This episode continues the focus on God's lovingkindness that leads to repentance. A balanced preaching of the gospel always includes the demand to repent. Coupled with the convicting work of the Spirit, godly sorrow leads to repentance without regret. (2 Corinthians 7:10) The Holy Spirit also leads people to repent by imparting on the soul a sense of God's unmerited kindnesses. The evangelist ideally follows the Holy Spirit's leading in "wounding the conscience" (Acts 2:38), while bringing out the gracious character of God in His care of us when we deserve the opposite. The episode concludes with an exhortation to be living epistles of God's lovingkindness. The evangelist himself/herself should be the embodiment of the grace extended to all. So just as God is "kind to ungrateful and evil people," so the evangelist should be gracious to ALL, ready to bless.
Do You Have the Mentality to Grow Spiritually?
This episode is an overview of Biblical spiritual growth based on Hosea 10:11-14. Substantive spiritual growth that endures temptation and the natural ups and downs of life is a thorough work that mirrors the agricultural process of sewing, reaping, and threshing. Many Christians unfortunately adopt a "get-spiritual-quick" mentality towards spiritual growth and emphasize the final stage of threshing without doing the hard work of "sewing with a view to righteousness." "Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh." (Hosea 10:11) The answer to superficial spirituality, according to the rest of the passage, is seeking the Lord by receiving the yoke. (see Matthew 11:28-30. Taking the yoke makes "sewing with a view to righteousness" a priority, understanding that reaping takes time as real transformation is God-directed. The episode highlights that subsequent reaping (looking more like Christ) is a mercy from God, based on his covenant loyalty. Significantly, genuine spiritual growth is a lengthy process in which believers take thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and plant new seeds based on God's Word. Spiritual growth consequently takes time and is God-directed, as the Holy Spirit conforms us into the image of Christ.