Holy Spirit – The Lowedown

July 7, 2026

Did Jesus Teach that You Need to be Baptized to be Saved?

John 3

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

⁴“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:1-21, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

A few weeks ago, I had an online encounter with a Mormon who, in his quest to explain the legitimacy and necessity of the Mormon church, made the claim that the Bible teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation.

One of the passages he referenced to back up his claim was this passage from John 3, where Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus secretly at night.

I previously wrote on this same passage (John 3:1-8) in my blog post “The Born-Again Redundancy” but that post, while it expounded some on the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus, never addressed the issue of baptism.

There’s a good reason why my previous post did not talk about the issue of baptism and that’s because neither the word nor the concept is found anywhere in the passage.

But since this passage was offered up as a proof text for the view that baptism by immersion with water (what I’ll from here on out refer to as “water baptism” or “baptismal regeneration”) is essential for salvation, it seems necessary and appropriate to comment on what Jesus is actually teaching in this passage.

If the words “baptism” and “baptize” are nowhere to be found within this passage, why would someone use this passage as “evidence” that Jesus taught baptism was necessary for salvation?

In short, I believe this passage is used as evidence by those who hold to the necessity of baptism for salvation simply because Jesus mentions water.

Click here to see a A Comprehensive List of Blog Posts Based on Bible Passage Reference

As I conversed with this Mormon acquaintance online, he noted that Jesus himself said that in order to enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born of water and the Spirit. He argued that when Jesus mentioned being “born of water” he was referencing the ordinance of baptism.

This conclusion is actually a perfect example of the theological error known as eisegesis, which means “to read into the text.”

What exactly does that mean?

When we read and study the Bible, our goal should be to understand what the author meant when he wrote what he wrote. We do our best to place ourselves in the context of the person living at the time the text was written and seek to understand what it would have meant to a person living within that culture at that specific time. This is known as exegesis, or “drawing out of the text.”

When we understand what the author’s original intent was, we can then understand how the original hearer of the text would have understood what they were reading and hearing. That is the original message we want to capture, understand and apply to our own situation.

But eisegesis functions in the exact opposite way. Instead of seeking to understand what the text meant to the original audience, the person imports their preferred meaning into the text and then declares that to be the teaching.

So in our case, it looks like this:

Jesus had a conversation with Nicodemus about how one enters the kingdom of God and Jesus said that a person must be born of water and the Spirit.

Even though Jesus says nothing about baptism and it’s unclear at first glance what it means to be born of water and what it means to be born of the Spirit, the person who holds to baptismal regeneration has already concluded that the passage is talking about baptism.

Since the conclusion is already determined, reasons justifying that conclusion are then produced. In this case, the passage has the term water in it and baptism requires water so it is argued that this passage must be speaking about baptism.

This line of reasoning utterly fails.

Not only does Jesus not say baptism is necessary for salvation, he doesn’t even mention baptism in this interchange.

So then what is Jesus saying?

I explain this more fully in my blog post “The Born-Again Redundancy” but Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that just as a person is born physically which leads to physical life, so a person must be born spiritually in order to experience spiritual life, or life in the kingdom of God.

Jesus himself explains what is meant by the phrase “being born of water and the Spirit” when he says just a few verses later that “flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

It’s clear that being born of water refers to physical birth while being born of the Spirit refers to a spiritual birth. According to Jesus, both are necessary for salvation. In reality, everyone who has ever existed has already experienced physical birth just by being born.

So then, what is necessary to enter the kingdom of God is to experience a spiritual birth. This is the entire point Jesus is making to Nicodemus – to enter the kingdom of God, you must experience a spiritual birth.

The natural question then is “how does one experience a spiritual birth?”

Notice that as Jesus continues his discourse with Nicodemus, he does not mention baptism as a condition for salvation (spiritual birth). In fact, baptism is not mentioned anywhere in the passage.

What Jesus DOES mention as necessary for salvation, multiple times in fact, is BELIEF.

Specifically, in verse 15, Jesus says “that everyone who believes in him [Jesus] may have eternal life.”

Again, in verse 16, one of the most famously quoted verses in the entire Bible, Jesus says “that whoever believes in him [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life.”

So what is the verdict?

Concerning the charge that Jesus taught that baptism was/is necessary for salvation, the charge is false. Jesus did not teach that in this passage. Instead, he taught that a spiritual birth is necessary in order to know God and experience life in his kingdom. Jesus, as well as the other New Testament authors, taught that this spiritual birth comes as a result of BELIEF in the person and the work of Jesus on the cross.

To examine this issue further, see the following related posts:

Did you enjoy this post? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to like, leave a comment below, and share it with your friends or on social media if you found it helpful or interesting. Your support keeps the conversation going!

Reflection

What are some examples you have seen of eisegesis – when a person imports their doctrine or theological preference upon a text that doesn’t appear to be teaching that doctrine or idea at all?

If you believe that Jesus, in this passage, is talking about the importance of baptism to Nicodemus, what reasons do you have to support that interpretation?

Jesus told Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of God, a person must be “born again”. What do you think it means to be “born again?” How do you understand that phrase?

It’s clear that Nicodemus falsely understood Jesus’ term “born again” to be referring to a 2nd physical birth. Jesus corrects him and explains that he’s talking about a spiritual reality that must take place. Based on this passage, what does Jesus teach about how a person experiences this spiritual birth?

Have you personally experienced a spiritual birth? If not, what keeps you from taking that step?

If you want to learn more about experiencing a “spiritual birth” and experiencing eternal life and life in the kingdom of God, read my blog post “Four Points to Understand How to Experience Eternal Life.”

Photo by Daniel & Hannah Snipes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/outdoor-baptism-ceremony-in-south-carolina-30477080/

July 5, 2026

What is Baptism?

Romans 6

¹What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

Is baptism necessary for salvation?

This is the question I posed in a recent post of the same title.

My prompt for delving into this topic was a recent online conversation I had with a Mormon, who, in making his case for the legitimacy and necessity of the Mormon church, had made the claim that the Bible teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation.

Mormons teach that a great apostasy occurred shortly after the apostles died and the authoritative line for administering baptisms was lost….for nearly 1800 years! (I’ll address this theological error in a different post.) But fortunately, according to Mormonism, Jesus supposedly restored the priestly line and authority for baptisms through Joseph Smith and the Mormon church.

I argued in my post “Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?” that those who hold to this view, that baptism is necessary for salvation, often have an inaccurate understanding of what baptism is.

Many have an understanding of baptism that is informed only by their own religious experience. Hence, they think that any time the word appears in the Bible, it must be referring to the act of immersing someone in water for some efficacious religious purpose, i.e. cleansing of their sins and completing the salvation process.

But the meaning of the word “baptism” is broader than our own religious experience dictates and is often used in the Bible in ways that have nothing to do with any kind of immersive water experience.

So what is baptism exactly?

This passage in Romans is one of the clearest in terms of helping us understand exactly what baptism is and how it was understood by the apostles.

Specifically, there are two parallel statements that give clarification regarding what baptism is.

Verse 3 says, “don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”

But verse 5 says, “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”

Clearly, these two parallel verses demonstrate that to be “baptized into Christ and his death” is to be “united with Christ and His death.”

Hence, baptism is union with Christ.

This fits exactly with the broader biblical meaning of the word “baptize” which is identification.

Click here to see a A Comprehensive List of Blog Posts Based on Bible Passage Reference

Paul is saying that when one identifies with Christ, they are identified with His death. This is exactly what the gospel teaches. When a person receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they experience a change in identity. Instead of being a person who is alienated and separated from God, the new believer enters into a union with Christ that is characterized by a new family relationship – they are now a child of God – an adopted son or daughter.

This new identity takes place at the moment a person believes in Jesus. They receive forgiveness precisely because they are united with Jesus in His death. Simply put, when a person receives Jesus, they are indicating that they want Jesus’ death to pay for their sins instead of having to pay the penalty for their sins on their own, which leads to judgment and eternal death.

Jesus’ death now counts for the believer. His death pays for all their sins and as a result, they experience complete and total forgiveness.

Those who hold to baptismal regeneration (the belief that baptism by immersion is necessary for salvation) might argue that this new identity doesn’t happen until a person is baptized with water by immersion.

But this contradicts what Scripture teaches, which is that a person is justified by faith alone and that believers receive the Holy Spirit (the sign that we are now members of God’s family) at the moment of belief, not at the moment of being baptized.

Furthermore, if the broader understanding of baptism is one of identification, then it makes sense that the purpose of water baptism is not to complete some salvation formula but is simply a way of identifying to the world in a physical way (being immersed in water) to a spiritual reality that has already taken place. The spiritual reality is that the person, based on their belief and trust in Jesus, now identifies with Jesus and Jesus’ death and is now a member of God’s family.

So what is baptism?

Baptism is a union with Jesus that takes place when we put our faith in Him and His death. At the very moment we do that, we become united with Jesus AND we become united with His death. Being united with His death means that His death now pays for my sins, which means I can experience forgiveness and I can escape the punishment I deserve for the sins I’ve committed.

This union with Christ means that I have a new identity – I’m a child of God!

Reflection

What was your experience with baptism growing up? Were you baptized? If so, what meaning was attributed to this religious ceremony by your religious tradition?

What do you think it means to be united with Christ?

If you think baptism is a religious ceremony that completes the salvation process, what do you think was the reason and purpose for Jesus being baptized? (See my post “Why Was Jesus Baptized?”)

If baptism was necessary for salvation, how do you explain Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross, who was never baptized, but was promised by Jesus that he would be with Jesus in paradise that very day?

Photo by Logan Gutierrez on Unsplash

June 27, 2026

Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

Luke 3

¹⁵Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. ¹⁶John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” ¹⁸John used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.

¹⁹John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. ²⁰So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.

²¹One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.” (Luke 3:15-22, NLT)

Acts 1

¹Dear Theophilus:

In my first book I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach ²until the day he ascended to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions from the Holy Spirit. ³During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. ⁵John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:1-6, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Is baptism necessary for salvation?

Some Christians will whole-heartedly say “YES”, while many Catholics might also agree.

I’ve engaged with others over this question many times before but was recently re-introduced to this debate from an unexpected source.

You may recall that around the beginning of June (2026) there was some controversy surrounding the government and the Mormon church. I’ve shared some details about that in my blog post “Should People Take the Mormon Challenge?” but the summary is that the Department of Defense, in an effort to simplify the job of military chaplains, decided to reduce the number of codes that identify the different religious affiliations that troop members might align with from over 200 down to about 30.

These codes included a number of different “Christian” affiliations, such as “Christian-Baptist” and “Christian-Presbyterian”. However, when identifying the Mormon church, the code was listed simply as “Latter Day Saint”.

This had a number of Mormons objecting that the government did not identify the Mormon church as a subset of Christianity.

In the ensuing online debate, I ended up engaging with a Mormon who was attempting to explain the legitimacy of the Mormon church to those who were suggesting that Mormons aren’t Christians.

One of the points this person made was that the Mormon church had re-established the priesthood, which Mormonism claims had been lost by the church for nearly 1800 years, and that this “restored” priesthood now allowed for legitimate baptisms. This is important, according to Mormons, because since baptism is necessary for salvation (in their view), the church needs a legitimate priesthood in order to administer baptisms and thus “save” people.

There’s a lot of Mormon theology that could be debated here but for this post, I want to look strictly at the assertion this Mormon made that baptism is necessary for salvation.

As luck would have it, that next day, two of the chapters in my daily Bible reading were the two chapters listed above, both of which talk about baptism.

An exhaustive discussion of whether baptism is necessary for salvation would likely take more room to unpack than just this blog post but these two passages do give us some insight into the issue.

First of all, if water baptism is necessary for salvation, one has to wonder why Jesus was baptized. Did Jesus need to be saved?

Clearly, Jesus didn’t need to be saved so there must be a different reason for His baptism. This alone tells us that baptism is not always associated with salvation. I wrote about this issue in my blog post “Why Was Jesus Baptized?”

A second observation from these passages is the fact that there are clearly different kinds of baptism mentioned.

Click here to see a A Comprehensive List of Blog Posts Based on Bible Passage Reference

Note that John the Baptist himself said that he baptized with water but someone would come after Him (Jesus) who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John makes a point to say that this person who would come after him (Jesus) was greater than he was. This implies also that the baptism of Jesus was greater, better and more important than the baptism of John.

Jesus confirms this in the Acts passage when he reminds his disciples what they had been taught before, that John would baptize with water but He (Jesus) would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus then told them that this baptism with the Holy Spirit would take place “in just a few days”.

It’s clear from Scripture that Jesus was referencing the events of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended upon these early believers and came to indwell them. It’s at this moment that the church was born.

So for the person who believes that water baptism is essential for salvation, the question they must ask is: why does Jesus emphasize His baptism of the Spirit over the water baptism that John the Baptist performed?

One thing is absolutely clear from these two passages: Jesus’ baptism is different from the baptism of John the Baptist. While John the Baptist baptized people with water, Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit.

If we’re going to have any chance of resolving the question of whether baptism is necessary for salvation, we have to come to an understanding of what it means when Jesus said he would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

The problem that too many people experience when they’re faced with this issue is one of familiarity.

What I mean by that is that most people, when they hear the word “baptize”, immediately conjure up an image in their mind based on their own understanding of the word, which is primarily shaped by their own experience with baptism.

For most people, their only association with the word is that they’ve seen many people who have been baptized with water, either by sprinkling in the Catholic church and various Protestant traditions or by immersion in many evangelical traditions.

If your only exposure to the word “baptize” is seeing someone who has been baptized with water, then you naturally will assume that whenever you see the word, it must refer to being sprinkled or immersed with water.

But as these two texts above demonstrate, baptism is not always associated with water. Therefore, the idea that one must be sprinkled or immersed in water as a part of the salvation process is already in doubt. And since both John the Baptist and Jesus affirm that the baptism Jesus would bring was NOT water baptism, then there is virtually no reason to believe that being baptized with water is anything more than symbolism.

A more careful study of the word “baptize” reveals that this is exactly the case.

The more broad meaning of the word “baptize” is “to identify with.”

Hence, people who were baptized by John the Baptist were identifying with him. As a way to demonstrate publicly that they agreed with John’s preaching, they took the step to be baptized by him, thus identifying themselves with his core message of repentance. One might think of it as an initiation.

Jesus’ baptism is not one that is associated with water but the Holy Spirit. Being baptized in the Spirit means that the person now identifies with the Holy Spirit and thus is now a member of God’s family.

The apostles were all first identified with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. They were “baptized” by the Spirit and “initiated” into the body of Christ, the family of God.

The question for us is when is the believer first associated with the Holy Spirit? Is it at the moment of being baptized with water, as Mormons and some Protestants claim? If that is the case, then we can affirm that water baptism is indeed necessary for salvation.

But Scripture tells us otherwise. Most notably, Paul, in Ephesians 1:13, says that the Holy Spirit is given to the Christian as a seal at the moment of belief, NOT at the moment of being immersed in water. I wrote about this aspect of the Holy Spirit in my blog post, “The Holy Spirit as a Seal.”

So then, if water baptism is not essential for savlation, what is the purpose? Why do it?

Like a lot of things in Scripture, water baptism is a physical representation of a spiritual reality.

In Scripture, water is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit. In John 7:37-39, Jesus addresses the crowds and tells them that if anyone is thirsty, they should come to Him and drink and streams of living water would flow from within them. The text follows by explaining that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit.

So the act of being baptized with water is simply an act whereby the believer is attesting to the fact that they now identify with Jesus and are a part of His family. The qualifying characteristic of being a part of the family of Jesus is that you must have the Holy Spirit. The believer, in being baptized with water, is making a declaration of faith – that they now have placed their trust in Christ and as a result, they have received the promised Holy Spirit and have been placed into the family of God.

So let’s circle back to our original question: “Is baptism necessary for salvation?” The answer is that it depends on what you’re referring to when you talk about baptism.

If you are asking whether a person needs to be baptized with water in order to be saved, the answer from Scripture is clearly NO.

But if you understand baptism to be an identification and union with the Holy Spirit, then the answer is YES, you absolutely must be SPIRITUALLY baptized in order to be saved, for one cannot be saved unless they become a member of the family of God and the prerequisite to becoming a member of the family of God IS receiving the Holy Spirit, which, according to Scripture, occurs the moment a person puts their faith in Jesus.

Reflection

What has been your experience with baptism? What comes to your mind when you hear the word “baptize”?

What do you think is the purpose of baptism? If you have been baptized, how did you interpret that experience in terms of its meaning?

Would you agree that Jesus’ baptism is greater than and more important than John’s baptism?

If Jesus’ baptism is more important that John’s baptism, then they must be different in some way. What do you think are the differences between these two kinds of baptism?

If the purpose of water baptism is to save people, then why do you think Jesus was baptized by John? Clearly Jesus didn’t need to be saved.

Photo by Paul Ndayambaje: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-in-a-blue-dress-is-in-the-water-28181227/

February 26, 2026April 25, 2026

Can Christians Pray Directly to Jesus or Only God the Father?

Acts 7

⁵¹“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? But your ancestors did, and so do you! ⁵²Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. ⁵³You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, though you received it from the hands of angels. ”

⁵⁴The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists in rage. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷Then they put their hands over their ears, and drowning out his voice with their shouts, they rushed at him. ⁵⁸They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹And as they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰And he fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. (Acts 7:51-60, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Last week on X (formerly Twitter), I saw an exchange that made me think. A pastor with a very large following was calling out a well-known politician who claims to be a Christian for the way he prayed.

Attached to the post was a screenshot of the text of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, along with the following admonition:

Someone should tell (name of politician) that Christians don’t pray to Jesus. We pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus.

My first thought was disappointment at the realization that we now appear to have an online Prayer Police force that is monitoring our actions over the internet.

My second thought was, “Wait, I pray to Jesus all the time. Have I been doing it wrong all these years? Have I been participating in a doctrinally dubious practice?”

It’s a valid question. How exactly are we to pray? Is there a right and wrong format? What are God’s expectations of us as we seek to engage with Him in the practice of prayer?

I’ve been a Christian for a looooong time and I’ve honestly never thought that a person could NOT pray directly to Jesus. After all, when I first heard the gospel as a young boy, I was told that Jesus was standing at the door of my heart and he was knocking (Revelation 3:20). If I was listening to his voice and if I opened the door, he would come into my life! In short, if I responded to Jesus, IN PRAYER, and invited him in, I would become a Christian and receive the gift of eternal life.

I’ve heard many prayers over the years where Jesus was addressed directly and I’ve never, even once, seen or heard someone be corrected for directing their prayers to Jesus, if this is indeed a wrong practice.

I suppose that’s why this post on X, from a pastor with a large following, and a PhD no less, seemed to be coming out of left field.

Disregarding the tone and posture of the tweet, which came off as more sanctimonious rebuke than loving correction, I found myself asking the question, “is he correct?”

The disciples had asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus responded by telling them:

⁹“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

¹⁰‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹‘Give us this day our daily bread.

¹²‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ (Matthew 6:9-13, NASB)

I decided to survey the prayers in the New Testament that I was aware of, mostly from the book of Acts.

What I found is that most of the prayers ARE directed to God the Father and NOT Jesus, EXCEPT this one example that we find from Stephen in our passage today.

We first meet Stephen in Acts 6 when he is selected, along with six other men, for the special task of meeting a critical need in the early church. These seven men were the first deacons of the church. The text says that Stephen was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. He was not a man of marginal commitment or questionable devotion. He walked with God.

By the end of chapter 6, Stephen is no longer serving as an administrator in the church’s food distribution program, but instead, he is having a major impact as an evangelistic preacher. Stephen’s influence had increased significantly and he was now a major leader in the early church movement.

One day, Stephen gets into a debate with some Jews and the text says that:

None of them was able to stand against the wisdom and Spirit by which Stephen spoke. (Acts 6:10, NLT)

They couldn’t defeat his arguments so they found some people to lie about him and he was arrested by the religious rulers and brought before the high council. The Council leaders ask Stephen to respond to the charges that had been brought against him. His response is recorded in Acts 7, which is a lengthy discourse on the history of the Jewish people, including their long-standing pattern of rebelling against God and resisting God’s appointed messengers (His prophets).

For brevity, I haven’t included the full text of that response (Acts 7 in its entirety), but it’s worth the read. For our purposes, I’ve included the relevant part at the end of Acts 7 where Stephen shifts his response from explaining the history of the nation of Israel to his indictment on its leaders for their pride and rebellion.

You can see that the Council leaders and its members don’t take too kindly to Stephen’s accusation and the result is that they dragged Stephen out of the city and stoned him.

What is interesting about this text is that Stephen, as he is being stoned, looks up toward heaven and he prays!

What does he pray?

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59)

Stephen, a man who the text says was filled with the Spirit, prayed to Jesus, not the Father.

To me, this provided indisputable proof that it must be ok to direct our prayers to Jesus and not God the Father only.

So I responded to the pastor’s post on X by saying that praying to Jesus must be ok because we have an example in the New Testament with Stephen praying directly to Jesus.

The pastor replied to my response, doubling down by saying:

That was descriptive, not prescriptive.

What does that mean?

He’s actually correct. What that means is that the book of Acts is historical narrative, not didactic teaching. That means that Luke (the author of Acts) was simply recording things that happened. Just because he recorded an event does not mean that what is recorded is supposed to be the normal pattern for all believers.

But Jesus’ words in Matthew 6 are direct teaching. He is instructing us in what to do and how to do it.

So what this pastor was saying in his reply is that just because Stephen is recorded as praying to Jesus doesn’t mean we are supposed to, especially since Jesus’ prayer instruction shows the prayer addressing “our Father”.

So yes, it’s true. Jesus’ teaching is prescriptive, explaining to his disciples how we should pray. And the example of Stephen is descriptive. It’s part of a larger narrative that just describes an event. It’s not part of a passage that is teaching us how to pray.

Does that mean that the pastor’s assertion that we are only to pray to God the Father is correct? Is that the end of the discussion?

Not exactly.

While Jesus teaches the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 (and Luke 11), his teaching is not an exhaustive discourse on the subject of prayer. In other words, even though Jesus gives some teaching on prayer in these passages, what he says is not ALL there is to know and learn about prayer.

To make a determination of whether it’s ok to pray to Jesus directly, consider the following:

- Jesus tells his disciples to pray “in this way”, and then he shares the Lord’s prayer. Does this mean that ALL prayers must repeat these words exactly? If so, why do we never see this exact prayer repeated in the New Testament?
- Jesus gives his disciples a model, or example of how to pray, which includes addressing “our Father”. Does this mean that a person can never pray to Jesus? What about the Holy Spirit? Can you call on the Holy Spirit?
- If we are not allowed to pray to Jesus, how are we supposed to respond to Him if he is at the door of our heart knocking? How exactly do we invite Him in?
- If Jesus promises to come in and dine with us and have fellowship with us, how exactly do we have fellowship with someone we are not supposed to talk (pray) to directly?
- It’s clear that Jesus is our High priest. The role of a priest is a mediator. Jesus is the mediator between us and holy God. It’s because of Jesus and his atoning sacrifice on the cross that we are able to boldly approach the throne of grace and enter the presence of God the Father. Are we really supposed to believe that Jesus is the mediator between man and God but we are not allowed to talk to him directly?

The whole premise seems a bit absurd. Based on all of the relevant data, it seems clear that while Jesus does instruct his followers to pray to God the Father, there is never a prohibition for believers to address Jesus directly.

It seems clear that because Jesus is our mediator and he is the one knocking at the door of our heart, wanting to come into our lives, that we CAN address him directly.

Furthermore, we have a documented case where a godly, Spirit-filled leader of the early church (Stephen) addresses Jesus directly. There is no indication, anywhere in scripture, that this is somehow wrong.

One last item is worth mentioning. In the final words of the New Testament, John, in the book of Revelation, pens these words:

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20, NLT)

If the apostle John finds that it’s ok to pray to Jesus, inviting him to “come”, then I’d say that it’s ok for any of us to address our prayers to Jesus as well.

Reflection

What would your response have been to this pastor who posted on X? How would you have either affirmed his position or argued against it?

What has been your pattern in prayer? Do you think it’s ok to pray directly to Jesus or should Christians pray ONLY to God the Father? What is the reasoning for your answer?

How have you used the Lord’s Prayer in your walk with Christ? Do you believe that Jesus taught that the Lord’s prayer was THE way to pray – that it is the ONLY pattern for praying?

What do you think it means that Jesus is our high priest? What is the role of a priest? How do we interact with a priest or mediator?

Photo by Brian Lundquist on Unsplash

February 24, 2025April 21, 2026

What Does it Mean to Walk in the Spirit?

Galatians 5

¹⁶But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. ¹⁹Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, ²¹envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

(Galatians 5:16-26, NASB)

The Daily DAVEotional

The letter to the Galatians was written to a church that was struggling with Jewish legalism. Some Pharisees who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah were telling the Galatians that it wasn’t enough to believe in Jesus to be saved; they were teaching these recent Gentile converts that they must also adopt all of the Jewish legal rituals as well. Basically, they were telling them that they needed to convert to Judaism if they wanted the Jewish Messiah to be valid for them.

This was a huge controversy in the early church. The issue revolved around what is necessary to be saved. The essential question that needed to be answered was, “do Gentiles have to become Jewish in order to accept Jesus as their Messiah?”

This controversy became so polarizing that the early church convened a Council to address the issue and decide on the matter. I wrote about that in my blog post “A Pivotal Council in the Early Church”. The summary is that the early church leaders unanimously agreed that Gentile converts did not need to become culturally Jewish in order to be saved. Jesus was enough and adherence to all of the Old Testament rituals and legal requirements was not necessary.

That didn’t stop these false teachers though from infiltrating churches and spreading their skewed version of the gospel, which was not really good news at all.

In this section of his letter, Paul is expounding on his argument that following the Law could never save anyone, which is why Jesus came in the first place.

We really have only two choices when it comes to salvation. We can seek to gain God’s favor through our own human efforts (our flesh), or we can seek God’s favor by following the Spirit. Paul says that these two options are diametrically opposed to one another and they yield completely different results.

In fact, the only way one can experience real transformation is by following the Spirit, or, as Paul puts it, walking in the Spirit. What exactly does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

There are three words and phrases in this passage that give clarity to the idea of walking in the spirit.

In verse 16, Paul says that if we “walk by the Spirit” we “will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” The NIV translation is slightly different, encouraging us to “live by the Spirit”.

What comes to your mind when you think about going on a walk? Typically, I think about a relaxing walk in nature or on the beach or in a serene location with my wife or a trusted friend. The idea is that there is a relational connection and a reliance on God when we are walking with Him.

The second word that gives clarity to walking in the spirit is in verse 18, which says “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

The Holy Spirit is a guide. He leads us. He directs us. I think about being on a hike in a national park where there is an experienced guide leading us along a path. Because they are familiar with the terrain and all of the trails, they serve as a leader, showing us the way to our destination while alerting us to dangers and pitfalls along the way.

The third word that gives clarity to “walking in the Spirit” is in verse 25, which says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Interestingly, the word “walk” in this verse is not the same word used for “walk” in verse 16. The NIV translates it this way:

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

This word translated “walk” in the NASB is translated “keep in step” by the NIV. The word is really a military term that describes soldiers as they are marching together.

If you’ve ever seen a military parade, or even a marching band, you know that there is a leader, a drill sergeant or a drum major, who is giving commands that others follow. There is a rhythm and a synchronicity that exists between the leader and the followers.

Walking in the Spirit is a conscious act whereby we, as followers, willingly put ourselves in a subservient position, taking our cues from the Lord as our companion and guide. We don’t resist or question His orders and directives, but we keep in step and rhythm with where He’s going and what He’s doing.

Paul says that the natural result of walking in the spirit is that we will bear the fruit of the Spirit – our character will begin to transform, taking on God’s selfless character instead of the selfish, ungodly character that our flesh produces.

Reflection

How is life like a walk?

Think about a time you went on a relaxing walk. Who was with you? Where were you? What words would describe your emotions and your demeanor. What made it so refreshing?

What does it mean to be led by someone? What is required on our part in order to be led by someone else?

What characterizes soldiers as they march? How do you think you can “march” in step with the Spirit?

Photo by Henry Xu on Unsplash

April 22, 2024

The Holy Spirit as a Deposit

Ephesians 1

¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13, 14, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

What do you know about the Holy Spirit? To many Christians, the Holy Spirit remains a mystery. We know He’s important because He’s mentioned along with the Father and the Son as a member of the Holy Trinity. But for many Christians, that’s the extent of their knowledge and understanding of the Holy Spirit.

I mentioned in a previous post how Francis Chan referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Forgotten God”, which was the title of a book he wrote on the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s role in the life of the believer is absolutely critical even though many Christians are blissfully unaware of who the Holy Spirit is or what role He plays in their lives.

So who IS the Holy Spirit and what is His role?

I wrote about the nature of the Holy Spirit in my blog post, “Is the Holy Spirit Like the Force in Star Wars?“, in which I demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is God.

I also wrote recently here about two verses in Ephesians that tell us ONE aspect of the Holy Spirit’s role in the life of those who follow Christ, namely that the Holy Spirit functions as a seal.

Closely related to His function as a seal, the Holy Spirit, according to Ephesians 1:14, functions as a deposit.

What exactly does Paul mean when he says that the Holy Spirit is a deposit?

To answer that question, I’ll ask you a different question.

Have you ever taken out a loan for a car or for a home?

If you have, it’s likely that you made a down payment or put down a deposit. Unless of course you paid cash in full for your purchase. If you did that, then Dave Ramsey would be very proud of you.

For most people, having enough cash on hand to buy a car might be possible, but it’s less likely that you are paying cash in full to buy a house. Especially in this market (have you seen the prices of homes lately?)

Anyhow, if you took out a loan for a house or a real nice car, you likely put down a deposit, or a down payment. Also if you’ve ever rented an apartment or a home, you likely put down a deposit to secure the lease.

The deposit has one function – skin in the game. The purpose of a deposit is for you to put a portion of your own hard-earned money into the loan. This gives the lender confidence that you are a responsible borrower and you are more likely to make the payments on the loan.

In the event that you as a borrower fail to make the payments on the loan, you forfeit your deposit. Most borrowers will not want to lose their deposit, especially if it represents a significant amount of money.

This verse says that the Holy Spirit functions like a deposit. The Holy Spirit is given to the believer as a down payment, guaranteeing that God will ultimately deliver on all future salvation promises.

When we make a down payment on a loan, we are promising the lender that we are “good for the balance”. We’re saying that we will make all the payments until the loan is fully paid.

However, even though we may have good intentions. a loan default is still possible. As humans, we don’t always keep our promises. But even though WE may not always fulfill our financial obligations, what are the chances that God will fail to keep His promises related to salvation? ZERO. God cannot default on Himself. It is impossible for Him to be unfaithful.

So when the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is a deposit, it means that everything God has promised us related to our full and future redemption as believers WILL come to pass. You can take that to the bank!

Reflection

Have you ever made a down payment on a loan – for a house or car, or other item? If so, what was it?

Have you, or someone you know ever defaulted on a loan? What were the circumstances?

Have you ever been a renter and not received your full deposit back when you moved out? What were the reasons why you did not get all of your deposit back?

What do you think it means that the Holy Spirit is a deposit, guaranteeing our future redemption as believers?

What is the future redemption that the text speaks about? What exactly is the involved in the future redemption, which the Holy Spirit has secured for us as believer?

Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-an-agreement-on-a-paper-7841821/

April 19, 2024

The Holy Spirit as a Seal

Ephesians 1

¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 1:13, NIV)

Ephesians 4

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

In 2009, popular speaker and Christian author Francis Chan wrote and released his book “Forgotten God.” The book was an aptly titled treatise on the Holy Spirit, the often misunderstood and neglected third member of the Trinity.

Many Christians are confused about the role of the Holy Spirit. We understand God the Father. We imagine Moses talking to the Father as he encounters the burning bush. Or we think of the Old Testament prophets communicating with “The Father”.

We also understand Jesus because we read about Him in the gospels and the New Testament epistles. In our minds, we see the actions of Jesus and we hear His words as He teaches the crowds and interacts with His disciples.

But who is this Holy Spirit character? We know He’s a part of the Trinity but we often don’t know what He does or why He’s important.

I wrote about the nature of the Holy Spirit in my blog post “Is the Holy Spirit like the Force in Star Wars“, demonstrating that the Holy Spirit is God!

Beyond knowing that the Holy Spirit is a person and that He is God, what exactly is the role of the Holy Spirit in my life? What does He do? Does it even matter?

There’s a whole theology built around understanding the nature and the person of the Holy Spirit. It’s called Pneumatology, The Greek word “pneuma” (pronounced “nooma”) means “breath, wind, or spirit.” Hence, pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit.

To understand the Holy Spirit completely would take more time than just a brief blog post, but we do learn something specific about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers from these two verses in Ephesians.

From these two verses, we learn that the Holy Spirit is a seal. What exactly does that mean?

A seal has many purposes.

For one, a seal was used to demonstrate ownership. In modern times, ranchers will brand their cattle and livestock with a branding iron, which is like a seal. This brand is a specific logo or emblem that represents that ranch and all livestock branded with that emblem are owned by that ranch.

Ephesians 1:13 says that we “were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” One role of The Holy Spirit then is to act as a seal, essentially imprinting a God-tattoo on our soul, demonstrating that we now belong to God.

A second purpose of the seal is to demonstrate authority.

In ancient times, a seal was used to identify an individual. The seal authenticated a person via an emblem or a device that could be used to make an impression in wax or clay.

Genesis 38 tells the story of Tamar who disguises herself as a prostitute in order to sleep with her father-in-law, Judah. When Judah asks her what he can give her as security while she waits for payment for services rendered, she replies,

“I want your identification seal, your cord, and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave these items to her. She then let him sleep with her, and she became pregnant. (Genesis 38:18, NLT)

In today’s culture, a seal is often used by official entities (like the government) to demonstrate the authority and authenticity of a document. As I look at my driver’s license, for example, it is embossed with the “Great Seal of the State of California”, which demonstrates that the identification is authentic and legal.

So the Holy Spirit is given to us as believers to authenticate our relationship with God. It is real. It is authentic. It is officially from God.

A third purpose of a seal is one of security. A seal was often used in official communication to ensure the security of the message. A document would be folded and a piece of wax or clay would be used to “seal” the fold. The seal of the person (often a signet ring) was used to press into the wax and create an official image that represented that person. If the seal was broken before reaching the recipient, the recipient would know that the communication was perhaps compromised.

According to Ephesians 4:30, the Holy Spirit “seals” the believer for the day of redemption. What that means is that the Holy Spirit is given to believers to secure all of the promised elements related to our future salvation.

Of course there’s a lot more to know and understand about the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives as believers. But one important role is that He is a seal, which shows that we now belong to God, we are authentic members of His family and that all of God’s future promises related to salvation are secure.

Reflection

At the outset, it was suggested that the Holy Spirit is the often over-looked, misunderstood third member of the Trinity (the Forgotten God). What has been your understanding and experience with the Holy Spirit as a believer? Before reading this post, what has been your relationship with the Holy Spirit in your daily Christian life?

What are some examples in your own experience of a seal?

One purpose of the seal is to show ownership, like a brand on livestock. When you think about being “owned” by God, how does this affect you as a follower of Christ? What impact, either positive or negative, does this have on you as you seek to live out the Christian life?

Another purpose of a seal is security. What do you think it means that the Holy Spirit secures all of the promises related to our future salvation? What exactly is He securing? What difference does this make in how you live out your faith?

Photo by Anna Tarazevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-stamp-on-a-paper-5425648/

March 8, 2023February 16, 2025

Weaponizing our Words

James 3

²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:2-12, NIV)

The Daily DAVEotional

Growing up, there was almost nothing more exciting than checking the daily mail. This was before the internet and personal computers. We had no email, no social media, no cell phones. The only way to communicate with someone was either a personal phone call (using our rotary phones) or via old-fashioned snail mail.

Junk mail wasn’t as prevalent back then so when something came that had your name on it, there was excitement – just like Ralphie in this clip from A Christmas Story.

One day when I was in junior high, I checked the mail after school, and low and behold, there was a letter with my name on it.

There it was….a small white envelope with my name handwritten right in the center! There was no return address so I wasn’t sure who it was from.

Immediately I began to ponder in my mind what was inside and who it was from. I speculated that the letter could be from a secret admirer, a girl no doubt, who wanted to express her affection for me.

However, when I opened the envelope, it wasn’t what I expected. There was no note of affection or admiration from a secret admirer. In fact, there was no letter at all. It was just a 3×5 index card with the following Bible verse written on it:

⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

I was perplexed. What was the purpose of this note and why was it sent to me? And more importantly, WHO would send me a Bible verse on an index card? Why this particular verse?

I never did find out who sent me that card and to be honest, I didn’t reflect much on the meaning of the verse or what the anonymous sender was trying to say to me.

Growing up, I was always extremely small for my age. As a result, I was an easy target for bullying and intimidation. I quickly learned that in the school playground jungle, what one lacked in size and strength could be made up with words. I learned the art of using quick zingers and snappy comebacks to make fun of others and cut them down to size.

My verbal skills of sarcasm, put downs and quick wit became well-known, not only amongst my family and friends in my childhood years, but later with my co-workers and managers at work. I remember more than once a manager at the Target store I worked at in college telling me that I was a smart-a**.

What I think that anonymous note sender was trying to say, though I didn’t digest it until much later, is that I had a sharp tongue and my words could easily damage others. Of course I knew this intellectually. I had often been the recipient of teasing and verbal jabs. I wrote here in a previous blog post about how words have the power to heal or hurt.

In this passage, James is telling his audience that our tongues are an indication of our overall ability to control ourselves.

Our tongue may seem insignificant but it can have an enormous effect in how it is used. It can do tremendous damage. James notes three things about the tongue.

First, the tongue is small but it can do GREAT damage. Just as a small spark can result in a large fire, so even the smallest and seemingly innocuous of words spoken by our tongues can do enormous harm to others.

Secondly, James says that the tongue is evil and poisonous. When we use our tongue in the wrong way, we actually corrupt our entire body. This is because the tongue is the vehicle by which people share their thoughts. If their thoughts are evil, the tongue exposes the person to be corrupt and evil.

Thirdly, James points out that the tongue is inconsistent. It can be used for praising God on one hand and cursing those made in the image of God on the other hand.

James is noting that if we praise God on one hand and curse people made in the image of God in the next breath, there is a problem. Jesus taught that this inconsistency is the result of our evil heart.

Unfortunately, when we come to know Jesus, the evil in our heart is not completely eradicated. As a result, we may find ourselves still having trouble controlling our tongue. This is why James says that the tongue cannot be tamed.

So what are we to do? To gain control of our tongue we actually must yield control of our heart and will to the Holy Spirit who resides in us. It’s only by the power of God’s Spirit that we can experience transformation of our hearts resulting in a change in our behaviors.

For more information on how we can yield control of our lives to the Holy Spirit, see the following blog posts:

An Issue of Control – Romans 8

Under the Influence – Ephesians 5

Reflection

In what ways do you find yourself misusing your tongue (your words and language)?

Think of a time when you used your tongue (either spoken or written words) for good or when you were the recipient of someone else’s healing words? How did that feel? What did you experience?

Think of a time when you were harmed or hurt by the words of another (written or spoken)? What emotions did you feel?

What steps can you take to ensure that your tongue is used for godly purposes instead of for hurtful purposes?

Photo by Keira Burton: https://www.pexels.com/photo/diverse-multiracial-male-students-intimidating-ethnic-female-classmate-on-street-6147114/

February 27, 2023

Is the Holy Spirit like “The Force” in Star Wars?

Acts 5

¹There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. ²He brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. ⁴The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God.”

⁵As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. ⁶Then some young men wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this—conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out, too.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what had happened. (Acts 5:1-11, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

During Covid I started running. I hated it at first but I kept at it and now I typically run about 6 miles per day. Most days I tend to run the same route that includes a 3.1 mile loop around Lake Mission Viejo, a small man-made lake in our community.

One interesting piece of trivia is that the 1984 Olympic Cycling event included a segment around this lake that I run almost every single day. In fact, the finish line for that race is memorialized, not only in the street, with a cement strip that says “Finish” but also on the sidewalk with benches and a plaque that gives tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Olympic event.

Finish Line for the 1984 Olympic Cycling Event

Memorial marking the 20th anniversary of the 1984 Olympic Cycling event, which took place in Mission Viejo, CA

Occasionally, when I run by this spot on the loop I will see some members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sitting on the bench with a portable kiosk filled with religious paraphernalia. Their hope, I’m sure, is that people walking the loop might stop and take some religious material or even engage in some spiritual conversation.

If you’re not familiar with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are a religious group based in New York. Their roots are in Christianity but they are NOT a Christian group.

One of the main differences between traditional, orthodox Christianity and the Jehovah’s Witnesses is that they reject the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. I wrote about the Jehovah’s Witnesses misunderstanding of Jesus in some previous blog posts here (A Modern Day Version of an Ancient Heresy) and here (Evidence that Jesus is God).

Another main difference between Jehovah’s Witness teachings and traditional Christianity is their rejection of the doctrine of the trinity, which they believe was a pagan belief introduced to the church by Constantine early in the 4th century.

While the church teaches that God is triune – that is, the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there is only ONE God, the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is a created being and the Holy Spirit is a force, not a person.

In the book “You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth”, the Holy Spirit is described as God’s active force and is compared to an electrical power grid that provides electricity to an entire suburb from a nearby power source.

Is this an accurate depiction of the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit God’s active force, much like “The Force” in Star Wars?

According to this passage in Acts 5, the answer is clearly “NO”.

This passage tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband and wife who sold some property and gave the proceeds to the church. But they lied about how much they made and as a result, they both were struck dead. In a previous post, I wrote about why they experienced such harsh consequences for what seems like a minor offense.

While this text is often used to highlight the serious quest for righteousness and purity in the early church, there is an often overlooked theological nugget in this passage that aids in our understanding regarding the nature of the Holy Spirit.

Look at verse 3, in which Peter says, ““Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.”

First off, notice that Peter tells Ananias that he lied to the Holy Spirit when he kept some of the money for himself. This is clear evidence that the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force, because you cannot lie to something that is inanimate, such as a force or an electrical power grid. You can only lie to a person, and since Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, then clearly, the Holy Spirit must be a person.

Secondly, look at the end of verse 4, in which Peter says to Ananias, “How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God.”

In verse 3, Peter says that Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, and then in verse 4 Peter says that Ananias lied to GOD!

There’s the smoking gun right there. Clear evidence that Peter, one of the foremost apostles of the New Testament church, believed that the Holy Spirit was God.

Perhaps you’ve never given much thought to the Holy Spirit – who He is or what He is. One thing is certain – the Holy Spirit is NOT a force, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. The Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person, and He is God!

Reflection

Traditional Christianity teaches that God is a triune God, or a trinity? What do you think that means? How would you explain the triune nature of God to someone else?

The author asserts that lying to the Holy Spirit is clear evidence that the Holy Spirit is a person? Do you agree that you can only lie to a person? What other attributes would demonstrate personhood? In other words, what are some attributes that only PEOPLE can have and what are some actions that only PEOPLE can commit?

What has been your understanding of the Holy Spirit in the past?

Do you agree that the Holy Spirit is God? If not, why not?

Photos by Dave Lowe

February 6, 2023July 6, 2026

The “Born Again” Redundancy

John 3

¹After dark one evening, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, ²came to speak with Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.”

³Jesus replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. ⁷So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. ⁸Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” (John 3:1-8, NLT)

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One year, back in the 1970’s, my parents gave me a necklace for Christmas. It was a stainless steel chain with a large metal, rectangular tag hanging from it with the words “Born Again” stenciled in black. It looked something like the dog tags one might find a soldier wearing to identify themselves in the case of some tragic accident.

I never really wore the necklace too much for reasons I will allow Kevin McCallister to explain in the following short video clip:

The phrase “born again Christian” was quite popular back then as it served as a way to identify a certain segment of the Christian crowd.

If you’ve ever wondered where the term “born again Christian” came from or what it means, this is the passage.

The text says that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and if you know anything about the Pharisees, they didn’t exactly get along with Jesus. But unlike most of his religious brethren, who were hard-hearted and saw Jesus as a threat, Nicodemus was open and spiritually curious. So he found a way to meet with Jesus in private where he acknowledged what most Pharisees were unwilling to even consider – that Jesus was indeed sent from God.

I’m sure Jesus’s reply was not what Nicodemus was expecting as he gives this rather strange response about the need for one to be “born again” to see the kingdom of God.

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Nicodemus, like many people today, was confused by the phrase “born again”. He gives a bewildered response, “how can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” as well as the equally puzzling, “will being born again give me TWO belly buttons?” Ok, I added that last phrase but both statements show a fundamental lack of understanding in what Jesus was communicating.

Jesus explains to Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of heaven one must be born of water and of spirit. He continues by adding that “humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.”

So what’s he saying?

Everyone experiences a physical birth. In theological terms, we call that generation. There isn’t a person who’s ever lived who did not experience a physical birth. So, the first condition to making it into the kingdom of heaven is one must have experienced a physical birth.

But there is a second condition that’s required to make it into the kingdom of heaven. In addition to being born physically one must also experience a spiritual birth. This second birth is what Jesus is referring to when he says “you must be born again.”

The Bible tells us that even though people are alive physically, because of sin, we are dead spiritually (separated from God). Therefore, in order to be reconciled to God, we must become alive spiritually by experiencing a spiritual birth. We call this regeneration.

Regeneration is the role of the Holy Spirit and it occurs when a person receives the free gift of forgiveness that Jesus offers through His death on the cross.

Receiving this free gift is simply a matter of:

1. Recognizing that I am a sinner
2. Acknowledging that Jesus died on the cross for my sins
3. Trusting Jesus to come into my life and provide forgiveness

When someone responds in faith to Jesus’s offer of forgiveness, an amazing thing happens. God’s Holy Spirit comes into that person’s life and gives them new spiritual life. This is the spiritual birth that Jesus is referring to and it’s what is meant by the term “born again.”

The thing is, it’s impossible to enter the kingdom of heaven unless you’re born again. In other words, you cannot be a Christian unless you are born again because being a Christian means you’ve accepted Jesus’s free gift and the Holy Spirit has come into your life to make you alive spiritually.

So the phrase “born again Christian” is a redundancy, akin to saying “I’m a Christian Christian.”

So why use the term “born again Christian” if it’s a redundancy?

The term became popular as a way for those who have accepted Jesus into their life to distinguish themselves from those who call themselves Christians but have never responded to Jesus’s offer. Many people identify as Christians simply because they go to church or they believe in the God of the Bible. But none of this means a person is a Christian. A person becomes a Christian the moment they experience this second birth, just as Jesus described to Nicodemus.

Reflection

Do you consider yourself a Christian? What is it that makes you a Christian?

Jesus said that a person must be “born again” to experience the kingdom of heaven. Have you experienced a “second birth”? What were the circumstances that led you to make that decision?

The term “born again Christian” is not as popular today as it was in the 1970’s, partly because many who are not Christians began to associate the term with religious fundamentalism and other caricatures of Christianity that most true Christians would reject. What terms do you currently use to identify your Christian faith and tradition to others?

The danger for many Christians is that we can become religious over time. What steps can you take to ensure your heart remains open and curious, like Nicodemus, instead of hard and callous like the other Pharisees?

Photo by Dave Lowe