judgement – jeremycouture.me

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

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D. L. Moody was a shoe salesman turned international evangelist near the end of the 19^thcentury. He had a huge impact on the Kingdom of God, holding crusades & other meetings across America & Europe. His influence is still felt today through the institutions that he left behind: Moody Bible Institute, Moody Publishers, & the Moody Church. While preparing for a crusade in England, a local pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated & inexperienced. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” Another wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the HS has a monopoly on Mr. Moody.”

The Holy Spirit can have a big effect on the life of a believer. The third person of the Trinity makes the presence of God personal. He also demonstrates the power of God in the life of the believer.

In his Farewell Discourse in John 16:5-15, Jesus revealed that the Holy Spirit has a dynamic ministry to unbelievers in the world as well as the believers. If you miss out on both sides of the Holy Spirit’s ministry you might find it hard to make sense of Jesus’ instruction in this passage where he says, “it is to your advantage that I go away” (v. 7)

In John 16:5-15, Jesus describes four things that the Holy Spirit does in the world and in the believer. The Holy Spirit is still alive and well today. As we understand his work among us we are better prepared to cooperate with the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin (v. 9).

To understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we must understand sin. Sin is missing the mark – any thought or action that falls short of God’s perfect will. Like an arrow that misses the target, we have all fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

It is in our human nature to sin. It is not just some isolated event that happens once in awhile. Sin leads us to rebel against the righteous expectations of God and to reject his gracious offer of salvation.

The Holy Spirit works in the world like a prosecuting attorney in a courtroom. The prosecuting attorney does everything in his or her power to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty of the charges that have been presented against them.

2. The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Righteousness (v. 10).

Righteous describes someone who has a right to stand before God and has a right to be in a relationship with Him. God is the one who gets to decide what is right. God is our standard of righteousness.

Let’s return to the same courtroom scene we imagined earlier. While pursuing a conviction, the prosecutor appeals to the moral standards that have established through the law. A criminal is guilty, not just of committing a crime, but failing to live up to the legal standards of the law.

3. The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Judgment (v. 11).

Jesus knew that sin is inspired by Satan, “the ruler of this world.” In this verse, Jesus said that Satan “has been judged.” The term is in the perfect tense, meaning that it has already happened, and we are living out the continued effects. Those who side with the ruler of this world over the Savior of the world will be judged for all eternity when Christ comes back.

Let’s return one more time to the courtroom scene. After the prosecutor presents all of evidence and references all of the legal standards that are relevant to the case, he urges the jury to come back with a “guilty” verdict, so that the criminal can be sentenced for his crime.

4. The Holy Spirit Guides Believers in the Truth (v. 12-15).

Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit to his disciples as “the Spirit of Truth,” or The Teacher. The disciples couldn’t take it all in as they were walking with JC, but the Holy Spirit inspired some of them to complete God’s authoritative Word. The same Spirit that inspired the Bible guides people to the truth today.

There are all kinds of helpful nuggets, helps, and tips in the Bible about all kinds of things in life. But the Bible and the ministry of the Holy Spirit isn’t focused on you, it’s focused on Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel. Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of truth.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living & active & sharper than any two-edged sword, & piercing as far as the division of soul & spirit, of both joints & marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God as a surgeon’s scalpel in our lives. No one that I know enjoys surgery, but we submit to it when we know there is no other way to get healthy.

The Holy Spirit has a dynamic work to the church and the world. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He also guides the believers to the truth. The question is, will you cooperate with him?

Headlights and floodlights alert us of danger and highlight things of beauty. The headlights in your car illuminate the road at night and the floodlights around your home light up the architectural features of your home. When lighting is well done, you don’t see the lights themselves, but the hazards or the buildings the lights are trained on. The Holy Spirit lights up the dark places in our lives as well and he also lights up Jesus Christ so we can see our need for Savior.

Judgment and Mercy

The story of Karla Faye Tucker is heartbreaking. Karla Faye dropped out of school at an early age and followed her mom into a life of prostitution and drugs. When she was in her 20’s she started dating an older man named Daniel Garrett. While searching for items to steal and sell for drug money, Karla Faye and Daniel broke into a nearby apartment and killed two victims with a hammer and pickax. Karla Faye and Daniel were eventually arrested and sentenced to death. Daniel died from liver disease on death row, but Karla Faye became a Christian. She “stole” a free Bible from a visiting ministry group and gave her life to Jesus after reading it in her cell. She became a model prisoner and showed great remorse for her actions. When a date finally set for her execution, a crowd of supporters urged the state to commute her. Their efforts fell short, and Karla Faye was executed by lethal injection in 1998 with a few close friends and family members by her side.

The story of Karla Faye Tucker’s life and death serves as a heartbreaking backdrop for an equally tragic story found in John 8:1-11. In this passage, a group of scribes and Pharisee urge Jesus to pronounce a death sentence on a woman caught in adultery. In the end, the religious leaders learn something that the woman caught in adultery already knew – Jesus is the Righteous Judge.

As the Righteous Judge, Jesus declares judgment on the self-righteous (8:1-9).

Even though these religious leaders seemed interested in justice, they were really trying to trap Jesus. Stoning wasn’t very popular in Jesus’ day for obvious reasons, but it was called for in the Mosaic Law. If Jesus rejected the punishment outright, He would lose credibility as a teacher of the Law. If Jesus enforced the punishment, He would lose popularity with the people and might even get in trouble with the Roman authorities.

Instead of answering them, Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dirt with his finger. We don’t know what He wrote, but we know what He said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7). This was a direct reference to Deuteronomy 13:9 and 17:7. Jesus was not saying they had to be perfect or free from sin to condemn the woman, but they did have to be sinless in this particular case.

The scribes and Pharisee were secure in their own self- righteousness. They were so secure they were willing to sacrifice this woman’s whole life to cover up their own sin and condemn Jesus. They held this woman to a higher standard of righteousness than they held themselves too.

As Jesus bent back to down to write in the dirt again, the religious leaders filed out one by one until they were all gone. Those who came to embarrass Jesus were themselves embarrassed. They snuck out of the temple one by one until they were all gone.

As the Righteous Judge, Jesus demonstrates mercy on the unrighteous (8:10-12).

Straightening up, Jesus asked the woman where her accusers had gone. She replied that they were all gone. Jesus did not imply that the woman was innocent, simply that she was not condemned. She experienced God’s mercy because she knew something the religious leaders did not know – we are all guilty and unrighteous before God.

A genuine encounter with Christ always results in a transformed life. Her past had been forgiven and her future was now wide open. Jesus sent the woman out to live a transformed life.

As the Righteous Judge, Jesus looks past outer appearances and judges the heart.

The problem is that too often, we storm the courtroom of life and take the responsibility of judging ourselves and judging others on ourselves. But as humans, we are not in a position to judge. Like it says in James 2:4, we judge with a double standard and become “judges with evil motives.”

You can respond to this story in two ways. One way is to show compassion on another “sinner” so that you can distance yourself from self-righteousness. Sin is still sin, but we should not rush to condemn someone who God has forgiven. We often judge other people harsher than we judge ourselves and “blowing out some else’s candle so our burns brighter.” The degree to which you can show compassion on someone who has wronged you is the degree to which you have cast off your own self-righteousness.

Another way to respond to this story is to give up one of your besetting sins as you glory in God’s great mercy towards you. We all struggle with a number of sins (1 John 1:8). Sexual sins are no worse than any other sin, but they can be harder to overcome because they are self-destructive (1 Corinthians 6:18). You cannot change the past, but with God’s help, you can change the future.

God wants to help you escape from the prison of your own self-righteousness. You can fool your family & friends, but you can’t fool God, because He is the Righteous Judge.

Sent to Save

“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years of studying books.” – Henry Longfellow

A wise man approached Jesus at night for a conversation. The man was Nicodemus, a well-respected and influential religious leader in Jerusalem. The longer that Nicodemus and Jesus talked, the more obvious it was that he didn’t understand who Jesus was or what he was saying to him. Jesus proved to be the real wise man in the conversation.

During the course of their conversation, Jesus shared God’s plan to save the world. He told Nicodemus that God sent His Son into the world to save the world. Jesus led Nicodemus through the course of the discussion Jesus explained who needs to be saved, how to get saved, why getting saved is so important. We read about their interaction in John 3:1-21

1. EVERYONE WHO WALKS IN DARKNESS NEEDS TO BE SAVED (John 3:1-3)

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night which is an indication of his spiritual state, not just the time of day. Darkness is the domain of misunderstanding and unbelief. The only other person that did something at night in John’s Gospel was Judas, who betrayed Jesus at night (John 13:30). Even though Nicodemus was respectful and smart, he was in the dark about God’s plan to save the world.

Nicodemus came to Jesus from an elevated place in society, that was not enough to escape his spiritual darkness. Nicodemus had a privileged birth as a Jewish man in Jerusalem. Nicodemus also had great influence. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court.

In comparison to Christ, the Light of the world, everyone walks in darkness and needs to be saved. John 8:12 says, “Jesus is the Light of the world and those who follow Him will not walk in darkness.” Like Nicodemus, we are unable to save ourselves through our own good works and self-made righteousness.

2. YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN TO BE SAVED (John 3:4-8)

Jesus informed Nicodemus that he could not participate in God’s kingdom without being “born again.” Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus, who was talking about spiritual birth, not physical birth. Being “born again” means to be born from above by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus explained that the process of spiritual birth may seem mysterious, like the blowing of the wind, but the outcome and effects of spiritual birth are obvious.

3. YOU ARE UNDER GOD’S JUDGMENT, SO YOU NEED TO BE SAVED (John 3:9-21)

Jesus described the Heavenly Father like as a loving Judge, a subject that Nicodemus was familiar with as a judge in Israel. God balanced his hatred toward sin with his love for humanity by make a way for everyone to be saved at great cost to himself. Jesus is God’s one and only son. God sent him into the world to save the world.

Jesus balanced this good news with a warning that God’s judgment is looming for who refuse to believe. He told Nicodemus that who don’t believe in him are already judged by God. Those who continue in their unbelief will experience death and separation from God, instead of the eternal life that God offers. Hebrews 9:27 punctuates this truth with these words: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”

Nicodemus and Jesus’ conversation reveals God’s plan to save the world. Each and every person who reads this account must decide what to do with Jesus. The decision is to put your faith in Jesus as God’s Savior and experience eternal life, or reject Jesus and experience the consequences. Those who come to Jesus as the Light of the world must take the light they’ve been given and share it with those around them who are still walking in darkness.

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