Commissioned: Powered Up: Living With the Holy SpiritSample

The Great Convincer

“It is better for you if I go”—what did Jesus mean by this? What could be better than having Jesus with us? How about having God with everyone, everywhere, all the time? Jesus was pointing out that the Holy Spirit—who, unlike Jesus, is everywhere at once—is the great evangelist. He is the member of the Trinity who brings to the whole world the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Throughout the world, the Spirit is working in the consciences of those whom God wants to bring back to Himself. He “convicts” us—that is, he convinces us of truths that we have resisted:

1. Sin. The Holy Spirit convinces us of our sin, especially the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ, the one sent by the Father to save us. Makes us aware of our sins and he uses our sense of guilt to drive us to Jesus.
2. Righteous. When Jesus was on the earth, he showed the world a life of perfect righteousness. In Jesus’s absence, the Holy Spirit works in our consciences to hold before us God’s righteousness. He uses our human longing for goodness, truth and beauty to draw us to God. We can see in every culture the evidences of the Holy Spirit’s revelation, preparing the way for the full revelation of Jesus Christ.
3. Condemnation. The Holy Spirit calls to our attention that sin will be judged by God—Satan’s sin, and our own. He turns our own natural desire for justice back on ourselves, as we understand that we deserve punishment for our sins. He uses our fear of God’s punishment to shine greater light on God’s mercy.

Jesus said to his disciples, “The Spirit of truth will testify of me, and you (the disciples) will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” We are coworkers with the Holy Spirit in testifying to the world about Jesus. Those of us alive today were not with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, as those first apostles were. But we have encountered Jesus in our lives, and Jesus asks us to tell others what we have experienced. This is what it means to be a witness.

The Holy Spirit’s role in evangelizing is, of course, the more important one. He is the one who operates in the unseen recesses of the hearts of all people to convince them that God loves them and that they need God in their lives. We can’t convince anyone. As co-evangelists with the Holy Spirit, we must rely entirely on Him to do the convincing. We can never argue anyone into God’s Kingdom, but God has made us coworkers in bringing the Good News to others. The Holy Spirit uses our testimony as evidence as He convinces those around us that God loves them and has sent Jesus to save them.

Stop, think and pray:

Let’s pray today for family, friends and others in our lives who seem far from God. First, let’s acknowledge that we do not really know the condition of their hearts, because we do not see the unseen working of the Holy Spirit within them. Then, lets ask the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do--to convince them of sin, righteousness, condemnation and God’s saving love for them. Let’s entrust them to the work of the Holy Spirit.