Disregarding the Holy Spirit

Misconceptions

• The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force that provides spiritual feelings.
• The Holy Spirit is not reserved for only those who appear really godly.
• The Holy Spirit is not a motivator for distracting worship activity.
• The Holy Spirit is not retired from the ministry of the miraculous.
• The Holy Spirit is not a scapegoat for decisions you don’t want to be second-guessed.

Truths

• Disregarding the Word of God disregards the Spirit of God.
• The Father sets the standard (3, 6), the Son meets the standard (1), and the Spirit encourages the standard (8).
• The immediate context of this passage deals with sexual immorality, but the concept is true for all disobedience.
• Listening to your feelings is not synonymous with listening to God.
• Regarding a person’s thoughts (including your own) higher than God’s will lead you to sin.
• God gives us the Holy Spirit to alert us when we drift toward impurity.

Dangers

If you don’t sense the Spirit, it could be because you are apathetic, sinful, or lost.

1. One believer doesn’t have more of the Spirit than another, but the Spirit has more of certain believers than others (John 14:26; Rom. 8:26; Eph. 4:30).
2. You will miss opportunities to walk in the spirit when you consistently operate by living in the flesh (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; Gal. 5:16-17).
3. Just because you know about God does not mean you really know God (Ezek. 36:26; John 14:17; Acts 2:38; Eph. 1:13).