The Holy Spirit and Salvation
"Any one who does not have
the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Romans 8:9). Not only do we
need to acknowledge Jesus as our Savior, we also need to have the Holy Spirit
to receive Christ's salvation.
"You were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the
Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians ).
The Holy Spirit washes our sins away with the blood of Christ, declares us
righteous (justifies), and sets us apart as God's holy people (sanctifies).
Sanctification is God's life-long
work on the believer. We cannot overcome our sinful nature and the devil's
temptations by our determination alone. The Holy Spirit provides us the
transforming power we need to live out Christ's perfect example.
The Holy Spirit enables us to
"put to death the misdeeds of the body" (Romans ). He strengthens our spirit to deny our own
evil desires and to submit to God's commands.
"God chose you from the
beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the
truth" (2 Thessalonians ).
With the continuing guidance and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, we will
finally enter God's heavenly kingdom.
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