September 2020 Reflections

by Krisan Marotta | Sep 27, 2020 | News, Reflections

Ligonier’s 2020 State of Theology survey shows a decline in the number of professing evangelicals who have an accurate understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work in salvation.

Only 16% “strongly disagreed” and only 8% “somewhat disagreed” with the statement “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.”
Likewise, only 27% agreed with the statement: “The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual new birth or new life before a person has faith in Jesus Christ.”
Respondents split 60-40 on the statement: “The Holy Spirit can tell me to do something which is forbidden in the Bible.”

We’ve been addressing just these questions in the series “Who is the Holy Spirit?” It’s never too late to join us! I pray you’ve been learning as much as I have.

Thanks for all the feedback on this series and welcome to the many new subscribers!! I’m glad to have you along.

Podcasts

01 Holy Spirit: Agent of Change

In John 3:1-8, we learn two themes that we will see repeatedly in this series: 1) The Holy Spirit of is God’s agent of change, and 2) one of his most crucial works is the inner transformation of believers.

02 Holy Spirit: Universal vs Individual

1Corinthians 12 teaches an important distinction between the type of work the Holy Spirit does. The “universal” work of the Holy Spirit is a work that he does for all believers to bring about the inner transformation of faith. The “individual” works of the Holy Spirit are works he does in some believers but not others.

03 Holy Spirit: Revelation vs Understanding

In 1Corinthians 2, we learn two of the most important works of the Spirit: 1) The Spirit reveals the thoughts of God to His chosen messengers. This is revelation. 2) The Spirit gives understanding to all believers so that we embrace the claims of the gospel.

04 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Judges & Kings

One of the main themes in the Old Testament regarding the Holy Spirit is that God empowers Israel’s leaders through His Spirit to bless the nation and keep His covenant promises.