Who Am I Hurting?

When we think about doing something the least bit unscrupulous or sinful we often think, “Who am I hurting? It’s just me.” But what we do often affects friends and family. It may also affect those that we work with. If our act eats away at our reputation or the truth of our word, it does. Last evening, we heard a sermon by Dr. Alton Beal sharing each time we step into questionable areas we grieve the Holy Spirit. He is the third person of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He also shared that the Holy Ghost is a person and he is God. When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit or the Comforter comes to live within us.

Proof that the Spirit is a person he can speak for us when we don’t know how to pray. Romans 8:27. The Spirit can lead us and guide us. Romans 8:14. We can resist the Spirits leading in our life. Acts 7:51. The Holy Spirit has all the attributes of a person. The Spirit has a mind, Romans 8:27 and a will, 1 Corinthians 12:11. He teaches, John 14:26. The Spirit testifies, John 15:26. It convicts of sin, John 16:8. The Holy Spirit can be lied to, Acts 5:3.

The Spirit has emotions and can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30. That is where much of the message was centered. When we are bitter, full of wrath, and anger, we are in direct opposition of the leading and influence of this third person of the triune God. How can we allow ourselves to say or do things we ought not to our wives, our children or our friends? We should guard our lips at all times, careful of what we say. In Isaiah 63:10, the Holy Spirit was vexed when the Israelites rebelled. In Psalm 78:40, he was provoked and grieved as well.

Dr. Beal also shared that the Holy Spirit was also indeed God. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, the saved person is the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells within. In John 4:24, the Bible shares that God is a Spirit and God the Spirit had a hand in the creation of the world, Genesis 1:1-2.

The Bible also shares that “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ 2 Corinthians 3:17.

When we speak, act, or react, we need to be mindful. In Ephesians 4:32 the Bible says to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving of one another…”