to know the Truth.

Living in a World of Confusion

One of the last things that Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who had Jesus executed, asked Jesus was, “What is truth?” It’s a question that’s been asked by countless philosophers, theologians, and everyday people, practically since the beginning of creation. What is truth?

It’s a question that people are still asking and debating today. Some even argue that truth isn’t knowable or that there is no truth or that every person has to find their own truth. Whatever truth is, our culture tells us that it’s not something that applies to everyone. According to the world, there’s no way for us to discover and build our lives on objective, unchanging truth.

But Jesus taught a different way. According to Jesus, there is an absolute truth. There is a truth that is not only knowable - it must be known if we’re going to live as we ought to live.

You see, according to Moses, God created humanity in a particular way with a particular purpose. He made him as his representative in the world. But rather than representing God, we have all chosen to rebel and represent ourselves. We are rebels, each one searching for our own ‘truth’ - a way of living that will make us feel satisfied and complete.

But God has provided a way out of the confusion - it’s a way that leads us to our God-given purpose, the reason that we exist to begin with.

As opens, Jesus has just told his disciples that he’s going to have to die. This man - their teacher and best friend for three years - is leaving them. Naturally, this has created some real distress for them. They had high expectations for him and the kingdom he was going to establish. And now he was leaving.

But he promised them that he would “not leave them orphans.” He’s told them that he would send another teacher, a helper or advocate like himself.

This is the Holy Spirit. God’s very Spirit and presence. This is the same Spirit that we talked about last week - that Spirit who seals us as God’s own possession. The same Spirit whose current presence is a down payment of our eternal inheritance. The same Spirit who leads us into a life of hope and of praise.

All this month we’re talking about God’s Holy Spirit and how he works in our lives. We’ve already seen that his presence gives us assurance that we are saved. But we might ask, how do we see him at work? What are the signs that the Holy Spirit is alive and moving in my life?

Or, in other words, what is the Spirit’s ministry?

Mere hours before his arrest, Jesus told his disciples about the Holy Spirit. He promised them that the Spirit would be sent to them and that he would begin to work in their lives. Let’s listen in on this conversation, that we might come to understand how God’s Spirit not only worked in the lives of the disciples but also how he works in our own lives.

John 16:5–15 NASB95

“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 will 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 see 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 will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will 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.

The Spirit’s Ministry

If you read this passage closely, you’ll realize that the Spirit has a work to do in every human heart. In verses 8 through 11, he describes the way that the Holy Spirit works in the world - in those who do not believe or have faith in Jesus. Then, in verses 12 through 15, he describes how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers. So, we’re going to look at both of these areas and see how they are closely related. Then we’re going to ask the question, what does the Holy Spirit’s work mean for us?

…to the World

Jesus tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come and “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

…conviction

What does Jesus mean when he talks about convicting the world about sin and righteousness and judgment? We should first understand what it means for the Spirit to convict a person.

This word is used throughout the New Testament to refer to showing someone where they err - helping them to see that they’ve made a mistake. It’s the same word that Jesus uses when he tells his disciples, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private.” Conviction takes place when someone helps us realize that we’re believing or acting on a lie.

As a young teenager, my family had moved a number of times and I had gotten progressively angrier about it. I remember during one of our last moves, being frustrated with losing my friends and having to start over again. While I was in the midst of my anger and frustration I remember my dad giving me some advice that I’ve never forgotten: There’s a lot you can’t change in life. But one thing you can always change is your attitude. It’s one of the few things you have any real control over. You see, I had been under the impression that my circumstances determined my happiness. But that’s a lie. And it’s one that needed correcting.

And so, Jesus says that the Spirit comes and he shows the world that they’re living under a lie. He reveals the truth and exposes their falsehoods.

…concerning sin

…about sin

…about righteousness

First, he convicts the world concerning sin because the world doesn’t believe in Jesus. According to John’s writings, sin is rooted in unbelief. This is why in , Jesus tells the crowds, “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

…about judgment

You see, the world is confused about sin. Today, if you were to go out in the streets and ask “What is sin?” most people would probably look at you like you’d lost your mind. For most people today, like truth, sin is relative if it exists at all. And if our culture has a greatest sin, it’s the sin of intolerance or exclusion. It’s the sin of offending someone.

We ought to acknowledge that intolerance and exclusion and giving offense can be sinful. But they are not the root of sin - they’re merely symptoms of it.

And so, when the Holy Spirit begins to work in the world, one of the first things that he does is show people what real sin is - it’s a rejection of God and his way. It’s a lack of faith in our Creator and his will for our lives. It’s when we choose to love ourselves - and our own choices - more than we love God or others.

And so, the Spirit reveals this to us as unbelievers. He shows us that our idea of what is ‘wrong’, our idea of ‘sin’ is all out of whack. Sin is rooted in a lack of trust and love for God.

But that’s not all he convicts the world of...

…concerning righteousness

Second, the Spirit convinces the world that there is indeed a standard of righteousness - and what’s more, Jesus is that standard of righteousness.

Just as people do in our day, those in Jesus’ day had an idea of what it meant to be righteous. They believed that righteousness was about keeping this set of rules and applying it rigidly. And they assumed that if they checked all of the boxes, that they would be righteous and thus, pleasing to God. In other words, they saw the way to heaven as through their own righteousness and if anyone acted outside of their box, he or she must not be righteous.

But Jesus didn’t just act outside of their box - he danced all over it. He healed on the sabbath. He called out their hypocrisy. He associated with ‘sinful’ people - with prostitutes and alcoholics and other outcasts.

Jesus didn’t follow the rules of righteousness like they did.

Before he became an Apostle for Jesus, Paul thought this way. He believed Jesus was a sham because he’d violated Paul’s standard of righteousness. But one day, Paul was thrown off of his donkey and Jesus spoke to him. And in that moment, Paul realized that his standard of righteousness was not God’s standard. God was less concerned with the purity of a person’s bloodline and more concerned with the purity of their faith in him and in his son.

But then, three days after he was brutally killed, God vindicated - or justified - him by raising him from the dead. And in doing so, he proved that their righteousness was built on lies. Self-righteousness is no kind of righteousness.

And God’s Spirit does the same thing for the world today - helps us see that we cannot be righteous on our own. We can’t work our way into heaven. We can’t earn God’s favor.

True righteousness can only be achieved by being united to Jesus, God’s son who died to take our shame and the death we deserved.

…concerning judgment

But the Spirit doesn’t just show how our views of sin and righteousness are built on lies, he does the same thing for our understanding of judgment.

Those in Jesus’ day, who were so certain of their own righteousness, were also certain that Jesus was the one who would experience judgment. So when Jesus died on the cross - an incredibly shameful death - all of those self-righteous people were convinced that they’d been proven right. Jesus’ unrighteous acts had finally caught up to him. And if he’d only followed the rules like them, he wouldn’t have suffered the way that he did.

But then, three days after he was brutally killed, God vindicated - or justified - him by raising him from the dead. And in doing so, he proved that their righteousness was built on lies. Self-righteousness is no kind of righteousness at all.

Jesus hadn’t been judged at all. Satan - the ruler of this world - had. And through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Satan’s power had been broken.

Sin’s power…death’s power…Satan’s power… they’d been decisively judged and defeated. And now, it’s merely a matter of time before they are done away with once and for all.

And so, Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit comes and shows the world how all of their underlying ideas are lies. There is an absolute truth. There is moral evil - sin - and it’s rooted in a lack of faith in our creator. There is an absolute standard of righteousness, and his name is Jesus. And there is an absolute judgment that has taken place, but it’s the judgment of Satan, sin, and death.

…to the Church

But this is only the first half of the Spirit’s ministry. He isn’t only at work in the world, he’s also - more importantly - at work among those who believe.

Jesus says that he has more he’d like to tell the disciples but they can’t bear it now. Why? Probably because their sorrow - the sorrow he just mentioned a few verses earlier - is keeping them from truly grasping what’s about to take place.

But Jesus’ departure does not mean that his disciples will be left without a teacher. On the contrary, Jesus tells them that it is to their advantage that he goes away so that the Spirit can “guide them into all the truth.”

…guidance into truth

It’s worth noting here that Jesus doesn’t describe this ministry exclusively in terms of “teaching.” When he first spoke about the Holy Spirit, he did tell them that he would “teach them all things, and bring to their remembrance all he had said to them” (). But now he puts it another way.

“When He, the Spirit of truth, comes,” Jesus says, “He will guide you into all the truth...”

The word “guide” implies a journey. It seems to paint a picture of the Holy Spirit as one who comes alongside us, takes us by the hand, and shows us the way forward. He’s not a mere teacher who stands at the front of the class and explains things. He’s a guide who comes, sits at our desk, and points out exactly how we can complete the task we’ve been given.

…a continuation of Jesus’ ministry.

You see, the “truth” in John’s writings is more than a mere statement of fact. For John - and for Jesus - the truth is the way we were meant to live and be. This is why John describes the truth in so many different ways - he says that we can worship in Spirit and truth. He tells us that we can walk in the truth. He says we ought to practice the truth. That we should love in deed and in truth. And in turn, he tells us that the truth can abide within us and even set us free.

You see, the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Truth - the Helper - he continues Jesus’ ministry of leading people to their creator.

I can’t help but think of the Holy Spirit in light of some of the teachers that I’ve had. I had a first grade teacher named Mrs. Henderson who I didn’t feel like cared for me at all. She told us what we should think, what we should do, how we should act. But I never felt as though she cared about me as a person. And when I needed help - guidance - she was harsh and uncaring. Especially to my little seven-year-old mind.

But then I think of a college professor that I had. He shared his heart with us in such a way that we knew he cared about us. He would e-mail me to see how I was doing and always provided feedback on how we could do better on assignments when we failed to live up to our potential. And I’ll never forget how, after my wife lost her grandfather and we had to make the trip down to Georgia, he gave us some money to help pay for the drive down. He didn’t have to do that. But he did. And then, when I went through a discouraging season, I called him up and he took the time to get lunch with me and talk about what was going on. He was more than just a teacher of truth. God used him as a guide.

The Holy Spirit does not merely teach us about God. He doesn’t merely fill our minds with true statements. He guides us - day by day - into truth. He exposes the lies that we’ve believed and replaces them with truth that we can build our lives on.

Our Response

Have we understood this work of the Spirit in our lives? Have we really grasped that God’s Spirit is actively working in our lives to root out lies and error and to lead us into all spiritual truth?

In his letters to the early Christians, Paul warned them about “grieving” and “quenching” the Spirit. He told them that, through our actions, we could hinder the Spirit from having his way in our lives. We are not mere puppets - the Spirit works within us but we must submit to his voice.

Listen for the Spirit’s Conviction

And so, if the Spirit is going to be able to lead us into truth, we must allow him first to lead us out of error. We must listen to his conviction. He wants to reveal those areas in our lives where we believe lies about who God is or what he’s doing or what he’s calling us to.

If you have never put your faith in Jesus - if you’ve tried to avoid his conviction - today is the day for you to listen to him. Let him point out the lies you believe. Let him show you the truth about sin and righteousness and judgment. Let him point you to your only hope - Jesus Christ.

Trust the Spirit’s Guidance

And then, trust his guidance. Jesus says that the Spirit only speaks what he hears from Jesus and elsewhere, Jesus says that he only speaks what he’s heard from the Father. You can trust the Spirit’s guidance because it’s a pure reflection of the guidance that comes from your Father in Heaven. The one who loves you and desires to bring you into his family. The one who wants you to experience life as it was meant to be experienced - full of his presence.

Listen to his word and trust his Spirit. If you will do that, he will guide you all the way home.