Are there times or seasons when you feel like God has left you alone–to struggle without His presence? It’s easy to think this way, but the simple fact is:
God hasn’t left us alone.
No, Jesus made a promise in John 14, that He would give a Helper, the Holy Spirit, as well as a promise that one would not be left as an orphan. And then in John 16, Jesus shed light on a significant role of the Holy Spirit: to convict. What an oft trivialized and misunderstood idea. The greek word is, elegchō, and it has several meanings, but here it refers to bringing a person to a point of recognizing wrong doing. Why might this be important for us today? Many reasons, but I’ll draw out three assumptions to make a point:
- (Assumption 1…sin…) our position before becoming a Christian was a condemned sinner,
- (Assumption 2…righteousness…) after becoming a Christian (though we are a new creation), we still struggle with sin, and
- (Assumption 3…judgment…) Satan doesn’t win.
Thus, conviction as wrought in us by the power of the Holy Spirit is a testimony to the reality of the indwelling of the Spirit; and thus conviction is used to call us to fellowship and reconciliation with God, to keep us from wandering in high-handed rebellious sin, and to give us hope by reminding us of the victory that will one day be realized in God. GLORY TO GOD!
He has overcome even our sinful proclivities and has loved us so much that He not only gave us eternal life through the life and work of His Son, but He sustains us and keeps us through the ongoing work of conviction through the blessed Holy Spirit’s work within us.
Our everyday lives are thus marked by this work—as we sin (and transgress the Word of God)…we are convicted (by the work of the Holy Spirit)…we confess to God (agree with God as to our transgressions) and to others (agree that we have sinned against them)…we repent (turn away from the sin)…and we receive the compassion of God!
Amen & Amen.
— July 30, 2015