RENEWAL OF THE SPIRIT

RENEWAL OF THE SPIRIT

Titus 3:5,6 – He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior,

I recently was having a conversation with Brian Simmons, the translator of the Passion Translation, when we began to discuss the topic of renewal. He told me how he traveled and spoke in many churches over the country and how rare it was for churches to “still be having renewal services”. Fifteen or twenty years ago renewal services were much easier to find, today not so much. This conversation stuck with me the last several weeks and caused me to reflect on why our church still focuses on renewal or simply giving place for the Holy Spirit to work in our services. First of all I need renewal. The Holy Spirit functions most powerfully in corporate gatherings and I need to have His touch on my life in this environment. Also, without renewal our church becomes stale and eventually individuals fade back into their former manner of life. All of us need the constant influence of the Spirit in our lives. Here is how Vine’s Wordbook describes the renewal of the Spirit.

“anakainosis – “a renewal,” is used in Rom. 12:2, “the renewing (of your mind),” the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life; in Titus 3:5, where “the renewing of the Holy Spirit” is not a fresh bestowment of the Spirit, but a revival of His power, developing the Christian life; this passage stresses the continual operation of the indwelling Spirit of God; the Romans passage stresses the willing response on the part of the believer.”

Vine made two powerful observations in this definition. He said first that renewal is intended to be a continual experience in the believer’s life. Frankly, we need the daily effect of the Spirit in us. Secondly, renewal operates through the willing response of each of us. It happens as we pursue and yield to the things of God. Just coasting through life, casually attending church will result in apathetic Christianity. The result is that we begin to redefine our beliefs based on our experiences. That pretty much describes what has happened in many churches and Christians today.