The Spirit and becoming a Christian

Ever wonder why your friends and work mates just don't get what the big deal is with Jesus and why you'd live your life to please him? 1 Corinthians 2:14 makes it clear that it's because they don't have the Spirit of God. It is only by God's Spirit that we are able to understand God's wisdom in a foolish cross and grasp the good things He has prepared for us in Christ (see vs9-12). So that raises the question of how can someone become a Christian without the Spirit of God? The answer is they can't. This is grace alone - God alone saves us. We are unwilling and unable to repent and believe the good news of Jesus without him intervening in our lives. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 Paul reminds the Thessalonian Christians of their experience of 'turning from idols to the living and true God'. This happened because they were 'chosen by God' (v4). Paul knew this was the case because when they heard the gospel they didn't just hear words about God but they heard the Word and the voice of God. Why? Because the Gospel Word came with the power of the Holy Spirit (see v5). We see it again when we compare John 3:5 'you cannot be born again without the Spirit of God' with 1Peter 1:23 'born again...through the living and enduring Word of God'. So when someone becomes a Christian it's because they've understood, seen, grasped that Jesus is the only King and Saviour of the world. This is how we continue in the Christian life being reassured, comforted, rebuked, shaped, trained by God's Word in the power of his Spirit.