Sermon for Cantate Sunday
Counseling With Conviction
In the Name of the Father, & of the + Son & of the Holy Spirit
Grace to you and peace from the One Who Is & Who Was & Who Is to Come!
In our Lord’s farewell address to His disciples in the upper room the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples many things in order to comfort them. They are not always so easy to understand. He has told them that He would be going to the Father’s house, going to the Father.1 He has reminded them that they can expect hostile opposition as witnesses to all He has said and done and what He is about to do on the cross and in the tomb. This opposition may even cost them their lives.2 Jesus knows this and makes a point to comfort them. He says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”3 He offers them His peace and promises to send them the Holy Spirit.4 The Holy Spirit will be the ultimate comforter and counselor. The Spirit will allow them the total recall of all Jesus said, speaking the truth to them and revealing more fully the things yet to come. Finally, the Holy Spirit will turn their sorrow into joy.5 Throughout Jesus' ministry, Jesus said many things to the disciples, particularly about the Holy Spirit, and there is still more He has to say, but they can not bear to hear it now.
“These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.”6
Counselors and helpers use words. The Holy Spirit is the greatest counselor because He speaks words of truth, guidance, and wisdom, which are meant to help and enlighten us. But here is the thing: the Holy Spirit is also a counselor to unbelievers. This may surprise you! But it makes sense. If you have ever been one-on-one with a counselor, a big part of their job is telling you things you do not want to hear. Now, contrast that with all the false teachers which abound in this world. The Holy Spirit is not speaking through them. How do you know? They are telling you exactly what you want to hear! Give money, and receive abundance in return. Pray harder, and your mundane desires will be granted. Have a sin problem? God understands and ignores it if you mean well. I recently heard one such false teacher preach for about an hour. Not once was I reminded I'm a sinner, nor was the cross mentioned.
In the world of therapy, sometimes the person being counseled does not want to listen and will not believe even if they do. The same happens with the Holy Spirit. That does not stop a good counselor, though. The truth needs to be spoken anyway, or the counselee is not helped. Just because the hearer is hostile to the message does not mean the Holy Spirit does not have anything to say to them. He has a lot to say, whether or not they are ready to hear it. That is what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel reading this morning. He is describing how the Holy Spirit will speak to an unbelieving world.
Jesus said, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin”7 The Holy Spirit will counsel the world with conviction. Conviction, ἐλέγχω – elencho – is an interesting world. When one is convicted of a crime, does he believe he has done something wrong? That depends. When we are convicted of something, we might equate that with being convinced of something – we know deep down that it is true. A criminal may only believe a jury is convinced they have done wrong, yet they themselves do not take responsibility for their actions or even admit to doing them. But this little word elencho means both. It is a convincing that leads to salvation and a conviction that leads to damnation if left unheeded. It is no mere reproving or scolding but much deeper and more powerful. What Jesus is saying to His disciples (which includes you) is that the testimony of the Holy Spirit on behalf of Christ is the disciples’ only weapon against an unbelieving world, and the more difficult the conflict becomes, the more comfort they can take from this: the Holy Spirit is the power of God working through this convincing/conviction as their helper.8 He does the work; they need only proclaim it.
But of what is the Holy Spirit convicting? Jesus describes this conviction by the Holy Spirit as being made up of three elements: “sin, righteousness, and judgment.” In regard to sin, because men do not believe in Jesus' death and resurrection; in regard to righteousness, because Jesus will ascend to heaven and they will no longer have Him to confront people directly; and finally, in regard to judgment, because Jesus has defeated the devil.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning righteousness and judgment. True righteousness belongs only to Christ, who will soon be exalted at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. The exact opposite of this is unrighteousness which results in judgment. This exists in the world. And the prince of this world now stands condemned already. Jesus' death on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven show us the true way of things. There are two ways, one of life and one of death. One of life because Jesus' defeat of death and sin and His subsequent enthronement show God's approval of righteousness as embodied in Christ. One of death because they equally show God's disapproval of the unrighteousness of this world and the defeat of the devil. That Christ is righteousness is proved by His returning to the Father, which also proves the condemnation of the world. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict it of this truth. There are no shades of grey. There is righteousness in Christ, and there is sin, death, and the devil. No "oops!" No, "I made a mistake." No stinking garbage you drag around but is not actually a part of you. It is sin. It warrants death. The Holy Spirit shows us this to be true. Those who believe in Jesus will one day go where He has gone. All others will go where Lucifer has gone.
You have been convinced by the Holy Spirit this is true. He has granted you the faith to believe that Jesus died for your sins, and now His righteousness is yours. However, the Holy Spirit will counsel unbelievers with conviction because of their sin. It is the unbeliever that needs to see the condemnation that awaits them as a result of their sins. It remains a very black and white issue. Because of sin, they either need to flee to Christ – become believers themselves, receive forgiveness, die to the world, and rise with Christ – or share in the condemnation and punishment of the devil. If they join the ranks of believers, then the Holy Spirit becomes to them also the comforter and helper, not the conviction or challenger.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the world is the work of the Word. The Word is preached to the world in terms of Law and Gospel. First, you need to hear the Law. It is the Law that shows you your sin – that is what conviction means. The Law preaches condemnation to those who persist in sin and unbelief. Only when the harshness of the Law convicts the heart can the Gospel offer the sweet relief of the Gospel, that the penalty has already been paid, and the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to the life of the world to come belongs to them by faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit works through the Word, and the Word is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Our earthly counselors and therapists use words to help and comfort. The great Counselor, the Holy Spirit, uses the Word of God. The Word is the tool and the weapon God has given to His church to make disciples of all nations, starting right here at home. We have talked much about convincing family members to turn or return to the church in recent months. More and more of you have had one-on-one conversations with me regarding loved ones and the frustration of trying to convict and convince members of our own families. Take comfort in this: The Counselor works through the Word. He is the one that convicts and the one who convinces. Not you. Keep sharing the words of the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit will do His work when and where He wills to do it. It is ultimately not up to you. Just share the Word. And do not be afraid to share the Law. If you do not think you are a sinner, then Jesus' death on the cross does not do a thing for you. If you think you are righteous on your own, what need have you of a Savior? Proclaim Christ crucified for sinners, share the Word, and live like you believe it. Act out the fruits of the spirit in your lives so that others may see them. Be that light on a hill. Show the reason for your joy. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
May the peace which passes understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
1John 14:2, 28.
2John 15:18-21; 16:2-4.
3John 14:1.
4John 14:26-27; 15:26.
5John 16:22.
6John 16:4-15 (NASB77).
7John 16:8 (NASB77).
8Henry Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Guardian Press, 1976), 866.