John 16. As we read this account from John 16, we're sitting together with Matthew and Luke and John
and Nathanael, James, Peter, all the disciples of our Lord
at the feet of our Master. It's just hours before he will
be crucified. And as he said, return to the
Father. And he's instructing, counseling,
exhorting these beloved disciples before he goes to the cross. And it's not possible for me
to estimate the value of these words to them and to us, or the
importance of them. So let's read them again and
listen to our Lord. He says, "...these things have
I spoken unto you, that you should not be offended, that you should
not be overwhelmed and falter under these great
trials, or that they take you unawares. Hardship and trial
are difficult any time, but especially when they're unexpected. and
come upon us unawares. So he says, I'm telling you what
to expect so that when it comes, it won't overwhelm you and it
won't discourage you and take you unaware. It's like he said
across the page here in John 15. moments before he said this,
in verse 18, he said, If the world hate you, you know it hated
me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the
world would love you. The world loves his own. But
because you're not of the world, what does that mean, you're not
of the world? They don't hate you because you go to church.
The world doesn't hate you because you do good deeds. The world
doesn't hate you because you read the Bible. The world doesn't
hate you because you don't frequent the places that they go. The world hates you because you
don't agree with their philosophy, with what they believe. Especially
about God. The world hates you because you're
not in agreement with their theology. But I've chosen you out of the
world. That's why the world hates you. You're peculiar people. A special people. A holy nation. A royal priesthood. Sons of God. You believe God. You believe
His Word. You believe Christ. You believe
salvation by free and sovereign grace. You're not of the world
in its principles and philosophy and doctrines and theology. You
work just like anybody else. You live in a house, you pay
taxes, you drive a car, you go to the grocery store, you do
the same things the world does. That's not why they hate you.
They hate you because of whom you believe and whom you worship. and whom you exalt, magnify,
and glorify. That's the reason the world hates
you. So I'm saying this to you, that when it comes to pass, and
their hatred is vented against you, I want you to expect it. And verse 2 says they'll put
you out of the synagogues. They'll put you out of organized
religion. You see, organized religion Recognized
religion embraces all forms of religion except the truth. Organized religion embraces any
religion. They'll even take their television
cameras to the rainforest in the deepest jungles of the Amazon. And film people worshiping an
idol and dancing around a fire and cutting their bodies and
saying, isn't that unusual? Isn't that unusual? Aren't these
people to be commended for their devotion to what they believe?
Organized religion will accept anything except the sovereignty
of God. Accept the person and work of
Christ. Accept effectual redemption.
So, they'll put you out. They'll have their organizations
and their recognized religion and their get-togethers and their
celebrations and their revivals, but they will exclude you because
of your message, because of your master. They will not allow you
to be a part of their system. They'll not allow you to be a
part of their kingdom because you differ. on who gets the glory. They'll put you out of their
synagogue, exclude you. And the time will actually come,
listen to our Lord, the time will actually come that whosoever
kills you, destroys you, will think that he does God a
service. To kill you in their estimation,
is to do God a favor. The Jews believed this, and I'll
show it to you in a moment. The Jews believed that if they
killed a heretic, and that's what you are to the religious
world, if they killed a heretic, if they killed a blasphemer,
it was the same as offering a sacrifice to God. They were ridding the
camp of false gods. When the people stoned Stephen,
who preached Christ, called upon God in faith, Paul and those
men who stoned him had no pangs of conscience whatsoever. They
thought they did God a favor. Turn to Acts 26, and I'll read
Paul's own words. about persecuting believers. Acts 26. These are his own confession,
his own words. Verse 9. Acts 26, verse 9, I barely thought
with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name
of Jesus of Nazareth, which things I also did in Jerusalem, and
many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority
from the chief priest. And when they were put to death,
I gave my voice against them. And I punished them often in
every synagogue, and I compelled them to blaspheme. And being
exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even in places
I didn't even live. in strange cities. And yet, he
said, concerning the law, I was blameless. Those who stoned Stephen felt
no guilt when he died. Why is this? They'll put you out of their
organized religion They'll think if they destroy you, they're
doing God a favor. Why is this? Verse 3, "...and
these things will they do unto you, because they've not known
the Father, nor me." That's the reason. They're religious, but
they do not know the God of the Bible. They read about Him, but
they do not know Him. They use His name, but they do
not know Him. They're religious and they're
moral. But they do not know the Father, Christ said, nor the
Son. And this is the cause of their
hatred. Turn to John chapter 8 and listen to what our Lord
said to those religious leaders, the Jews. John chapter 8, verse
41. He says in John 8, 41, you do
the deeds of your father. You do the deeds of your Father.
Then said they to Him, We be not born of fornication. We have
one Father. Even God is our Father. God is
our Father. That's what men today say, and
that's what they said then. God is our Father. Jesus said
unto them, If God were your Father, you'd love me. He who loveth
the Father loveth the Son. He who knows the Father knows
the Son. He who worships the Father worships
the Son. For I proceeded forth from the
Father, came from God, neither came I of myself. He sent me. So these people do not know the
Father and do not know the Son. That's the reason they do not
know you. And do not recognize your message. This is not being
cruel. It's being truthful. Paul said
about them, when the Lord revealed the gospel to him, he said, I'll
tell you about these people. I know them. I bear them record.
I was one of them. They're ignorant. They're ignorant
of God's righteousness. And they're going about to establish
their own righteousness and will not submit to the righteousness
of God, which is Christ and Christ alone. They're ignorant. That's what our Lord says to
us and His assembled disciples. I'll tell you why they'll do
this to you. It's because they do not know
the Father. They don't know Me. Verse 4, But when these things,
but these things have I told you, that when the time shall
come, you may remember, I told you of them, I told you what
to expect. I told you what would happen.
I told you how religion would treat you. Religious people especially,
they're enemies of the gospel. Religious people without Christ,
without a knowledge of the gospel. They hate the true gospel. And
this happens. I've seen it happen so often.
When a young man or a young woman Here's the gospel, not with these
ears only, but with the heart. And the Spirit of God reveals
Christ, Christ eternal, incarnate, crucified, risen, enthroned,
Christ the Savior. When the Holy Spirit reveals
Christ the Savior to that young person, And he comes to love
Christ and believe Him and believe the Word and believe the Gospel.
One of the greatest surprises of his life is how he's treated by religious
people. One thing that comes as a great
surprise to those who come to know Christ is the hatred that
his religious friends half of what he believes. And for him,
and for his gospel. That's just so. Listen to what
our Lord said in Matthew 10. Matthew chapter 10. And it's
true in family circles. It's true with people who have
been close companions for years and years and years. And yet
when this person comes to know Christ, to love Christ, to worship
Christ, there's a wall built between them. There's a hatred, an enmity. They can't walk together anymore.
Like Cain hating Abel because Abel offered the true sacrifice,
killed him. Matthew 10, verse 34. Don't think. Think not, Christ said, that
I've come to send peace on this earth. I came not to send peace,
but a sword. And I've come to set a man at
barrens against his father, and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. What's the
cause of this enmity? The gospel. The father or the
mother-in-law or the person has been religious, as this person
has, but he comes to know Christ. And your God's not their God.
Your Christ is not their Christ. Your gospel's not their gospel.
Your way of life is not their way of life. And they hate you, Father. And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household. That is a
shocking revelation. You're going along here religious
Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Nazarene,
or whatever, and everybody's getting along fine, and you hear
the gospel. Who God is. What we are by nature. Who Christ is. What he did. Why he did it. God may be just
and justified. Where he is now. Salvation is
by grace alone. It's not by works. God gets all
the glory. Here you suddenly got a division
in your home. A division between people who
have been friends. He said that's going to happen
and I'm telling you so you'll be prepared when it comes. Now look at the next line in
verse 4. These things I said not to you at the beginning because
I was with you. And what does that mean? Our
Lord says, now, you're going to be the object
of their wrath and their hatred. But I didn't tell you about this
because I was with you. Now I'm leaving you, going back
to the Father. And this is the reason He hadn't
told them before. You see, these religious Pharisees
hated Him. They didn't pay attention to
the disciples. They hated Him and His words and His atonement. And while He was with them, when
they were on the street, He was with them and they were standing
beside Him. The Pharisees didn't attack these
disciples, they attacked Christ. I was with you. And their anger
and their enmity and their hatred descended on me and they left
you alone. But now I'm going away, and you'll be alone. They'll
come after you. This is the way it is. It's like
when you're with your pastor. They don't attack you, they'll
attack him. But when he's gone, and you're by yourself there
in the living room, or on the job, or at the school, you're
the object of the wrath. coming on you. It's Christ they
hate, but He's not here. You are. And let me tell you something.
Turn to Matthew chapter 23. The preacher of these people brag
on Christ, and they brag on Moses, and they brag on Elijah, And
they brag on Spurgeon, and they brag on John Calvin,
and Wesley, and Luther, and all these fellas. You know why? They're
dead. They're dead. They're not preaching
now. They're dead. They're not declaring the gospel
now, and so these people, them being dead, can make them say
anything they want them to say. Somebody can say, well, the Bible
says it doesn't say any such thing, but they can say that.
Well, Luther said this, or Calvin said this, or Spurgeon said this.
They may not have said it at all, but they can say they said
it because they did. They won't follow living preachers.
God's witness in their day, God's message in their day. They talk
about a message or a person they preached a long time ago. Beware! Never trust a person. who only
promotes and follows dead preachers and dead prophets, and not the
person who is speaking in his day for God. You hear what I
say? Remember that. All these people
who love the old Puritans, they're dead. These people who love the old
writers, they're dead. They're not saying anything now.
They can't defend themselves. They're not God's witnesses today.
Paul said when he wrote to Timothy, Paul was in prison in Rome and
wrote to Timothy, he said, now don't you be ashamed of the Gospel
and don't you be ashamed of me, God's prisoner. I'm His voice
in this day. And our Lord said the same thing
here. Our Master said in Matthew 23, look at it, verse 29, Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, you're hypocrites. Because you
build the tombs of the prophets. You brag on Moses and Elijah
and Isaiah and David. You garnish the sepulchres of
the righteous, men who have been dead for years. And you say,
if we had lived, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we
wouldn't have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets. We wouldn't have killed Elijah. We wouldn't have killed
Isaiah. We wouldn't have hated Moses.
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourself, that ye are the children
of them that kill the prophets. Build ye up then the measure
of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of
vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore,
behold, I send you prophets and wise men and scribes in your
day. Some of them you kill and crucify,
and some of them you scourge in your synagogues and persecute
from city to city. Moses was here speaking for God. People didn't like Moses. Moses
died, became a hero. Elijah, Isaiah, they hounded
those men from city to city, but now they're heroes. The apostles,
they killed every one of them, but one, John, was the only apostle
that the people of his day didn't kill. Killed every last one of
them except John. And they exiled him to where
they wouldn't have to listen to him. They put him on an isle
of Patmos so they wouldn't have to hear his voice ever again.
Now, St. Peter, St. John, St. Luke, St. Nathanael, St. Jude,
men like Huntington, Knox Hooks was burned at the stake. Spurgeon, Spurgeon said one time,
not a preacher in the city of London, of any reputation will
have anything to do with me." Did you know he said that? Not
one. They used to print cartoons in the paper making fun of Spurgeon,
and now he's the toast of the world. He's dead. And I say to you, beware, don't
trust any man or woman who lauds and exalt dead preachers and
dead prophets, and will not listen and follow God's true preacher
in his day. Verse 5, Now I go my way to him
that sent me. None of you ask of me whether
thou goest thou, but because I said these things sorrow hath
filled your heart, Our Lord talked of going away. You remember in
John 13? Turn over there just a minute,
verse 36. He talked of going away back
there in John 13. Simon Peter said to him, Lord,
whither goest thou? And Jesus said, Whither I go,
you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me afterwards.
And Peter said, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? Why, I will
lay down my life for you. John 14, he said, I go to prepare
a place for you. And they said, where are you
going? How can we know the way? Now listen. Listen. Now he speaks of going, verse
5, I go my way to Him that sent me. I go back to the Father.
Make it plain what he's saying. I'm going to die and go to the
Father. And they had no response. I believe they had no response
because they really didn't understand his kingdom. They talked about an earthly
kingdom. They said, when you come into your kingdom, would
you let me sit on your right hand and my brother on your left
hand? Tell us about this kingdom that
you're going to establish. Well, that had fallen through,
this earthly kingdom they expected. He talks about leaving the earth. I go to my Father, Him that sent
me. There is no earthly kingdom.
My kingdom is not of this world. My kingdom is not meat and drink.
They don't understand. So He says, none of you ask Me
where you are going. But because I have said this,
I go away, I go back to my Father. Sorrow has filled your heart.
If they had understood, joy would have filled their heart. So he adds, verse 7, listen,
nevertheless, I'll tell you the truth. It's expedient. It is expedient that I go away. The sun must be lifted up. I
go to prepare a place for you. I go to my Father and your Father.
It's essential. It's expedient that I go away. His death, they didn't realize
this. They did later. They believed,
but they didn't understand. Like you do. I do. His death atoned for our sins. It's expedient. I must be lifted
up. His death reconciled us to God. We were enemies. And He reconciled us to the Father.
His death removed the curse of the law. Cursed is everyone that
continueth not in all things written in the law to do them,
but He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. His death satisfied God's law,
satisfied God's justice, and secured peace. It's expedient
that I go away. His death opened the way into
the holiest. His death enabled God to be just
and justify me. His resurrection and exaltation
gave me a high priest, a mediator with the Father. And as our forerunner,
when He went into the presence of the Father, we went with Him. Our forerunner entered within. And in Him, we sat down on the
right hand of God. And if I go not away, listen
to verse 7, it's expedient that I go away. And if I go not away,
the comfort of the Holy Spirit will not come to you. Listen.
Listen to me. The Holy Spirit was in this world,
always has been in this world. He's the Spirit of creation.
The Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. The Spirit
of God spoke to Moses, was upon Moses. The Spirit of God was
upon David. The Spirit of God healed Christ
without measure. The Spirit was already here.
What does He mean then? The Spirit will not come to you. Well, if our Lord does not die
on the cross, and suffer under the condemnation of our sins
and be buried as our scapegoat and rise again, there's no need
for the Holy Spirit to come to us. There's no reason for Him
to come to us because there's no life to give. I am come that
they might have life. Well, there's no life to give
if He doesn't die. There's no gospel to reveal.
Why should He come to us? There's no blood to sprinkle.
There's no righteousness to give. There's no elect to quicken.
There's no promise to fulfill. There's no salvation to bestow.
There's no peace and comfort to bring. It's necessary that
I go away. If I go not away, He won't come
to you. There'd be no reason for Him
to come. But if I depart, if I go, prepare a place for you,
I'll not only come again, but I'll send Him, the Spirit of
God. And what's this? And when He's
come, now this is so vital, I want you to hear what I'm going to
say here. And when He, the Holy Spirit,
has come to you, He will reprove Convince. Convict. This world. And that's us. Sons of Adam. He's going to convict us in three
ways. Of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment. He's going to convict us. Of
sin, because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because
I go to my Father, you see me no more. Of judgment, because
the Prince of this world is Judge. Do I understand Holy Spirit conviction? I do. And this is where I was
taught what Holy Spirit conviction is. Number one, it's the Holy
Spirit who convicts. It's the Holy Spirit who quickens.
It's the Holy Spirit who gives life. It's the Holy Spirit that
comes to us with the Word and awakens and quickens and convinces
us who we are. what we are, and who Christ is,
and what Christ has done. He's the one who does it. Secondly,
it's essential. Holy Spirit conviction is essential. You must be born again. You must
be convicted of the Holy Spirit. You must be quickened to life.
You must be raised from a dead state. You must. If you miss
Holy Spirit quickening and conviction, you miss repentance. If you miss
Holy Spirit conviction and quickening, you miss faith. Faith comes by
hearing the Word of God, being convinced of its truth, of its
power, of its beauty. If you miss Holy Spirit conviction,
you miss Christ. Because the Holy Spirit reveals
Christ. If you miss Christ, you miss
life, and you'll perish in your sins. If you believe not that
I'm He, you'll die in your sins. Holy Spirit does the convicting,
giving of life, quickening, convincing. It's essential, Holy Spirit conviction. A man must be stripped to be
clothed. He must be broken to be exalted. He must be slain to have life. He must be absolutely stripped
of all himself and his works in order to look only to Christ.
Now thirdly, and that Holy Spirit conviction has to do with a person. Now this is vital, listen. The
Holy Spirit conviction has to do, I know it has to do with
law, but more than law, I know it has to do with judgment, but
more than judgment. I know it has to do with heaven
and hell, but not primarily. Holy Spirit
conviction has to do with Christ, your attitude toward Him, your
understanding of who He is, your confidence in Him. See that? Now listen, read it again, verse
8, and when he's come, he'll convince, convict the world of
these things, sin, righteousness and the judgment of sin, because
they don't believe on me. That's the root of all sin. He that believeth not on the
Son hath made God a liar, because he believeth not the record God
gave of his Son. This is the root of all sin.
It's unbelief. It has to do with Christ. He said, if you believe not that
I am He, you'll die in your sins. Oh, everybody, turn to John 3. Everybody knows it's wrong to kill, to steal, commit adultery,
The lie, bear false witness, bow down to idols. But everybody doesn't know who
Christ is. Why Christ came, who sent Him, what He did, worship
Him. That's the Holy Spirit convinces
us of who Christ is. And we sin in not believing on
the Son. When the Lord sent His Son into
the world, they crucified Him and spit on Him. They said, we
will not have this man reign over us. That is the sin. Look
at John 3 verse 36. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life. But the wrath of God abideth
on him. This is the test. This is the issue. It's not he that steals a watermelon
hath the wrath of God on him, and he that does not steal it
has the love of God on him. No, he that believeth on the
Son. That's the issue. And that's the Holy Spirit convinces
men of sin because they don't believe on Christ. And a man could outwardly, he
couldn't inwardly, outwardly, he could give agreement to all
the laws and walk in a in a most commendable fashion throughout
his life on this earth. Everybody bragged on him for
his morality and generosity, but if he believes not Christ,
does not honor Christ, does not know Christ, he'll perish. That's
right. And listen to the second line,
and he'll convince them of righteousness because I go to my Father and
you see me no more. When Christ came to this earth,
born of a woman, made of a woman, made under the law, He was made
in my flesh and bones and blood, walked this earth. Because we
have to have a righteousness. By one man's sin, many were made
sinners. By one man's obedience, we were
made righteous. And so Christ came, and as a
man, was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin, a
perfect life. And then He went back to the
Father, and the Father received Him. He received a man. There's a man in glory, a man.
Bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, actually a man walked
this earth and did everything God demanded, commanded, required,
and expected. And when he went to Glover, the
Father embraced him and set him down at his right hand. Now, if I'm righteous as that
man, and righteous in that man, and have the righteousness of
that man, then God will accept me. And that's what the Holy
Spirit convinces us of. Number one, we hadn't believed
on the record, the Word of God concerning Christ. And we don't
have any righteousness. And the only righteousness we
can have is because he went to the Father. And the Holy Spirit,
that's what he convinces man of, that his righteousness is
Christ. And it can't be anybody else.
And then thirdly, he convinces men of judgment because the prince
of this world is judged. You know, when you think of judgment,
we think we've got to stand before a judgment someday, be judged
for all the things that we've done and said and thought and
dreamed and everything else. But judgment for the believer
was settled when Christ met Satan and killed him. Killed his power. That's what it says in Genesis
3, 15. The seed of woman. The serpent will bruise his heel,
but he'll bruise his head. And Christ said, Satan has come.
He came to Adam, Adam fell. He came to everybody else and
they fell. He came to Christ and He fell.
And when Christ Jesus met Satan and conquered Him, destroyed
Him, He redeemed us. And therefore there is no judgment
to them who are in Christ. He convinces us of that judgment. That judgment. In Christ, sin
is removed. In Christ, the enemy is destroyed. In Christ, righteousness is given. In Christ, we have peace. There is the conviction. Now
then, in closing, our Lord said, and I have yet
many things to say to you, but you can't bear them now. You
are so young in the faith. You're so full of tradition,
and we are. We're so fleshly in our thoughts.
We're so full of pride in ourselves. We're so forgetful. But when
the Spirit comes, listen, how be it, verse 13, when He's come,
the Spirit of truth, He'll guide you into all truth. Slowly guide
you into all. When a baby is born, a little fellow is born, bring
him home to the hospital, put him in his bed. He lives. He's got life. He looks like
his mom or his dad. Pink, round, plump, beautiful. My son, your daughter. But he doesn't know too much.
And the first thing he does is discover his hands. Did you ever
watch them discover their hands? They get cross-eyed. They look
at their hands. You say, God straighten his eyes
out, honey. He's going to be cross-eyed.
Look at his hands. That's all he can see. And after
a while, you hang something up here that has music on it, and
he sees that. And he might reach up and punch
it. But there's a whole lot of things going on out here he doesn't
know anything about and can't understand. if you told him. But he discovers that merry-go-round. He discovers he's in a bed. And he discovers and rattles
the sides of it, you know, when he wants something. Rattles the
sides. And he discovers his room. You paint the walls and hang
up the teddy bears, and he discovers those things. He's learning.
Got many things to say to him, but he can't bear them yet. And
then he discovers his yard. And he thinks it's a big world.
It's a great big world. Yes, about 100 by 150. He doesn't
know much. Unfortunately, he's going to
have to learn, though, isn't he? And he learns those things. That's the way it is with the
babes in Christ. The Holy Spirit teaches them. They have life. He gives them
life. And then He teaches them. And
He guides them by His Word into all truth. And listen. You now
speak of himself. The Holy Spirit is not going
to brag on himself, but he's going to brag on Christ. He's not going
to speak of himself. That is what he thinks you ought
to know. What he hears is what he's going to speak. That's the problem with most
preaching now. People are preaching what they
think. conjured up in their mind. Then
I'm preaching what God, the Holy Spirit, listen, what He hears
that He speaks. What God says. Well, how am I
going to find out what God says? God's Word. He'll show you things
to come. And here's the big key. He'll
glorify me. He'll receive of mine and show
it to you. Gradually, step by step, See, all the things that the
Father hath of mine therefore said I unto you, that the Holy
Spirit of God will take the things of mine and show them to you. Oh, my covet for myself and for
you, and for all of our friends and our loved ones, that they
may be partakers of the Holy Spirit's convicting work of grace. reveal Christ to their heart.
What a good hope.