What is a Reformed Baptist..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So welcome again to our Wednesday night Bible study. As you're probably all aware, we're still working our way through the distinctives of what a Reformed church is.

And in fact, this evening will be the last evening of what a Reformed church is. And God willing, next week our brother Nelson will take us through and begin what is a Reformed Baptist Church, Level 4. So this is the last in Level 3. We've gone through an Evangelical Church, we've gone through what is a Calvinistic Church, now we're in what is a Reformed Church. And today will be the last in that series, and then our brother Nelson next week will take us through and begin the series in what is a Reformed Baptist Church, looking at the distinctives that make us different to other Reformed Churches.

So you realize in the last four weeks what we've been doing is we've been concentrating our efforts on looking at the the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the New Testament church. And if you remember, we've looked at the apostles, the gift that the Spirit has given the apostles, the prophets, the tongue speakers and tongue interpreters as well. And we've concluded that these were given for the early church and their function and their purpose was revelatory. And because it was revelation, we concluded that it was for the church or Christ has given these gifts for the church in her infancy. and they have foundational purpose and they weren't meant to go beyond that.

But having said that, Christ did however intend for his church to have special revelation the Holy Spirit had given to the apostles preserved for the church. In other words, the means or the people Christ used to reveal his word would come to an end. But his word itself would be preserved for his church forever. So now moving on from that this evening, I want to take a closer look at the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual believer. So let me say from the beginning, without the power of the Holy Spirit actively at work in and through the life of the Christian, you would be nothing.

it would be impossible to live even a single day in the Christian life without the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so who is the Holy Spirit? We know He's the third member of the Holy Trinity. The Spirit is a He, not an It. Some people refer to Him as an It.

He is a He. He is a person. He can be grieved. He can be lied to. He can be resisted.

As with each person in the Trinity, He has distinct role as well. Now, most people are quite confident articulating the role of the father and the role of the son, but when it comes to the Holy Spirit, it's a little bit more gray. His role is not always that clear. We know he's powerful and we know he dwells in the life of every believer, but there's also much confusion out there as to what exactly he does. Now to be clear, there is certainly an element of mystery, but there's also much clarity that we can achieve and derive from the Word of God on the Holy Spirit.

If we ground our beliefs about Him from Scripture, we stand on solid ground. Can we know everything about Him? Absolutely not, but we're not meant to. You see, the problem in some Christian circles is that they're not content embracing only what the Bible teaches about the third member of the Trinity and allow the mystery to remain a mystery. Rather, what they do is they They take or make strange mystic beliefs arise, in an effort to explain away the unknown.

And in doing so, putting the sheep on shaky ground at best, but it also opens up the door to much spiritual danger. Remember, What we've been saying for the last few weeks, God has revealed all he intends to reveal in special revelation until Jesus returns. So what we have in the Bible is sufficient for our lives and sufficient for us to please God. The secret things belong to the Lord God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law. It's written in Deuteronomy 29, 29.

Beloved, we need to hold dearly to what has been revealed and leave the rest in the capable hands of God. So now let's have a look at what the Bible teaches about the role and the function of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. So let's start from the beginning. He's the one who causes regeneration in the life of the Christian. A few weeks ago now, we did our study, when we were doing our study on Calvinism, if you remember, we worked our way through the acronym TULIP, T-U-L-I-P, and the first T is total depravity.

We recognize that the Bible teaches that every man, every woman, and every child is born in sin. The mind, the will, the emotions, the body have been completely corrupted by iniquity. Each person in the natural state is a rebel and an enemy of God. It's because of this Paul is able to say in Romans 3, and we all know the passage, none is righteous. No, not one.

No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become worthless. No one does good.

not even one. In fact, beyond this, the Bible teaches that the reason the natural person is unable to please God is because he or she is dead in their transgression and sin. They are only able to please the desires of their sinful flesh. But as far as their spiritual life is concerned, there's no spiritual heartbeat. Therefore, in the natural state, pleasing God for these people is impossible and spiritual fruit unachievable.

No true faith. No true hope. No true love. And the list goes on. No desire to be saved either.

Being made spiritually alive is their only hope. It was our only hope. And this is what we call regeneration. and the Holy Spirit is the one who brings it about. Regeneration happens through the preaching of the Word of God, preaching the Gospel, whereby the Spirit of God makes dead sinners into living saints.

In John 3, 6, Jesus says, that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. And a few chapters on, in John 6, 63, Jesus says these words, It is the Spirit who gives life. And here it is, the flesh is no help at all. In regeneration, the Spirit gives the sinner spiritual eyes to see their helpless, sinful state. They're able only now to recognize the destructive nature of sin and the wrath of God that abides on all unrepentant sinners.

The now regenerated person sees things as never before. They were never concerned about the effects of sin, the holiness of God, heaven, hell, or anything of faith, but now they are. So instantly they throw themselves at the feet of Christ in faith and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there they receive the glorious mercy and grace of the Savior. The Holy Spirit makes a person born again.

Born from above. Born from God. He applies the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ and cleanses the believer of all his sins and turns his will towards God, persuading him to trust in Christ for everything. That's the Spirit's work in regeneration. Ezekiel speaks of this in the Old Testament.

So if you have your Bibles, let's open them up to Ezekiel chapter 36, and we'll be reading from verses 25 through 27. Ezekiel 36 verses 25 through 27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness. And from all your idols I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart and new spirit, and I will put it within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you.

and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. This is what it is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Many in our day say that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent experience to or after regeneration. That's to say that it happens in the life of a Christian at a later stage. Some even teach that speaking in tongues is evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

This is not true. We dismissed modern-day tongue-speaking last week, but further to this, Paul refutes this point definitively in 1 Corinthians 12. There he says, For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit We were all baptized into one body, Jews and Greeks, slave or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. The baptism to the Holy Spirit is an experience that every single Christian experiences upon being born again.

It doesn't happen later, but it happens at the point of regeneration. And to be born again is to have Christ baptize you in the Holy Spirit. And from that point on, the Spirit finds His abode in you. All believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. And if they're not, they're not Christians.

In fact, Paul is clear in Romans 8 verse 9, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. So the true Christian is the person who has been baptized into the Holy Spirit and also indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit dwells in the believer, he also leads and guides the believer in righteousness. Now this is where confusion arises within the Christian circles. It is how the Spirit leads or guides the Christian.

There are some out there who believe that they receive direct revelation from God or voices or visions. They say He leads them to speak certain things or to act in specific ways. Typically they'll say something like this, the Spirit of God told me to tell you fill in the blank. Others rely on feelings and emotions. Usually you'll hear them say, I feel the Holy Spirit wants me to buy this car, for example, or I feel God wants me to apply for that job, etc.

In both cases, you get the impression that the Spirit of God is somehow either whispering in their ear exactly the instructions on what they should do, or giving them emotional impressions that sway their decisions. This is very mystical. Now, I'm not going to say that we can completely understand the leading or the guiding of the Holy Spirit. I'm not going to say that at all. But if we hold to the presupposition based on our understanding of scripture that God is no longer giving special revelation, then we must be very cautious when we hear people speak this way.

but we must be gracious also. Because some Christians may be using this language because they've been taught it or they've heard it and they've just used it accordingly. They themselves may not be intending to communicate that God is directly speaking through them or to them. So we need to be gracious. But beloved, our faith is not meant to be rooted in what we think or what we feel, but rather in what we know.

So, despite the facts that we've all possibly heard or possibly experienced, things that we don't quite have all the answers for, we must base our understanding of the Spirit's leading on Scripture alone. Otherwise, we'll end up in mysticism, becoming reliant on our own feelings, emotions and understanding, rather than the proven truths in God's Word. Now John 16 verse 13 tells us Jesus is speaking to the disciples on the night that he would be betrayed and he says when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you in all truth. Now the apostles guiding by the Holy Spirit was unique in that they received direct revelation from God and we don't. But the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth.

Did you get that? That's what he says. The Spirit of Truth. And he always leads and guides in truth. He's concerned that the people of God embrace the truth of God that he has revealed.

If we no longer receive direct revelation from God, where does the Spirit of Truth turn our attention? He will, how will he now lead God's people? Well, John 17, 17, Jesus says, sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth. Beloved, before we go any further, this is a sure principle that we must hold to.

The spirit of truth always leads the Christian to the word of truth, the Bible. His leading is always consistent and according to the knowledge found in the Bible. In other words, if you're not being led to or by the Word of God, you're not being led by the Spirit of God. Now, I know that's a big call, but even if every single impulse of our being is directing you in a particular direction, if it's not filtered by the infallible Word of God, you're being irresponsible as a Christian. You see, the Spirit takes the Scripture.

The God-breathed Word found in the 66 books of the Bible impresses that into your mind, into your heart, and into your soul, leading you in righteousness through the Word, not apart from the Word. This doesn't mean that every time you're being led by the Holy Spirit that you need to open your Bibles. Not at all. He's already given you a love for Scripture, hasn't he? You should already be spending time reading and meditating and filling up on God's Word.

The Spirit then takes that head knowledge and makes it heart knowledge. Opening your eyes to see the things of God. Through illuminating the Word, He gives you desires to be holy, desires to be righteous, and desires to be obedient to God. The Spirit's leading is according to the Word that you immerse yourself in, and He guides and empowers the believer to walk by the Spirit. Simply praying, listen to this beloved, simply praying for the Spirit to lead or guide you without spending time in the Bible will be of no profit.

None at all. In fact, doing that will end up leading you into a presumption and that we know is very, very dangerous. So let's open our Bibles now to Romans. chapter 8 we'll read from verses 12 through 17 so Romans chapter 8 let's read from 12 through 17 so then brothers we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. The first thing I want to make notice about this passage is found in verse 14. It reads, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. I'll get to adoption in a few moments, but what we need to realize in this verse is it's clarifying the previous verse.

Verse 13, which reads, For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. You see, the leading of the Holy Spirit results in putting to death the misdeeds of the body. This is the primary reason for the Spirit's leading, to save us from sinning and to lead us into holiness and truth. First He convicts of sin, then He empowers the Christian to mortify that sin.

See, the illustrations we have in the Bible of how to deal with sin are fierce and violent. It's to deal ruthlessly with sin so as to cut it to pieces, making sure it doesn't live to see another day. So how is this done? And what instrument is the Holy Spirit using to do this? The answer is found in the spiritual warfare chapter in Ephesians chapter 6.

In verse 17 it reads, the sword of the spirit. And the very next words, which is the word of God. The sin slaying purging and purifying work of the Holy Spirit is through the word of God. He turns our attention to the Bible, as we've mentioned before, and uses his sin-killing power to make Christians more and more like the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ. This is what it is to be conformed to the image of Christ.

It happens primarily in three stages. Regeneration, and we've spoken about that. Sanctification and glorification. The passage I read a few moments earlier fits into sanctification. Sanctification is the inward transforming power of the spirit through the word that causes the believer to hate the very sins they used to love.

The thing that brought pleasure now brings sorrow. Their motivation and goals that once consumed their minds now become meaningless. The Spirit gives new desires informed by scripture. Selfishness gives way to selflessness. Now we're compelled in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit in love to share the gospel because he convinces us that salvation is only possible through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

The God you once avoided becomes the God you long for in prayer and in communion with Him and communion with His people, the church. See, the Spirit implants yearnings to learn more about the Savior, more about God, more about salvation, to understand our sin and how we should fight the enemy. Along with the transformation of your heart and mind to Christ-likeness, the Spirit also places within you a deep longing to be obedient to God. You see 1 John 3 24 tells us this, he says, whoever keeps his commandments, abides, keeping the commandments of Christ, abides in God and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given.

Sin, killing power, sanctification and longing for obedience are lifelong benefits of being led by the Spirit. These benefits continue every moment of every day for the life of the true believer. But back to our passage in Romans 8. This time we're going to read from verses 14 to 17. And I'll read them for you.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Children of the living God. God, no longer slaves to sin, but free to enjoy the rich, full, abundant life of knowing God in a personal, intimate way, not as judge, but as Father.

No fear of impending judgment that resides upon a sinner. All fear is gone. It's replaced with the spirit of adoption and freedom. He testifies to our spirit that we are indeed included in the family of God by virtue of being united in Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, this is incredible news.

To think that God would regard us as family is profound. His unbreakable love for His only begotten Son. is now ours. The status of sonship Christ enjoys, the Spirit confirms to be ours also. In fact, the Spirit is a gift from God so that we would know that we have been adopted as sons and daughters.

Being able to call Him Abba, Father, only because Jesus Christ, our brother, has purchased with His blood the right for us to call His Father, our Father. As with any family, there ought to be also resemblance between family members, right? There ought to be similarities between one family member and another. And this is exactly what the Spirit's role is. He's concerned not only in testifying to our sonship, but also making us resemble our father and our brother.

Not physically, of course, but spiritually, in holiness, in purity, in righteousness. He's continually at work perfecting us until we receive our inheritance in the final day of redemption. That day will come, beloved, because that day will come because the Spirit is also our seal of assurance Ephesians 1 13 and 14 tells us in him you also when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and believed in him were sealed with the promise Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. Our redemption is secure and all the benefits with it. He is the evidence that we have been accepted by God and Paul says, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ, Philippians 1.

The Spirit's presence gives us glad assurance that the riches of heaven have been opened for us. And it's just a matter of time, beloved, before we're able to enjoy the fullness of all the blessings of being co-heirs with our brother, Jesus Christ. But until then, in this age, the Spirit leads us in truth according to the word as we walk in His power which enables us to overcome our flesh. Paul clearly outlines this point in Galatians. In Galatians 5 he says, Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other. And therein lies the reason we continue to stumble and fall. It's because even though we have new spiritual life, the flesh and its desires remain in us. Beloved, there's an epic battle going on in our members, and we must always be conscious of this.

We continue to sin, but our sin Now it grieves us, and the grieving is the Spirit of God dwelling in us who grieves us with godly sorrow that leads us to repentance and spiritual growth. We've spoken already about the power of the Spirit to kill sin, but we need to look at the power also that strengthens us in our weakness, simply because we're human. In times of hardship, when we feel the battle of life has taken its toll, and we haven't the strength to keep on going, the Holy Spirit, in those times, strengthens and comforts and intercedes for us. You see, his intercession is clear, just a few verses in chapter 8. In chapter 8 of Romans, verses 26-27, it reads, Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

And he who researches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit. because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. When you don't know what to say, He does. He knows our deepest needs, even sometimes when we don't know them ourselves. He understands our longings.

He understands the stress that we carry, the pain that we bear. So in his intercession, this Holy Spirit sustains and strengthens and upholds the Christian to endure until our Savior returns or until we're called home. Paul prayed for the Ephesians to be encouraged by this. For this reason, Paul says, I bow my knee before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with the power through His Spirit in your inner being."

Because He knows our frailties, He knows our limitations, He knows our shortcomings, He's able to carry us through those times, bringing our mind and our heart to the promises found in God's Word, and by faith we believe and draw strength in those promises in Scripture. Beloved, it's only because of His internal testimony that we believe the Scripture in the first place. Think about it for a second. Why is it that the Word, or the world, doesn't believe the Bible, but we do? Even just consider the contents of the New Testament.

We read that the eternal God, the One who created the heavens and the earth and everything that was made by Him, He became a man, born to a virgin. He dwelt on the earth. He walked on water. He healed people with deadly diseases. He cast out demons.

He raised the dead. He was crucified on a Roman cross, died for the sins of his people, was buried in a tomb, and then rose from the dead, and now is at the right hand of the Father interceding for his people. The world could never believe this. But Spirit-led people believe every last word. And it's not because we're smarter.

It's because the Spirit of God testifies to the truth of God's Word. He illuminates our spirit and he tells us it's true. And he enables us to believe. Paul makes this point beautifully in 1 Corinthians 2, 12-14. He reads, Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit. interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. Beloved, our faith, our faith is supernatural because God abides in us. He testifies to the truth of the Bible and we believe. So when we read, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life Or when we read, come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.

Or there is now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We believe. How about when Jesus said, I'll go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also. Beloved, we believe that too, because the Spirit of God takes the Scripture, He turns His illuminating light on and presses it on the hearts and the souls of true believers, resulting in strength and comfort despite our circumstances.

Because when we look around, our physical conditions haven't changed, The debts that we may have are still there, and the physical infirmities that we may experience in this life are still there. The troubles and the anxieties may never have changed, but the Spirit of God has done something amazing. He's used the scripture to remind very forgetful people like us that our great God has everything under his complete sovereign control. And every day He reminds us that we are His children and the recipients of His perfect love that can never ever be broken. The Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian beloved is indispensable.

You cannot do without Him. He is our life. I'll quickly give you a couple more examples. attributes, I should say, of the Spirit before we end tonight. The Spirit is also the giver of spiritual gifts.

Every member of the body of Christ has a spiritual gift for the edification of the Church, or as Paul would say, for the common good. Gifts like teaching, preaching, administration, mercy, helps, encouraging people, giving, and so much more. Every believer has Spirit-empowered unique gift given to be poured out in love upon the brothers and sisters of Christ's Church. The Church is edified as a result. The indwelling Holy Spirit is also evidenced by the production of spiritual fruit.

The fruit he produces stands in clear contrast to the desires of the flesh in which we once lived. And this is clear in the Galatians chapter 5. So let's open our Bibles now to Galatians chapter 5 and we'll be reading from verses 19 through 26. Galatians chapter 5 from 19 through 26. Now the works of the flesh are evident.

Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissension, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

We all know this passage and it really does speak for itself. But look at the differences between the two lists. While you would think it's like night and day, It's the difference between the domain of darkness against the kingdom of light, the kingdom of the sun. So how does the Spirit produce the fruit in us? Well, we're reminded in John 15, once again, where our Savior says, I am the vine, you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him He is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." The Spirit keeps the believer in loving, abiding in Christ. That is, He allows the Word of God to fill our minds, He illuminates it to light up our paths, and He empowers us to obey His commandments. When Christ is all-consuming in the life of a Christian, the Spirit bears much fruit. He also produces fruit through suffering.

Our brother has been explaining that on the Lord's Day in the epistle of 1 Peter. The Spirit takes the trials and suffering we enter into and purifies us through them so that the fruit that is produced is proven and our faith proven authentic. The greatest fruit, the one virtue that stands above the rest, which gives evidence to the authentic work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person is love. The very first virtue in that list we just read. Romans 5.

5 reads, and hope does not put us to shame, hear this, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. John says in his first epistle, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love, hear this, does not know God, because God is love. Confirmation of the Spirit's indwelling is shown through genuinely loving God and loving our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3.

16 says, By this we know love, that he, speaking of Christ, lay down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Speaking to the disciples, Jesus said in John 13, by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have what? If you have love one for another. Beloved, the work of the Spirit is so much greater and more comprehensive than we've had time this evening to go through but the passages we read this evening should peace our hearts and in fact they demand a response from us because we ought to ask ourselves some serious questions. Paul tells us that we as Christians ought to examine our lives and we ought to do this regularly And we need to do this to see that there's evidence that the Spirit of God actually does indeed dwell in us.

Questions we should be asking ourselves are these, do you really believe that you are a son or a daughter of God? Do you have genuine love for God, His Word, and His people? Do you see real evidence in your life of the fruit of the Spirit. Don't look. Don't look for perfection because you will not find it.

Look for fruit. Do you experience victory over sin? And are you even aware of a battle within your members? Remember, it takes two sides to have a battle, not one. We all have the sinful nature from birth, but only true believers have the Spirit of God.

If they're both present, beloved, you will have a conflict within. And if you can experience or you can sense that conflict within your members, that's a very good sign. I hope that we all answered yes to all the above questions. May the Spirit of God continue to produce in us Christ-likeness for the glory of our triune God. Amen.