“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” (John 16:8-11 KJV)
These verses have a whole bunch of learning just waiting to pop out at you. In the next few days, we're going to be discussing these same verses, looking at them from different perspectives.
Today, we're going to understand how the Holy Spirit "reproves the world of sin" because they don't believe in Jesus Christ.
Reprove means 1651. elegcw elegcho el-eng’-kho; of uncertain affinity; to confute, admonish:— convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
Sometimes Christians get this one wrong...they speak of the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin.
Christians aren't convicted of sin, folks, the worldly sinners are convicted of sin.
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:20 KJV)
But, lookee here...Even the worldly sinners won't be reproved if they don't come toward the light. This verse lets us know that the Holy Spirit will reveal the sins of a world lover if he tries to come close to Jesus Christ, to allow him to reject sin, and embrace a Savior. But, the world lover still must come toward the light! Therefore, the Holy Spirit convicts sinners of their wrong-doing, but only those who seek.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:11-13 KJV)
Now listen closely to this portion...
IT IS A SHAME TO SPEAK OF THINGS DONE BY THE WORLDLY SINNERS IN SECRET! The devious, sick acts of sexual perversion, for instance, are not something we should even be thinking about. Of course, reality requires us to take precautions for our children to protect them; however, if that attention crawls into the bedroom of the worldly, then believers are standing where they should not!
The Holy Spirit's job, which becomes our job, as He speaks through us, is to reprove those worldly sinners who are coming toward the light. In other words, if they want to be a Christian, they have got to understand the things they do that are sinful, so those things can be rejected, and the Lord Jesus Christ embraced.
It's kinda like a spiritual don't ask, don't tell policy. What the world does in their bedrooms is perverse, sickening and disturbing. It is a shameful thing that should be so far from our minds that we never think of it. Yet, what are the churches focusing on? Yep, the things that are going on in the worldly sinners bedrooms! What a waste of precious time! It's not quite as fun, I suppose, to quietly lead a homosexual to God without talking about the dirty and nasty things of the worldly perverse. It's not as attention getting when a worldly sinner starts walking toward the light, and his sin starts dropping away, without once bringing focus to the profane and dirty acts he did.
Mark my words well...many of the wrong focuses of the church today are misdirected and harmful, and will lead to even more false doctrine being spoken from the pulpits. Believers need to get their minds out of the gutters and worldly bedrooms, and place their focus on helping people come toward that light! You don't create false barriers, and you don't go down to the level of the sinner. However, you do stand tall in the middle of that light, so when a sinner walks toward Jesus Christ, you are standing with the Holy Spirit, to help convict him of sin, and claim salvation in faith that is freely given to him.
And we're not just talking about the sexually perverse! I have seen the worst of sinners become righteous with one bold step of faith toward Christ. The Holy Spirit opens their eyes, their minds, and their hearts immediately, and convicts them of their sins. They know immediately what He is talking about, and they immediately desire to stop those sins because they realize it prevents them from Jesus Christ! There is no pleading or arguing or talking dirty necessary...when the Holy Spirit convicts, you can be certain, the receiver knows exactly what He is talking about, and he will be ashamed!
The worldly sinners are another story completely. They continuously sin, and are proud of their actions. The Holy Spirit did not come to cause them to know their sin! He came only to reprove the world of sin, but that reproof starts as a seeker looks for the light of God. Until that search begins, the heart of a sinner is far from God, and the Holy Spirit is not going to make an effort!
However, by the mere presence of the Holy Spirit on this earth, the world is convicted of sin. Now we are talking about general terms. And I believe that it is in general terms that this Scripture is written. If the Holy Spirit were not available to help a worldly sinner come to Christ, then the worldly sinner would have no way of knowing what a sin was...they are that blind. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the world is given an opportunity to be convicted of their sin, and that general statement is powerful and enlightening without any specifics at all!
“I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5 KJV)
This is the Scripture that many evangelistic organizations use to prove they need to be in the wordly sinners homes and telling them what is right and wrong with their lives.
I believe 2 Timothy 4:1-5 charges us to stand tall in our ministries, and preach the Word of God so effectively, that when the worldly sinners come toward the light, the Holy Spirit can convict them of their sins. That when they come toward the faithful evangelist, they hear good Word, and know what they need to do.
Okay class, here's the question of the day...Where should you be standing as you preach the Word of God? Should you be in the bedrooms of the perverse, in the bars of the inebriated, in the den of thieves, in the gutters of the bum, and in the tents of the terrorists? Or should you be standing tall in a righteous life, proclaiming the Word of God in seasons and out of season, staying consistent and in the light, where the worldly sinner can see and know where he must walk to access a chance to receive God? Does John 16:8 and John 3:20 bring you to a deeper understanding of the reproof given by the Holy Spirit to the world?
By the way...this seemingly insignificant question has already touched your life in this classroom. Remember XXX? He was convinced that a Christian should wallow in the dirt of sin, and pull out a sinner. I am convinced that a spiritually strong Christian should stand tall and firm, and be a beacon of light for the sinner to walk toward. That basic difference makes all the difference in the world, and it is why XXX left us. There is a great chasm between the two different schools of belief, and the believers on my side of this belief are very slim...most take XXX's approach as evidenced by the numerous Christian efforts inside the bedrooms and bars of the world.
What do you believe?
David "Bucker" Becker
These verses have a whole bunch of learning just waiting to pop out at you. In the next few days, we're going to be discussing these same verses, looking at them from different perspectives.
Today, we're going to understand how the Holy Spirit "reproves the world of sin" because they don't believe in Jesus Christ.
Reprove means 1651. elegcw elegcho el-eng’-kho; of uncertain affinity; to confute, admonish:— convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
Sometimes Christians get this one wrong...they speak of the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin.
Christians aren't convicted of sin, folks, the worldly sinners are convicted of sin.
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:20 KJV)
But, lookee here...Even the worldly sinners won't be reproved if they don't come toward the light. This verse lets us know that the Holy Spirit will reveal the sins of a world lover if he tries to come close to Jesus Christ, to allow him to reject sin, and embrace a Savior. But, the world lover still must come toward the light! Therefore, the Holy Spirit convicts sinners of their wrong-doing, but only those who seek.
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” (Ephesians 5:11-13 KJV)
Now listen closely to this portion...
IT IS A SHAME TO SPEAK OF THINGS DONE BY THE WORLDLY SINNERS IN SECRET! The devious, sick acts of sexual perversion, for instance, are not something we should even be thinking about. Of course, reality requires us to take precautions for our children to protect them; however, if that attention crawls into the bedroom of the worldly, then believers are standing where they should not!
The Holy Spirit's job, which becomes our job, as He speaks through us, is to reprove those worldly sinners who are coming toward the light. In other words, if they want to be a Christian, they have got to understand the things they do that are sinful, so those things can be rejected, and the Lord Jesus Christ embraced.
It's kinda like a spiritual don't ask, don't tell policy. What the world does in their bedrooms is perverse, sickening and disturbing. It is a shameful thing that should be so far from our minds that we never think of it. Yet, what are the churches focusing on? Yep, the things that are going on in the worldly sinners bedrooms! What a waste of precious time! It's not quite as fun, I suppose, to quietly lead a homosexual to God without talking about the dirty and nasty things of the worldly perverse. It's not as attention getting when a worldly sinner starts walking toward the light, and his sin starts dropping away, without once bringing focus to the profane and dirty acts he did.
Mark my words well...many of the wrong focuses of the church today are misdirected and harmful, and will lead to even more false doctrine being spoken from the pulpits. Believers need to get their minds out of the gutters and worldly bedrooms, and place their focus on helping people come toward that light! You don't create false barriers, and you don't go down to the level of the sinner. However, you do stand tall in the middle of that light, so when a sinner walks toward Jesus Christ, you are standing with the Holy Spirit, to help convict him of sin, and claim salvation in faith that is freely given to him.
And we're not just talking about the sexually perverse! I have seen the worst of sinners become righteous with one bold step of faith toward Christ. The Holy Spirit opens their eyes, their minds, and their hearts immediately, and convicts them of their sins. They know immediately what He is talking about, and they immediately desire to stop those sins because they realize it prevents them from Jesus Christ! There is no pleading or arguing or talking dirty necessary...when the Holy Spirit convicts, you can be certain, the receiver knows exactly what He is talking about, and he will be ashamed!
The worldly sinners are another story completely. They continuously sin, and are proud of their actions. The Holy Spirit did not come to cause them to know their sin! He came only to reprove the world of sin, but that reproof starts as a seeker looks for the light of God. Until that search begins, the heart of a sinner is far from God, and the Holy Spirit is not going to make an effort!
However, by the mere presence of the Holy Spirit on this earth, the world is convicted of sin. Now we are talking about general terms. And I believe that it is in general terms that this Scripture is written. If the Holy Spirit were not available to help a worldly sinner come to Christ, then the worldly sinner would have no way of knowing what a sin was...they are that blind. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the world is given an opportunity to be convicted of their sin, and that general statement is powerful and enlightening without any specifics at all!
“I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5 KJV)
This is the Scripture that many evangelistic organizations use to prove they need to be in the wordly sinners homes and telling them what is right and wrong with their lives.
I believe 2 Timothy 4:1-5 charges us to stand tall in our ministries, and preach the Word of God so effectively, that when the worldly sinners come toward the light, the Holy Spirit can convict them of their sins. That when they come toward the faithful evangelist, they hear good Word, and know what they need to do.
Okay class, here's the question of the day...Where should you be standing as you preach the Word of God? Should you be in the bedrooms of the perverse, in the bars of the inebriated, in the den of thieves, in the gutters of the bum, and in the tents of the terrorists? Or should you be standing tall in a righteous life, proclaiming the Word of God in seasons and out of season, staying consistent and in the light, where the worldly sinner can see and know where he must walk to access a chance to receive God? Does John 16:8 and John 3:20 bring you to a deeper understanding of the reproof given by the Holy Spirit to the world?
By the way...this seemingly insignificant question has already touched your life in this classroom. Remember XXX? He was convinced that a Christian should wallow in the dirt of sin, and pull out a sinner. I am convinced that a spiritually strong Christian should stand tall and firm, and be a beacon of light for the sinner to walk toward. That basic difference makes all the difference in the world, and it is why XXX left us. There is a great chasm between the two different schools of belief, and the believers on my side of this belief are very slim...most take XXX's approach as evidenced by the numerous Christian efforts inside the bedrooms and bars of the world.
What do you believe?
David "Bucker" Becker
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