Hi Iano. You've said some things here that may need some clarification to the unaprised in these things. In your sequense, it begins with knowledge of who Jesus is, why he died, why one is lost in need of him and what one must do in order to obtain salvation.
1. Jesus is lord of all and must be
received, not only as savior but as lord and savior. Lord means master, as in owner of slave, requiring total submission and alegiance. Too many make a profession of faith in Christ, not understanding the responsibilities entailed in this regard.
2. One must believe and understand that the wages of sin is death, i.e. spiritual and physical and that there is a judgement after death. Then one must understand and believe that the death of the inocent Jesus son of God/judge paid the penalty for the sinner.
3. After knowledge and believing/understanding, one must, after understanding his lostness, receive the saviour, both as lord and saviour. One does this by calling on him in prayer for salvation. John 1:12 (receive) Romans 10:13 (call on him for salvation)
When doing this it's important to understand how the trinity works. God the father sits on the throne in Heaven. Jesus the resurrected son sits on the right hand of the father. These two real beings are close, but in two different locations located in a real place in the universe, both father and son. The Holy Spirit is that member (note that I didn't say person) of the trinity which is
multipresent, that is, can be sent by the father or the son anywhere in the universe. When one
receives Jesus, Jesus, not being multipresent perse, does not move from Heaven to earth. His spirit, the Holy Spirit of Jesus and of Jehovah, the father is what comes into the convert. This process is called in the NT,
the baptism of the Holy Spirit.. I Corintians 12:13 We are all baptized into one body by one spirit. Also John 3:3,4 where one is born again (Greek literal, born from above)/born spiritually according to the context. It's really not as you put it that the Holy Spirit confirms that God comes in. It is the spirit of Jehovah God, the father and of Jesus the son that comes in. God, the father, remember, resides in Heaven. The Lord's Prayer, model prayer of Jesus, for example makes a point in specifying this. Jesus said so elsewhere also.
Please understand that I'm not being nitpicky. It's just that I think many who are unaprised on these things really don't understand how it all works. Why? Because it's not taught them in the churches,in personal witness and evangelism like the Bible spells it out. The preacher says something like "Come to the alter. Accept Jesus as savior and you're in." Well, maybe, maybe not, depending on how much the person understands and believes about what he/she's doing. Unfortunantely, I'm afraid, too many go out unchanged and unconverted having no real understanding of it all. (savior/saviour -- both spellings correct, btw)
I realize you likely understand much of this, but some don't. This all, necessary for the atonement to become effective for salvation. The atonement to become meaningful to the OT Jew, had to be both understood and received. So in the NT for it to become of any effect to the Christian convert.
Edited to change title.
This message has been edited by buzsaw, 10-19-2005 12:39 AM
The immeasurable present is forever consuming the eternal future and extending the infinite past. buzsaw