Do you remember times as a child when you did something wrong and thought no one was watching — but then you got caught? Do you remember how it felt to realize someone had been watching you all along? What horror and dread to be caught in the middle of the act! You couldn't talk your way out of such a situation, especially when someone was watching you the whole time. You were unmistakably guilty and couldn't escape facing the verdict. Can you remember what it was like to feel so exposed?
Maybe you can't, but I certainly can. I was about eight years old. I was sent to the local convenience store, Maylo's, to get a loaf of bread. It was a place one could get almost anything– milk, bread, or even a soda at the soda fountain. Well I swiped a candy bar. I think that is what it was! Anyway, I got caught. The owner called my mom and told her. There was nowhere to hide, and no lie could cover up my sin! I was guilty and felt ashamed of what I had done. For me it only took that one shot of being caught to change my future ways.
This is what a sinner feels like the first time the Holy Spirit convicts him of sin. Before that happens, it is amazing how long that same sinner can live without conviction or sorrow for his behavior, almost numb to any sense of the wrongness of his actions. Oh yea, I remember those years of drinking and loose relationships. They did not seem to affect me at all. God took me through one step at a time to help me change.
The Bible says that sin makes people hardhearted, spiritually blind, and past feeling (Ephesians 4:18-19). Add this to the fact that they are spiritually dead and therefore unable to respond to God, and you will better understand why lost people can do what they do over and over again.
But all these factors change instantaneously when the Holy Spirit touches the human soul and exposes its sinful condition. A sinner feels exposed, naked, embarrassed, and confronted when the Holy Spirit wakes him up to his real spiritual condition.
In John 16:8, Jesus spoke of this exposing work of the Holy Spirit. He told the disciples, "And when he [the Holy Spirit] is come, he will reprove the world of sin."
Notice that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would reprove the world of sin.. This means to expose, to convict, or to cross-examine for the purpose of conviction, as when convicting a lawbreaker in a court of law. In this case, it is the image of a lawyer who brings forth evidence that is indisputable and undeniable. The accused person's actions are irrefutably brought to light and, as a result, the offender is exposed and convicted.
Now this also applies to the believer who is working out their salvation. It would be nice if the Spirit did the work all in one fell swoop. But some things take time and that is what builds our faith and changes our character. As the Holy Spirit enables us to hear the Word of God for the first time, the Word is so razor sharp it penetrates our soul until we feel as if we have been cross-examined on a witness stand. Finally, the court is adjourned, the verdict is announced, and we are declared guilty.
A major part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict sinners of their lost condition. The whole world stands guilty before God (Romans 3:19), but until the Holy Spirit does His convicting work, the world doesn't realize it is guilty. That is why this special "convicting" work of the Spirit is so essential. Without it, mankind would remain comfortable in his sin — but as the Holy Spirit convicts, man becomes aware of his sinful condition and his need for God.
Jesus taught, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." (John 6:44). No one argues that God draws us to Him through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is just a fact that without the work of the Holy Spirit to expose our sinful condition, we would still be in darkness today, eternally lost and without God.
Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. Have you ever tried to share Christ with family members or friends and felt as if you were "hitting a brick wall"? You shared, talked, and pleaded with them to receive Christ and it seemed as if they just couldn't hear what you were saying. Even though they knew they were sinners, they didn't seem to be convicted by this knowledge. Ignoring that horrible fact, they pressed on as though they were numb to or ignorant to the degree of spiritual decay in their lives.
We cannot convict others. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. Hence it is our position to listen to the unbeliever and wait for them to ask, and seek answers. Then the words we speak will not fall on deaf ears. Their ears will be ready to hear the Holy Spirit knocking at their heart!
The Bible says that the lost person is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). How can you make a dead man see or feel? How can you convince a dead man that he needs to change? It is impossible for a dead man to respond because dead people don't feel anything. They especially don't feel the conviction of sin. It requires a special, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to rouse the human consciousness to its sinful condition.
As you begin to share Christ with your family and friends, first stop and ask the Holy Spirit to go before you, to touch their hearts, and to open their eyes and ears to the truth so they might be supernaturally roused from the spiritual deadness that clutches their lives. Let the Holy Spirit be your Partner, for without His help a sinner is unable to see the truth. But when the Holy Spirit's convicting work begins, the sinner's eyes are opened to his true spiritual condition, and he realizes there is no escape from the facts. The only answer for a sinner in this case is to come to Jesus!
There is no greater miracle than a sinner who sees the light for the first time and then receives Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life.. And there is no greater blessing than to know that, with the help of the Holy Spirit's convicting power you helped a dead man see!
No comments:
Post a Comment