Do we need more of the Holy Spirit?

Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Farley, host of The Grace Message. Got a Bible question, struggling with a personal issue, wondering about a tricky verse? At BibleQuestions.com, you'll get clear, grace-based answers in 10 seconds or less. No fluff, no confusion, just practical, biblical truth. Ask anything, anytime, and experience the power of God's love. Visit BibleQuestions.com. That's BibleQuestions.com, your go-to for biblical clarity. Jesus plus nothing, 100% natural, no additives. Andrew Farley is celebrating your freedom in Christ. Call in and ask your questions at 877-655-6755. That's toll-free at 877-655-6755. By a satellite from Texas, it's The Grace Message with Dr. Andrew Farley. Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Grace Message. I'm Andrew Farley. So glad you're joining us tonight. That number to call, 877-655-6755. Right now, we got four open lines, plenty of room for you to get in with your question tonight. Maybe you've got a question about a scripture passage. Perhaps you heard something in church recently, or maybe chatting with a friend in a coffee shop or scrolling through social media, something came up and you want to talk it over. Well, that is exactly why we're here for you for the next half hour. We are live across the United States and Canada on SiriusXM, all kinds of FM and AM stations, and of course, yes, we're live streaming on social media as well. It doesn't matter how you're listening or watching along with us right now. You can simply call in and be a part of tonight's conversation. Again, four open lines, tonight's your night. If you've ever thought about being a part of The Grace Message conversation, we'd love to have you.

Open lines, room for you right away. All right, well, I do want to let you know also about a brand new resource we have available this month. While we're waiting for those first calls to trickle in, this resource called Forgiven Forever is going to be a huge encouragement to you. Here's just a bit about it. Are you forgiven of all your sins or are you being progressively forgiven? You know, like paying off your car, paying off your mortgage. Are you forgiven daily, even hourly as you ask God? The great news of the gospel is it is way better than that. It's all about the finished work of Jesus. I'm excited about this new resource. It is called Forgiven Forever, and that's the truth of Hebrews chapter 10. By one sacrifice, you've been made perfect for all time. So make sure to request your copy of Forgiven Forever when you give your gift this month. In the month of August, we're giving it away to each and every donor. It's our way of encouraging you in the love and grace of God. It's our way of reminding you that you are forgiven forever. Yes, you are forgiven forever. That's the beauty of the gospel. Nobody is partway forgiven. There's not a single person listening to this broadcast tonight that's 82% forgiven. It's all or nothing. There's no middle ground. You're either totally forgiven in Christ or completely unforgiven in Adam, but if you're in Christ, you have been forgiven past, present, and future, and that's what this series is all about. There's no conditions to it. If you are in Christ, you're a totally forgiven person, no matter what. So we want to put this in your hands to encourage you right away about your forgiveness and

about the finished work of Jesus. We've got to celebrate that to the fullest. So when you give your gift this month to the Grace Message, make sure to request your copy of Forgiven Forever. You're going to love it. Again, you can go to andrewfarley.org. Again, that's andrewfarley.org, and to click on the Donate tab there, it takes just two minutes to give your gift and to request a copy of Forgiven Forever. Well, we do have four open lines. So we're still waiting for that first call. Maybe tonight's your night. Do you have something you need to share? Maybe something you want to celebrate with us or a question you have about a Scripture passage or something that's maybe going on in your life right now, in your marriage, with your kids, in your church? Maybe you're looking for that Grace Message perspective. Well, again, that's exactly why we're here, 877-655-6755. Well, I want to start out tonight by talking about a lie and a truth. The lie is that you need to get a second blessing. You need a second portion. You need more of the Holy Spirit. Have you heard that? Well, I bet you have. In one stream of Christianity or another, you've heard the false idea that you need more of Jesus, that it's great that you're a Christian, but now you need that second baptism, that spiritual baptism of the Holy Spirit that's going to add on, add on to what you already got in Christ. Well, is that true? Well, we're going to see in just the next few minutes here it's absolutely false.

The truth is that you are sealed with the Spirit and you lack nothing in Christ. You have everything you need for life and godliness. So let's dive into this. But before we do, I want to remind you this program is mainly about you and helping you with whatever question or comment or issue you've got going on. Again, that number, 877-655-6755. All right. Well, let's talk about this second blessing, this second baptism, this second experience that so many people are chasing. John 14 says this. Jesus is talking. He says, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him. We will come to him and make our house with him. We will make our abode with him. Isn't that awesome to think about that the entire Trinity is pleased to have you? We will come and we will make our house in you. Oh, I love that. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Again, the entire Godhead is for you, not against you, always for you, in your corner, and they've invited you to fellowship with them. So they make their house in you. And it's that vine branches, intimacy, and it's not just with Jesus. It's with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, we're talking about whether you need a second baptism, a second experience, and all of that. Look at Romans 8, verse 9. It says, You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. Now, did you hear that last part? There's two kinds of people on planet Earth.

And if you don't have the Spirit, you don't belong to God. So the two kinds of people are those who have the Spirit, and they belong to God, and then those who don't have the Spirit, and they don't belong to God. But there is no middle ground. Do you see that? It's impossible to belong to God and yet be lacking the Spirit. So next time somebody says to you, Oh, it's great that you're saved. It's great that you're a Christian. I love that you're a child of God. But even though you're going to heaven, you still need to get more of the Spirit. You need a second blessing, a second baptism. No, you can stop them dead in their tracks, and you can say, If anyone doesn't have the Spirit, then they don't belong to God. It's all or nothing. And in Christ, it's all. You've got all you need, everything you need for life and godliness. The Scripture says you're blessed with every spiritual blessing in Jesus. So isn't it awesome to think about the fact that the Holy Spirit lives in you, the Father lives in you, the Son lives in you, Christ lives in you, and the entire Trinity is pleased to have you. Ephesians chapter 1 says this, In him you were sealed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise. He's given as a pledge of our inheritance. So every child of God who's believed has been sealed by the Spirit. Every child of God who's believed and has an inheritance also has the pledge, which is the Spirit. So how absurd, how ridiculous it is for us to entertain the false notion that we're saved but that we still need more. We're saved but we still need the Spirit. We're saved but we need a second baptism, a second blessing, a second portion.

Nonsense. in Christ, and we have everything we need. So I hope that's encouraging to you tonight, to know how complete you are. He has given us of his fullness, and he allows us to share in that completeness, so that when religiosity comes knocking, saying, you need more, well, you can shut the door and ignore those false messages, knowing the finished work of Christ, that you have all you need for now and for eternity. Well, let's take a moment now. We're going to go to Arizona, and we'll talk with Timothy. Hi, Timothy. What you got for us tonight, my friend? Hello, Andrew, thank you for your help in teaching us about the grace and the love that we have in Christ. Thanks. I have a question about, in Timothy, there's a verse that talks about coarse jesting and, you know, stupid talk or silly talk, sitting around telling fables or whatever. Maybe it's dirty jokes. I don't know what it is, but, and in there, it says that people that are involved in that will not, something about won't inherit the kingdom of God, and is that like, you're saved and then you're not, because you might get caught up in something and make a mistake or whatever? Yeah, I hear you. Well, no, I mean, I really don't think that it's saying, basically, hey, you're a Christian one day, and then you tell a dirty joke, and you lose your salvation. I mean, that, first of all, you can't lose your salvation. If you could, it wouldn't be salvation. Remember, Hebrews says we have eternal redemption, eternal buyback. Eternal redemption means God bought you back forever. Secondly, we got all the promises of God. He said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you.

He didn't say, I'm going to bolt to the door the moment you tell a dirty joke. So we're going to have to get this straight, because, you know, first of all, we're talking about 1 Timothy. If you want to talk about 1 Timothy, I think one of the passages there in chapter 1, it talks about don't pay attention to myths and endless genealogies and people who are speculating. So there were some people who were distracted. You know, being distracted doesn't mean you lost your salvation, it just means you were distracted. And they were distracted about endless arguments. Then you pop over to chapter 4 of 1 Timothy, and it says, have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. And so what does that mean? Well, have nothing to do with it. Does it say anything about losing salvation? No, of course not. You know, even the passage you might be referring to where Paul says we'll not inherit the kingdom of God, the next verse, verse 11 of that chapter says, and such were some of you. You were that way. Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were justified, you were sanctified. So that was our former identity. And as far as, you know, telling a dirty joke or saying something off color or whatever, that doesn't jeopardize your salvation. My goodness, can you imagine, none of us would remain saved. Can you imagine if the gospel was, you're forgiven of all your sins unless you sin. You're forgiven of all your sins unless you say something bad. I mean, we'd all be doomed. So yeah, as far as, you know, 1 Timothy, I'm not seeing anything like that. And I mean, you know, as far as coarse jesting, obviously the Bible talks about that in the New Testament. And when we see it in the New Testament, it's really about being biting or biting into sarcastic

sarcs. Now, that's not a jokey sarcasm like we talk about in English today. That is a fleshy accusation against someone, biting into them, into their character. So as far as, you know, what he's talking about there, I mean, he's saying, you know, 2 Timothy even says, avoid worldly chatter, empty and worldly chatter. So don't waste your time with cheap, fake, sensational, faith-corrupting type chatter, looking at genealogies and myths and fables that Distract people and you know, then when it comes to coarse jesting, yeah, don't bite into people and seek to harm people But none of those are salvation issues Otherwise, we would have a ludicrous gospel on our hands. Jesus died for all your sins except spreading rumors Jesus died for all your sins except being sarcastic Jesus died for all your sins except You know, and then you fill in your your favorite sin, so to speak Jesus died for all your sins and he took them all away and there are no exceptions You know, otherwise we have no gospel at all So I hope that's clear my friend. None of these are salvation versus they are behavior passages about attitudes and actions Why are they in here? Because you know Paul Peter James and John these New Testament authors are trying to save us a whole lot of time and wasted energy if we're chasing after the flesh trying to get meaning and purpose by Backbiting and spreading rumors and talking nasty about people and ripping into people. That's not our heart That's not our nature. That's not who we are at the core So That's the heart of the matter. It's never never a salvation issue And once you're saved you're beautifully saved forever and you can't ruin that You can't mess it up because God has already said I will never ever leave you. So Timothy I hope that's encouraging reach out again anytime great to hear from you. Okay, let's go to California next We'll talk with Susan. Hi Susan what you got for us? I Am there. How are you? Good. Thanks for taking my call yeah, I was calling my son is he's 48 and he's a Christian man and then

Recently though he started reading what she says of the Catholic Bible about the Saints and the different things like that and and now he thinks that You're not you're not just saved once you get saved that it's by your works and the things you do and that How could God just forgive all our sins and we don't have to do nothing because what if we sin tomorrow because we're sinners and I tried to explain to him that you know God is past present and future and when he died on the sin and he said it's been and when he died on the cross And he said it's finished. It was that's finished. He for you if you accept him as your Lord and Savior Then he comes in to you the Holy Spirit does and he helps change you and he works Keywords within you but we're all sinners until we are resurrected So, I don't know how I don't know what to help him to help. I want to help him understand that. Yeah, okay All right. Well, listen Susan, I think first of all, you know, I mean he's reading from two sources he'll read a little bit of the Bible and then he'll go over to some Catholic sources and Then he's trying to reconcile the two. So that's part of the problem, right? Because You know, you can read Ephesians chapter 2 and it says for by grace you've been saved through faith It is not of yourself It is a gift of God not as a result of works So that no one can brag so that no one can boast So see what your son is doing is he's saying well, I kind of like that verse that verse is okay for me I'll include that but then let me go over here and find something that contradicts it No, you cannot do that You cannot go over there and find something that contradicts it and then try to balance them. That will not work and So Ephesians 2 literally says not as a result of works So either that's true or it's false either Paul is a liar in Ephesians 2 or he knows what he's talking about. And so we're gonna have to decide between Paul in Ephesians 2 and Catholic theology and they do not agree if you have a brain in your head and You read Paul in Ephesians 2 and he says it's not of yourselves. It's a gift of God by faith not of works Well, what does that brain tell you I'm reading words on a page that say it's not of works and Then I thumb through some Catholic theology and it says well, it's you know, it's both It's faith and then it's also a result of works. Well, you go over to Paul you say wait, no, it's not it can't be

So I think that's where your son really has to wrestle Is he going to fall at the feet of Catholic theology or is he going to go back to the Apostles and recognize? Romans chapter 3 by the works of the law nobody will be right before God. Romans 3.20. How about Romans 4.5? The one who does not work but believes in him who justifies, his faith is credited as righteousness. Who gets that? Well, it says the one who does not work. That's Romans 4.5. How about Titus 3? He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done but according to his mercy. So by the time I read Titus, not on the basis of deeds, Romans 4, the one who does not work, Romans 3, nobody will be justified by works, and Ephesians 2, that I'm saved not of works but it's a gift of God. I mean, I can't make it out of Ephesians, Romans, and Titus alive with any common sense to show for it unless I'm just gonna believe Paul. And when Catholic theology disagrees with an Apostle, go with the Apostle. So I think that's the wrestling match your son is in. He needs to realize what he's doing, and he should not compromise the gospel just because of a Catholic theology book. Thanks for your call. Reach out to us again anytime, Susan. All right, well let's go now to Mary Lee. Hi Mary Lee, what you got for us tonight, my friend? Hi there, Andrew. Thank you for taking my call. I'm calling because I heard something preached at my church recently and I had a question. It had to do with the sacrifice that was made by Christ. Of course we know that he went to the cross, and how he had the chameleon with his disciples, and he said, do this in remembrance of me. But I thought I was hearing what was saying that Christ was the sacrifice, and because he was the sacrifice, we have to eat the communion, which is his body. So we are getting our salvation through us eating the bread that is really Christ. Okay, all right, well we got about a minute and I'll just say, false, false, false. That is not the case, and I'm glad you called to ask about that. There's a reason Jesus uses the word remembrance. He doesn't say, do this meal, do this communion. He doesn't say, do this to activate your salvation. No, he says, do it in remembrance of me. And so are we going to take Jesus at his word, or are we going

to fabricate some stuff? And again, we're back to sort of what the Catholics are doing in saying that, you know, taking communion activates something, that it causes something. No, we are doing it in remembrance of what already saves us. What saves us is the cross and the resurrection. So when we eat and drink today, it's like a birthday party. When you have a birthday party these days, does that mean you're being born? Is that causing you to be born? No. When you have a wedding anniversary, does that mean you're just getting married? Is that causing you to be married? No. It's a celebration. You're doing it in remembrance. And those are the exact words of Jesus Christ. We eat and drink as a celebration in remembrance of him. So, Welch's grape juice and Wonder Bread don't cause anything. Just like being dunked in water for ten seconds doesn't cause anything. It is the finished work of Jesus that saves us. And there are some beautiful ways to celebrate that finished work. Through water baptism, through the Lord's Supper, we are celebrating what he already did. For more information on the broadcast ministry of Dr. Andrew Farley, please visit andrewfarley.org. That's andrewfarley.org. Join us next time as we invite you to celebrate the grace message with Dr. Andrew Farley. This program is sponsored by your generous financial support. Hi, I'm Andrew Farley. I hope you enjoyed today's program. And if you have more questions, whether it's about a Bible verse, a personal struggle, or anything on your heart, BibleQuestions.com is here for you. You'll get clear, grace-based answers in ten seconds or less. No confusion, no judgment, just practical truth that meets you right where you are. Whatever's on your mind, you'll find real answers rooted in God's love. Visit BibleQuestions.com. That's BibleQuestions.com. you