Christians Filled with the Holy Spirit

In the church, the false teachers seemed outwardly to be preaching the truth, yet in reality they were servants of Satan. When two servants went to draw water, one idled along with a small pail while the other labored to fill a large one. The master did not need to watch them: the water standing in the jar told him the difference.

The difference between those who have the Spirit and those who do not is the difference between those who overcome their nature and those who live according to it. Salvation rests on faith in Christ, but what follows is a good conscience and an earnest effort to live by the Word, and God judges by the whole of that life. Since he does not weigh sins as great or small, even a single evil choice is already a turning away from his good law.

A brother who doubts is not to be judged but shown mercy and embraced. Where faith has become hypocrisy, one must rise resolutely from that place and cast sin aside; only then does one come under Christ’s protection. The faithful need to build themselves up on their most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, making the love of God known.