THE THREEFOLD WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT

JOHN 16:8

A. "AND WHEN HE IS COME, HE WILL REPROVE THE WORLD OF SIN, AND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND OF JUDGMENT"
  1. Our Lord has announced to His disciples:
    1. That He was about to return to His Father
    2. Leaving them behind to face the world and the world's sin
  2. He left them in the world:
    1. To witness for Him
    2. And to win the world for His kingdom B. IT IS IN THIS CONNECTION
  3. That He repeated the promise:
    1. "I will not leave you comfortless...These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom My Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things" - John 14:18-26
    2. Thus it is clear that the Holy Spirit is Christ's representative on earth, and not the Pope
  4. The threefold witness of the Holy Spirit:
    1. Conviction of sin - a difficult task, a humanly impossible task to convince this old world that is profoundly in the wrong and needs to be regenerated
    2. This seemingly impossible task is the mission of the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit
    3. That is why the Lord told the disciples to linger in Jerusalem; wait for the Holy Spirit to take charge of their lives and the work of world-wide evangelism
  5. Conviction of righteousness:
    1. But note that for the Holy Spirit to convict the world of righteousness, He must point the world to the broken law which is an expression of eternal righteousness
    2. That is what Jesus and the apostles stressed in most every one of their discourses compare - Matt. 5:17-20 with Romans 7:12-14; 3:19-20; 4:15; 5:13; 3:31; 8:1-7; I John 3:4; 2:3-7; James 1:22-23; 2:8-11
    3. But, note further, that a sinner is totally incapable to obtain the righteousness the law of God demands, therefore, the sinner must look to Christ as his only hope for righteousness - I Cor. 1:30-31; Jer. 23:6
  6. Conviction of judgment:
    1. Judgment is the logical sequence to upholding the standard of righteousness
    2. The law which is the Divine standard of righteousness had been broken and it demands retribution - vengeance on the transgressor
    3. Unless that is don - right ceases to be right
    4. Thus judgment is inevitable C. LET US TAKE A BRIEF BUT CLOSE LOOK AT THE THREEFOLD WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
  7. To convince the world of sin:
    1. He did this work on the day of Pentecost "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do" - Acts 2:37
    2. He did that ever since - for without that conviction by the Holy Spirit our humble efforts would be useless
    3. How imperative it must remain for the gospel worker to keep a living connection with the Holy Spirit
  8. Of Righteousness:
    1. The Holy Sprit did that on the day of Pentecost, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" They saw themselves sinners and in need of righteousness, and the apostles pointed them to Jesus Christ the heaven sent righteousness - I Cor. 1:30-31
    2. He did that ever after - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" Acts 16:30-31
  9. Of Judgment:
    1. And here again He convicted the world of Judgment on the day of Pentecost and He has done it ever since - Acts 2:38; 3:19; Examples: See Felix tremble as he thinks of the judgment to come - Acts 24:25; see Ananias and Sapphira become an example of the swift judgment of God - Acts 5:1-11
    2. And now we call attention to the Angel that warns a rebellious world of judgment to come - Rev. 14:6-7
    3. The three angels messages point to the prophetic fact that we are living in the hour of God's judgment - Rev. 14:6-7; I Pet. 4:16-17


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