Focal Passage: John 16:5-15
When my mother graduated from high school the class sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Although the song was a hit it never mentioned who would walk with us. Thankfully Jesus has identified our Comforter. Lost people may say that they would follow Jesus if they could see Him, but true believers know that they are temples of the Holy Spirit Who lives within them. In fact, the greatest counsel we receive from the Holy Spirit comes through the assurance of our salvation: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Lack of conviction concerning the things of God is one of the clearest evidences that a person is not in Christ. A person may say all the right things and attempt to work in Jesus’ name, yet be devoid of conviction regarding his own sin, lack of righteousness, and coming judgment.
A fellow layman once told my father that there are only two kinds of people who don’t make mistakes: one is in the cemetery and the other is sitting in the corner doing nothing. While this analysis is true regarding outward sins of commission, it doesn’t speak to sins of the heart and mind or sins of omission. The Holy Spirit convicts us not only of sin (what we need to stop doing), but also of righteousness (the things we need to do to bear spiritual fruit). Although we anticipate Judgment Day, we are warned to approach the day with fear and trembling because each one will be “recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
The Holy Spirit has been blamed for an abundance of heresy and disobedience. However, Jesus reminds us that the Spirit is not self-glorifying but always pointing us to Christ. Some spiritual claims are like a cheap compass. It appears to point north but a comparison with true north shows the compass to be faulty. May we base our ministries on the interworking of the Word of God and the witness of the Holy Spirit.