Conviction of Sin
Jesus
said, “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 go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world
concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…”
(John 16:7-8).
The
“Helper” is identified as the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17; 14:26). Jesus is telling his apostles that God the
Spirit is coming to assist them, to teach all things; remind them of that which
Jesus had said to them (John 14:26); and to bear witness about Him (John
15:27).
Then, the
remarkable statement of what the Helper would accomplish, when He is come:
first, he will convict the world “concerning sin, because they do not
believe in me” (John 16:9). This
is a simple proposition: sin, EVERY sin, is a sin of unbelief. So, when we read that “all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), we understand that, regardless
of their specific transgression
(what they did or failed to do), their sin was unbelief – “they do not believe in me.”
(what they did or failed to do), their sin was unbelief – “they do not believe in me.”
Do you
find that hard to swallow? Well,
consider a case in point. David and
Bathsheba committed adultery. She conceived
and told David, “I am pregnant.” To make
a sordid story short, when it ended David, guilty of adultery, had added to his
sin deceit and murder, of Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband). His sinfulness, impressed on him by Nathan
-- you can read about all this in II Samuel 11, 12 – motivated his prayer to
God, Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in
your sight …” Now look at it: against
Bathsheba, against Uriah in multiple transgressions – but his prayer to God is,
“Against you, you only, have I sinned.”
“You only”??
Perhaps
the problem is our casual attitude toward sin, and temptation.
Yes,
because, sin is of unbelief; and when one sins it looks at our relationship
with our God and defies it.
Next Jesus
said, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.”
(John 16:10). How will the world be
convinced that Jesus is righteous? He
asserted that he was righteous, while breaking the Law of Moses concerning the
Sabbath and more than that claiming to be God; “This was why the Jews were
seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
but he was even calling God his own Father¸ making himself equal with God” (John 5:18, 19). The
Jews thought he was a blasphemer, a servant of Beelzebub”; but Peter said he
was “a man approved of God” . Tenney
said “The return of Jesus to the Father was the ultimate proof that He was the
perfect pattern for righteousness, accepted by the Father” (Merrill C. Tenney,
The Gospel of Belief, p 236).
Then,
Jesus said the Holy Spirit will convict the world “concerning judgment,
because the ruler of the world is judged” (John 16:11). There is not a lot said about “judgment”, in
Scripture. Probably the discussion in
Acts 17 on judgment is the fullest;
here, in verses 30 and 31, Paul says “The times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day
on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given
assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
We have an
example of the information of this passage in the preaching of Paul to Felix
and Drusilla, in Acts 24;25. When he
reasoned with them about righteousness and self -control and the coming
judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity, I will summon
you.
Judgment
is surely coming, we sing. What we have
read in Acts 17 tells us of our responsibility to repent because the judgment
day draws steadily nearer (God has fixed a day in which he will
judge, but it is unknown to man); the Judge is known; the standard of judgment
(“in righteousness”) has been revealed. Are
you ready?
- Pat
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