Help for
Evangelism
John
16:5-16
Theme: Christ
commissioned us to evangelize with the Help of the Holy Spirit promising
geographical growth; He will convict the lost of the world as we present the
gospel of Christ.
Introduction:
Have
you ever felt alone and intimidated by the Christian responsibility to
evangelize? Have you ever felt inadequate for evangelism? Perhaps you can
recall times when you longed for supernatural help? If you have ever felt your
personal need for such help, then I have good news.
The
apostles were feeling overwhelmed by the reality of Jesus’ departure, the
mounting opposition, and with the demanding responsibility of evangelizing
without Christ’s immediate presence. They were feeling somewhat abandoned,
confused, intimidated, and perhaps discouraged.
But the Lord Jesus promised them and us the Comforter to help in the
grand task of evangelizing.
Relevance: Christ did not
commission us to evangelize alone; He sent His Spirit to reprove the world as
we present the gospel. What is this help that we in the role of evangelists can
expect today? The Spirit of God, also known as the Comforter, is
indispensable to the conversion of the unsaved and the ministry of evangelism (Acts 1:8). His work in the human heart, upon
hearing the Gospel, is so crucial there can be no imparting of new life without
it. This is not merely my opinion; the Lord Jesus was roundly convinced of this
spiritual reality.
Message:
In
John 16:7-11, our Savior gave this richly informative
declaration,
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if
I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because
I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is
judged.”
Our Lord Jesus was highlighting the basic
convicting/persuading ministry of the Comforter which is vital to the Christian
conversion experience and gospel evangelism. The Spirit’s work in the soul
of the unbelievers must precede a genuine new birth and be a part of any
evangelism efforts.
“It is expedient for you that I go away”
Jesus knew His departure was “expedient”
for his disciples and every subsequent Christian witness. The Comforter would
replace Him and represent Him in the world after the Lord Jesus’ returned to
Heaven. As His disciples proclaim the gospel throughout the world, the Spirit
would inhabit and execute through them. Jesus wanted His followers to know
the convicting ministry of the Spirit would indwell them and work in concert
with them.
This was great assurance that the evangelism efforts
would be geographically effective and fruitful to the glory of God and the
salvation of man (Acts 1:8). Regarding this crucial endeavor, Christ
specified a three-prone conviction strategy of the Holy Spirit during this age of
God’s divine economy. It involves sin, righteousness, judgment and their
central connection to Jesus Christ the Savior.
I.
The Comforter Will Convict the Lost
of the Sin of Unbelief (Jn. 16:8, 9)
“Sin” refers to acting contrary to the will of God…to engage in wrongdoing. Unbelief is the opposite of belief! In this instance it is failing to believe on Christ who is completely worthy of all belief.
A.
REPROVE.
1. First, the Lord Jesus
taught the Spirit would “reprove the world of sin.” From the outset it is
important to recognize the fundamental
nature of this reproof. This is conviction
as the Holy Spirit persuades the sinner of sin and condemnation before a
righteous God.
2. Then He convincingly points the unbeliever to Christ as the
only viable solution to man’s sin problem.
3. The active Agent of conviction is obviously the Holy Spirit Himself who is referred to as the “Comforter” by the Lord Jesus (Jn. 16:7). Thus, the Spirit helps the sinner perceive their existing guilt before God and the only remedy to this damning predicament.
B.
CONVICT.
1.
What exactly is this convicting
work? Well, to “reprove
the world” means to confute, and admonish: convict, convince, tell a fault, or even rebuke.
2.
The idea is to overwhelm with
arguments for the purpose of persuading: to refute conclusively by proving
wrong with evidences and arguments. The Holy Spirit in a sense takes the sinner
to “court” and causes him to recognize his sinful nature/condition and the
eternal consequences of his fallen state. The convicting work of the Spirit
places the truth of the Gospel in a clear light before the unsaved person’s
conscience so that he acknowledges it as truth whether or not he receives Christ as personal Savior.
3.
Conviction then is making the
message transparently clear, not the saving of the soul—that’s
regeneration. The Spirit uses the gospel
to reveal the “world’s” fault, and overwhelms the conscience with personal
responsibility for unbelief and rejection of Christ—like a highly skilled
prosecuting attorney the Spirit seeks a “conviction.”
4.
In other words, the witnessing
Christian who testifies about the saving grace of God must utterly depend on
the Spirit to even make that testimony understood clearly.
i.
A. T. Robertson (1960, p. 267)
astutely observed in Word Pictures in the New Testament, “Without this conviction by the Paraclete such men
actually have a pride of intellectual superiority in refusing to believe on
Jesus.”
ii. Simply put, if there is not conviction in the soul of the sinner by the Holy Spirit, there cannot be a spiritual conversion! None whatsoever, not even a hint.
C.
UNBELIEF/REJECTION.
1.
What truth is it that the Holy
Spirit makes clear during conviction? According to the Lord Jesus, it is the
truth about “sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”
(John 16:8). First the proof that men
are in a state of sin is “they believe not on me”
(John 16:9), said the Lord Jesus.
2.
Pfeiffer and
Harrison (1962, p. 1109) accurately said in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary,
“The sin of the world came to sharp focus in the rejection of Jesus when
there should have been acceptance of Him, the Spirit makes this the important
issue.”
3.
Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown (1983, p. 641) in The
Bethany Parallel Commentary on the New Testaments echoed this very same
idea stating, “As all sin has its root in
unbelief, so the most aggravated form of unbelief is the rejection of Christ.
The Spirit, however, in fastening this truth upon the conscience, does not
extinguish, but, on the contrary, does consummate and intensify, the sense of
all other sins.”
4.
The Holy Spirit condemns the world by the very fact
that He is here. He should not be here, because the Lord Jesus should be here,
reigning over the world. But the world rejected Him, and He went back to
heaven. The Holy Spirit is here in place of a rejected Christ, and this
demonstrates the world’s guilt.[1]
5.
The rejection of Jesus Christ—unbelief—is
the chief sin of condemnation for “the world” of
sinners without Christ. Does this not signal how serious unbelief
is from God’s perspective?
i.
John 3:18, He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.
ii.
John 3:36, He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him.
iii.
1 John 5:10-12, He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar;
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11 And this
is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life.
II.
The
Comforter Will Persuade the Unsaved of the Righteousness of Christ (Jn. 16:8, 10)
Secondly,
the “righteousness” (Jn. 16:10) refers the
execution of God’s requirements. The act of doing what God deems is right. The
“righteousness” of Christ is proven because of
His resurrection from the dead and ascension to the Father (John 16:10).
A.
CHRIST’S
RESURRECTION.
1.
This is important because the Jewish
nation rejected the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. The religious
leaders thought Christ an impostor and fraud as they sought the means to kill
Him. In spite of the overwhelming evidence the Lord Jesus presented through His
words and works, His nation refused Him believing Him to be an offender of
their Law.
2.
They questioned His authenticity,
nativity, and rejected His honest claims. They did not view Christ Jesus as
righteous!
B.
CHRIST’S
ASCENSION.
1.
In contrast, the Father in Heaven
obviously sees Jesus differently! He raised Him from the dead after His
crucifixion, and upon Christ ascension, the Father gladly received Him into
Heaven.
2.
Not only did the Father receive Him,
but He honored and exalted Jesus Christ at His very right hand of power and
authority. Jesus is not only righteous, He is Lord (God) and Christ (Anointed
One)!
3.
These actions of God the Father
fully venerated all the teachings, claims, actions, miracles, and lifestyle of
the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no fault
in Him that He should be rejected as Savior and Lord. No, Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God!
i.
Charles
Ryrie
(1995) in A Survey of Bible Doctrine
said, “All of His righteous claims were
fully vindicated when He returned to heaven.”
ii.
Pfeiffer and Harrison (1962, p. 1109) in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary concurs
saying, “The Father is the true judge of
righteousness. His readiness to receive the Son back into glory is the proof
that he found in him no deficiency (Rom 1:4; 4:25; I Tim 3:16).”
iii.
1
Tim 3:16, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory.
iv.
1
John 2:1-2, My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.
And if any man sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
C.
CHRIST’S
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The
verdict of God concerning the Lord Jesus’ righteousness is transparently
clear—He is consummately righteous! Jesus only did what the Father required of
Him and he did all the Father deemed appropriate. The Spirit will seek to bring
the unbeliever to this same conclusion through conviction and persuasion. See Acts 2:29-40!
III.
The
Comforter Will Convince the Lost of Final Judgment (Jn.
16:8, 11)
Thirdly,
the proof of “judgment to come” is based on the
past judgment of “the prince of this world”—Satan
(John 16:11). The presence of the Holy Spirit also convicts the world of
coming judgment. The fact that He is here means that the devil has already been
condemned at the cross and that all who refuse the Savior will share his awful
judgment in a day yet future.[2]
A.
CHRIST’S
TRIUMPH IS THE DEVIL’S CURRENT AND FUTURE JUDGMENT.
1.
God judged and condemned Satan through
Christ’s cross and resurrection (Col. 2:15; 1Jn. 3:8).
i.
Col 2:14-15, Blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled [striped of power, authority, and disarmed] principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.
ii.
1 John 3:8, He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy [annul, put
an end to, render inoperative] the works of the devil.
2.
Once again, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Pfeiffer and Harrison 1962, p. 1109,
1110) states precisely the intent of this
passage.
When those who crucified Jesus saw that God did not
interfere, they imagined that the judgment of God was being pronounced on him.
Actually, another was being judged there, even Satan, the prince of this world.
Satan rules by means of sin and death. Christ’s
triumph over sin at the cross and over death at the Resurrection
heralded the fact that Satan had been judged. The execution of final judgment
is only a matter of time.
B. CHRIST’S VICTORY IS THE GUARANTEE OF A SINNER’S CONDEMNATION.
1. In his book, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, Ryrie (1995) explained, “In other words, if Satan, Christ’s archenemy, has been
judged (John 12:31), what chance can any man hope to have of escaping judgment
if he refuses the grace of God?”
2. Acts 17:30-31, And the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: [31] Because he
hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
3. The blessed Spirit
of the Living God takes “the world” to court and
presents convincing evidence proving that it is guilty before God. Their
refusal to accept liability for their impending judgment will be met with God’s
condemnation, this fact is as certain as the North Pole is cold!
4. It is certain
because Satan, the god of this world, stands judged before God already. So, the
Spirit of God convicts the sinner of the awfulness of unbelief and rejection of
Jesus Christ, He shows that Christ is obviously righteous and no sinner
measures up, and He persuades the sinner of the certainty of pending judgment
for sin. These are the basic truths the
Spirit seeks to make expressly clear in the mind and conscience of the sinner
under conviction.
5. The believer’s responsibility is to be a “witness!”
Our God-given aim is to testify to what we have
experienced and know of Christ the Savior.
While it is our responsibility to convince, encourage, and even plead
with the sinner, it is still the ministry of the Spirit to convict and then
convert. See Acts 10:38-48!
C.
CHRIST CERTIFIED
THE NEED FOR THE SPIRIT’S MINISTRY IN EVANGELISM!
Notice the Results:
1. Acts 1:8, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.
2. Why is the
Spirit’s ministry of conviction necessity? Conviction could lead to conversion—genuine
repentance from sin and faith in Christ (Acts 20:21). There can be absolutely no conversion to
Christ without the Spirit’s conviction. The awareness of wrong in the heart
develops an eagerness to make things right with God. The Spirit creates a
yearning for something different than continuous domination by sin.
3. The Comforter is also necessary to real evangelism—sharing
our faith in Christ. He works with and through a believer’s witness. Even when
the Christian is not there the Spirit can still work in the sinner’s heart to
persuade them of their need for Christ. Such conviction may be instantaneous,
or it may take several years, but the gracious Holy Spirit is at work in the
heart convicting and persuading. It may even be several witnesses later when
the Comforter finally births that individual into the family of God. It is true
however, that the Spirit of God will give up and not continue to wrestle with a
sinner’s conscience.
4. The Corinthian Christians thoroughly repented after Paul
rebuked them for their sin and they evidenced these same motives and desires (2 Corinthians 7:10–13). Their contrition serves as a brilliant
example of this. Also, conviction
can result in a willingness and readiness to accept God’s salvation and
answers as illustrated on the Day of Pentecost by the Jews who repented and
believed the Word (Acts 2:37–38). They eagerly submitted themselves to God’s
plan and came to Him on His terms; they did not propose or craft their own
means or terms of reconciliation.
5. Clearly the mighty Spirit of God must work in the sinner’s
heart to bring about this condition in the soul and to enable sinners to arrive
at this same place today. Yes, it is true. The Comforter actually makes it
quite uncomfortable in the conscience until the sinner trusts the Lord Jesus as
Savior and Lord. He remains indispensable to conversion and the work of
evangelism.
Conclusion:
Beloved, the Spirit will help us as we
witness of Christ. This is great assurance that the evangelism efforts would
be geographically effective and fruitful to the glory of God and the salvation
of man (Acts 1:8).
With the Spirit’s help, we can be
effective gospel communicators. Our concerns, fears, feelings of inadequacy,
and general intimidation with evangelism should subside. In fact, the more we adopt
and believe this promise and the more we depend on the Spirit the less fear we
should have. Beloved, we never need to present the gospel alone; you have
immediate and substantial help in this important endeavor.
Therefore, go, evangelize, and depend on
the Spirit to aid your witnessing efforts and make them fruitful. It is his job
to convict, not yours. It is your job to tell. It is His job to regenerate and
not yours. Your job is to tell. It is His job to prepare the heart of the
sinner, and not yours. Your job is to trust Him to do His job.
Witnessing is a
great privilege, but it is also a serious responsibility. It is a matter of
life or death! How we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to the
right persons, give us the right words, and enable us patiently to glorify Jesus
Christ.
–Wiersbe: The Bible Exposition Commentary
[1]
William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible
Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1553.
[2]
William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible
Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1553.
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