Sesssion #3

Whatever Happened To Sin!?
“The Power Of The Holy Spirit” • 7.29.08 • Men’s Bible Study

Intro.

- Last week in our study, we covered the message of the gosepl of Christ and it's implications in the discussion regarding dealing with sin.

˚ "Facing our sin causes us to feel guilty. Of course we feel guilty because we are guilty. And if I believe consciously or unconsciously, that God still counts my guilt against me, my instinctive sense of self-protection forbids me to acknowledge my sin and guilt, or, at the least, I seek to minimize it....So I need the assurance that my sin is forgiven before I can even acknowledge it, let alone begin to deal with it."

pg. 34

- The work of Christ, the Gospel gives us that freedom from the penalty of sin, but there is even more provision in that God has given us His Holy Spirit.
- The role of the Holy Spirit is in no way subtle, as He gives us freedom from the power of our sin. He is vital to our growth in every way.
˚ "...The Holy Spirit does more than help us. He is the one actually directing our spiritual transformation...He does not leave us to our own insight to see our sins or our own power to deal with them."

pg. 45

- Turn with me to John 14. As most of you, if not all of you know, Jesus told His disciples that He would send them a helper when He left them.
• John 14:15-18 : "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
- A few things are instructive in this verse. First, the Holy Spirit is sent to us. Just like Jesus before Him, there is an order within the Trinity. There is no sense of independance.
- Second, notice the word "another." This speaks to distinction. The Holy Spirit is distinct from Jesus, and distinct from the Father.
- A further note on the word "another." It is a word denoting another that is distinctive, but of the same kind. The Holy Spirit is of the same essence as Christ. He is equally God as well.
- Turn with me John 16. Jesus, still speaking to His disciples, instructs them about what it is that the Holy Spirit will do.
• John 16:7-11 : "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; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
- This is the Holy Spirit's role, notice, in the world. He will convict them of sin, righteousness and judgement. At the same time that He does this in the world, he does the same thing in our lives.
• John 16:12-14 : "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."
- This morning, I want to discuss the dynamics of the Spirit's conviction and how it impacts our walk with the Lord and detracts from the power of sin in our lives. The Holy Spirit's work of conviction

I. Initiates Knowledge
II. Invokes Reaction
III. Inspires Repentance

Text

I. Initiates Knowledge

- Let's consider the word "convict" from our context in John 16. The Holy Spirit is sent into the world to convict the world. If He does not come, their will be no conviction.
- The contextual evidence and concept behind the need is that the Holy Spirit is doing something that cannot be happen apart from His presence.
- He is here to convict. The word is translated in other versions as "convince" or "reprove."
- There are so many shades of meaning. Let's take a few verses where this same word is employed. Turn with me to Luke 3:19.
- Luke is conveying the story of the last days of the last prophet to Israel, John the Baptist, who very publicly and very loudly spoke against Herod the Tetrarch.
• Luke 3:19 : "But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,"
- The same word, this time translated rebuked. Another version uses the word "reprimanded." Now turn with me to Matthew 18:15.
- Jesus is instructing his disciples in the subject of conflict resolution in this famous passage. What is the first step?
• Matthew 18:15 : "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother."
- "Go and tell him his fault" are all centered around this same Greek word and provide us with another shade of meaning. Suffer for one more verse: Turn to John 3:20.
- This is Jesus talking with Nicodemus and telling him about the contrast between salvation and condemnation.
• John 3:19,20 : "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
- That last word is the same word translated "convict" in John 16. The idea of conviction then carries these senses: correction and exposure. To bring something to light.
- This is the first part of the Holy Spirit's work of conviction. He brings to light, or exposes, those areas that we can otherwise be blind to.
- The Holy Spirit speaks and brings to light when your attitude is sour, your actions are less than righteous or your mouth has spoken out of turn.
- Often times, in grace, He tells you quietly in the night or in a time of silence after something has taken place. Other times, He is screaming at you right when you are considering some action.
- But it's more than just knowing when you have sinned. It's the knowledge of your own sinfulness. It's the knowledge that leads us back to grace.

II. Invokes Reaction

- As we have seen in the wide uses of the same Greek word, because there is a corrective exposure to the Spirit's conviction, that work invoke reaction.
- When you and I sin, and the Lord has begun His convicting work, what has been your reaction? In the case of the world, Herod for example, the response is often to turn off the voice and shut up the messenger in the deepest dungeon, away from sight and sound.
- This is the stone wall effect, and while it can happen in the lives of believers who are stubbornly in sin, it is not as prevalent, but it happens.
- Consider Jonah the prophet. He was called to go and in sinful disobedience, he went, but in the opposite direction, as far as possible from the voice of the Lord!
- Finally after Jonah had been exposed, the men asked what could be done. Do you realize that if Jonah had said, "take me to Ninevah" that the storm would have stopped?
- Instead, Jonah, in his reaction against the conviction of the Holy Spirit to obey, decided to commit suicide instead! Of course, he did not have a whale of a chance!
- How about Paul's response to the Holy Spirit's conviction before Christ vanquished his life? God told Him in Acts 9:5, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads" speaking of an animal's fight against the sharp objects that would propel them in a given direction.
- God says, "It's painful to live that way Paul!"
- Here again, we see that in context of the world, this is a natural method of dealing with conviction. The struggle against doing what is right and what is good can be a reaction as well.
- Of course, another reaction to the conviction of the Holy Spirit is grief. Turn with me to II Corinthians 2.
- I don't want to give too much away, in case we end up studying II Corinthians, but in the sequel, it seems that the Church in Corinth responded pretty harshly to Paul's letter, especially about the brother who sinned with his Father's wife. Apparently they overcompensated.
• II Corinthians 2:6-8 : "This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him."
- Turn with me to Acts 2. When we consider the conviction of sin, we have seen the stone wall effect, the struggle against change and outright grief. Here we see the reaction that is most glorious to the Lord.
- Peter is presenting his first sermon after the Holy Spirit had fallen upon and baptized the disciples. He has gone through most of redemption history and closed with his declaration of Christ.
• Acts 2:36,37 : "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.' Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'"
- Notice that phrase: They were cut to the heart! It pained them to have this word brought to them. It was agitating in a good way, in that it disturbed them to the core of their being.
- God's Word had come, been presented by a human instrument, but delivered a knock-out punch by the Holy Spirit to these men!
- Their response was not hardness of heart, but a desire to react.
- This is the desired effect of conviction. What shall we do?
- God Spirit exposes sin in your life, and that conviction will cause a guilt and shame reaction.
- Just like Adam and Eve, and all the rest, their will be an emotional reckoning. But it's what it leads to that matters the most.

III. Inspires Repentance

- Staying in Acts, look at the end of that story.
• Acts 2:41, 42 : "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
- The Holy Spirit initiates knowledge about our sin and sinfulness, invokes an emotional response over that reality. The end of what the Holy Spirit's work of conviction accomplishes, is the move toward repentance.
- God is not moving us toward condemnation or fear of loss of fellowship. He desires that we see our sin, feel the pain of it as He does, and then turn from it, receiving the word.
- I wonder what might have happened if Adam had confessed in those early moments of human history? I wonder what might have happened if David confessed his sin before he met with Uriah? Add your own story here.
- What might have happened if you would have gone straight to repentance instead of hiding, running from, justifying or falsifying your sin? What harms might have been avoided?
- The Spirit's conviction is so wonderful and refreshing, not because of the first two functions, but because of the third function: leading us to repentance. Turn to Romans 2.
- Paul is talking to an audience that imagines itself to be godly, but that has turned from the Lord in their hearts to sin.
• Romans 2:1-4 : "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"

Conclusion

- The Holy Spirit, in his work of conviction initiates the knowledge of sin and sinfulness, invokes a reaction and inspires repentance. What a wonderful gift!
- He calls us today to respond to Him, to ask for His work to be effective in our hearts and lives. He is faithful, but will be open and sensitive to His voice and leading? I pray that we will be.