Q. How do people lose the Holy Spirit?
A. Believers cannot lose the Holy Spirit, but they can
quench His power through sin.
We do not earn the filling of the Holy Spirit, so we cannot
be expected to earn the keeping of the Holy Spirit.
At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit is given to
believers, and He is there to stay. He doesn’t leave us when we sin, or else we
would be forced to get saved all over again to get the Spirit back. That is an
amazing promise!
But just because we can’t lose the Spirit doesn’t mean our
sin doesn’t affect the relationship. The Bible speaks of quenching and grieving
the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 plainly says, “Do not quench the Spirit;”
Ephesians 4:30 says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed until the day of redemption.”
To quench means to suppress fire. The Holy Spirit wants to
work through the believer to do great things for God, but when we sin we throw
water on that fire. Read Ephesians 4 to see specific sins that will grieve the
Spirit.
So while the Spirit will never leave us, we can choose to
diminish His power and effectiveness in our lives. If you want to be led by the
Spirit, have the boldness to witness for Christ, and be in close communion with
the Father, it is imperative that we do our best to abstain from sin. As often
as we do sin, we only need to repent to enjoy a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy
Spirit.
We may have quenched or grieved Him, but He has never left
us.
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