The Holy Spirit of Promise: God’s Down Payment

Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

In our struggling economy, there’s little doubt that the housing market has been hit the hardest. Families across the nation are being forced to sell their houses at half the purchase price. Often, the financial stability of the family depends on whether or not a house will sell. In such a situation nothing is more comforting than a buyer’s promise of earnest money. This initial down payment stands as a guarantee that the deal will go through. As an added benefit, the money is given and is immediately available for the family to use.

The Christian life is often more volatile than any economic crisis. Fightings without and fears within as Paul would say. But, there is nothing more comforting than the presence of the Holy Spirit of Promise, the earnest of our inheritance, God’s down payment.

The Importance of Distinguishing Eternal Security from Personal Assurance

Praise the Lord that there has been a resurgence back to biblical evangelism. Thanks to the influence of men like Ray Comfort, Todd Friel, and Paul Washer, evangelicalism is bringing back the heartbeat of ministry. The evangelical movement has been suffering for years against liberalism, the social gospel, the prosperity gospel, and the continuing fight against Pelagianism. This is not to say that the movement in its entirety has forgotten evangelism, but many would admit that the Great Commission was pushed aside – at least in America.

Fundamentalism, however, has boldly stood on the other side of the theological landscape, shouting against evangelicalism about its “lack of zeal” and raised sky-high the flags of Soul Winning. I found that even among more mature pastors who are just as disenchanted with hyper-fundamentalism as I, there’s a desire to stay within the movement because, after all, “that’s where the zeal is.” That may be true, but at what price? At the price of filling our churches with the unregenerate.