Questions & Answers Part 2

Are the gifts still present today, and does the Holy Spirit still appear to believers?

We believe that the Holy Spirit is very much active in the church today. Every believer receives the Spirit at salvation

Romans 8:9 ESV

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

1 Corinthians 12:13 ESV

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

and He continues to empower, guide, convict, and equip the church for gospel ministry. Without the Spirit, there would be no Christian life at all.

Turn to Ephesians 1:13-14 & Ephesians 4:30

When it comes to spiritual gifts, we make an important distinction.

Normative Gifts Today

The gifts that Scripture describes for the building up of the body—teaching, exhortation, service (helps), giving, administration (leadership), faith (visionary), discernment, mercy—are still very much at work in the church. These are the Spirit’s ordinary means of strengthening the body and shining Christ’s light through His people (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4).

The So-Called “Sign Gifts”

Gifts like tongues, prophecy (in the revelatory sense), healing, and miracles, word of knowledge had a unique role in the apostolic age. They authenticated the message of the gospel before the New Testament was written and widely available. That’s why we describe ourselves as cautious cessationists: we don’t deny that God could still use these gifts, but we don’t believe they function as the church’s normal expectation. If they do appear today, it would be in the same way as in the Bible—and most likely in places where the Scriptures are not yet available, much like in the book of Acts.

Even Paul seems to show this shift. Early in his ministry he healed freely

Acts 19:11–12 ESV

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

but later he left Trophimus sick in Miletus

2 Timothy 4:20 ESV

20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.

and told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach

1 Timothy 5:23 ESV

23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)

This suggests that the extraordinary gifts were never meant to be the ongoing norm, but rather a temporary provision in the earliest days of the church.

The Spirit’s Role Now

So, yes—the Spirit still “appears” today, not in visible tongues of fire or dramatic apostolic signs, but by filling believers for bold witness, guiding us into truth through Scripture, and producing fruit in our lives.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

His presence is no less real, but His primary work is now through the written Word and the normative gifts that build up the church.

In short:

The normative gifts are active and expected in every believer.

The sign gifts served a special purpose in the early church and are not our expectation today, though God may still act in extraordinary ways for His mission where the Word has not yet gone.

The Spirit Himself is present, powerful, and essential in every believer’s life, equipping us to shine the gospel light into a dark world.

You spoke quite openly about the steps of disciplining members who sin and fall, but not on restoring those who repent. What does restoration look like?

That’s an important question. Restoration is always the goal of discipline. Matthew 18 gives us the steps, but the steps are never meant to end in removal—they’re meant to bring a person back.

You see this in 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2, which are dealing with the same man.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul tells the church to remove the unrepentant offender from their fellowship for his own good and for the purity of the church. But later, in 2 Corinthians 2:6–8, that same man repents. And Paul tells the church:

2 Corinthians 2:6–8 ESV

6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

Discipline opened the door, but restoration brought him back in.

What Restoration Can Look Like

Restoration doesn’t always look the same because sin and situations differ.

A few examples:

Personal or Private Sin: If someone is caught in gossip, anger, or dishonesty; but when confronted, they repent, restoration may simply mean forgiveness, prayer, and accountability with a trusted brother or sister. They keep walking in fellowship.

Public Sin That Damaged Trust: Suppose someone committed adultery, or misused church funds. Even if they repent, restoration will likely include counseling, accountability, and possibly a period away from leadership or teaching roles while trust is rebuilt. (They may never return to ministry at the same capacity) Forgiveness is immediate, but rebuilding credibility takes time.

Formerly Removed Members: If someone was removed from membership after refusing to repent, but later God breaks their heart and they return in repentance, the church should welcome them back joyfully, just as Paul told the Corinthians to do. That might mean a public acknowledgment of their repentance and a vote to restore them to fellowship.

The Heart of Restoration

Restoration is not just “letting someone back in the room.” It’s walking with them as they demonstrate repentance, rebuilding trust, and re–embracing them as family.

Sometimes it’s quick. Sometimes it’s longer. But the goal is always reconciliation: with Christ first, and then with His church.

And when restoration happens, the whole church gets to display the gospel. Because that’s exactly what God has done for us: He disciplines us, yes, but always to bring us back into fellowship with Himself.

Do you believe that once you have been saved you are saved forever, or can you lose your salvation?

We believe that those who are genuinely saved are eternally secure in Christ.

Our statement of faith puts it this way: “We believe that those who are genuinely saved are kept by God's power and are secure in Christ (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30). True salvation will be accompanied by a life of progressive sanctification, demonstrated by a desire to obey Christ.”

John 6:37–40 ESV

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

That means salvation is God’s work from beginning to end.

Ephesians 2:8–9 reminds us:

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 8:30 shows the unbreakable chain:

Romans 8:30 ESV

30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

No one drops out along the way.

Jesus Himself said in John 10:28–29

John 10:28–29 ESV

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

That’s security. If you are truly in Christ, you cannot be lost.

Perseverance, Not Presumption

But perseverance doesn’t mean someone can pray a prayer, live however they want, and still claim eternal life. Genuine believers will continue in the faith. Colossians 1:22–23

Colossians 1:22–23 ESV

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

That’s not teaching that salvation can be lost—it’s showing that perseverance is the evidence of true salvation.

The warnings in Scripture (like Hebrews 6 or 1 John 2:19) are there to keep us sober. 1 John 2:19 describes those who fall away:

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

In other words, if someone abandons Christ completely, it shows they never truly belonged to Him in the first place.

Think of salvation like being placed into Noah’s Ark. God shut the door (Genesis 7:16). Once you’re inside, you’re safe—not because of how tightly you hang on, but because God shut you in. But if someone never truly entered, they weren’t saved by the ark at all.

Summary

So the answer is: Yes, once you are truly saved, you are saved forever. You cannot lose your salvation because it rests in the finished work of Christ, the power of God, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

But perseverance in faith and obedience is the mark that salvation is real.

What is our church not doing well at that we should grow in?

Let me begin by saying: God is doing some wonderful things here at Heritage.

We are a warm, welcoming church. People who visit almost always comment on how friendly and caring we are.

We genuinely take care of each other in times of need.

We hold firmly to the authority of Scripture, and

we give generously to world missions.

Those are signs of a healthy church family, and we should thank God for them.

But with that said, there are areas where we need to grow.

And one of the biggest is

Commitment to the work of the ministry. Too often, the same small group of people end up carrying most of the load, while others remain spectators. We often have to beg for volunteers, scramble to fill roles, and plead for people to sign up. Many never step in at all. That shouldn’t be the case in a healthy, biblical church.

Ephesians 4:12 tells us that the role of pastors and leaders is:

Ephesians 4:12 ESV

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

That means every believer has a part to play.

God has given each of us spiritual gifts—not to sit on, but to use. When members of the body hold back, the whole body suffers. When each part does its work, the body grows and thrives.

We also need to grow in personal evangelism.

We’ve made corporate strides—through Saturate Saturday’s and our prayer tent yesterday,

But evangelism must go beyond programs. It has to be part of our daily lives, in conversations with our families, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates. Acts 1:8 reminds us:

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

That’s not just for missionaries—it’s for each of us.

And finally, we need to grow in intentional discipleship. We do fellowship well, but we don’t yet do discipleship well.

My wife recently asked the ladies at an event how many had ever been personally discipled, and no one raised their hand. I imagine the same would be true with the men.

That tells us something important—we need to move beyond surface relationships and start walking side by side, helping each other grow deeper in Christ.

So to sum it up: we’re doing well in being welcoming, caring, scripturally faithful, and mission minded.

But we need to grow in evangelism, discipleship, and especially in every member taking ownership of the ministry.

God didn’t save us to be spectators, He saved us to serve.