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The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin
From the very beginning of the church, the apostles were marked men.
They were associated with intense persecution.
They were crucified, whipped, beheaded, speared to death, stoned — all for their unwavering commitment to Christ.
Protestant historian John Dawling estimated that the Roman Catholic Church murdered 50 million Christians from AD 606 to the 1800s.
Godly leaders like Jon Huss, Hugh Latimer, and William Tyndale were all martyred for the faith.
Jon Huss, when chained to the stake to be burned, said with a smile —
“My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?”
When asked to recant, Huss declined saying,
“What I taught with my lips, I now seal with my blood.”
There was a report in 1997 that “more Christians died this century simply for being Christians that in the first 19 centuries after Christ’s birth.
Christ takes His disciples alone to the Upper Room to give them last instructions.
The theme of persecution was introduced in and it continues in the opening section of .
But they would not face the world’s hostility alone.
Their witness would be accompanied and empowered by the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Although the content is similar in chapter 16, there is a subtle difference.
In , our Lord instructed the disciples as to what they were to do.
They were to “remain in Him,” “remain in Christ’s love,” “keep God’s commandments,” “love one another,” and “do what Christ commands.”
This is all human responsibility.
There is an aspect of perseverance.
We must continue in Christ.
For example, God commands us to humble ourselves.
He doesn’t do that for us.
1 Peter
But here in , the focus is not on us, but God — specifically, what God would do for them through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
This is the Sovereignty of God aspect.
The Holy Spirit would comfort and aid them AND He would also Convict the World of Sin.
Look at verse 1 with me.
I. Warning to the Disciples
“These things” refers back to the warning of of the persecution to come.
Why was He telling them all this?
Have you ever had someone who is telling you something bad, something you don’t want to hear, and you find yourself asking them — Why are you telling me this?
He tell them these things “to keep you from stumbling.”
σκανδαλίζω — we get our word scandal and scandalous from this word.
It literally refers to a “bait stick in a trap.”
Figuratively, Christ warns the disciples to make sure they do not get caught off guard!
“Persecution will come so don’t be shocked and stumble because of it.”
σκανδαλίζω
Despite being warned, they wilted at the first sign of persecution.
So, why the warning if he knew they would fail?
This may hurt a little.
It was to drive home the point of their responsibility.
This should say something to us about our sin.
I think many times we continue to make excuses for our sin, rather than obeying Christ and being responsible to Christ.
This has been such an issue that the big thing is to be “accountable.”
We need to have someone we can be accountable to.
Well, that sounds great, but that doesn’t deal with where the sin begins — in our hearts.
We can play a good game, but end the end, what’s in our hearts will come out.
And there is not really this idea in the Bible of “letting go and letting God.”
There are times when we have to stand against sin that easily besets us.
The unbeliever has no resources for this, but the believer does.
We have the indwelling Holy Spirit.
To say, “That’s just my personality” or “This is because of the way I was raised” or “You don’t know how hard this is for me” are ignoring the power of the Holy Spirit in you — if you are a believer.
No! That won’t do.
We are responsible to obey God! Don’t blame God for what He has commanded you to do.
A Time is Coming
Jesus warns of a specific hour to come.
And I think for the disciples, this is connected to the Lord’s death, resurrection, and exaltation.
Look what He tells them.
“They will ban you from the synagogues.”
This was more than not being allowed into worship — They were EXCOMMUNICATED!
They branded them as traitors to God and the people of God.
They would lose their families, their jobs.
They would have no connection with the community.
Do you remember the man that was blind from birth?
And Jesus gave him sight.
They tried to corner the man so that they could get something on Jesus.
“All I know is, I was blind and now I see.”
So, they cornered his parents.
“He’s of age.
He’s an adult.
Ask him.”
Talk about throwing your own son under the bus.
And look — the thing about it is, those who persecuted them would believe themselves to be doing service to God.
For example, Saul.
How could religious people commit such atrocities?
“They will do these things because they haven’t know the Father or Me.”
They have no knowledge of God.
They are religious, but religion has killed many people.
Another Reason for the Warning
He told them so they would remember His words.
Much like the angels reminded the women at the tomb in .
Luke 24:6-8
Jesus protected them while He was with them.
But He would no longer be with them.
He bore the brunt of the attacks.
Matthew 15:1-
But now He would not be there and so He warns them so that they would not stumble.
So, He tells them.
He warns them.
This was not something He told them before because He was there to protect them, but now He’s going away.
But He never did gloss over the truth.
Luke 9:
He warned them the following Him would never be a way of comfort and ease.
But it would be a glorious reward for their suffering.
Not only did He warn them, but He comforted them.
II.
Comforting the Disciples
Here we see the contrast between Christ’s selflessness and the Disciples selfishness.
They were not concerned about Him, but what was going to happen to them.
All they asked was “Where are You going?”
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