Effectual Conviction?

Does the conviction of the Holy Spirit always lead to salvation?

One common issue that is raised in light John 16:8-11 is whether or not the Spirit’s conviction is effectual, that is, if the Spirit convicts someone, it will always result in his or her eventual repentance and faith in Christ. For this to be true, The Spirit would always have to convict someone of all three aspects, or none at all. It would mean that an individual would never be able to have a sense of their own sinfulness unless they are eventually saved. There are unbelievers in the world that seem to have a sense of their own sin, and a need for righteousness outside of their own that seek it in things other than Christ. One would be forced to answer the question of where their sense of their own sinfulness has come from if not from the Spirit.

Biblically, we are taught that the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing so they will not see the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:3,4). There is not anything in Scripture that definitively says unbelievers will never be convicted, just that they have rejected the only True remedy for their conviction, Jesus Christ. Also, what about those who respond to the gospel message, but eventually reject it (Heb 6:4-8; Matt 13:3-9)? Are we to believe they were never convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment in the first place because they have fallen away? It seems reasonable to conclude that the ministry is more evangelistic than effectual, and the conviction for some may not be a once for all, on-going conviction, but a conviction that is able to be snuffed out by the hardening of the heart through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:12-19).

This is not to say the Holy Spirit lacks the power to bring helpless sinners to see nothing but the cross of Christ for salvation, but there is where the mystery lies. To say the conviction of the Spirit is effectual is to suggest that there can be no conviction of sin outside of true believers before their salvation. To say it is not effectual is to suggest that the Spirit would enlighten someone to the reality of their sin (or righteousness, or judgment), but not enough for them to see Christ as their only hope for salvation in a way that leads to true repentance and faith in Him. To ask "Why would the Spirit do that?" is similar to asking "Why doesn't God bring everyone to repentance and faith in Him?" Our task is to be sensitive to the work of the Spirit, and try to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through His Word. What we can be sure of is we have His help! When we share our faith, the Spirit is working in us and through His Word.

The Work of the Spirit in the World.

For a paper I did recently on an aspect of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, I choose to exposit John 16:8-11, namely, what Christ taught about the Spirit’s ministry to the unbelieving world. I was encouraged to see how thoroughly Christo-centric and evangelistic it is. I summarized the 8 page exposition in about a page, and I’m posting it here with the hope that you will be encouraged to see the grace and mercy of our Lord, which is still active through the ministry of His Spirit in the world.

The Spirit’s ministry in this passage is threefold, the first of which is the conviction of sin, which works to enlighten individuals of their spiritual condition. Individuals would not be convicted of their sin in a judicial sense if they believed in Jesus, so the Spirit convicts unbelievers of the reality of their condition apart from belief in Christ. He also, through his disciples and His Word, convicts the world of righteousness. Through this ministry, unbelievers are confronted with the futility of their own attempts at righteousness because of the unattainable and shining righteousness of Jesus Christ. His ascension to the right hand of the Father proves His righteousness to be the only acceptable righteousness. Hopefully, under this conviction, the individual will sense their need for that righteousness, and appeal to Christ, who freely gives it to those who trust Him.

The Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. The source behind the world’s system of judgment has been judged (16:11), whereas Jesus Christ is the judge (John 5:22). One may have a sense of their own sin and see their need for righteousness, but will be unable to solve the problem by changing the standards of judgment in their favor, because their ruler has been judged. Even if their own judgment declares them innocent on whatever creative grounds they may concoct (usually an elaborate system of self-righteousness, i.e. Mormons, JW’s, Roman Catholics, cultural fundamentalists, Pharisees, ect.), it will be appealed to a higher court, where Christ Himself will judge. The hope is, under this conviction, the unbeliever will appeal to the judge for mercy and ask for an alien righteousness, which, again, will be freely given to those who believe in Him. Only Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection makes this offer possible.

Tith a what?

We have heard it before: The ultimate definition of love is "the laying down of one's life for another." When Christians hear that, they immediately think of the death of Jesus, who selflessly "laid aside His life" (died) for the benefit of His beloved. The Apostle John reiterates this in I John 3:16, and although the death of His Lord may be one thing that was on His mind, could he have been alluding to something else? If John wanted to say true love is demonstrated by the sacrificial death of someone on behalf of another, why didn't he say that? The word John uses is a Greek word, τιθημι (tith-ay-me), which simply means "to lay aside." The "laying aside" of one's life may include dying, but that is only one aspect.

What characterized our Lord was not just His sacrificial death on our behalf, but His sacrificial life. Jesus said "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many." He demonstrated the pattern in John 13 by washing His disciples feet shortly before His death. He set the pattern of what supreme love is. For the Savior, supreme love meant taking upon Himself the full measure of God's wrath on our behalf, but loving one another may not require a sacrificial death, but it does require a sacrificial life.

If we are to love as Jesus commands us, we must "lay aside" our lives for one another. This does not mean, as some may believe, that we can go on living our lives to please ourselves, but be willing, when the moment is right, to sacrifice our physical lives in order to allow another person to live, it means moment by moment, we sacrifice our own preferences, resources, time, energy, will, and desires for the benefit of one another. I confess to you I just read that sentence, and I'm convicted. If you are convicted, also, because you recognize your own insufficiency to love in this way, than be sure to thank your God, who loves us in this way, and is so patient with us, and may we all, by the power of His Spirit, learn to love each other that way.

The Only Wise God

Well, I haven't quite figured out how to blog my sermons yet, but I do want it to be on here. I am just going to copy my notes for now, and as I blog more, hopefully I will get it more organized. Oh, and about going to Disneyland, that is a euphemism for deciding what I will leave in and leave out in my message.

SUMMARY OF ROMANS:

The need for God’s righteousness (1:18-3:20)

The provision of God’s righteousness (3:21-5:21)

The demonstration of God’s righteousness (sanctification) (6:1-8:39)

The vindication of God’s righteousness (restoration of Israel) (9:1-11:36)

The behavior of God’s righteousness (12:1-15:13)

Conclusion (15:14-16:27)

Here is the point: you need a righteousness that is not your own. You cannot earn it, you can’t buy it, you won’t find it anywhere other than in Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father but by me!” If you did not come away from this study understanding your need for perfect righteousness and God’s provision of that righteousness in His Son, than I am afraid we have done you a great disservice.

Remember, in this doxology, Paul is worshipping! He is not giving a theological treatise.

I. The Power

a. Who is able? God or man. How you answer determines how you trust.

b. He establishes

c. The power is not the message, it is the God! We do not put out faith in a book, rather, we put it in the God who wrote it. If I wrote you a letter saying you need to serve jury duty, it would mean nothing. If the state of California did, however, that would make a difference. Same words, but different authority. We believe it is important because He said it was important.

d. What is the message?

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. It is the message Paul articulates throughout this whole book. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provides for us the perfect righteousness we need to stand justified by God. Paul says in Corinthians he was determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This was “Paul’s Gospel.” (read Romans 5:6-11) Paul’s gospel was not unique to Paul.

II. The Wonder: Jesus was not plan B.

a. The gospel kept secret (from long ages past)

b. The gospel revealed according to plan

God took several thousand years to weave together this gospel throughout redemptive history! And it is “by the Scriptures of the prophets” in other words, it was prophesied by them! And then, as if God was in heaven the whole time, with His finger up, just waiting, watching Abraham have Isaac, seeing the birth of a nation, watching them fall into apostasy, all the while giving clues about this coming redeemer with carefully placed prophecies throughout the whole testament, He is just waiting, and then, “at the proper time, He says “now.” This gospel happened according to the commandment of God! That is what Paul is saying, and that is why he worships! Listen to what Peter says in his first sermon: “This man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” They were blind. They didn’t see it. Turn to Peter 1:10, and lets read what He says about this mystery.

This was IT. This was what they had waited for, all controlled by His command, and Jesus, through His apostles makes the gospel known to the world. This mystery, so important to Paul, is proclaimed to the world.

III. The Response: Obedience of faith.

This is new covenant language. The Jews always had a problem remaining faithful. The big difference is not just gentile inclusion, but a new heart indwelt with the Spirit of God that enables us to love God and seek after Him. (Jer 31:31,33). This should also be the natural response of everyone who hears and believes the gospel.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus...

I am noticing that as I mature in my Christian life, the gap between God and I seems to be getting bigger. The truth is, I'm just getting a better picture of how big that gap (chasm?) actually is. Remarkably, the larger that gap appears to be, the bigger Jesus becomes. I may never know how large that gap is this side of glory. I'll pay lip service to its immensity, but will I truly feel the weight of it? I believe if I did, Christ, and what He has done, would be far more precious to me than He is.

Jeremiah 9:23; Isaiah 66:2

Jeremiah 9:23 is a powerful verse. Its clarity enables us to understand it even without its context. In spite of this, the context is certainly worth our consideration.

Jeremiah was sent by God on a mission that was doomed to fail. Like most true prophets of God that brought bad news, he was ignored… at best. You would expect this weighty exhortation to crescendo some exalted praise of the glory of our Lord, but it lands in the middle of a tragic prophecy of the events that will soon take place. The preceding verse should be enough to clue you in: “The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field…”

So why this verse? Does the context tell us anything? If you are an Israelite, one of the most terrifying passages in the Torah for you will be Deuteronomy 28:15-58, where God describes the consequences of disobedience. Jeremiah was the lucky guy God choose to warn them about this nightmare becoming a reality.

As people who exist in an age of grace, we do not need to worry about mothers eating their children as a judgment for disobedience (though it could be argued our fate will eventually be worse). Jeremiah’s point is simple. There is something more tragic than all the calamities that would happen to Israel, something more horrifying, namely, the priorities of their hearts. I do not believe God could demonstrate through the worst disasters imaginable the tragedy of those who boast in something other than God, or treat His Word as something to be passed over in pursuit of our own wisdom, strength, or wealth.

All of us are looking for a niche. We want to be honored, respected, noticed, considered, for… fill in the blank. For some, it may be sports. For others, music, art or philosophy is something we seek to be noticed for. Some wish to be great thinkers. In ministry, it could be preaching and teaching, or the size of “our” church or ministry. It could be our family, house, cars, intelligence, capabilities, or any number of things we pursue, but the Word of God is something we are relatively uninterested in.

God does not deny our natural inclination to aspire towards something we can be proud of, instead He reminds us of what we should be proud of. That we understand and know Him. I know there is a movement that believes God can be understood and known through things other than His word, but this is idolatry; modern-day Baal worship. I know there are well-meaning Christians who pursue the Creator through His creation, art, science, music, philosophy, community, altruism, or merely contemplation. There can be great value in these things when learned about and appreciated subsequently to His Word, and in their proper context.

Friends, if you truly claim to seek God, and desire to know Him, consider these words of His: “But to this one I will look: to Him who is contrite of Spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” If you have a casual interest in His Word, do not expect any peace from God. Do not expect Him to reveal Himself to you. To let your Bible collect dust while you seek Him is to try and find Him through Baals, Asheroths, and golden calves.

Update

So many things are running through my mind, it is hard for me to organize them. It seems like new and wonderful things happen everyday, and I'm always challenged. Here is a summary in no particular order of how things have gone so far...

1. Marie and I have been nominated to be deacons at Grace Church
2. I have a new beautiful daughter named Aviyah
3. I am both Greek and Hebrew Exegesis which has been challenging.
4. I signed up for Rick Holland's preaching class
5. My heart is still at Beacon, and after a great conversation with my pastor, it makes me long for there even more.
6. I have had opportunities to serve the Lord through music, which has been a blessing
7. Jesus Christ is becoming more precious to me as I learn to serve Him.
8. Marie and I are still learning how to be married and raise two kids, but God has been so very gracious
9. We are so thankful to be here, and marvel at God's goodness towards us.
10. I've had about six cups of coffee, and will probably crash soon.


Well, it's brief, but it's an update. May God bless you all.