"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" John 16:8
No one is capable of seeing themselves; the way they really are before God, without the conviction of the Holy Spirit! Except for "His Grace" none of us could be saved or made to realize just how fallen away from God we've all become.
The reason that very few rich, well-off, sophisticated people don't get saved is because they refuse to let go of the very things that brought them what they consider to be their "success" in the first place. In turn it becomes these very same "things" that are all important to them. Yet neither "money" nor "education" is the danger here, rather it's what they have allowed it to become.
Gaining what this world considers to be wise and important quickly turns into selfishness, envy, greed and lust, and it is the love of it, and the seeking to have more of it, and the living for it that is the danger. It takes over! It possesses the soul! It rules the life! Soon it becomes the god - Matthew 16:24 - of our life, and we love it and love what it can do; so much so that we make excuses for sin. Rather than acknowledging that the penalty for sin is death Romans 6:23, we chose instead to believe that we can cover it up; "religiously speaking", by something "we" are doing.
It soon becomes this world's way of life. They give it top billing, live for it, are directed and motivated by it, and can't bear to let these things go. Why? Because it is "these very things" that has made them what they are, and it's become their way of Life and they serve it and follow it faithfully and therefore, "blindly"! It is the striving after these things that has blinded them to their true condition before God, and they can't bear to live without them (Luke 18:22-25).
How can they believe that God will provide for their every need, when they are the ones living to provide for themselves, and provide for themselves, well indeed. There's much more to life than needless worry over food and clothing, let alone money, mansions, and having to have the best of everything. Matthew 6:25-34
The truth is that they have allowed "these things" and the continual striving after the things of this life and the deceit of riches that delegates God and His Glory to second place in their life. They have placed and serve these "false gods" before Him.
Some like to believe that we can be both rich in God and in the goods of this world also. (However, it doesn't work that way: see 'My Story')
To the rich in this world's goods Jesus keeps on saying:
It is the fallen wisdom of this world that puts up class differences, promises a place of stature to those who strive after its gold, and is what is used to separate the haves from the have nots.
In the Parable of the Sower we see that it takes "Preparation" (called "The Good Ground" in Matthew 13:3ff) to forever become a true child of God. It takes the "Preparation" of not being able to live the life you once had only dreamed of - the "Preparation" of being laid bare in the fires with a life that is instead heavy ladened in sin and burdened with guilt, a life that is being weighed down in the worthless technicalities and formalities of pretending to be happy like everyone else, and just going through the motions. To put it bluntly: "Such a life can seem suicidal at times but without going off the deep end".
Some people have lived in a state of misery and despair for several months or even years at a time through circumstances beyond their control. Outwardly they too live a pretended make-believe life for the sake of others (like the rest of the world does), yet inwardly they know that they are. They may fool others but they're not fooling themselves.
It's all become an outside cover-up, a facade, to hide their true feelings inside. They just grin and bear it in the sadness and torment of their souls! It is this kind of "preparation" that gets them ready to HEAR and deeply receive the word of God. This description actually fits a lot of people, because man cannot be at peace with himself deep inside until he finds God (not "religion" but "God"), because that's how God made man to be.
When the word of God does come to them, they hear His voice speaking just to them personally, saying: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". Matthew 11:28. Although many have heard it all before 'intellectually', these are HEARING it up close and personal as if for the very first time they ever heard it in their life.
If this "Faith" was brought about through "the workings of the Holy Spirit"; who caused them to cry out to Jesus when they heard the word, then either right then and there or the very next morning they awake as "changed people". They are no longer the same! They know there is something 'different' about them! A new found joy! There has been an inner healing, a relationship has been established with the King of Glory. There is a peace and joy in them that they have NEVER known before. (read John 14:27)
Whereas before the Spirit of Truth came they were hateful, spiteful, back-biting, swearing, etc. people, but they now are at peace on the inside while on the outside they begin testifying of Him by bringing such good news to others. Anyone with eyes to see knows they are no longer the same. They have found that precious inner peace with God through Jesus Christ, and soon are confessing Him and what only He can do, effortlessly before men. They have been "Saved"!
Upon hearing a sermon a person may even go so far as to confess that they are a sinner who is in need of being saved... and yet without this "personal conviction" of sin, righteousness and of the judgement from God that I am speaking of (see John 16:8ff), then they will never repent (i.e. turn away from their sins), never believe that they are 'that' bad (i.e. 'that sinful', 'that lost', and/or 'that hopeless'), never give themselves completely up to God because they've got 'Religion' instead.
Therefore, they will never give up their false ways and delusions, and there will be no permanent change of heart with that very special revelation of - "The Saving Knowledge of God"!!!
"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 10:39
Though people may want to believe what they are told to, and to believe these things as best as they intellectually (i.e. to take it by 'blind faith') can, nevertheless, if this "Conviction" of sin and/or of their sinful nature did not arise because of a vision of God, then all they are doing and believing in is being done in vain Psalms 127:1.
The reason?....
Because God works (reveals Himself) through the "spirit" of a man (and not the intellect), and yet a man is completely and spiritually dead before God, and doesn't KNOW it. This means that there is nothing connecting him to God - nothing at all. He is separated by a huge void! Without hearing the word of God there is no way of knowing how grievous and very real his sins and sinful condition is before God. Without John 16:8 conviction man is deaf to the cries of: "YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN"! John 3:3.
Because all men have sinned means that all men have fallen away (have become disconnected) from God. God isn't interested in saving us to keep us sinners, rather He saves us and makes us a holy priesthood who serve Him. Man's only hope of gaining faith in God is through "HEARING" the word of God, and the ability to hear it comes through preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Here's what happens when that person is "Convicted" by the Holy Spirit upon hearing (i.e. Understanding) the word of God as it is heard through Christ Jesus....
Immediately (in the Light of the Spirit of Truth) they recognize how awful their sin is and they begin to abhor it. (By all means please read Romans 7) They want to distance themselves from it as far as possible. Sin has become "very grievous and repulsive" to them and they abhor it.
Perhaps after several attempts to keep and do God's word they fail miserably. (That's because they are in need of a NEW Nature!) So what this "Conviction of the Holy Spirit" does in them causes them to repent (turn away from their sins) and to look for a Savior (other than themselves or their religious practices) to save them from this intolerable condition they find themselves living in. Now they know; like never since nor before that in them is no good thing. Romans 7:18.
What the Holy Spirit does is to take God's "Holy Law" and shine it in upon us to show us what we're made of inside. For lack of a better explanation, it could be likened somewhat to standing in front of a mirror in the black of night and then turning the light on and seeing what you look like for the first time: "Frankenstein".
Some of the world's largest religions have decided to set up their "Religious Systems" based on false interpretations, that try and deal with these "short-comings" on our part in order to quench our guilt and cover our shame.
NOTE: let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water - Hebrews 10:22
The only "thing" that can cleanse our conscience, wash away our sins and put us at peace with God is NOT "our works" but "the shed blood of Christ.
Yet as we know, our working to save or help God to save ourselves can't be done! Even the natural man's trying to keep the Law perfectly without sin (if it were possible) in thought, word and deed, will save no one. With God, one teeny unforgiven sin or a countless number of sins, sends one to hell, for it makes no difference without our absolute faith/utter confidence in the crucified and risen Christ alone, acknowledged through the Light of Truth!
God will save no one "apart from Christ"! Either a man is "IN" Christ by faith, or he is out of Christ through Unbelief!
In this "Light of Truth" we see how Unholy (i.e. separated and fallen from God) we really are. It is by the Light of God's Holy Law (i.e. His word) whereby we recognize that we are sinners (read Romans 7) - hopeless sinners - sinners through and through who cannot keep His commandments without breaking them - sinners who will continue sinning until death if help is not found. It is this "repentant attitude of the heart" (acquired through the glimpse given by the Spirit of Truth) that in turn causes us to drop everything and FLEE to Christ for salvation. Nothing else matters now, for we have caught that "glimpse" of ourselves and of God, and we fly to Him who is high and lifted up. John 12:32
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3
When He comes "we" are made to realize that "sin" exists in us because "we" are the sinners - "we" are the ones born into sin - "we" are the ones carrying a sin-nature which is capable of only one thing: "sinning"! We are made to know emphatically that we must find a way out of this helpless predicament we find ourselves in (getting out of Adam and into Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:22) "before" we die in that state.
Such people are "Conviction Driven", and this has a two-fold purpose:
#1. They know that unless they can find total forgiveness for their sins and somehow get rid of their Adamic sin-nature they will end up in hell. (They must be saved FROM their sin through their being justified by faith in Christ)
It is at this point (upon the conviction of the Spirit of Truth) that they KNOW they are helpless sinners - KNOW they have no righteousnesses of their own at all to save them, no matter who they are or what they do - and KNOW for sure that they are going to hell and the judgement unless something can be done to alleviate their once loved but now hated and abhorred sinful condition before God.
After showing them all of the above, it is right here where the Holy Spirit turns and gives them "HOPE"! He does this by revealing "Jesus" to them. This same Jesus who was crucified for their sins they see is now risen for their righteousness and standing before God on their behalf. It is though this LIVING FAITH IN HIM that they have been made to see that "HE ALONE" is their only hope of being saved as they repent (turn away from the practice) of their sin, and no longer do the things that expressed their unbelief in Him.
They see Him as He really is: "Precious beyond price!" Therefore He is all they have need of. So all they have to do is reach out and grab hold of Him; grab hold of the forgiveness, grace and mercy that is IN Him and that He is offering FREE for the asking.
In order to do this they know that all they have to do is "empty themselves" by letting go of their worldly treasures (i.e. "selfish desires and ambitions, houses, relatives, lands, etc. - read Matthew 19:29) in order to have BOTH HANDS FREE to lay hold of Him and receive Him and what He alone is offering fully... and this they will thankfully do - "IF" they have been truly convicted in the first place... and "IF" they do love and desire to obey Him now above all else. (see Philippians 3:8)
In this way there is a "DEATH" to their old man (their old Adamic sin nature), and this "Death to the old" sets them FREE from the penalty of sin (i.e. spiritual death) as instituted by God's law as they "COME" to Jesus and are born again (through a new and spiritual birth) to become His forevermore.
Without this "Conviction" all one is doing at their very best is being "Religious". However Christ is not associated with any "Religion" but is invloved one on one in our having a "Personal Relationship" with Him and through Him with the Father! "He who has the Son (not - 'he who is religious') has the Life!" (read 1 John 5:12)
The man who has been soundly convinced of his sin and lost condition before God; through hearing/understanding the word of God, is the same man that will stop at nothing to come to Christ. No obstacle will be able to withstand such a God-given faith, if it be real even though it may be small. (see Matthew 17:20)
In conclusion we have three people in view here...
The Natural Man! He is the man who has not been convicted of his sin and sinful condition, and therefore he remains in the darkness completely unawares of the scope of his lost and depraved condition before God. Therefore he believes; like the rest of the world does (if he is religious), that there is enough "Good" (see Matthew 19:17 and Romans 3:10) in him to save or help God save and reward him through his trying to live a law-abiding, religious life (in order to be or to continue to be saved)...
The Convicted Man! He is the man seen at the moment of his conviction. He is the man who; in the Light of the Spirit of Truth, is being convicted of his sins and of himself by God, therefore he remains in the misery of his sins and unrest, driven onwards to seek the cure to all of his problems. He knows that he cannot rest until he sees "JESUS" high and lifted up as the answer who will lift his heavy burden from him (and lifted at the revelation of the risen Lord and Christ)... (also read "Pigrim's Progress", by John Bunyan)...
The Spiritual Man! He is the man seen after his conviction. He is the man who has given up (let go of) all to come to Jesus alone through his conviction, therefore he has found a real and abiding peace with God and a new love for Jesus Christ in having received Jesus as the answer to the meaning of life. (John 14:27)
May every blessing in Christ be yours,
The "Natural Man" is absolutely unawares of his true and fallen condition before God. For if he did see himself (the way that God does) he would see how spiritually decrepit and sinful he really is and repent.
(We all need to make some money and have some education in this country in order to pay Caesar his due: Matthew 22:17-21 ... but not at the expense of our inability to give God what we owe Him: "Our Very Lives"!)
"...It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
and again -
"Sell it all! Give it away to the poor - then come and follow Me!" Matthew 19:21
and again -
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me!" Matthew 16:24
But in the Kingdom of God it is and will be "Faith" (or the lack of it) that will and does separate the sheep (the have nots) from the goats (the haves). When the Lord comes in His glory he will take and separate the sheep from the goats. Matthew 25:31-34 Only those who have and know "Jesus" as a living and breathing reality in their hearts are and will be recognized as His sheep. 1 John 5:12
This time it's His voice speaking to them; to their hearts, personally, and it is being directed at them to act upon, and they quickly accept these words of His into their hearts praying that in their coming to Jesus they will know and gain the much needed rest for their wearied and troubled souls.
Basically what it all boils down to is that they'll have no real need of Jesus, not when they've got the world and its religions on a string sittin' at their doorstep, and only going so far as they want it to go, coming short of this....
This is the same Law (the word of God) that many of us have been half-heartedly trying to follow "outwardly" all of all lives: "Thou Shalt - Thou Shalt Not", and yet have failed to obey miserably on the inside.
However, nothing we can do can "Quench or Permanently Quiet" our sin-riddled conscience, but merely "appeases" it temporarily instead (like taking a "physical" tranquilizer for a "spiritual" problem). All of this is being done because of... "Unbelief"!
So many of todays "churches" are deceived and deceiving others. They have no intention of obeying God's Law by honoring His word! That's why they set up a "SYSTEM" of works to help absolve them of their own sins instead of holding fast to a "Savior". And if you should accept their system by blind faith and follow "IT" then they claim that your sins will be forgiven.
So we have two choices: Either come to Christ once and for all and have our sins forgiven or don't sin, ever, period. Those are the choices!
Some people go to church all of their lives and are made to believe that their sins can be and are forgiven through some church's confessions, penances, communions, etc. Yet God will save no one and forgive no one of even their teeniest of sins apart from the John 16:8 conviction which in turn causes one to soley and utterly believe in His Son, Jesus Christ!!!
Apart from Him; no matter what "we" do, we can do nothing. It is ALL "Utterly Worthless"! Phillipians 3:8
As anyone can plainly see, Gaining "Eternal Life" is NOT because "we" go to church, is NOT because "we" are good, is NOT offering up "our" sufferings to God, is NOT going through "outward" religious ceremonies (like, confession, penance, communion) in order to help God save us - NO! Eternal life belongs only to those who KNOW God AND His Son, Jesus Christ! That is the bottom line!
#2. They know that God is Holy, and if they are to live with God then they must be made holy as well or end up in hell. (They need to be saved TO God as well and receive a new nature by their being sanctified to the truth)
Biff
