The Holy Spirit and Repentance
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. John 16:8 (NIV)
It is hard to get people to change their minds about anything, from their favorite Sport’s Team to their religion of choice, political affiliation, etc. Somewhere in our lives, in the growing up process, we get a hold of things and create a value system that becomes cemented in our souls.
With all these factors in mind, the Gospel is the most anticultural concept we can present in our culture today. The Gospel states, as a matter of Biblical fact that, 1) we are all sinners, 2) we are all condemned to hell unless 3) we get save and, 4) that salvation only comes through one person, Jesus Christ.
The gospel is indeed offensive. Second Peter 2:8 tells us, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” (KJV)
The reality is that when people get to certain age they don’t want to change. Our natural resistance to change is one of the reasons why we have so many denominations. Everybody wants to placed God inside the box of their denomination. We all like our comfort zones. Well, the Holy Spirit comes to disrupt that. It is the Holy Ghost who convince us that we are not the last Coca Cola in the desert; that we are all filthy sinners in need of repentance and in need of Jesus.
To convince a human that they are sinners requires supernatural intervention. That kind of change of mind is supernatural and the greatest miracle of all. Behind that kind of power is the Holy Ghost who convince us of not only sin, but also the superiority of the righteousness of God and that, at the end of the day, there is a judgment coming. Nobody gets away with anything.
To be continued…
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