The Gospel of John. The Work of the Holy Spirit (2)

Third John is the shortest, but Second John is not very long at all.

He wrote all these books and letters, all within

just a few years, probably all during the 90s AD, some 60 years after the

Resurrection.

And here John is writing to a church and encouraging them,

exhorting them to live for Christ.

Second John.

Second John.

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also

all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us.

Forever.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ the

Father's Son, in truth and love.

I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth.

Just as we were commanded by the Father.

And now I ask you, dear lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment,

but the one we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is love, that we love according to his commandments.

This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.

Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full.

Reward.

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.

Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting.

For whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink.

Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

The children of your elect sister greet you.

Let's pray.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time together, that we can gather as a group of men and

women who have been called out of darkness and placed in the kingdom of your beloved Son.

We thank you, Lord, for this tremendous blessing.

We thank you that every blessing that we have is found in Christ Jesus, that we have everything we need for life and

godliness.

And so we pray, Lord, that as we look to Christ that we would keep the commandment, that we would keep the teaching of

Christ, that we would walk in his footsteps, that we would follow the pattern of his life.

Lord, we are so grateful to be able to be here and to worship you, to raise our voices and

lift your name on high.

We pray, Lord, that you would help us now as we listen to this sermon.

We pray that our worship would continue, that we would reflect upon what's being said, that we would

seek to apply it to our lives and live it out in the power of your Holy Spirit.

Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, let's turn back to John chapter 16, and we'll continue to consider the passage that

we began to consider last Lord's Day.

Before us in these 15 verses of John 16, we have the fifth

declaration of our Lord Jesus in his farewell discourse that covers a number of chapters

here in this portion of John's Gospel.

And before us, our Lord promised his disciples once again that upon his departure

to his father, he would send them the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit would enable his disciples, by extension us as well,

to be faithful witnesses of him to the world, even as they faced the hatred and

persecution of the fallen world to which they were to bear witness.

And so, as we consider the 15 verses before us, we first read that Jesus told

of the trial of his disciples that they would encounter, verses 1 through the first

portion of verse 4, and that this would take place after he departed from them,

verse 4b through verse 6.

But he again assured them that he would send them the Holy Spirit, who would give them

guidance and power in their witness to the world, verses 7 through 15.

And this is where we left off last week.

We learned from these verses the work of advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ involves resisting and

overcoming the hostility of evil people and Satan.

And that although the work is very daunting and difficult, the Lord has given the Holy Spirit to

his people to enable them to accomplish their mission.

And so, here, once again, is John 16, 1 through 15.

Jesus said, these things I've spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble.

They will put you out of the synagogues, yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that

he offers God service.

And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me.

But these things I have told you that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

And these things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with you.

But now I go away to him who sent me and none of you asked me, where are you going?

But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

And then it's verse 7 and following one I want to give special attention to today.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.

But if I depart, I will send him to you.

And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

Of sin, because they do not believe in me.

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more.

And of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

However, when he, the spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth.

For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.

And he will tell you things to come.

He will glorify me.

For he will take of what is mine and declare it to you.

All things that the Father has are mine.

Therefore, I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you.

We propose the outline last Lord's Day.

Here it is again.

We have, first of all, Jesus prepared his disciples for the trouble before them.

And secondly, he prompted his disciples to ponder his departure to the Father.

They were consumed in their thoughts about the persecution and the difficulty.

They lost their primary sight upon him going to the Father.

And all that meant or should mean to them.

Then thirdly, Jesus promised his disciples the help of the Holy Spirit in their witness to the world.

And we can divide this section into two parts.

Verses 7 -11, the Holy Spirit's conviction of the world.

And then secondly, the Holy Spirit's guidance of the church.

Verses 12 -15.

So again, last week we addressed the first two major points.

Today, Lord willing, we'll address the third.

Verses 7 -15.

So let's consider how Jesus promised his disciples the help of the Holy Spirit in their witness to the world.

Verses 7 -11, the Holy Spirit's conviction of the world.

The Lord declared to his disciples in verse 7.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.

But if I depart, I will send him to you.

Christ, of course, himself is the truth.

He declared so in John 14 -6.

And he can say nothing other than what is true.

But sometimes in times of sorrow or times of distress, people lose sight of this reality.

Our Lord should not need to state that it's to your advantage as to what he's doing.

We should understand that.

But he rehearses to the disciples to reassure them.

Because, again, they were consumed with a sense of the difficulty that was before them.

The persecution and the sorrow with him departing from them.

But we should be confident that everything that happens to us and everything that happens in this world is for our advantage.

He does what he does for what he has done for us through his son as amply testified to this

reality.

Nothing is happening to you as a Christian.

But which is ultimately beneficial for you.

And if you don't understand that or believe that, you need either instruction or reminding.

And you need faith in what the Lord Jesus himself declared concerning you.

But we forget this, don't we?

They forgot it.

And he was right before them.

As Paul wrote, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him

graciously give us all things?

No, he should not need to tell his disciples, I tell you the truth, it's to your advantage that I go away.

They should have known this.

But he tells them, nevertheless, because he did not want their hearts, didn't want your heart to be

distraught with the difficulties and trouble that lie before you.

He had said these things earlier but now he repeats them.

For, again, his desire was for their joy and their comfort.

We can go back to John 14 where he very similarly declared, these

things I've spoken to you while being present with you.

But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, I will teach you all things, bring

to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Peace I leave with you.

My peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you.

It's not contingent on what's happening to you day by day.

But he's granted you and me peace.

And if we're not enjoying that peace, there's something deficient or defective,

either in our understanding, what we're recalling, or our faith.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

You have heard me say to you, I'm going away and coming back to you.

If you love me, you would rejoice because I said I'm going to the Father, for my Father is greater than

I.

It was to their advantage he was leaving them.

And, again, we would argue that everything that the Lord brings into your life is ultimately for your advantage,

although you're not necessarily going to see it when it's right before you.

John Gill, the Reformed Baptist in the 18th century, 100 years later, Spurgeon would pastor

the same church there in London.

John Gill was rather wordy, but boy was he thorough in his explanation.

This is what he wrote regarding our Lord's words of assurance to his disciples.

It was for their advantage that he go away.

Christ's death here, as in many other places in these discourses of his, is signified by going away,

a departure, taking a sort of a journey, such in one as indeed is common to

all mankind.

Death is the way of all the earth, in which Christ took by agreement with his Father.

A dark way is the valley of the shadow of death, and so it was to Christ, who went away

in the dark, under the hidings of his Father's face.

It is a man's going to his long home, and a long journey it is, till he returns in the resurrection

morn.

Though it was a short one to Christ, who rose again the third day.

The phrase supposes the place and persons he went from, this world and his disciples,

and the place and persons he went unto, the grave, heaven, his Father, the Blessed

Spirit, angels, and glorified saints.

And is expressive of the voluntariness of his death.

He was not fetched, or thrust, or forced away, but he went away of himself.

And is a very easy and familiar way of expressing death by, and greatly takes off the dread and terror

of it.

It is only moving from one place to another, as from one house, city, or country to another.

And shows that it is not annihilation of a man, either in body or soul, only a translating of him

from one place and state to another.

Now the death of Christ was expedient, not only for himself, which he does not mention.

He being concerned more for the happiness of his people than of himself, but for his disciples and all

believers, you and I are in there.

For hereby a great many evils were prevented falling upon them, which otherwise would.

As the heavy strokes of divine justice, the curses and condemnation of the law, the wrath and

vengeance of God, and eternal death, ruin, and destruction.

As well as many good things were hereby obtained for them, as the redemption of their souls from

sin, law, hell, and death.

Peace, reconciliation, and atonement.

The full and free forgiveness of all their sins.

An everlasting righteousness and eternal life.

And moreover Christ going away was expedient for his people, since he went to open the way for them into the

holiest of all by his blood.

To take possession of heaven in their name instead.

To prepare mansions of glory for them.

To appear in the presence of God for them.

To be their advocate and make intercession for all good things for them.

To transact all their business between God and them.

To take care of their affairs.

To present their petitions.

To remove all charges and accusations.

And to ask for and see applied every blessing of grace unto them.

The particular instance in the text of the expediency of it is the mission and coming of the

spirit.

He was thorough.

I think that's one sentence, I could be wrong.

But he used a lot of semicolons.

Like the apostle Paul himself did, by the way, in his epistles.

And so indeed our Lord spoke the truth.

When he said it is to your advantage I go away.

But perhaps, as Gil suggested, the greatest and most relevant advantage to them for going away was that

he would send to them the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord had forewarned his disciples of the great challenges and the hardship that they would face because of the hatred of

the world for them.

And the rage of the devil against them.

But he would send them the Holy Spirit that would assure them of the successful accomplishment of their mission

in the face of this.

See the news yesterday how China is clamping down once again on the churches.

And arresting the pastors.

Raising the church buildings that were built in the last ten years.

But the Lord is going to further his kingdom.

The Lord is going to give the Holy Spirit to his people there in China.

And the kingdom is going to advance because of this.

It can't be stopped.

It can't be prevented.

It can't be slowed down.

The Holy Spirit would be their helper.

And here, this would probably be the best way to translate the Greek word, which is paraklikos.

The one who stands aside, beside, helping.

Not only would the Holy Spirit lead them, but he would infuse courage in them.

That no foe would prevail against them or prevent their successful accomplishment of their mission

to bear witness of him to the world.

We all know what it is to need courage and boldness to speak of Christ to people out in

the world.

Because we know intuitively how they would react to us.

But the Holy Spirit is able to embolden you, encourage you, and give you the words and opportunity and the

occasion to witness.

If you're looking to Christ and you're trusting him to give you the Holy Spirit on that occasion.

Absolutely essential.

How would the Holy Spirit specifically assist them?

The Lord said to his disciples in verses 8 through 11.

When he has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

Of sin, because they do not believe in me.

Of righteousness, because I go to my father and you see me no more.

Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

And so the Holy Spirit would help his disciples in their mission by convicting the

world.

He would be the comforter of his people, but he would first be the convictor of the world.

I invented that word, convictor.

He's your comforter, he's the world's convictor.

And of course the work of the convictor is with regard to bringing about the conversion of the world unto

Jesus Christ.

And so his work of convictor has to come before his work as comforter.

Clearly.

Calvin wrote, he will convince the world, that is, he will not remain shut up in you.

But his power will go forth from you to be displayed to the whole world.

He therefore promises to them a spirit who will be the judge of the world.

And by whom their preaching will be so powerful and efficacious.

That it will bring into subjection those who formerly indulged in unbounded licentiousness.

And were restrained by no fear or reverence.

And I imagine if I asked for a show of hands, numbers of us would write, that's where I was.

It was the power of the Holy Spirit.

Generally through a witness that we knew.

Who came to us and spoke to us.

The Holy Spirit both convinces the sinner of the fact of his guilt before God.

And he condemns the conscience of that sinner.

By causing him to know and feel the wrath of God upon him.

Because of his sin.

And so the Holy Spirit then comforts the believing sinner.

That God has forgiven his sins because of Jesus Christ.

He first convicts and then he comforts.

The Lord Jesus spoke here of the world.

Which is not to be understood as including every person living throughout the world.

God is not trying to save every human being in the world.

But what he's referring to is people from all over the world.

The mission of the disciples would not be like his was during his earthly ministry.

Which was restricted to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Rather because of his crucifixion and his glorification.

His ascension to the throne of God in heaven.

Jesus Christ became Lord of all the world.

He was sending his disciples into all the world with the gospel.

And the Holy Spirit would bring about the conversion of the world.

Not every last human being in the world.

But rather his kingdom would include Gentiles.

This was their mission.

Matthew Henry underscored this interpretation that we just proposed.

See who they are whom he is to reprove and convince.

The world.

In other words both Jew and Gentile.

First he should give the world the most powerful means of conviction.

For the apostle shall go into the world backed by the spirit to preach the gospel.

Fully approved.

Second he shall sufficiently provide for the taking off and silencing of the objections.

And prejudices of the world against the gospel.

Many an infidel was convinced of all and judged of all.

A reference to 1st Corinthians 14 24.

And he shall effectually and savingly convince many in the world.

Some in every age and in every place.

In order to their conversion to the faith of Christ.

Now this was an encouragement to the disciples.

In reference to the difficulties they were likely to meet.

First that they should see good done.

Satan's kingdom fall like lightning.

Which would be their joy as it was his.

Even this malignant world the spirit shall work upon.

And the conviction of sinners is the comfort of faithful ministers.

And that this would be the fruit of their service and sufferings.

They should contribute very much to this good work.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to witness the gospel to people.

And the Holy Spirit is bearing witness.

Through your words.

And you know they hear.

They may not agree with you.

They may react to you.

But you know they understand.

And they know what you're saying is true.

And you depart from them.

And yet the Holy Spirit will not allow them to be at rest.

He'll use us in that way.

And again we're all naturally cowardly and timid.

I am.

But when you pray and trust the Lord Jesus to give you afresh the Holy Spirit.

That the Holy Spirit come upon you to empower you.

In your witness.

There's a resource.

There's an ability.

There's a courage.

That you recognize at the time.

It doesn't come up from you.

And your own soul.

Your own mind.

But it's truly a work of this Holy Spirit.

Using you as his witness.

And that's the only way we're going to be able to accomplish anything for the kingdom.

Now to better understand our Lord's words we might answer several questions.

First, what do we mean by the Holy Spirit bringing conviction to individuals?

This is not a mere human persuasion through reason and argument.

Convincing a sinner that we're right.

And he's wrong about essential matters of the gospel.

The spirit's conviction is brought through the proclamation of the word of God.

By a witness.

But whose witness is blessed by the spirit.

Who gives the sinner a keen sense of truth about the spiritual truths of the gospel.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit therefore is a mind changing.

Heart stirring.

Will shaping work.

In which the sinner becomes thoroughly convinced.

That he's been in ignorance of what he did not know.

In error of what he thought he knew.

And in rebellion to what is true.

Good and right before God.

It's the Holy Spirit that brings that home to that soul.

Charles Spurgeon in his classic book The Soul Winner.

I'd recommend it to everybody.

Wrote of the work of conviction of the Holy Spirit as a part of the new birth.

In fact it was an indication that someone was born again.

And here are his words.

Again rather lengthy but good.

A new and heavenly mind must be created by omnipotence.

Or the man must abide in death.

You see then that we have before us a mighty work.

For which we have ourselves totally incapable.

No minister living can save a soul.

Nor can all of us together nor all the saints on earth or in heaven.

Work regeneration in a single person.

The whole business on our part is a height of absurdity.

Unless we regard ourselves as used by the Holy Ghost.

And filled with his power.

On the other hand the marvels of regeneration.

Which attend our ministry are the best seals and witnesses of our commission.

Whereas the apostles could appeal to the miracles of Christ.

And to those which they wrought in his name.

We appeal to the miracles of the Holy Ghost.

Which are as divine and real as those of our Lord himself.

These miracles are the creation of new life in the human bosom.

And the total change of the whole being of those upon whom the spirit descends.

As this God begotten spiritual life in man is a mystery.

We should speak to more practical effect.

If we dwell upon the signs following and accompanying it.

For these are the things we must aim at.

First regeneration will be shown in conviction of sin.

There it is.

This we believe to be an indispensable mark of the spirit's work.

The new life as it enters the heart causes intense inward pain.

As one of its first effects.

Though nowadays we hear of persons being healed.

Before they've been wounded.

And brought into a certainty of justification.

Without ever having lamented their condemnation.

We are very dubious as to the value of such healings and justifies.

In other words nominal Christians.

Our churches are full of them.

This style of things is not according to the truth.

God never clothed men until he first stripped them.

Nor does he quicken them or makes them alive by the gospel.

Till they are first slain by the law.

When you meet with persons in whom there's no trace of conviction of sin.

You may be quite sure that they have not been wrought upon by the Holy Spirit.

And then he quotes our verse before us in John 16.

For when he has come he'll reprove the world of sin.

Of righteousness and of judgment.

When the spirit of the Lord breathes on us he withers all the glory of man.

Which is but as the flower of grass.

And then he reveals a higher abiding glory.

Do not be astonished if you find this conviction of sin to be very acute and alarming.

But on the other hand do not condemn those in whom it is less intense.

For so long as sin is mourned over confessed forsaken and abhorred.

You have an evident fruit of the spirit.

Much of the horror and unbelief which goes with conviction is not of the spirit of God.

But comes of Satan or corrupt nature.

And yet there must be true and deep conviction of sin.

And this the preacher must labor to produce.

For where this is not felt the new birth has not taken place.

That is a good word.

Specifically our Lord declared the Holy Spirit would convict the world.

Unconverted world.

In three areas of sin of righteousness and judgment.

He then explained more precisely.

How these three arenas of spiritual truth would be brought home to the sinner by the Holy Spirit.

In verse 8 he expressed the fact.

And then in verses 9 and 10 he gave more detailed explanation.

Again these words.

When he the spirit come he'll convict the world of sin righteousness and judgment.

And then he explains in more detail.

Of sin because they do not believe in me.

Of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more.

Of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.

What is meant by these expressions?

Perhaps we've read them for years.

What is he truly saying here?

I'd like us to consider these matters in some detail.

And I think there's some important lessons here for us.

First the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin because they do not believe in me.

The Holy Spirit alone can accomplish the work of grace in sinners.

To show them their sin.

That has so adversely affected them.

Donald Carson expressed.

The Holy Spirit he convicts the world of its sin because.

And then he has the little Greek conjunction hoti.

That means a causal clause.

Because the people who constitute the world do not believe in Jesus.

That's what verse 9 declares.

If they did believe in Jesus they would believe his statements about their guilt and turn to him.

As it is their unbelief brings not only condemnation but willful ignorance of need.

The world's unbelief not only ensures that it will not receive life.

It ensures it cannot perceive that it walks in death and needs life.

The Holy Spirit presses home the world's sin despite the world's unbelief.

He convicts the world of sin because they do not believe in Jesus.

This convicting work of the paraclete.

That would be the Holy Spirit, Greek word.

Is therefore gracious.

It's designed to bring men and women of the world to recognize their need.

And so turn to Jesus and thus stop being the world.

And so the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin.

Sin of course biblically defined as a transgression of God's law.

God's law is his word written preserved for us in our Holy Bible.

The entire Bible can be understood as God's law.

And we're commanded both to believe and to do obey God's word is law.

The greatest law and I put that in quotation marks.

The greatest law if we could use that term in this context is to believe the gospel.

The gospel is not so much an offer as a command in many places isn't it?

We declare God's command to believe the gospel.

That's what Paul did.

Paul put forth the gospel before the pagan crowds in Athens in the form of a command.

A law that was to be believed and obeyed after he rebuked them for

their idolatry.

He commanded them to repent.

That is to turn from their false worship to believe and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so what were his words?

Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked but now commands.

God commands all men everywhere to repent.

Because he's appointed a day.

A day of judgment.

A general day of judgment on which he'll judge the world in righteousness by the man Jesus Christ.

Whom he has ordained and he's given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead.

And so when this message is proclaimed and the Holy Spirit performs his convicting work

upon the heart.

The hearer of this message is struck with a sense of his sin.

The Holy Spirit enables him to understand and believe his own guilt.

And he feels the shame of his former falling.

He desires and seeks to believe and obey God's command.

And so in that passage of Acts 17 we read of some who responded that way to Paul's command.

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked.

But not all.

Others said we'll hear you again on this matter.

So Paul departed from among them.

However some men joined him and believed.

And among them Dionysius the Herapagite and a woman named Amaris.

And others with them.

So the Holy Spirit had convicted this man and woman and others of sin.

For they had formerly not believed on Jesus Christ.

This of course is the greatest sin which will bring the greatest cause of damnation.

The refusal to believe on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

God the Father has exalted his son after the world had maltreated and crucified him.

God the Father now demands all people everywhere acknowledge his innocence and his righteousness.

And that he is now enthroned and is deserving of regard and respect.

Submission and subservience of all people everywhere.

That's what Paul declared on Mars Hill, Athens in front of everybody.

And the Father will one day cause all people everywhere to acknowledge and confess his son as Lord.

Because God the Father has highly exalted him.

And given him a name above every name.

So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

Of those in heaven, those on earth, those under the earth.

That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The greatest sin is a failure and refusal to believe Jesus is Lord.

So the Lord declared the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin.

Righteous in judgment of sin because they do not believe in me.

The conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit is necessary in order for a sinner to come to salvation

in Jesus Christ.

Apart from the Holy Spirit convincing or convicting a soul of sin.

That soul will not come to Jesus in repentance and faith.

But this suggests a problem when you think about it.

When we consider the understanding of many regarding the conviction of sin that leads to salvation.

There is a conviction of sin that brings salvation.

Which is set forth in our chapter John 16.

But there is also conviction of sin that's not wrought by the Holy Spirit.

That fails to bring salvation.

Feeling guilty for sin is true to the human condition.

Apart from the spiritual work of the Holy Spirit in the soul.

People everywhere feel guilty for sin.

But not necessarily because the Holy Spirit is working upon them.

God has given every human being a conscience.

And every human being is born with the capacity of feeling guilty or convicted of sin.

Unless you're a sociopath where you've got no conscience whatsoever.

And usually that is the end result of a person giving themselves over to unrestrained sin.

And so more specifically what is the conscience?

Now this matter I find to be very important.

So I spent some time on this.

And I really want you to give attention to this.

Because it's important in our witness.

More specifically what is the conscience?

The conscience is that faculty that every human being possesses.

That distinguishes between right and wrong.

Which results in either in a sense of personal condemnation or justification.

Every person has a conscience.

The human conscience identifies what is right and what is wrong.

And as a result moves an individual either to feel guilty or not guilty about himself.

God gave each of us our conscience.

When we feel guilty it's not simply because we violated a human standard of our own.

But we violate God's laws that were written on our hearts from creation.

He's put it within every one of us.

But the conscience is not reliable.

And unchangeable.

And therefore the conscience is no reliable standard of morality.

The standards of conscience will vary from person to person.

The reason for this is that a person's sin will affect his conscience.

How does sin affect the conscience?

Well the conscience cannot be destroyed for it's an aspect of human nature.

But the conscience can be defaced or twisted and rendered insensitive.

Through the influence of one's involvement and exposure to sin.

A person may sear his conscience to such a degree.

That his sensitivity to sin is not what it once was.

He no longer feels guilty about doing things he once felt terribly guilty about doing.

What he once condemned in himself he now excuses.

And some may so deaden their sensitivity to sin.

That now they view what is evil as good and what is good as evil.

And the scriptures teach about that of course.

There are things they think and do today which they themselves would have condemned not long ago.

And although the capability to distinguish between these two principles.

Good and evil is always present.

What the individual defines to be good and evil has changed.

The conscience is still there.

The conscience is not therefore an infallible guide.

Scripture must inform and shape the conscience.

Scripture must reinforce the values that are programmed in our conscience.

And I would argue that that's why there's such a reaction of the world against the visual depiction of the Ten Commandments.

It's there and it resonates in the conscience of every human being.

Because God had written that law upon the heart of every human being.

And so what are the effects of a guilty conscience on a person?

First a guilty conscience will result in damaging one's own conception of himself and how he views the world about him.

He may withdraw into himself.

His ability to think and focus his mind may be greatly diminished.

He may lose touch with reality.

He comes to the point he's not able to function on a day to day basis.

Many mentally disturbed people are so because they are concerned with feelings of guilt

within their conscience.

Secondly a guilty conscience will result in damage to human relationships obviously.

Feelings of guilt separate people from one another.

Guilty people will feel alone and may prefer to be alone.

They're ashamed when those who know their sins see them.

And they may be suspicious and even very critical of others in order to justify themselves.

Or they may be very permissive and non -condemning of others.

For to condemn them would only reaffirm their own guilt.

For they do the same things.

And one of the things the world quickly identifies is hypocrisy.

And so they don't want to be hypocrites.

And so they begin to excuse what other people do because they're doing it too.

Perhaps secretly.

Third a guilty conscience will result in damage to one's relationship with God obviously.

Sin separates from God.

And God bars us from coming into a presence because of our sin.

God declared to his prophet your iniquities have separated from your God.

Your sins have hidden his face from you.

He will not hear.

But sin also bars us from wanting to approach him.

Our guilty conscience prohibits us from feeling we can come into his presence.

For to do so we would see ourselves as justly condemned by him.

So we stay away from church.

Stay away from the Bible.

Stay away from family members who are Christian or others.

Only need to consider the result of sin to our first parents in the Garden of Eden.

When God came to them they fled from him.

They knew they were naked.

That is they knew they were sinners.

They were ashamed.

They could not face holiness.

They'd sooner flee from God rather than come into his presence.

And that's how the world is.

You know I don't walk around with a white collar turning around backwards.

But you know I can walk into a crowd out there in the street.

And they find out I'm a pastor and the crowd scatters.

It's always been that way.

I can tell you stories.

How do people deal with a guilty conscience?

Every one of us has to deal with it one way or another.

How does the world deal with it?

Well most of the time they will do what they have to do to repress it.

They may employ a number of ways to accomplish their desire.

First they may justify their sin by blaming others.

Well you'd do it too if you were in my situation.

And this has been the way that worldly psychology has historically dealt with guilty feelings.

Blame something or someone else.

It's not your fault.

All human psychology views the greatest problem in the human condition as guilty feelings.

From Freud all the way down.

They just have different ways in which you address it.

But ultimately the philosophy is this.

It's not your fault.

It's something else that's causing this.

And we could go down a whole list as to what they think is the cause.

It's not your fault.

It was your mother's.

No, it's society's.

We hear a lot of that today.

Now we're getting into the DNA.

You're predisposed to this.

They tell us.

Your genes.

Second they may try to mollify their conscience by redirecting their lives on other matters.

They give themselves over in some obsessive way to their work, to their hobby, to a sport.

Some activity to take their minds off that which troubles them.

They may seek alcohol to soothe their conscience or drugs.

Fourth they may ease their guilty conscience by redefining their own and society's standards of morality.

It's not wrong.

Although they, you know, once themselves thought.

You know, the standards we have.

You know, I often think, you know, one basis of argument.

I'm only arguing what your own parents and your grandparents believed.

A couple generations ago.

We're the ones who haven't changed.

You know, society has.

They may say something like this.

The reason we feel so bad about ourselves because of this lifestyle or behavior is because society has imposed its

standards on the collective conscience of our culture.

We must therefore educate people to be tolerant, accepting, even affirming to our belief and

behavior.

And not just accepting, you got to celebrate it.

And so what was once seen to be wrong must come to be seen as not wrong, even right.

But the law that God has written on the heart will still be there.

Yes, maybe the conscience has been seared to a degree.

But the slightest reminder of the law of God brings back with great force.

That which weighs upon a person's soul and he condemns himself.

The fifth way they may deal with a guilty conscience.

Is they want to gather around others who've experienced similar things.

And now practice that same kind of thing.

There is some, there is wretched sin that's taking place in our world.

I won't even go there.

But I've got a friend who writes me about it because it is so disturbing and it's

worldwide.

And I've always known that individuals, you know, can get into the most horrendous kinds of sin.

But how can hundreds or thousands of people bind together

and work together These horrendous, wicked

acts they perform and they perpetuate throughout the world.

It is absolutely incredible.

But this is what they do.

The fallen human being can justify any kind of sin, given time.

They feel better about themselves because they perhaps they do works of kindness to offset it.

I won't go into great detail, but 15 years ago I knew of a pedophile in our community.

I heard about this person.

But I heard he was a great philanthropist who brought children over from Southeast Asia

who were crippled.

And who needed surgeries of different forms.

And, you know, he was regarded as a great credit to the community.

And yet he was this, you know, a beast.

Horrendous.

They may go to church, not because they love God, but because they feel guilty.

And church going and church involvement give them temporary reprieve from their misery.

And so liturgy is particularly appealing to folks with guilty consciences.

They burn candles and incense, chant, recite formulas.

They bathe in rivers, offer sacrifices, cut themselves, punish themselves.

These kinds of things help people who feel guilty feel better about themselves.

For a while.

But the relief is temporary.

It does not last.

If we had time, we'd go back into the Old Testament and read about the ancient people of Israel.

And what they got involved with.

But given the fact that all people everywhere may and do experience guilt over sin because of the conscience that God has given them.

Not all guilt for sin should be assumed to be the work of the Holy Spirit.

This is the lesson I wish each of us would understand and take to heart.

There is a great difference between believing oneself to be guilty for sin due to your conscience alone.

And the conviction that the Holy Spirit brings upon a person that leads to salvation.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world in their conscience.

But it's due to him at work informing, convincing, and convicting that conscience of sin that leads to

salvation.

And so how can we distinguish between the guilty feelings the human

conscience can produce.

Apart from the spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the guilty feelings and sense of condemnation that he

produces in a soul being drawn to salvation.

You follow?

In other words, you know, I've been around the block a few times and I can talk to a person.

And probably through my reasoning and word, yeah, calling on scripture,

make this person feel pretty guilty about his sin.

That's not necessarily a work of the Holy Spirit.

You follow?

It's using his conscience.

But there's so many people that think that just because you feel guilty about your

sin that somehow you're prepared by the Holy Spirit to embrace Christ.

It may not be the conviction of the Holy Spirit at all.

So how do you distinguish between a person who's feeling guilty because of the

conscience God has given him.

And a person who really feels his guilt because the Holy Spirit is working upon his conscience

to draw him to salvation.

Well, first of all, the conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit produces brings that soul to see his sin in the

light of his estrangement from and belief in Jesus Christ.

Look at the verse again in John 16.

The Holy Spirit will convince of sin, Jesus said, because they do not believe in me.

That's important.

And second, the conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit produces will lead the sinner to see that his

greatest sin of all sins has been the failure and refusal to believe on the Lord Jesus

Christ.

In other words, he's not just guilty of his sins, the thing he does, or thinks, or

believes, or has believed.

But he sees that his greatest sin is his failure to give due regard

to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin because they do not believe on me, Jesus said.

When we do our evangelism, when we understand the scriptures say that by the law

sin is revealed.

But we must bring the law and Jesus Christ together in our witness.

If you just use the law of God, you can convince people through their own conscience that they're

guilty sinners.

But if you want to see the Holy Spirit converting people, you have to

enable them to see their sin in the light of their refusal and failure to believe on Jesus Christ.

That's what Jesus is saying here.

When the Holy Spirit comes, he'll convict the world of sin because they do not believe on me.

This is the greatest sin of all sins.

Failure to believe and submit to Jesus Christ.

And so the lesson to be learned here, I'm down toward the bottom, page 8, because we have to wrap things up.

Is that when we proclaim to the world the gospel, and in doing so we desire for people to be

brought under conviction for their sins so they'll repent of their sin.

We must press upon them to see their sin chiefly as living in unbelief and defiance

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's our message.

That's the message of the gospel.

Their sin was an act of rebellion and high treason against the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And their sin was the cause of the cruel suffering and death of the Son of God on his cross, in

which he willingly gave himself as a sacrifice for sin and all the sins of that

sinner who believes.

When you attempt to produce in people an awareness of personal sin that leads to salvation, do not stop

at just setting forth the law of God.

But set forth the law of God and the resultant sin as it relates to Jesus Christ and Lord and

Savior.

We are to preach Christ, not just the law.

And when we preach the law, bring Jesus Christ into it.

Because this is where the Holy Spirit brings conviction.

Conviction of sin that brings about conversion.

Bottom of page 8.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit would convict the world of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more.

This righteousness, first, might be understood as the Holy Spirit convincing the world of the

righteousness of Jesus Christ himself.

Again, the whole world thought that he was a wretched man and deserved to be crucified and rejected.

But God the Father, when he raised his Son from the dead on that first Easter morning, exonerated his Son.

You said, no, he deserves to die.

I say he's righteous.

And death cannot hold him.

And this is the righteousness of Christ that maybe the Holy Spirit is showing.

That he indeed is the sinless, harmless, undefiled Savior of sinners.

The Holy Spirit has to show the sinner that, doesn't he?

But this righteousness that the Holy Spirit convicts those of may also be revealing the

corrupt righteousness of the sinner himself.

Showing the sinner that all of his righteousness is as filthy rags and will count for nothing

as far as saving his soul on the day of judgment.

And when the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and convicts the sinner of what true righteousness is,

he sees that he is bankrupt.

And so finally, it testifies also of the gift of righteousness that can only

be granted by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

I am without righteousness.

The righteousness that I thought I had is but filthy rags it cannot clothe.

You know, the nakedness of sin and damnation.

And it's only the righteousness of Christ that is granted to me through faith alone in Christ alone.

By which I'll be able to stand on the day of judgment.

And then speaking of judgment, thirdly, the bottom of page 9, the Holy Spirit would convict the world of judgment because

the ruler of this world is judged.

When Jesus died on the cross, he conquered the devil.

Deposing him from the uncontested power he had over the nations of the world.

He's described as the prince of the power of the air.

And the God of this age and the nations of the world, the Gentile nations were bound

to his control.

No one could escape his reign and rule.

He kept people in ignorance and error.

He kept them in their sin.

But when Jesus Christ died upon the cross, he deposed the devil.

He removed him from this uncontested role of authority.

And so the kingdom of Jesus Christ can go out into the world and call Gentiles

into the kingdom of Christ.

It's a glorious thing.

Right in the middle of page 10, J .C. Ryle wrote a quote of what God accomplishes in Christ.

Set forth in verse 11, the prince of this world, of course, means the devil.

How great his power was over mankind before Christ came into the world.

How great a change Christ's death and resurrection produced in the general condition of mankind.

Are things which at this period of time can hardly realize.

The coming of the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven was a reality 1 ,800 years ago.

Ryle wrote in the 1800s.

Of which we can now form little idea.

The Holy Ghost produced a general conviction that a new order of things had begun.

The old king and tyrant of this world was dethroned and stripped of much his power.

And so the devil can no longer prevent the kingdom of God from expanding throughout the whole world.

And even today, God is calling out people all over, isn't he?

I got another note, yet another note this week from another pastor in India.

Somewhere in eastern India.

And he says, I'm converted Hindu.

I've been out of the Hindu religion for 10 years.

I'm an evangelist now.

And he told me about his ministry there.

And he talked about the grace of God through the gospel saving his soul.

And he sent me pictures of himself and his family, his ordination, his graduation from Bible college.

And he's a church planter there in India.

I get letters like this all the time.

You know, the two men in Nigeria, you know, were pagans.

One of them had been a Muslim and they're both converted.

And now they're seeing many, many Muslim converted to Christ there in northern Nigeria.

The kingdom of God is advancing.

The Lord Jesus Christ has been given a people by his father.

And he's in the business of saving them.

But it can only be done, but most certainly will be done through the Holy Spirit that he gives his

people.

And we ought to be people of faith and confidence in what our Lord has promised his

disciples.

We intuitively know the kind of conflict that's going to come our way.

And increasingly so as our culture and society degenerates and

falls farther away from God and his word and righteousness.

But God has equipped us and made available to us all the resources we are in need of to see a

wonderful work of salvation take place in our world.

Through our instrumentality in this day.

And we ought to be optimistic and hopeful and prayerful and aggressive in our

efforts to see souls converted.

Amen.

Let's pray to that end.

Our Father, we ask that you would help us.

We thank you, our God, that you provide this helper in the Holy Spirit.

And although we know, Lord, every Christian is regenerated by and

dwelt by the Holy Spirit, we need him to come upon us in power, our Lord.

So help us as we go forth today, Lord, and into the world and into the week

before us.

We pray you burden our hearts about the lost condition of men and women and boys and girls about

us.

And give us opportunity.

And then may the spirit come upon us and give us courage and give us wisdom and words to speak,

presenting Jesus Christ to them.

And may the Holy Spirit do his convicting work of that soul and bringing him into the kingdom.

And we'll thank you and praise you, Father, for this in Jesus name.

Amen.