Before you read this article please read the first “SELF” article on this commentary so you will better understand the parts of your eternal soul, the eternal you.
What does the Holy Spirit do concerning salvation, the Church and the individual Christian? #5 (part A) must necessarily be presented out of order because salvation must be accomplished first and then we can explore and explain the Holy Spirit’s part in our Christian experience of developing a relationship with God.
As stated before; this commentary concerns Christians because they already know about getting saved and, of course, non-Christians are extremely welcome if you are curious about the how, who, why, what, where and when about God, the church and Christians. If you desire a much more detailed and personal account of the salvation process please read the commentary “Breath of Life” given on this website.
Normally a seeker of Christ doesn’t know the scriptural process of getting saved. He or she is simply drawn to church and to Jesus. They listen to some preaching and teaching about Jesus and salvation. They realize they are lost and they want saved. A time of decision comes. They feel God’s amazing love and drawing and they live in the strange emotional turmoil while God introduces Himself to them.
They decide to either accept Jesus as Saviour or refuse Jesus as Saviour. It is obvious they already believe in Jesus if they are willing to pray. They pray and it is done; they are saved. When they get done they are glad to confess that Jesus saved then. It is that simple.
The information below explains in detail and by scripture the spiritual mechanics of the salvation process. By this you can see all the beautiful effort, wonderful patience, amazing love, locked in safeguards and infinite grace and mercy God exerts to help someone obtain salvation.
Jesus said; (John 6:44) “No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me DRAW him.” (John 12:32) “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will DRAW (pull toward by inward power) all men unto me.” (Luke 23:33) Jesus was lifted up when He was crucified, (Luke 24:6-7) lifted up when He rose from the dead and (Luke 24:51) lifted up when He ascended into Heaven. (John 6:44) No man can come to Jesus without that drawing by the Holy Spirit.
This drawing BY the Holy Spirit is accomplished in three ways; (Matt. 20:16 & Luke 5:32) #1 a calling (invitation) from God to repent (turn around) from their sinful life. A calling to come on back home with God where they were intended to be.
(Luke 10:21-22) #2 a revealing (disclosure) of God’s loving and forgiving nature, the reality and goodness of His Person, that salvation is possible, that they are lost, and they are a slave to sin. (2Cor. 4:1-4) God reveals Satan, the devil, is a type of god and their choice is to choose between Jesus and Satan.
There is a revealing that Jesus died for your sins. It is actually God introducing Himself to the individual. Just think of that: most of us will never intimately know anyone famous, or rich, or powerful; (Col. 1:16) yet the God of creation who inhabits forever and controls everything introduces Himself to the individual and (John 3:1-16) extends the offer to be spiritually born again (Rom. 8:13-17) into God’s own personal family.
The third part of the drawing process is (John 16:8) #3 to reprove (rebuke) a sinner of his sins which separates the sinner from the love, goodness, completeness, and glory of God, (Rom. 8:5-9) that the separation will extend into eternity, and they will go to hell with Satan, the god they chose, if they don’t get saved.
The reproof includes the lack of “something” in their life (Col. 1:16 keywords: all things were created by God and for God) because all people have a God place within them. And that “something” is that God is not in their God Place and only God can fill it because we are made by God and for God. (Eph. 2:8) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” FAITH IS REALITY. (Heb. 11:1) “Faith is the substance (essence, assurance, underlying reality) of things hoped for, the evidence (proof, proves a point to a legal conclusion) of things not seen.”
God’s drawing through the Holy Spirit takes place in the complete soul: The conscience is rebuked (convicted) because it is wrong and doesn’t know God’s values; the personality (character traits, self, soul) is touched when God reveals His person to the individual and the person knows he is found guilty of his sins. The cold dark God Place is shown to be empty and the need to worship is worshiping the wrong things.
As you follow God’s drawing by thinking about God, reading God’s word and listening to God’s word; according to the above scripture (Eph. 2:8) God, through the Holy Spirit, gives you the gift of enough faith by increasing revelation to go on as they proceed step by step through the process of drawing you toward salvation. REMEMBER THIS: This gift of more and more faith is added throughout the drawing process by God’s revelation of Himself through the Holy Spirit.
THIS IS HOW FAITH IS REALITY: God reveals more and more of Himself until you know He is God. It is written; (Acts 10:34) “God is no respecter of persons” and the fact God gives us the faith to be saved as a gift makes perfect sense because everyone gets an equal chance, they can be equally judged and that is infinitely fair.
Think about this: God exerts the drawing force in a magnitude necessary for your personality. If you follow the drawing; God continues the drawing (Psa. 71:6) in a way that matches only you (Psa. 139:1-6) because He intimately knows you and understands you better than you understand yourself.
PROOF: Take time to get a group of at least four or five Christians together. Let everyone by turn tell in detail how God drew them. After a person tells their experience, the group will take that testimony apart according to the Bible and you will understand the same thing happened to each person but it was regulated by God to match each person’s personality and life experience.
Some people call this drawing being under conviction and that is part of it because God does convict you of your sins during the reproof part of the drawing. God approaches sinners “the lost” in three ways: #1 (John 6:44) by His own drawing through the Holy Spirit, #2 (John 6:63) by His own Holy Spirit anointed written word and #3 (Acts 1:8) by the spoken and written words of His Holy Spirit anointed Christians.
If the individual responds by beginning to seek God through reading the Bible, listening to preaching, talking to and asking questions of Christians, praying, (Matt. 16:13-16) thinking about who Jesus really is and attending church; then the sinner (lost person) (Luke 13:24 & Acts 17:23-30 esp. V.27) has become a seeker.
And the Holy Spirit intensifies and magnifies His drawing and the process proceeds to whatever conclusion the lost person desires since the lost person is in control because the lost person can refuse God’s drawing any time from beginning to end due to the fact God (Prov. 1:23-31) the Holy Spirit will not stay where He isn’t wanted but (Rev. 20:15) they will surely regret refusing God’s salvation; I have lived that experience with a man that was a very, very good friend to my Dad, my brother and me and my three sons; three generations of us.
If you wish to read that scripture based true story it is about two-thirds down the text of the article The Holy Spirit is Truth on this commentary beginning with PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. I have seen people read it and become determined to accept God’s offer of salvation because it caused them to understand the seriousness of their decision. PLEASE, if you have a lost loved one make a hard copy to give them or send it by electronic link. you will never regret it!
If a person does proceed through the process of drawing (calling, revealing, and reproving) (Acts 8:29-38 esp. V.37) to the point of salvation God makes this promise; (Rom. 10:8-13) “But what sayeth it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart (soul), that is, the word of faith, which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe (to believe the truth of God’s word, to trust Jesus for your personal salvation and to entrust the rest of your life to Jesus’ care) in thine heart (soul) that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
“For with the heart (soul) man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth (same definition as above) on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Gentile; anyone not of the Jewish bloodline): for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
At the time of salvation (1Cor.6:11) the Holy Spirit washes (cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus), justifies (to render innocent) and sanctifies (to make holy) the individual. The following five things happen simultaneously: (John 14:17-20 & Acts 10:43-45) #1 The Holy Spirit indwells the person’s soul. AND:
(1John 1:7) #2 The Holy Spirit removes the sin burden, (Acts 10:43-45) #3 the Holy Spirit tells the person they are saved, YOU WILL KNOW IT! (John 3:5-8 & 1Pet. 1:23) #4 You have been BORN AGAIN through the Holy Spirit into (Rom.8:14-17) God’s own personal family.
In God’s eyes YOU are brand new with no sin against you, it’s a fresh start. (Rev. 20:11-15) #5 Your name is written in God’s book of life. (John 14:17-18) The Holy Spirit lives within you to help you overcome all that life throws against you. (John 14:17 keyword: know) It is an “I know so” salvation.
Please understand that you, as a lost sinner, did not get saved from or because of your sins. (Rev. 1:5) Your sins must be washed away (cleansed) and the only thing pure enough, precious enough, and perfect enough to do that is the blood of Jesus. (Matt. 18:11) After your sins are gone you get saved from being lost.
One very practical two part question: What benefit would a God be who couldn’t or wouldn’t tell you that you had been saved and accepted; and without that certainty how could YOU have any confidence of your status and situation? God knows exactly how to make it work so we can know we are saved. Later in this commentary is a complete discussion about how salvation makes you a member of God’s personal family.
So, what exactly happened to your sins when you were born again? (Col. 1:14) Your sins (offences), (Col. 2:13) trespasses (unintentional error or willful transgression), (Rom. 4:7) iniquity (wickedness) and (1Tim. 1:13) blasphemies are all forgiven because they (Rev. 1:5) were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19 keyword: blotted: defined: to smear out, obliterate, pardon sin) THEY ARE BLOTTED OUT, GONE (Psa. 103:12 keywords: “As far as the east from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions- defined: sin, rebellion, trespass- from us.”) AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST! Think about it.
Start walking directly east and you can never reach west even if you walk all the way around the world; east will always be in front of you and west will always be at your back.
(Eph. 2:22) You are now a habitation of God through the (John 14:16-21) indwelling Holy Spirit. (John 14:21) You love Jesus for saving you. Your God Place has God right at home in it and your conscience and personality have a new Companion. You asked to be saved in Jesus name and God did it because by your expression of faith you trusted God and He saved you because of it. AND: (2Cor. 5:17-21 esp. V.17 keyword: creature: defined Strong’s #2917: creation) You are a new creation (V.18) who has been reconciled (return to favor with God) to God by Jesus Christ.
Think about how it would be without your born again experience and the Holy Spirit dwelling within you: (Matt. 7:21-23) “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Based on (Matt. 7:21-23) a person can be the most honest person in his state, the nicest person in the United States, the sweetest person in the whole world; he can prophesy, cast out devils, claim he has done many wonderful works; he can keep the full ten commandments and be in church every time the door opens, all this will be accompanied by prayers, and it will all be done in the name of Jesus but if he HAS NOT been born again through the Holy Spirit it amounts to nothing.
You cannot make God owe you salvation by good works; other religions are doing it, you cannot buy your way to salvation because God owns it all and you cannot just take salvation away from God because you are too weak. THINK: In the reality of our life on earth God/Jesus, Satan and salvation or lack of it are the only reality (Isa. 40:6-8 & 1Pet. 1:23-25) all the rest is illusion.
If you have not experienced the salvation event Jesus said He will tell you to depart from Him, and you will be lost. That’s God’s word about it. (Psa. 119:2 & 10) God expects our whole heart; “I’ll do anything if you’ll just save me.” No thing, no situation and no person is more important than getting saved (1Cor. 2:9) because that is your ticket to heaven.
The only recognition the Holy Spirit gets during the whole thing is when (Matt. 28:19) his name is invoked “we baptize this, our brother (or sister) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Spirit). SALVATION IS COMPLETE. JESUS’ BLOOD MADE IT POSSIBLE. GOD’S LOVE MADE IT HAPPEN. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK GOT IT DONE.
Is salvation the end of grace? But what about your soul, YOU; what changed there? Did the Holy Spirit evict all the bad character traits that are a part of your soul such as anger, stubborn, and malice? If He did evict the bad character traits why does the New Testament contain Romans through Jude that teach us how to be better Christians through spiritual growth? As a matter of fact if we became perfect at the time of salvation why even have a Book of Revelation; it wouldn’t matter anyway?
If we were perfect why not just keep a few Evangelists around to preach and get people saved? Just let all the rest of us perfect people go on to Heaven because we sure wouldn’t need Pastors, Deacons, and Teachers. So there you are: a blood washed, born again, Holy Spirit inhabited believer that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Could it be possible you are still in need of grace?
After the wonder, joy, and love (the spiritual high) of the salvation experience wears off we kind of look around and think “I know I got saved, I feel different, I am different, but a whole lot of the same old me is still here. What happened?” A person usually understands some things for sure. I can’t do adultery and fornication, cursing is out, and I can’t get drunk any more.
Then you get hurt or angry and curse and you feel guilty, you pray, and you feel better. An attractive member of the opposite sex strolls by and you can’t help but sneak a look, you feel guilty, you pray, and you feel better. “What in the world is happening to me?”
God bless your beautiful, one of a kind heart, don’t let it bother you. The salvation part of the Holy Spirit’s work is over. It is time to learn how to be a motivated, mature, working Christian. (Eph. 5:1-9) That is the Holy Spirit’s finishing work within you (John 17:15-21 esp. V.21) as you develop your personal relationship with God.
(Matt. 20:1-16) There are eleventh hour salvation events such as death bed, auto wrecks, the elderly and etc. all the time but most Christians are saved while they have several years of lifetime left and their actions from then on determine their heaven worthiness. Could it be possible grace is required for the rest of your Christian life? Of course it is and Grace will be discussed in depth in this commentary.