Anytime the congregation's numbers were down or there were numerous problems in the Hall, the elders would question whether anyone might've grieved the holy spirit. Did you ever???
Did You Ever "Grieve" God's Holy Spirit?
by minimus 24 Replies latest jw friends
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asilentone
no comment.
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Blithe Freshman
I think the elders should have examined the log in their own eye before puting the guilt trip on the congregation.They grieved my spirit regularly.
BF
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snowbird
It always irritated me when the elders would trot this Scripture out and beat the congregation with it.
Ephesians 4:30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Technically, according to WT doctrine, only the anointed can grieve God's Holy Spirit, since only the anointed are sealed with the Spirit.
However, to answer your question, I never committed any serious offenses while a JW.
On a side note, I'm sure I grieved His Spirit when I went along with the teaching that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
Sylvia
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chickpea
not under those circumstances mentioned,
but if he REALLY hates voting, and charitable
giving, and a parent supporting their child in
difficult circumstances, then i am grieving his
sorry a$$, no end in sight! -
dinah
Yes! A witchhunt was started in my congregation (read the teenagers) to see why the congregation wasn't growing. Turned out they did catch alot of us being naughty, but they still haven't grown.
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babygirl75
Dana did more than "Grieve" the Holy Spirit!
*ducks and runs*
As for myself....
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dinah
Babygirl, if I grieved the Holy Spirit, you prolly made Him Give up the Ghost.
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blondie
How does one "grieve" the holy spirit? per the WTS that is. This quote is still not clear what is an "unclean or wrong practice."
*** it-1 p. 1128 Holiness ***The holy spirit operating on a person is a force for holiness or cleanness. Any unclean or wrong practice constitutes a resisting or "grieving" of that spirit. (Eph 4:30) Though impersonal in itself, the holy spirit is expressive of God’s holy personality and therefore can be ‘grieved.’ The practice of any wrongdoing tends to "put out the fire of the spirit." (1Th 5:19) If such practice is continued, God’s holy spirit is, in effect, made to "feel hurt," and this may result in God’s changing into an enemy of the rebellious one. (Isa 63:10) A person grieving the holy spirit may go so far as to blaspheme against it, which sin Jesus Christ said will not be forgiven in the present system of things nor in that to come
*** w04 5/15 p. 29 Questions From Readers ***If we were to ignore Scriptural counsel penned under the guidance of holy spirit, we could develop traits that could result in willful sin against the spirit, the loss of Jehovah’s favor, and eventual destruction. (Matthew 12:31, 32) We might not yet be sinning gravely, but we could be starting off on the wrong road, one that could eventually take us in a direction contrary to the leading of the spirit. Under such circumstances, we would be grieving the holy spirit.
How, then, can we avoid grieving God’s spirit? We certainly have to control our thoughts and actions. In his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, the apostle Paul spoke about avoiding tendencies toward dishonest statements, sustained wrathfulness, laziness, and unsuitable speech. If we have put on "the new personality" and yet allow ourselves to drift back toward such things, what would we be doing? We would be going against the spirit-inspired counsel of God’s Word, the Bible. By doing this, we would be grieving the holy spirit.
In Ephesians chapter 5, we read Paul’s counsel about avoiding prurient interest in fornication. The apostle also urges fellow believers to avoid shameful conduct and obscene jesting. If we do not want to grieve God’s holy spirit, we ought to bear this in mind when choosing entertainment. Why would we show interest in such things by talking about them, reading about them, and viewing their portrayal on television or elsewhere?
Of course, we could grieve the spirit in other ways. Jehovah’s spirit promotes unity in the congregation, but suppose we were to spread harmful gossip or encourage cliques in the congregation. Would we not be working against the spirit’s leadings toward unity? In a general way, we would be grieving the holy spirit, like those who caused divisions in the congregation in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 1:10; 3:1-4, 16, 17) We would also be grieving the spirit if we deliberately undermined respect for spirit-appointed men in the congregation.—Acts 20:28; Jude 8.
Based on this I can't think of a single congregation that wouldn't be "grieving the HS" at any given moment.
Blondie
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minimus
Blondie, then, I'm GUILTY!