When I was a child, every once in a while I’d see someone who was blind, walking down the street with the help of his seeing-eye dog. Sixty-years ago, that was about the only “Service animal” I’d ever see. But today, things are very different. We can hardly go to the grocery store without seeing people with a variety of pets in their shopping carts. And some of them really ARE trained service animals.
I did a little research and found that there are a variety of service animals which can do almost miraculous things. In addition to being people’s eyes, there a number of ways they assist people’s mobility. Not only can they prevent their masters/clients/partners from bumping into things, they can pull wheelchairs, open doors, pick up things and turn on light switches. And there are hearing animals which can alert people to sounds like a doorbell, telephone and fire alarm. More and more often, we hear of animals who assist people with mental health disorders, like anxiety or PTSD, providing emotional support. But beyond that, they can perform therapy with their paws or muzzles, and they can fetch medication. These sorts of things are easy to understand, but there are other things which are harder to fathom. Animals can alert vulnerable people to upcoming seizures and help protect them from injury during those seizures. They can also bring medication or a phone to call for help. Service dogs can help people with autism by interrupting harmful behaviors, easing transitions, and keeping them safe. Dogs with their hypersensitive sense of smell can alert people when blood sugar levels change, so they can take some food or administer an insulin injection. And speaking of dog’s noses, they can detect lung, ovarian and other cancers in breath samples. With high accuracy, they can warn of bladder and prostate cancer in urine samples. Something else I hadn’t considered is that trained service dogs can detect allergens in food, medications, soaps, balms, or just generally the air in a room. When they sense a problem they can alert their client. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that animals are being used in other new and astounding ways to help people.
With the image of a “service dog” in our minds, I’d like to deal with an important theological issue – the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus reveals something extremely important in this paragraph. The Spirit is not a service god; He is infinitely more important than a helper. Christ describes, here, one of the primary ministries of the Spirit – perhaps the most important thing He does before regeneration. God, the Holy Spirit, sniffs out, so to speak, corruption in the soul and brings it to the sinner’s attention.
Analysis.
John 16 is a part of Jesus’ “Upper room discourse” – one of His last opportunities to encourage the saints. In this chapter He begins by telling us not to be surprised when the world hates us and even persecutes us. “These things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.” He says that He hadn’t really discussed this earlier, because He had been there to watch over them. “But now I go my way to him that sent me…” And this disturbs you. “Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.” “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is EXPEDIENT for you that I go away.”
The Greek word translated “expedient” is just as often rendered as “profitable” or simply “profit.” It is important and profitable for you – it is expedient and necessary for you that I go away. Jesus’ departure is valuable to us, because it was going to be through the cross. Christ “GAVE himself (in His crucifixion) for us, that he might REDEEM us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people…” – Titus 2:14. “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because HE LAID DOWN his life for us…” – I John 3:16. And “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” – John 15:13. It was absolutely expedient for us that Christ go away.
“For if I go not away, the COMFORTER will not come unto you; BUT if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Half a dozen verses later, the Lord tells us exactly who that Comforter is. “When HE, the SPIRIT of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” In your Bible you’ll see that the word “Comforter” is capitalized, and properly so. He is the third person of the Trinity. He is every bit as much God, as Christ is – or the Father is.
It appears this verse is saying that Jesus was leaving just so that the comforting Holy Spirit could come. But as I said, the Lord’s primary purpose in departing was to purchase our salvation with His blood. As an additional blessing, in His going away room was made for the Spirit to be His comforting substitute. “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you…”
With that we come to the point of my message this morning.
“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.” In addition to the Spirit’s comforting ministry and His regeneration of sin-dead souls, one His most important tasks is REPROVING the people of this world of their sin before God. He not only sniffs out wickedness, He exposes it and condemns it. The Lord Jesus tells us that this aspect of the Spirit’s ministry involves three specific areas – sin, righteousness and judgment.
Before we get to those three, I need you to think about the word “reprove.” “And when he is come, he will REPROVE the world… of sin, righteousness and judgment.” That Greek word is translated “reprove,” but to help us understand, it is also “rebuke,” “convince” and “convict.” In my study of that word, one man said that it can be used for the cross-examination of a witness in court. The defense lawyer has called a man to testify, asking him questions which leads the jury down a path toward an acquittal. But then the prosecuting attorney asks that same witness more appropriate questions which clearly reveal the rest of the facts and the guilt of the man. Most people in this world think of themselves as healthy and reasonably good, honest citizens. But the Holy Spirit, like a trained cancer tester, asks more pertinent questions, revealing that we are guilty; we are sick; we are dying.
The first aspect the Spirit’s work reveals that we are guilty of SIN. “When the Spirit is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: – of sin, because they believe not on me. We have to ask: what is the Biblical definition of sin? In the midst of many helpful descriptions, the Apostle John tells us quite flatly, “Sin is the transgression of the law” – speaking of God’s law – I John 3:4. He adds to that, saying, “All unrighteousness is sin” – I John 5:17. Anything which is contrary to the nature of the holy God is unrighteous and therefore sin. So – “he that despiseth his neighbor sinneth” – Proverbs 14:21. And even “the thought of foolishness is sin” – Proverbs 24:9. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” – Romans 14:23. And “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” – James 4:17. These are all helpful to know if a person wants to eliminate sin from his life.
But the Lord Jesus, in this verse, takes sin in an entirely different and personal direction. “When the Spirit is come, he will reprove the world of sin – because they believe not on ME.” If we asked a hundred people to describe the worst of all sins, we’d probably get twenty-five or thirty-five different answers. Murder is the worst of all sins; no, the devastation of the rain forest is above all other sins. Abortion is the worst sin; someone replies: refusing to permit a woman to have an abortion is worse. Adultery is the height of all sin; no, fornication with a minor is more wretched. On and on the debate might go. To find the answer to this or any other question, we have to turn to the Bible.
Jesus says, without the least bit of pride or confusion, the ministry of the Spirit is to convince people of their sin of not putting their faith on ME. You could say that ultimately, the sin that damns the soul to hell is rejection of Christ as Lord and Saviour. We are born sinners; we come into this world tainted with the sinful DNA of our first parents. Proof is all around us. Our sinfulness is self-evident. And in that condition, every sin becomes equally wretched in the eyes of the holy God. Since we are all sinners, the murderer is no more a sinner than someone who cheated the stock market We aren’t surprised when Revelation 21:8 says that demon worshippers, adulterers and murderers “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” But along with those people will be untrusting, fearful people, the tellers of white lies and those who refuse to believe Christ Jesus and the word of God. And again, “to him that (simply) knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Moses told Israel, Jehovah has told you what to do to please Him, and “if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” – Numbers 32:23. So, simple neglect is sinful in God’s sight.
We have no right in saying to each other: “Your sin is worse than mine.” We are all equally sinners. But the final sin, that one which secures our eternal condemnation is our refusal to trust and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died to pay the penalty for sin, and when we refuse to accept that payment, we stand condemned.
Reiterating that point, “When the Spirit is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness… of RIGHTEOUSNESS, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more. When Christ Jesus lived among us, we could see God’s perfect standard of righteousness – in Him. We should have been – we would have been – embarrassed to stand next to the lovely Son of God. In our fallen, sinful condition, we don’t belong in the same world with Him; in the same universe; in the same eternity.
But after His earthly ministry, He returned to glory taking up residence on His eternal throne. And the Spirit has been sent to take His place, convicting, convincing, reproving our lack of righteousness. The Spirit tells us that we have no room to boast of our relative goodness next to some other sinner. O, please listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to your heart – “YOU have no righteous before my eyes.” “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, no one” – Romans 3:11. After Job asks: “Who can being a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one,” Eliphaz added, “What is man, that he should be clean? And he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” “How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?” Listen to the Holy Spirit as He reproves us all of our lack of righteousness.
At the conclusion of this verse, Jesus says, “After the Spirit convinces us of our lack of righteousness and our unbelief, He will remind us that judgment for our sin is inevitable.” “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.”
Who is the “prince of this world?” The Lord doesn’t define him for us here. My immediate answer is: “Satan,” because he is described as “the prince of the power of the air.” And Jesus removes any doubt when He describes him in John 12 and John 14 as “the prince of this world,” in contrast to Jehovah and the Kingdom of Heaven. And Jesus says, Satan has already been judged. He is a “dead man walking” so to speak – or rather a “dead demon walking.” And as Revelation 20 tells us – at a certain point in the future, “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Stop and think about that for a moment: The man who refuses to trust Christ for deliverance from the penalty of sin will endure the same judgment for all eternity that will befall God’s most bitter enemy – Satan. God sees little difference between your hatred of a neighbor, or some terrorist or a political opponent and Satan’s hatred of Christ. Certainly, “the prince of this world” can refer to Satan, the Devil.
But in the context of Christ’s statement, as He is talking about sinful, unbelieving humans, would I be remiss in not saying that sinners usually picture themselves as princes and princesses of their little worlds. Sin is never a victimless crime; there is always a wounded party, even when it isn’t another human being. Any and every act of sin is treason against the King of kings, the Creator, the God of love. And Jehovah, because He is God, cannot let our sins go unpunished. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” – Hebrews 9:27. “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all” – Jude 15. The Apostle John “saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
At this point in time, and from our limited vantage, we can only see the tip of the judgmental iceberg. We have earthly, unrighteous judges condemning other unrighteous sinners to various punishments. And the very presence of death, reminds us there is judgment for sin, because the “wages of sin is death.” There is a final day of judgment coming. But today, we have the blessed ministry of the Comforter – the Holy Spirit. “He is reproving the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” He is like that lawyer cross-examining our testimony of self-righteousness – ripping it to shreds. He is like that drug-sniffing dog, or that cancer-detecting canine, pointing out our spiritual problems.
What are we going to do with the evidence against us? When the Labrador tells you that you are being eaten up with cancer, are you going to ask for a second opinion? If you think you really need to, make sure that second opinion is certified to tell you the truth. Don’t look for a psychologist or therapist to prostitute the facts – “you’re okay; your problem is just a left over from your abusive parents.” No you are not okay. If you need an opinion beyond what the Holy Spirit is telling your heart, then find a few more Spirit-inspired scriptures.
You need the Saviour – the Lord Jesus Christ. It was expedient that He pass through the punishment for sin, while having no sin in Himself. It was expedient that He go away to prepare a wonderful place for people who deserve Hell. It was expedient that He go away in order to make way for the reproving ministry of the Holy Spirit. It was expedient that He pass through death – the death of the cross – punishment for sin.
As the Spirit convicts your heart of its sinful unrighteous condition, won’t you surrender to Him this morning? Repent of your sin before God– repent of that sin which is above every sin. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from your sin.