He Will Convict

He Will Declare Truth

There are some things that we can figure out on our own. Through just regular experience, you can figure out the truth of gravity right? You can pick up on the fact that when you drop something and nothing interferes, it tends to fall to the ground. Through regular experience, you can figure out that fire is hot right? You can pick up on the fact that when you move closer to a fire, it tends to be warmer. Then there are things that are a little more difficult to figure out. It can be done, but you might need an additional tool or some help from somewhere. Like germs, if you’re just out living your life you might never know about germs and what they do, but if you have a good microscope and maybe an expert providing some context, you can kinda figure out that they exist and maybe some of what they do.

But then there are things that are beyond our ability to observe or measure or test, truths that are not self-evident. And frankly, a lot of what we know and understand about God fits into this category. We are incapable of understanding who God really is on our own, we can’t put Him under a microscope or run tests to figure out what makes Him tick. No, to know and understand the truth about God we need the Helper, we need the work of the Holy Spirit who promises to declare truth to us.

Concerning Sin

And in our reading for this morning, there are some fundamental truths that Jesus tells the disciples the Holy Spirit will help them understand, will help us understand. It says that He will convict us, He will reveal to us, He will make us realize things about sin, righteousness, and judgement.

It starts with the Holy Spirit speaking the truth to us concerning sin. We have a tendency to come up with excuses and justification for our sin, we’re really good at talking ourselves into the idea that right and wrong is subjective and that we as a society get to decide. None of that holds any water when the Holy Spirit speaks truth to us. Sin is not something we decide. We do not get to pick what is right and wrong. God alone decides what is good and what is evil. God alone defines what sin is and what perfection is. There is no excuse that makes it okay, there is no justification that absolves us of responsibility, and there is no clever way for us to talk our way out of it. Sin is anything that goes against the will of God - whether we understand it or not, whether we like it our not. The Holy Spirit speaks this truth to us in God’s Word and we are accountable to that standard. And according to that standard, each and every one of us is trapped in sin.

Concerning Righteousness

But that is not the only thing that the Holy Spirit convinces us to be true, that is not the only thing He convicts us of, that is not the only truth He speaks to us. Because as true as it is that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, it is also the Gospel truth that Jesus is truly, genuinely, wholly, authentically righteous and that His righteousness is counted as our righteousness.

It’s like if you are going out with friends and you forgot your wallet at home. You start out by going to a restaurant, you all eat your food, drink your drinks, and at the end of the meal, you reach down to your pocket only to realize it’s empty. You panic a little bit and ashamedly admit to your friends that you don’t have any way to pay for your meal. One of your friends, without hesitation reaches out and pays for you. As you exit the restaurant, your friends start to talk about the next stop, maybe they’re planning on going to catch a movie or go bowling or something, and you start to say goodbye because you can’t pay to go. One of your friends, without hesitation declares that you are coming and that they are going to pay for you. The restaurant accepts that payment on your behalf, even though it’s not yours. The theater or bowling alley or any other stops accept the payment on your behalf, even though it’s not yours. We have this debt we owe to God for all of our sins, and we cannot pay it on our own. But the Holy Spirit declares this truth to us concerning righteousness - our debt is paid and our punishment is satisfied by the work of Jesus on the cross.

Concerning Judgement

Then the final truth that the Holy Spirit declares to us is Christ’s ultimate victory. At the end of all things, Satan and all those who have rested under his authority will fall. Christ will rule over paradise from the right hand of the Father. You and I will be included in that eternal paradise. So we cling to those truths and we listen for the voice of the Spirit. And if the words we hear align with the truth He declares to us in Scripture, we recognize His voice and do our best to follow Him. And if they somehow draw us further away from God, we denounce the words as coming from someone other than the Helper. We go to the places He has promised to meet with us, in His Word, in the community of believers, and in the sacraments, all to hear the truth declared to us. We are fallen, we are redeemed, we are saved. Amen.