Does Inspiration Change a Man?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DoesInspirationChangeAMan.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Samuel 6:1-12   I.         A common teaching among the denominations is that a person cannot come to know God unless the Spirit of God enters in to change his outlook.             A.        It comes from a basic belief that man is born corrupt from the sin of Adam. He needs God…

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My relationship with God has always been a roller coaster

Question: Hello and thank you for reading, I am a 25-year-old man. I was born in a Christian family, my father being a pastor. My relationship with God has always been a roller coaster. There have been times when my faith has been strong and my will was aligned with God’s. I would even speak…

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Do born-again and non-believers have the same Holy Spirit?

Question: I have three questions I would like to ask. In Job 34:14-15, does it mean born again believers and non-believers have the same Holy Spirit? If one can lose his salvation, does it mean sin still has a chance to overpower the gift of eternal life Christ freely gives? How many times can a…

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How does someone know if they have the Holy Spirit?

Question: I always wondered this, but how does someone know if they have the Holy Spirit or they don’t? Answer: “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in…

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What does “praying in the Spirit” mean?

Question: Can you please explain to me Jude 20 when it said “praying in the Spirit”? Answer: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also…

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Going to the Source (The Anointing of the Spirit)

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GoingToTheSource.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 2:18-29   I.         The other day, one of my boys needed help with a math problem, so I asked him to show me the problem. He brought in his paper on which he was working.             A.        “No,” I said, “I need to see the original problem in the book.”…

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Led by the Spirit

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/LedByTheSpirit.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 8:1-17 I.         We have spoken at length in the past about the exactly who is the Holy Spirit             A.        We have shown that he is a being who is a part of the Godhead, just as the Father and the Son.             B.        He is made more mysterious by men because of…

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Misapplying Scriptures

by Terry W. Benton A common mistake we run into today is taking a promise made to the apostles, commandeering it as a promise to us, and then imagining that the promise applies equally to us. For example, when Jesus promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13),…

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Subjective Spirit Leading

by Terry Benton Subjective “Spirit Leading” is when one is moved by imagined nudging and impulses, then attributes that imagination to the “leading of the Spirit”. It often never is in complete harmony with Spirit “revelation” in the Bible. It is sometimes outright contrary to Spirit guidance through “revelation” (Ephesians 3:3-5). It is completely subjective…

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What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

Question: I don’t understand this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I know it’s not hating or cursing God. I know that in Bible we have examples like when Jesus healed a man and the Pharisees claimed that he use the devil’s power. Still, 2000 years later, people still fear this sin, and no one claims…

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I think the Holy Spirit may have told me I am condemned

Question: I have recently been filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of tongues. But before I received him, and now after, I have feared committing the unpardonable sin. I have thoughts that constantly plague me and the Bible said we should cast down everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, so…

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I didn’t answer the altar call when I should have. Have I offended God?

Question: I think I messed up big time this past Sunday. During a song, my pastor stepped to the pulpit and gave an invitation to the lost. The Spirit moved so powerfully during the song that the preacher didn’t get to preach that morning. I’m saved, but during this invitation, God was convicting me to…

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Does the Holy Spirit come to us at our baptism?

Question: Jeffrey, Thank you for your wonderful work in teaching the Bible and for your web site. I have become much stronger in the faith as a result of your help. I have come upon a statement that I am not sure is correct: “At baptism God sends His Spirit to dwell in us. He…

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Does the Holy Spirit come to us at our baptism?

Question: Jeffrey, Thank you for your wonderful work in teaching the Bible and for your website. I have become much stronger in the faith as a result of your help. I have come upon a statement that I am not sure is correct: “At baptism, God sends His Spirit to dwell in us. He marks…

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How Does the Holy Spirit Lead?

by Herschel E. Patton via Guardian of Truth XXXV: 8, pp. 237, 239, April 14, 1991 Obviously, the Holy Spirit does lead certain ones. “Sons of God” are thus led. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). Jesus was “led up of the Spirit” into…

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How does the Holy Spirit testify to people today?

Question: Hello, I was reading your page and I was wondering if you thought that the Holy Spirit testifies with people today. I can see what you mean by churches making a following off these emotional responses but are you saying that God doesn’t have a way of testifying with us to let us know…

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By One Spirit … Baptized Into One Body

by Terry W. Benton “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (I Corinthains 12:13). What does “by one Spirit” mean? The Holy Spirit is the element we are immersed in? Holy Spirit is the agency…

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Why don’t you believe that the Spirit actively dwells in the believer today?

Question: In my seeking to find “Christian only” groups, I have visited several “churches of Christ,” which came out of the restoration movement in the 1800s. My question is, though I deeply appreciate the non-denominational and back to the Bible emphasis, why is it that many reject any direct involvement of the Holy Spirit today?…

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How can you know you are filled with the Spirit?

Question: How does a person become filled with the Holy Spirit and know they are filled? Does everyone who is filled with the Holy Spirit have the gifts that Acts speaks about? Answer: A Christian receives the Spirit by the hearing of faith. “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the…

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How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Question: When I got saved I always wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have received two times in my life the touch of God and when He touched me some power went from my head and through all my body, but I wasn’t aware that it was the Holy Spirit who touched…

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The Holy Spirit’s Intercessory Prayer

by Tanner Campbell In this article, we will put Romans 8:26 under a full investigation. The text explains that “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This difficult…

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Does receiving the Holy Spirit mean baptism in water is unnecessary?

Question: I have another friend that believes you don’t need water baptism because once you believe that’s when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and that’s when you’re baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. She gave me theses Scriptures: Acts 11:14-16, Acts 11:47-48, Matthew 3:11-15, Acts 10:44-48, Titus 3:5, John 3:1-5. If you don’t…

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My girlfriend thinks she blasphemed the Holy Spirit and can’t be forgiven

Question: My girlfriend some time ago after reading a Benny Hinn book about the Holy Spirit, whom she heavily disagree with, found herself unable to resist thinking against the Holy Spirit. I’m not sure what she thought, but she assures me that it was terrible. Since then she has had other thoughts while praying and…

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You make no attempt to understand the Salvation Army

Question: I just read with much displeasure the article, “Can Christians Help Support the Salvation Army?” I am admittedly somewhat biased as a third-generation Salvationist, but I found your posting quite misleading. It makes no attempt to understand the Salvation Army doctrines and looks simply to highlight doctrinal differences with other denominations. A few points…

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Spiritual Illumination

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/SpiritualIllumination.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 3   I.         What does it take to understand the Bible?             A.        I had one woman object to an article stating that the Ten Commandments were not directly in effect because they were a part of the Old Law.                         1.         She told me to read several verses which stated not…

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Can a person understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit’s help?

Question: Regarding the Ten Commandments: Hi there. My advice is that you take and read the Bible. Do not put your ideas into it. There are other people who do understand the Bible. Therefore, read Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32. This is exactly what you do on your web site. I am sorry. I do not try…

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Can one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism?

Question: Can one receive the Holy Spirit without baptism? Answer: The clear answer to this is “yes.” Baptism is a command found in the New Testament, yet people had received the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In addition: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard…

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Can we worship and praise the Holy Spirit?

Question: A question was raised in class about worship and praise to the Holy Spirit. Can you give any passages that say we are to do so? I couldn’t find any that give a specific yes or no. There are some that infer it and we can be condemned by blaspheming Him. Answer: Worship is…

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