethany, sister of Mary and Lazarus, dear friend of Jesus.  We would do well to think about Martha’s example as a believer.

I’m afraid what most of us remember about Martha — and usually with disapproval — is how she raced about in the kitchen when Jesus came to visit, and was frustrated that her sister wasn’t helping her.  Luke 10:38-42:

Jesus came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Don’t be too judgmental of Martha.  Jesus wasn’t.  His words to her were a warm encouragement, not a stern rebuke.  Martha loved Jesus dearly and opened her home to him.  Who of you would not try to put your best meal on the table if Jesus came to visit?  So often so many of us need the reassurance of Jesus — that we can quit all our racing around and just sit with him and listen to his message of hope.  We don’t have to be the perfect accomplishers of all of life’s little tasks.  We have a Savior who just wants us to be with him.

We would do well to remember another conversation between Martha and Jesus.  Martha’s brother Lazarus became very ill and died … and Jesus had not hurried to go to his friends when Lazarus was ill.  He came to Bethany finally after Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.  The evangelist John tells what transpired (John 11:20-27):

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him ….

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

Jesus demonstrated his grace and his almighty power that day, summoning the wrapped corpse of Lazarus out of his tomb and back to life.

 

Martha demonstrated the rock-solid faith of a disciple of Jesus that day, not afraid to question her Lord in prayer (conversation) with him, and also firmly convinced of the reality of his gospel.  Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into the world to give us resurrection and life.

Martha knew that about Jesus.  We know that about Jesus.

Through Jesus “you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:21)

Posted by kyriesellnow
24
Dec
2019

Navigating life’s changes

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on May 25, 2017.

Constant strength in a changing current

by Patrick McKay

Canoeing is one of the greatest outdoor activities that a person can do.  It’s a refreshing blend of relaxing / unwinding and yet challenging / rewarding.  Being out on the water leads you to realize and appreciate God’s creation, to really look at the beauty that the created world has to offer.    Going downstream and letting the current take you is soothing, an almost carefree ride.  With the exception of a few downed trees or sand bars, which easily can be avoided with enough practice, the experience is very enjoyable.

But have you ever tried to paddle upstream?  It is quite a different experience.  You must fight the current and steer your canoe, all the while being out of breath from paddling so hard.

In our spiritual lives there are times when we feel like we are paddling upstream and against the changing current of how the world wants us to live.  One moment the current pushes us one way and then will throw us back the other.  The current is never constant; it is always changing.   The Bible describes the ways of this world with a similar analogy, depicting this world’s influences like the roiling of muddy water:  “The wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud” (Isaiah 57:20).

However, God’s word is not like the constant churning of the sea or the changing current of a river, always fluctuating, always twisting.  God’s word is always constant.  It is always unchanging.  The word of our God is “imperishable … living and enduring. … The word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:23,24).  The word of God is as firm as God himself, who assures us, “I the Lord, do not change” (Malachi 3:6).

What a blessing it is to rely on an unchanging God and the consistent message that his word tells us.  God tells us that although we were sinful, lost and condemned, he sent his Son Jesus to suffer, die, and rise again in glory.  Connected to Christ, by faith given us by the Holy Spirit, we are called children of God, with all our sins forgiven.  When the current of life in this world makes it hard to paddle, remember what a marvelous and consistent message that God’s word tells us about Jesus and the life we have in him.
Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

The visual Word in the Sacrament

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on November 11, 2016.

The Master Teacher Makes a Promise … and an Accommodation

by Katherine Christensen

Among being thankful and relieved, a human Noah likely had disembarked the ark overwhelmed, malnourished, and depressed. Like a good teacher knows the attention spans of his students, God knew the hearts of the eight humans stepping off the ark. They could wander as easily as the hearts that had stopped beating in the flood water.

God calmed their fears by promising he would never again destroy the world in a flood (Genesis 9:14-16). God, the Master Teacher, gave his Word to a group that was processing their desolate new world. To accommodate their overwhelmed minds, he gave his Word along with a visible sign of his promise: the rainbow. The promise attached to the rainbow still hangs in the clouds today.

Noah wasn’t the only who needed signs to remind him of God’s promises. The apostle Peter told us, “God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also” (1 Peter 3:20-21).

God, the Master Teacher, knows we get distracted in church. He sees our Google calendars fill up–even on Sunday mornings. His watchful eye is on us when our attention zings away from our open Bibles.

However, our Master Teacher has graciously accommodated our learning deficits, like he had with Noah. He provides his “visible Word” for our senses. He not only tells us our sin and guilt are washed away. In baptism, he has us see and feel a substance we use everyday–water.

We aren’t simply told Christ’s body and blood were given for us (Matthew 26:26-28). We see, feel and taste the promise of eternal life when we are nourished by the body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper.

Finally, mankind got to see God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus, the Word made flesh with the same five senses we have. Because he died and rose for us, putting our fingers on his nail marks and wounded side is a hands-on lesson we can look forward to in heaven.

Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

A word to your conscience

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on October 7, 2015.  Students in my Modern West college course had read a biography of Martin Luther, which highlighted not only his personal history but the main themes of the Reformation movement.   This student essay captured an important point about a Christian’s conscience.

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The Committed Conscience

by Monica Rehberger

In many respects, Martin Luther was like any other man in 16th century.  He was raised as a peasant, had a fairly common education, and held to the Roman Catholic faith.  But Martin Luther was driven by a very active conscience: sensitive, guilty, and always accusing. He could not silence the continuous reminder that God was the wrathful judge, and he the sinner that could never make amends. However, Luther’s active conscience guided his words and actions throughout his whole life.

Once Martin Luther left law studies to become a monk, he sought to quiet his dark thoughts with a rigorous life of hardship, including physically punishing himself. But it was to no avail; he still realized that the thoughts which came every second tainted his soul with sin. Confession only reinforced this idea for Luther. While he was in the very act of repenting, he would remember another sin or have a wayward thought, demanding more confession and penance. The vicious cycle would occur over and over again within Luther’s conscience, compounding desperation and despair, until he was filled with doubt and hatred for God. Even into his teaching years, Luther suffered from heavy self-accusation.

However, once Martin Luther realized the true grace of God—as a result of study in the Word of God—his conscience was set free. He now knew that God did not expect atonement of sins to come from people themselves; rather it was a full and free gift, paid for by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Because Luther’s mind was now released by that good news, he wished to help others with their burden of sin, primarily as a pastor caring for his flock. Luther did this in several ways. He told monks not strive for complete purity, because they would never achieve it and were focusing only on themselves. He comforted dying Christians that, despite their many sins, God would not abandon them, but would bring them home to heaven. He also encouraged all to take comfort and joy in one another when they were assailed with doubt and fear. In all these ways, Luther looked out for the peoples’ consciences throughout his pastoral ministry.

Martin Luther also addressed issues of the conscience as a theologian. After all, at the Diet of Worms his pinnacle “famous” moment was when he publicly and directly stated the relationship between his will and Scripture: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God—then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.” Earlier than this, Luther had also written a book, On the Freedom of a Christian, in which he explained practical applications for a Christian’s life.  Each person could do what they wished, in keeping with God’s Word, without their conscience being bound to a certain practice or ideal – but at the same time were conscience-bound to act in love toward their neighbors, sharing the love of Christ.  Later during the Heidelberg Disputation, Luther highlighted the idea that every person’s natural will is completely tainted by sin; if one’s mind is saying that he is doing right for himself, then he is in the wrong and just adding sin to more sin. Only through grace can one do good works.

Each person’s conscience is a gift from God, a form of the natural law written on the heart. Martin Luther had a conscience that drove him to seek the truth in Scripture, and then share that with others, whether by preaching, teaching, writing, or singing. Luther described the conscience as being of utmost importance in a life of faith.   It is this that Satan most fiercely attacks, but amidst this struggle of faith one always may look to Christ for forgiveness. This was Luther’s comfort in life, and is the comfort that believers today can use in soothing their troubled minds. God has completely wiped away all of our sins.  Because of grace in Jesus, we live now with unburdened consciences, and we will live forever in freedom in his presence.

Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

Why I go to church

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on July 23, 2015. Someone the author knew, who didn’t attend church, asked Rebecca Hinderman why she went to church. Rebecca wrote this wonderful letter in response to the question. 

Why I go to church

by Rebecca Hinderman

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When you asked me, “Why do you go to church?” so many thoughts were racing through my head.  I apologize for the short, incomplete answer I gave you.  I am writing this letter to share fully what it means to be a Christian and why I go to church.

Starting with the word “church.” It’s not just a building or a group; it’s a family of fellow believers in Jesus Christ. We gather to worship and praise our Savior for what he has done for us – not because we have to but because we want to. We learn about Jesus, our need for salvation, sin, the power of the devil, forgiveness, love, the grace of God, and so much more.  All this we find in the Bible, our instruction manual for life.  Christians believe the Bible is God’s word.  Even though there are many authors throughout the Bible, it is the true word of God;  God-breathed, so to speak.

God’s word shows us how we are all sinful from birth.  “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). We are all sinful not just by our actions, but also by our thoughts and words.

Our sinful nature was inherited from Adam and Eve who committed the first sin. Because of sin and our human inability to earn forgiveness, we are all condemned to death and hell.  I know this is a strong, powerful statement.  This truth should rattle us to the core.  But there is a way to be right and sinless before God.  God, through his love and grace, sent his Son Jesus to suffer and die the death we all deserve.  Jesus was our substitute and saved us from our sins. “Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  We now appear to God as perfect and sinless as Jesus was.

The gift of salvation through Jesus is the gift of God’s great love for us.  This great love–this grace– goes beyond our human understanding. The love and forgiveness God has given me is why I go to church.  I want to thank him and praise his name for the gift of salvation given through Jesus.  Knowing the truth of his love has moved me to share that truth with you and others.  Attending church services gives me strength and support, a time to rest my soul and focus on what is truly important.

Without this renewed strength and focus, I can become easy prey for the devil.  The Bible says, “Be self-controlled and alert for your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We are all weak and vulnerable to the devil’s deceitful ways and can get sucked into situations and relationships that are harmful to our souls. Slowly, so subtly, we can be moved away from Christ and the saving gift of grace.  It can be a battle both external and internal.  What weapons do we have to ward off this attack? The answer again is God’s word – the Bible.  God’s Holy Spirit will work in our hearts and minds to strengthen us and create faith as we read the Bible.  Even a little each day, a short chapter, gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work its work in us.  Knowing this gives me such peace and comfort as well as the boldness to talk about the truths of God’s word.

The first disciples, by the power of the Holy Spirit, began preaching and teaching the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.  What unshakable faith they had! They endured much suffering and persecution as well as being put to death for their beliefs.  Rejection of the salvation message was as commonplace then as it is today.

Still, I will speak up and risk your rejection of me and God’s word. Why would I still do this? You are too important.  You are God’s creation.  He desires you as his dear child. I pray through me you will feel his love for you, understand his word and believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin.

All I have said are God’s truths. I am not forcing any expectations on you nor am I putting myself above you. We have all messed up, sinned, knowingly or unknowingly. One person is no better than the next.

I invite you to join me anytime to attend church services and learn more for yourself. We also have a Bible study time. During this time we look at certain sections of Bible or specific topics and read what God says about such things. It’s a time to ask questions and learn in a non-judgmental small setting.

I will continue to pray for you and value your friendship. Thank you for your question and I hope my answers have aroused some curiosity and move you to come and learn about Jesus!

Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

Thoughts on the day of Pentecost

First publication on The Electric Gospel – June 8, 2014.

Pentecost was an Old Testament festival — a time at which worshipers would gather in Jerusalem.  The Lord used that occasion (fifty days after Passover and the death and resurrection of Jesus) to give birth to his New Testament church.  Miracles attested to the significance of the message the apostles were given to speak on that day … but the message of Jesus was (and always is) the central thing.  Calling attention to Jesus is what the Spirit of God does.

In the church today, people sometimes get confused about the role played by the Holy Spirit.  The following message ponders the Spirit’s work.

A Message, Not a Mumble[1]

by David Sellnow

[Jesus said to his disciples]: “Now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.  But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:  about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 16:5-15

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When I was pastoring a congregation in West Texas, one day a young woman called our church. She was confused and searching in her religion; someone had told her Lutherans were reliable in that regard. She was 20 years old, and grew up experiencing so-called “Spirit-filled” worship. As she became an adult, she became skeptical and uneasy about much of what went on in her congregation.

She said, “When the old men in the church get the spirit and start running around all wild, it scares me.” She was scared, too, by the preaching, which was mostly about judgment day, the rapture, and how you’d better be ready. But she wasn’t sure if she was ready or even how to be ready. It was supposedly a Spirit-filled church, but her spirit was spooked.

In our congregation, we had not experienced any of our old men–or young men or mothers or daughters, for that matter — hooting and hopping and running around the chapel all filled with a spirit. In many years of worship services, I don’t know of one where anyone stood up and spoke in tongues. So, did that mean we didn’t have the Spirit — if we didn’t babble in tongues or fall down slain or quake uncontrollably or burst into spontaneous laughter? Did the Spirit bypass us? Are those outward signs the best expression of what the Spirit does? Is there always such external evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence?  

Certainly, the Spirit has given supernatural gifts on certain specific occasions for certain special reasons. At the birth of the church in the New Testament, on the day of Pentecost, he gave his apostles the power to communicate in other languages so they could better spread Christ’s message (Acts 2:1-12).  On occasion he used the gift of tongues as a way to verify that Gentiles were to be as much a part of his kingdom as were Jews (Acts 10:44-46, 11:15-18). But God never decreed as a general rule that tongue-speaking would be the mark of his church in every place or forever. In fact, the apostle Paul went on record saying, “Where there are tongues, they will be stilled” (1 Corinthians 13:8). In that section of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul described tongue-speaking as an aspect of the childhood stage of the church (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:11). It was no longer useful or necessary after the apostles’ time when the full Word of God was completed.

So now, let’s ask again: What is the real work of the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Ghost do? Who has the gift of the Spirit?

Jesus answered those questions when he promised that the Spirit would come. He said that when the Holy Spirit comes, he comes to convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8).  He proves the world to be wrong in its views about sin, the way the world endorses sin and excuses sin and encourages sin.  He convicts individuals’ hearts with the message of God’s law.  He brings us to our knees in repentance.  And the Spirit also convicts or convinces the world in regard to righteousness and judgment.  He shows that all righteousness is in Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way to the Father, who goes to the Father himself and is the one way and truth and life for us to come to God.  And the Spirit convinces the world that there is a day of judgment coming.  For, as the apostle Paul said when preaching to a pagan audience in the city of Athens, God “has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed (Jesus). He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

So that’s what the Holy Spirit is all about—showing us the truth, convincing us we are sinners, revealing the only real way of righteousness, and announcing inescapable judgment on all who would believe otherwise.Jesus answered those questions when he promised that the Spirit would come. He said that when the Holy Spirit comes, he comes to convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8).  He proves the world to be wrong in its views about sin, the way the world endorses sin and excuses sin and encourages sin.  He convicts individuals’ hearts with the message of God’s law.  He brings us to our knees in repentance.  And the Spirit also convicts or convinces the world in regard to righteousness and judgment.  He shows that all righteousness is in Jesus Christ, who is the ONLY way to the Father, who goes to the Father himself and is the one way and truth and life for us to come to God.  And the Spirit convinces the world that there is a day of judgment coming.  For, as the apostle Paul said when preaching to a pagan audience in the city of Athens, God “has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed (Jesus). He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

Repenting of sin and believing in Jesus are not things we have the capacity to do for ourselves. The Spirit of God is the one who brings individuals to faith as the chief work that he does.  He causes you to repent of sin and creates within you a trusting attitude, a reliance on Jesus and his love.

Everything the Spirit says and does is to direct attention to Jesus. According to Jesus, the Spirit “will not speak on his own… He will bring glory to me by taking from me what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine” (John 16:13-15).

The Spirit isn’t into self-promotion. The Spirit doesn’t pump his own image or push his own agenda. The Spirit is one with the Father and the Son, and the message of the Father and the Son is the message that he shares. A so-called “Spirit-filled” church that isn’t pointing you strongly to Jesus isn’t really all that Spirit-filled.  That young woman in West Texas needed the Spirit’s comfort in Jesus most of all – and that’s what the Spirit really is all about.  The Spirit “brings glory to me,” Jesus said. He takes the message of Jesus and makes it known to you. He takes the Word of the Father and reveals it to you. The Spirit isn’t campaigning for his own election as the most important member of the Trinity. He quietly takes the role of servant and preacher to bring glory to the Father and the Son.  The true voice of the Spirit is a message, not a mumble. It is the message of Jesus Christ as the bringer of righteousness, the Savior from sin, our advocate in the judgment.  Just because something is full of excitement and enthusiasm and ecstatic hallelujahs (or less intelligible words) doesn’t mean the Spirit of God is in it. Where the Spirit of God is, there the message of Jesus is proclaimed.

The young lady who was fearful about so-called “spirit-filled” religion decided she would leave her parents’ home and church and move to Memphis. I hope she found spiritual peace. The time we spent on the phone we talked about sin and grace, about righteousness and judgment. We talked about Jesus’ true message, about Jesus’ true comfort. Her heart was happy to hear such good news — the real good news of the gospel — not just spiritual-sounding noise.

Praise God that you heard the true voice of his Spirit, revealed to you in his Word, believed by you in your heart. If it happened quietly, in no spectacular fashion, that’s fine. You probably don’t even remember the first day you believed. But you do believe. In your heart you trust Jesus as Lord. That’s only possible when the Spirit of God is living in you.

So thank God for sending you his Spirit, and offer yourself–your lips, your words, your testimony–as an instrument for the Spirit to use in bringing faith to others. You don’t have to speak in tongues.  Simply communicate the love and truth of Jesus.

PRAYER:

Jesus, thank you for delivering on your promise to send your Spirit to us.  We don’t look for your Spirit to come to us in flashy or spectacular ways.  What we need most is the conviction and comfort of the Spirit deep in our hearts.  Continue to bless us with your Spirit as he communicates with our hearts and minds in your holy Word, dear Jesus.  Amen.

[1] Adapted from article originally published in Lightsource magazine (2000)  and message aired on the Lutheran Chapel Service radio program (2014).

Posted by Electric Gospel