[TruthTalk] John 16:13,14

[Judy Taylor]

How terribly sad  - did somebody counsel and pray with this man who was obviously under conviction of the Spirit? You are judging him by "outward appearances" Bill.  You can't know what goes on in the hearts of ppl - folk can make a great showing after the flesh or some may just live in quiet desperation.  I would have taken this dear man seriously enough to go over the scriptures and pray with him so he can be sure of his eternal destiny rather than give him some false assurance.    A born again person who is right with God knows they are born again and right with God.  If they don't know this it is a huge red flag - and this man was crying out for help.....     Bill writes: Yes, in Christ in his resurrection, BUT not everyone is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that comes by way of belief or faith in Jesus Christ. What we call our "conversion experience" does happen in this lifetime, and sometimes this can be a profound and life-altering experience; other times it is not so profound for people who have grown up in the church and spent their lifetimes worshiping the Lord.  I think we are prone to base too much of our "faith" in religious experience and not trained well enough at basing it in the object of that faith: Jesus Christ.   I watched a saintly ninety year old elder of our church break down and weep because he did not know for sure if he had been "born again." He had grown up in the church and could not remember a time that he did not believed in Jesus Christ, yet he had never had one of those earth-shaking conversion experiences that others had had. We, the church, had placed so much emphasis on that "born again experience" that we had misled godly people into doubting their salvation. The weight of the world was upon this man's shoulders, and he could not withstand the weight of it. He was as godly as anyone you would ever meet, had served the Lord faithfully his whole life, yet believe in "spiritual death" and the necessity to be "born again" and thus could not place his finger on a point in his life when he stopped being spiritually dead and started being a born again believer. We did that to him -- not the Lord.