The Biblical Marks of the Spirit’s Gracious Works in Individuals

The marks of the Spirit's work on an individual are clearly evident to the observer. The Bible is clear in distinguishing the evidence of God's work in an individual's life. These proofs cover several different areas in a believer's life. The evidences cover the speech, conduct, and even the mindset of Believers.
    The first area of evidence to be examined is that of the believer's speech. The Bible is clear that confession with the mouth is necessary for salvation (Rom10:9). In the same passage, potential believers are promised salvation for those that call on the name of the Lord (Rom10:13). Saving faith requires a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord, and a verbal cry to the Lord for salvation. After the initial confession of faith, believers are asked to proclaim their great salvation. We are admonished to tell others about God's amazing grace. Jesus commanded his followers to be witnesses (Acts 1:8), and to teach new Christians all the commands of God (Matt 28:19-20). We are even admonished to proclaim the excellencies of Christ (1:Pet 2:9). As Christians, we should be actively using our speech to tell others about God's gift of grace and how He gloriously has saved us. Proclamation is the command after confession and regeneration have taken place. It is obvious, from Scripture, that Christians are not only commanded to speak well, it is expected. Christians should be telling others of the love of Christ, they should be telling people how to meet Christ, and they should be instructing others on how to live for Christ.
    The second area that should be evidenced as a mark of the Spirit, is that of the mind. The Christian mind should be one that is controlled by Christ. The mind of Christ (Phil 2:5) should be evident in believers. By this I mean that believers should seek humility, serve others, and strive to bring glory to God. What does this have to do with the mind? All of these actions require and inward choice. Believers should desire the things of God and this craving starts in our minds. In fact, we should seek for the continual renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). This is our spiritual act of worship. The mind is the battlefield. It is a war that has been raged by the demons of hell.
    Our minds should be cultivated with the word of the living God. It is only with this saturation of the word that our minds function as those who belong to God. Sin begins in the mind. It then progresses into the entire body. Scripture is a solid defense of the temptation of sin. Jesus even refuted Satan with Scripture. One must work diligently and pray often. We must win the battle of the mind in order to serve God and be the Christians we should. The difficult part with the mind is that we cannot do it alone. It is God who works in us for his good pleasure (Phil 2:13).
    Since the cultivation of our minds is so vitally important, Christians should establish and maintain a daily time in meditation on Scripture and in prayer. These two acts alone are foundational to maintaining our minds in a sense that is pleasing to God. Also, a consistent diet of Scripture is essential to having the right mindset for a believer. This is part of our spiritual food and as Christians, we should hunger for the word of God. I believe that this craving should be present in every believer. It is a testimony of the Spirit of God at work in an individual for one to have a longing for the things of God. It is Biblical. The natural man does not now the things of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:14). The things of God are foolishness to an unbelieving person.
    The consistent time in prayer has its beginning in the mind. It takes a determination to do the things of God. One may be distracted, too busy, or simply just unconcerned. In order to have a daily time in prayer, a believer must decide that it is important to spend time with God in prayer. This choice is evident to the Spiritual condition of believers. It is impossible to serve God without the help of His Spirit. It is impossible to draw from the Spirit's power without having spent time in the Word and in prayer. A Christian must decide in their mind to serve God and through prayer and Bible study grow in that relationship. The use of the mind is important in showing the works of the Spirit of God in the life of a believer.
    The final area that is important to show the marks of the Spirit's work in believers is the action that is conducted by the believers. The Spirit of God is at work within all who have been given grace. This is obvious by the way that one acts. However evident it is, serving God is difficult. Sometimes it is a very hard choice (Rom 7:19). In fact it is so difficult that Christians are unable to do it on their own. It requires God's help to live in a way that brings glory to God (Phil 1:27). God desires all believers to live in such a manner that He is glorified. We are called to live worthy of the calling (Eph 4:1).
    The actions of a believer should be very intentional. That intent should be serving God and bring Him glory. Obviously one cannot do it alone. It requires the help of God, through His Spirit, for believers to act godly. Believers should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). They should love others more than themselves (Matt 22:39). This love for others should motivate a believer to serve others and minister to their needs. This ministry motivated by love is the outward manifestation of the Spirit living and working in and through a believer. It is not a believer working for grace, but working because of grace (James 2:18). Believers should display good works. They should strive to do things that illustrates to the world that they are sinners saved by grace and showing the grace and love of Christ to those around them.
    A true mark of the spirit's gracious work in a believer is a believer acting like Jesus (1 John 2:6). How does that flesh out? Jesus meet the needs of people. He fed the hungry, gave the blind sight, helped the lame to walk, healed the sick, and took time for the needs of countless others. So if we are to act as Jesus did, we should be feeding the hungry, helping the weak, ministering to the needs of those in the most despicable places all for the glory of God. This is the purest manifestation of the Spirit's presence and work in the life of a believer. A believer should serve others, not for a place of prominence, but instead as an act of obedience.
    In conclusion, the marks of the Spirit's gracious work in an individual should be immediately obvious. A believer speaks to God for the confession of sins and proclaims to the world about God and his amazing grace. The mind of a believer should determine to be obedient to the commands of God and this only happens through the Spirit's influence in the life of a believer. Good works should flow naturally. The motivation for service should be others. The Spirit at work in an individual uses them through service to show the lost a love that only comes from God. These three things show the Spirit at work in an individual. Regardless of where one may be on their journey, the evidence of the spirit at work shows itself in these three areas. Even if one has not yet believed, the Spirit of God may be drawing them to salvation. There is still a conscious effort made in the mind. There is still a work from the mouth and an exercise of faith. All three are essential points for inspection to determine the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual. It is such a gracious act by God to want a relationship with his people. In such, a believer is promised to be sealed with the Spirit (2 Cor 1:22). As a result of God's great love, believers should strive to develop and maintain a Christ-like mind, speak often about the grace of God and proclaim Christ to the nations, and act in such a way that God is pleased by our service. This creates in the believer a heart at peace. Serving God is the purpose in creation of mankind. God wants the mind, the speech, and the life of a believer. He has made a way for one to use all three for His own glory. He has given believers his spirit to guide them in how they think, what they say, and doing all the things that brings Almighty God the glory. This is truly the marks of the Spirit's gracious work in individuals.

 

 

 

© 2010 by Todd A. Peebles. toddpeebles@gmail.com

Make Disciples of the Nations

    Many church going people can quote from memory a verse from John's gospel about God loving the world. Probably, the second most quoted verse is Matthew 28:19.

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

This much quoted command of Christ is used by many in religious circles. It is commonly referred to as the "Great Commission." This is the marching orders for the church. It is very straightforward. However, it is often disobeyed. A look into the text may provide a little insight and possibly some passion and motivation not only to share with the lost, but to help them mature as Christians.

    A quick understanding of context and grammar may be necessary to gain a deeper understanding of this text. Jesus is speaking to eleven of his disciples after the resurrection. He establishes His authority by telling them that He had been given all authority (Matt28:18). The authority of Jesus is not debatable at this point. It is understood that Jesus has the authority to issues commands to his followers. Jesus, as Master, commands his followers about their lives from that point forward. This passage contains three particular imperatives or commands. There is one focal command with two follow-up commands to illustrate how to accomplish the first.

    The command is to make disciples. This is a process. A disciple is a pupil that learns things from a teacher. The simplistic command that Jesus gave was to make students of himself. Jesus wanted his followers to plant the same seed in others that he had implanted in them. Make time to create disciples. The first aspect of this command was to baptize. This is making the assumption that the person has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. The act of baptism is an act of obedience to Christ. It is commanded to us because of the repentance of sin. Baptism is an outward proclamation of an inward transformation. An obvious conclusion with baptism is that the pre-requisite is certainly evangelism. The gospel is the "good news of Christ!" We should tell everyone. We should do more than tell everyone, we should follow the command of Christ and spend the necessary time to help people become an obedient disciple of Christ. We should help them become a committed disciple of Jesus Christ. We should guide them as a disciple as we go about our life.

    A second aspect to making disciples is to teach the commands of Christ. Again the verb "teach" is issued as a command. Jesus is speaking to His disciples in a way that He expects results. Teach all the words of Christ. This is often the overlooked part of make disciples. We, as the church, like to see the evangelism part work. We like to see people get baptized. We all like to extend the "right hand of Christian fellowship." We fail miserably in teaching the words of the Living God.

    Teaching involves spending time with new disciples. We have to live the words of Christ as we teach the words of Christ. This one area alone is where most Christians fail. We would rather involve ourselves in the things of the world and use the words of the Living God as platitudes for wall décor. This is a serious issue. Teaching the words of the living God involves studying the Word of God, Living the Word of God, and proclaiming the Word of God. This process continues on and on. We must invest the necessary time to help people hear, read, study, and live the Word of God. Actually, there is not a choice. Remember it is a command from Jesus. Make Disciples of all the nations.

    I believe that it is time for Christians to start acting like Christ. I think it is time for us to start submitting to and obeying the commands of Christ. We are not seeing people make life changing decisions for Christ because Christians refuse to obey the commands of Christ. It is past time for the church to wake up and make disciples of the nations before any more die and spend eternity in hell.

 

©2010 Todd A. Peebles

Who Are the Nations?

Who Are The Nations?

Recently, my doors were blown off. I actually could not believe what my ears were telling me they heard. Surely there was a mistake. The sounds that triggered utter disbelief were those of the worthiness for people to receive the gospel. I know that right now the question is raised by Christians on who is worthy to hear the gospel. The greater tragedy that day was silence. Silence held hostage members of the faith simply because someone else read their mind. The sentiments spoken reflected the opinions of most in the room.

I must have misread the Great Commission. There must be some type of hidden clause that allows believers to share with only like-minded people. Surely there is a sentence in the Great Commission that offers an affirmative defense. God could not possibly expect all believers to not only share the gospel, but to share it with less than desirable people. This might make some people uncomfortable.

A quick look into the Scripture will provide some honest answers. Matthew 28:18, Jesus establishes his authority to send his followers into the world. Actually, in verse nineteen, the command is to "make disciples of all the nations." A deeper dig into the word reveals a couple in interesting concepts.

The Great Commission mandates discipleship. Discipleship necessitates involvement from Christians. The process begins with evangelism, moves to baptism, and culminates in Christian growth. The true mark of a disciple of Christ is revealed by more Disciples of Christ. When Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples, He expected results.

Lack of discipleship remains a serious problem within the community of faith. Many Christian people falsely assume they are not gifted in evangelism so reaching out is someone else's problem. The struggles evidenced with people leaving the church speak loudly about the current level of effectiveness for discipleship. How can we expect anything different when we, as Christians, refuse to follow the command of Christ to make disciples?

The greater problem demands an answer. Remember the command? Make disciple of the nations. This command verbalizes what we are to do and the audience. A brief definition of the nations reveals that the nations are people without the gospel. Ethnicity matters not in sharing the gospel. Geographical boundaries should not concern believers when following the commands of Christ. Social and financial status should never prevent people from hearing the gospel. The nations are every people, tribe, tongue, and walk of life. The gospel is the message of the saving grace of Jesus Christ and is worthy to be presented to every man, woman, and child regardless of where they live, how they look, or even how they respond. The command of God is to make disciples of all nations.

As a pastor, I became aware of two very serious problems. The first is that people seriously believe that some are unworthy of the gospel. The second is that most don't care. I pray that we, as Christians, are moved to conviction to the point of weeping for our apathy as it is sending the lost to hell.

Make disciples of all the nations!

©2010 Todd A. Peebles