8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Key Observation:
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict the world.
Devotion:
The word transliterated for reprove is “elegxo”. It means to reprove or convict.
The job of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world:
1) of sin
2) of righteousness
3) of judgment.
It is also told by Jesus to include:
4) Guiding into truth
5) Showing things to come.
6) Glorifying Jesus
7) Taking what belongs to Jesus, and God the Father, and will make it known to us.
I would like to talk about being convicted by the Holy Spirit. There are some who teach that the conviction is irresistible, but that is more than I know. This I have seen, that a man may be under deep conviction from the Holy Spirit and yet may reject that conviction. Grace is resistible, and the gospel of John makes it very plain that men will resist it.
Rejection is plain here:
1) whoever does not believe stands condemned already (John 3:18)
2) whoever rejects the Son will not see life (John 3:36)
3) everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light (John 3:21)
4) those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:29)
5) I mention it that you may be saved (John 5:34) (This verse is said by Jesus implying that some ‘might’ receive it, and others would reject it.)
6) yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5:40)
7) you have seen me and still you do not believe (John 6:36)
8) if anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God (John 7:17)
9) if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins (John 8:24)
The above verses are by no means all that show men’s rejection; they are plenty of evidence for those who will hear to show that acceptance and rejection have a key role in salvation. Also in John, as nowhere else, is the election of God evident:
1) The wind blows wherever it pleases. . . so is everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:8)
2) even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it (John 5:21)
3) all that the Father gives me will come to me (John 6:37)
4) I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him (John 6:65)
There are many more that show election in John, but I am running out of time tonight. Election and the choice of man are given side by side. My favorite verse includes both of them: All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37) Election by the Father is given here, and the choice of man in coming is also given here. How can they both be true? I do not know—I have read plenty of books on the subject, heard many arguments, and my conclusion is that it is a mystery of God, something that I am not meant to fully understand. Men will lift up one side of the argument unduly will only extinguish the other side of Biblical truth. I believe that they are both presented, and it is our place to accept them both. Most likely they harmonized perfectly in the mind of God, but in our minds, knowing only a very small part of what is, they can never be perfectly reconciled. It is the picture of salvation which God presents; it is my obligation to believe, and that I ought to find easy, for I know of my Savior’s love.
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
1. Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand
The shadow of a mighty Rock
Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
And the burden of the day.
2. Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart with tears
Two wonders I confess
The wonders of redeeming love
And my unworthiness.
3. I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.
Lyrics: Elizabeth Cecelia Douglas Clephane
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