We studied the truth regarding the work of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of the
lost, making them the children of the living God by means of "the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit." Now we are concerned primarily
with the conviction experience of the lost as brought about by reason of the activity
of the Holy Spirit.
I. Many things may contribute to an individual's willingness to listen to the gospel
message:
A. Peter thus states in II Peter 3:1-2, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your
own husbands; that if any obey not the word, they also without the word may be won by
the conversation (behaviour) of the wives; while they hold your chaste behaviour."
B. Again, in John 4, the woman of Samaria experienced such a joyful change and went
back into her city with an enthusiastic zeal that so impressed the men of the city
"they went out of the city, and came to him" (vs 30). Then in verse 39, "and many of
the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which
testified."
C. Thus we have here two methods of getting men to listen to the gospel. However this
willingness to hear did not constitute "conviction" on the part of the Holy Spirit.
D. Even the behaviour of the saints during the worship service may contribute to the
way in which the lost hear and are thus dealt with by the Spirit as the Word is
preached. In I Corinthians 14:24, if a church assembles in unity and worships God in
Spirit and in truth, then "unbelievers" will be "convinced of all" (the original Greek
texts says "convicted") "and judged of all," and will "report that God is in you all
of a truth" (vs 25). Playing, talking, passing notes and disturbing the service will
have the reverse effect and God will not hold such guiltless for causing the lost to
pay no attention to the gospel message.
II. Nevertheless, conviction of a lost person cannot take place apart from the Word
being preached:
A. It is "the gospel" itself which is "the power of God" eventuating in salvation to
everyone that believes (Rm 1:16-17).
B. God has decreed it is "the preaching of the cross" that is the means which He will
use to "save them that believe" (I cor 1:18, 21).
C. "The sword of the Spirit is the word of God" (Eph 6:17) and He uses it to cut, to
convince and convict the lost sinner of three things, "sin and righteousness and
judgment" (Jn 16:7-11). Thus the Word preached convicts the lost that:
1. "All have sinned" (Rm 3:23) and that the wages thereof is death (Rm 6:23).
2. "Unbelief" is "the sin of the world" for which Christ, as God's Lamb died (Jn 1:29;
3:18; 16:10).
3. As "the righteous servant" (Isa 53:11), Christ performed a glorious and finished
work in His death, burial and resurrection (I Cor 15:3-4) in which "the righteousness
of God is revealed" (Rm 1:17). Having no righteousness (Rm 3:10) nor goodness (Rm
3:12), I can nevertheless be "made righteous" because of what Christ, my substitute,
did for me. Therefore, "the righteousness of God" which was produced and manifested
"by the faith of Jesus Christ" (His faithful work known as the gospel) is now offered
"unto all," but is only "upon all them that believe" (Rm 3:22). So then by accepting
His payment and offering for my sin, I can become "in Christ . . . . a new creation"
(II Cor 5:17). Furthermore I also "am made the righteousness of God in him" (II Cor
5:21). We can say then "that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification and redemption: that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord" (I Cor 1:29-31).
4. To all who reject such a message, there is a judgment to face. Although Christ has
already "judged our sin in the flesh" (Rm 8:4; I Pet 2:24) "on the tree;" and God has
accepted it as the complete and final payment for our sin and judgment; yet, if a man
will not accept it, he will face God at the judgment to come. Therefore Paul wrote,
"it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement" (Heb 9:27). Now
the Word properly preached is the instrument which the Holy Spirit uses to "convict
the world of sin, righteousness and judgment." Without being preached, either from the
pulpit, door-to-door, through books, tracts, radio and etc., there can and will be no
conviction wrought by the Holy Spirit regarding sin, righteousness or judgment.
5. However, once heard and understood, that Word may be employed by the Spirit to
continue to cut and convince for days to come. Nevertheless, aside from the preaching
and implanting of the Word--the gospel--in the heart, there will be no conviction at
all.
III. Let us also see here how the Holy Spirit may be resisted by the lost:
A. Acts 7:51 declares, "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did, so do
ye."
B. Stephen preached, "and when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart"
(7:54).
C. The answer to "how they resisted the Holy Spirit" is given in the text, "as your
fathers did, so do ye."
1. The next verse states "which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And
they have slain them which shewed (preached) . . . . the coming of the just one
(Christ)" (7:52).
2. Peter wrote "the prophets . . . . prophesied . . . . as the Spirit . . . . which
was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ" (II Pet
3:2). Thus David said, "the Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my
tongue" (II Sam 23:2). The Holy Spirit never has spoken and does not now speak apart
from the Word.
3. Therefore to "resist the Holy Spirit" was to reject the words they spake. Men are
still doing that today. As the Word is preached, the Holy Spirit convicts the lost
sinner but many "resist the Holy Spirit" refusing to heed the words of the Gospel.
D. Each lost man does one of two things every time the gospel is preached:
1. "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true" (Jn
3:33). Believing, he is born again (Jn 3:16; 3:36).
2. Or, "He that believeth not . . . . hath made (God) a liar, because he believeth not
the record God gave of his Son" (I Jn 5:10). To do so is to choose death and hell.
E. Wherefore see that the Holy Spirit "calls you by the gospel" preached (II Thess
2:13-14). "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rm 10:17).
F. Therefore man is said to "have purified (his) soul in obeying the truth . . . .
being born again . . . . by the word of God . . . . the word which by the gospel is
preached" (I Pet 1:22-23, 25). When this occurs one is said to be "born of the Spirit"
(Jn 3:6), "born from above" (Jn 3:3)(see margin), and "born of God" (Jn 1:13). And,
while there is really nothing mysterious about the work of the Holy Spirit in the
conviction of a lost individual, God's plan to do this through "the foolishness of
preaching" is glorious (I Cor 1:18, 21), and "is the power of God."
May I say in conclusion that most of the religious world fails then to distinguish
between "the leading of the Holy Spirit" of the saved man on the one hand and the
"conviction of the Holy Spirit" of the lost man on the other hand. The two are not the
same. They are not even related.
It is a matter of spiritual fact "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God" (Rm 8:17). Every single person who is "led by the Spirit of God" is
already born again. Therefore He never "leads" the lost but He does "convict and
convince" the lost. He deals with them by taking the preached Word and cutting and
dividing and discerning (Heb 4:12). Do not confuse these two separate and totally
distinct activities.
I believe in the working of the Holy Spirit both upon the hearts and minds of the lost
and the saved. I do not believe, however, that it is the same kind of working or
activity. JM
lost, making them the children of the living God by means of "the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit." Now we are concerned primarily
with the conviction experience of the lost as brought about by reason of the activity
of the Holy Spirit.
I. Many things may contribute to an individual's willingness to listen to the gospel
message:
A. Peter thus states in II Peter 3:1-2, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your
own husbands; that if any obey not the word, they also without the word may be won by
the conversation (behaviour) of the wives; while they hold your chaste behaviour."
B. Again, in John 4, the woman of Samaria experienced such a joyful change and went
back into her city with an enthusiastic zeal that so impressed the men of the city
"they went out of the city, and came to him" (vs 30). Then in verse 39, "and many of
the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which
testified."
C. Thus we have here two methods of getting men to listen to the gospel. However this
willingness to hear did not constitute "conviction" on the part of the Holy Spirit.
D. Even the behaviour of the saints during the worship service may contribute to the
way in which the lost hear and are thus dealt with by the Spirit as the Word is
preached. In I Corinthians 14:24, if a church assembles in unity and worships God in
Spirit and in truth, then "unbelievers" will be "convinced of all" (the original Greek
texts says "convicted") "and judged of all," and will "report that God is in you all
of a truth" (vs 25). Playing, talking, passing notes and disturbing the service will
have the reverse effect and God will not hold such guiltless for causing the lost to
pay no attention to the gospel message.
II. Nevertheless, conviction of a lost person cannot take place apart from the Word
being preached:
A. It is "the gospel" itself which is "the power of God" eventuating in salvation to
everyone that believes (Rm 1:16-17).
B. God has decreed it is "the preaching of the cross" that is the means which He will
use to "save them that believe" (I cor 1:18, 21).
C. "The sword of the Spirit is the word of God" (Eph 6:17) and He uses it to cut, to
convince and convict the lost sinner of three things, "sin and righteousness and
judgment" (Jn 16:7-11). Thus the Word preached convicts the lost that:
1. "All have sinned" (Rm 3:23) and that the wages thereof is death (Rm 6:23).
2. "Unbelief" is "the sin of the world" for which Christ, as God's Lamb died (Jn 1:29;
3:18; 16:10).
3. As "the righteous servant" (Isa 53:11), Christ performed a glorious and finished
work in His death, burial and resurrection (I Cor 15:3-4) in which "the righteousness
of God is revealed" (Rm 1:17). Having no righteousness (Rm 3:10) nor goodness (Rm
3:12), I can nevertheless be "made righteous" because of what Christ, my substitute,
did for me. Therefore, "the righteousness of God" which was produced and manifested
"by the faith of Jesus Christ" (His faithful work known as the gospel) is now offered
"unto all," but is only "upon all them that believe" (Rm 3:22). So then by accepting
His payment and offering for my sin, I can become "in Christ . . . . a new creation"
(II Cor 5:17). Furthermore I also "am made the righteousness of God in him" (II Cor
5:21). We can say then "that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification and redemption: that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord" (I Cor 1:29-31).
4. To all who reject such a message, there is a judgment to face. Although Christ has
already "judged our sin in the flesh" (Rm 8:4; I Pet 2:24) "on the tree;" and God has
accepted it as the complete and final payment for our sin and judgment; yet, if a man
will not accept it, he will face God at the judgment to come. Therefore Paul wrote,
"it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgement" (Heb 9:27). Now
the Word properly preached is the instrument which the Holy Spirit uses to "convict
the world of sin, righteousness and judgment." Without being preached, either from the
pulpit, door-to-door, through books, tracts, radio and etc., there can and will be no
conviction wrought by the Holy Spirit regarding sin, righteousness or judgment.
5. However, once heard and understood, that Word may be employed by the Spirit to
continue to cut and convince for days to come. Nevertheless, aside from the preaching
and implanting of the Word--the gospel--in the heart, there will be no conviction at
all.
III. Let us also see here how the Holy Spirit may be resisted by the lost:
A. Acts 7:51 declares, "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did, so do
ye."
B. Stephen preached, "and when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart"
(7:54).
C. The answer to "how they resisted the Holy Spirit" is given in the text, "as your
fathers did, so do ye."
1. The next verse states "which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And
they have slain them which shewed (preached) . . . . the coming of the just one
(Christ)" (7:52).
2. Peter wrote "the prophets . . . . prophesied . . . . as the Spirit . . . . which
was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ" (II Pet
3:2). Thus David said, "the Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my
tongue" (II Sam 23:2). The Holy Spirit never has spoken and does not now speak apart
from the Word.
3. Therefore to "resist the Holy Spirit" was to reject the words they spake. Men are
still doing that today. As the Word is preached, the Holy Spirit convicts the lost
sinner but many "resist the Holy Spirit" refusing to heed the words of the Gospel.
D. Each lost man does one of two things every time the gospel is preached:
1. "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true" (Jn
3:33). Believing, he is born again (Jn 3:16; 3:36).
2. Or, "He that believeth not . . . . hath made (God) a liar, because he believeth not
the record God gave of his Son" (I Jn 5:10). To do so is to choose death and hell.
E. Wherefore see that the Holy Spirit "calls you by the gospel" preached (II Thess
2:13-14). "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rm 10:17).
F. Therefore man is said to "have purified (his) soul in obeying the truth . . . .
being born again . . . . by the word of God . . . . the word which by the gospel is
preached" (I Pet 1:22-23, 25). When this occurs one is said to be "born of the Spirit"
(Jn 3:6), "born from above" (Jn 3:3)(see margin), and "born of God" (Jn 1:13). And,
while there is really nothing mysterious about the work of the Holy Spirit in the
conviction of a lost individual, God's plan to do this through "the foolishness of
preaching" is glorious (I Cor 1:18, 21), and "is the power of God."
May I say in conclusion that most of the religious world fails then to distinguish
between "the leading of the Holy Spirit" of the saved man on the one hand and the
"conviction of the Holy Spirit" of the lost man on the other hand. The two are not the
same. They are not even related.
It is a matter of spiritual fact "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God" (Rm 8:17). Every single person who is "led by the Spirit of God" is
already born again. Therefore He never "leads" the lost but He does "convict and
convince" the lost. He deals with them by taking the preached Word and cutting and
dividing and discerning (Heb 4:12). Do not confuse these two separate and totally
distinct activities.
I believe in the working of the Holy Spirit both upon the hearts and minds of the lost
and the saved. I do not believe, however, that it is the same kind of working or
activity. JM
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| The Work of the Holy Spirit -- Part III "The Spirit's Work Relating to the Lost" CHAPTER 11 By John C. Morgan |