Do You Have The Holy Spirit?

In the 9th chapter of the book of Romans, Paul makes it very clear that the idea of whether or not we have the Holy Spirit is a big deal.

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

I just finished reading the 10th chapter of J.C. Ryle's "Old Paths," which is entitled "Holy Ghost." It was a good read, so good in fact, that I dare to make my second post in three days concerning it. I'm not going to quote the book directly, but instead, I'm going to elaborate in my own words and thoughts on Ryle's five points that he claims proves whether or not one has the Spirit of God. Ryle calls these the 'marks and evidences by which the presence of the Holy Ghost in a man's heart may be known.' This is extremely important for people everywhere to consider (see Romans 9:8 above). Note that by no means do I think that these five points can serve as a fail-proof test to see whether or not one has the Spirit. I think that would be putting God in a box, and he's not a God that fits in any box we can imagine. It's a good test nonetheless.

1.) Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be deep conviction of sin and repentance for it.

If I could pick a "favorite" evidence, I'd pick this one. I honestly think that all growing Christians will be at war daily with the sin in their lives. The Holy Spirit will convict us of our sins, and there will be true repentance. When I look back at my life before Christ, the main difference I see is the lack of conviction before and the overflow of conviction after. Though I am a much better person now than I was ten years ago, I consider myself scum today and thought very highly of myself back then. This is the work of Holy Spirit in my life. God abhors sin, and the Holy Spirit will not let us walk comfortably in it if we are truly his.

2.) Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be lively faith in Jesus Christ, as the only Savior.

The Holy Spirit had a lot to do with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Scriptures make this clear. The Holy Trinity coexist is a beautiful harmony. There is no way one could have the Holy Spirit without a lively faith in Christ. What I want to dismiss is a flippant irreverent "faith" in a god or a deity or a higher power or a "man upstairs. " I'd also like to dismiss one who claims to know God but never acknowledges the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. If you look closely, you'll see this in the movies. While it isn't too uncommon for a character to acknowledge God in the movies (though this is becoming more rare), the mentioning of Jesus Christ in a reverent way is very uncommon, and I'm afraid it may be like that more and more with professing Christians. The Holy Spirit will not allow one of of his to get by without a lively faith in Christ.

3.) Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be holiness of life and conversation.

The Holy Spirit is certainly in the business of sanctifying. He is also called the Spirit of holiness. One of the biggest misconceptions of Christianity in my opinion is this idea that Christ simply saved us of our past sins. By no means! Christ died not only to save us from sin but to free us from sin! The Holy Spirit has a tough job to do -- he is to make us more and more like Christ and work in us the power to be free from sin. Those who have the Spirit have this power, and it should be evident, though from my own experience, I can say that this part is pretty hard sometimes. Sanctification is one of those ideas that require a lot of effort on our part (but is really grace all along). The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Your soul would do well to measure yourself daily with the fruit of the Spirit to help determine his influence on your life. The Holy Spirit will leave no man untouched and unchanged.

4.) Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be the habit of earnest private prayer.

Wow, Ryle must have had me and my struggling prayer life in mind when he wrote that one. He doesn't just mention that those who have the Spirit will be praying. Check out the words "habit" and "earnest" and "private." This one is tough...at least for me. I struggle here, and I'll admit it, but Ryle is in no way wrong on this one. The Holy Spirit has a lot more to do with prayer than we may think. He surely yearns for us to communicate with the Father, and he knows we need help. All the things that the Scriptures tell us to pray about add up fast. We have several examples of Christ in prayer as well. I am convinced that he who knows nothing of us this earnest private prayer knows not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit "makes it as natural to a man to pray as it is to an infant to breathe; with the one difference, -- that the infant breathes without an effort, and the new-born soul prays with much conflict and strife."

5.) Where the Holy Ghost is, there will always be love and reverence for God's Word.

Ryle fifth point is a good one. The Word of God is certainly living and active. We also know that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. So obviously, since the Holy Spirit was there in the beginning, the Word is also important to him. The Holy Spirit causes a yearning for the Word -- whether it be reading your Bible, hearing the Word preached, understanding what we've heard, or recalling a memorized passage. If one doesn't have any desire for the Word of God, then he can be assured there is no Spirit abiding within.

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Again, I don't think there are the only five things to look for, and nor do I think all five will continuously be evident in each believer. But I thought the Ryle chapter was really well written and deserved a little more of my time. Perhaps someone out there on the world wide web will find it useful too.