“Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment"
John 16:5-15
Easter 4
Pastor Aaron A. Koch
Mt. Zion Lutheran Church
Greenfield, WI
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
If I were to ask you to name some examples of sins that people commit, you might tell me things like murder, adultery, stealing, lying, getting drunk, and so on. Those are the sorts of things that generally come to mind when we think about sin. And all of those answers are absolutely correct. But there’s one thing that doesn’t usually come to mind that is, in fact, the worst sin of all.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is in the midst of telling the disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He is describing to them and to us what it is that the Holy Spirit will do when He has come. One of the things Jesus says the Spirit will do is this, “He will convict the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” What is the most damnable sin there is? Not to believe in Jesus. There is nothing worse than that.
This is the real problem with the world and with fallen human beings. It’s not simply that society is immoral and rebellious and greedy. Those are but symptoms of the real problem. The root of the matter, the heart of the situation is that people don’t love God or trust in Him or have faith in His Son whom He has sent. They don’t worship the Father and acknowledge Him as the source of every good and perfect gift. They don’t receive Jesus as the only Savior from sin or rely on His all-atoning death on the cross. Instead, they believe in themselves and consider themselves to be in charge of their own self-chosen destiny. They pat themselves on the back for getting where they’ve gotten in this world. They figure that if they keep their nose clean, they can earn their way into some eternal reward by doing more good than bad. They may be religious, but their spirituality is self-focused and self-reliant. God is just a part of the formula. They’ve got no real need for a Jesus who is a Savior–maybe a Jesus who is a counselor or an advice-giver so that they can make a better life for themselves, but not a Savior from sin.
There is no greater insult and affront to God than to treat Him in that way. Jesus didn’t take on your flesh and blood and sacrifice His life on the cross just so that He could be your “life-coach” giving you principles for living. Jesus came to give you a whole new life–His own. Those who love their own lives, who have justified themselves and their behavior, in their hearts reject Jesus and the life He comes to bring. It is this sort of self-centered, self-satisfied, self-justified way of life that is the greatest rebellion against God and the biggest slap in His face. Repent of where this worldly attitude has crept its way into your life.
In John 6 Jesus was asked by the people, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” It is God’s work that you trust in Jesus. That is the work that the Holy Spirit accomplishes in you. And apart from that work you can do nothing good. For it is written in Romans 14, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” You see, since everything we are is by nature tainted and infected by the fall, none of us can do anything that is truly a good work apart from Christ. No matter how good a person may appear to be humanly speaking, if they are not a believer in the Christ of the Scriptures, it is all sewage before God. For it proceeds from a heart that doesn’t trust in Him.
Only what proceeds from faith in Jesus is good; for He alone is good. Only works that are sanctified by Christ’s blood are good works. Which is another way of saying that it is not our works that are good, but Christ’s works are good in and through us. He dwells in us to live in love toward God and our neighbor.
So let us be rid of all thinking or talk which says, “So and so is a good person; Jesus and church stuff just isn’t their thing.” Hebrews 11 says that without faith, the faith created and sustained by hearing Jesus’ words and receiving His Supper, it is impossible to please God.
Let us rather be like St. Paul, who followed the law steadfastly even before His conversion, but who said that He counted all of that as rubbish and refuse, “that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).
This is the second part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Having convicted the world of sin, having brought us to repentance, He then proclaims and gives out the righteousness of Christ who is seated at the right hand of the Father as Lord of all. This is the heart of what the Holy Spirit is about. Jesus said that the Spirit will “take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” That is the Holy Spirit’s job, not to point to Himself or glorify Himself but to point to Jesus and glorify Him, to take the gifts of life and salvation that Jesus won for you and pass them out to you as a free gift–no charge, no strings attached. Just as the Son of God was sent to reveal the Father, so now the Holy Spirit is sent to reveal the Son and thereby bring you back into fellowship with God, the Blessed Holy Trinity.
The Holy Spirit, then, is the real preacher in the Church. He is the One who preaches the Gospel to you that you may be led into all truth. St. Paul declares, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. . . For in it the righteousness of God is revealed.” Through the words of the Gospel, the Spirit reveals and gives to you Christ’s righteousness. He declares you righteous for the sake of what Jesus has done for you. Though you stand guilty before the court of God’s justice, Jesus steps in and says, “I have already paid the penalty. I have already served the sentence. I was executed on the cross for you and for all people so that you would not be condemned but go free and have everlasting life. It is finished. It is done. Case closed.” And God commutes your sentence; He acquits you fully. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit reads you the verdict: “Not guilty. You are forgiven. You are righteous and holy in Jesus. He took your place so that you could take His place as children of God. Do not be afraid. All is well with you before God–not by your own works, but by the works of Christ, by His grace and mercy and love toward you.” It is written, “Having been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You do not have a righteousness of your own from inside of you, but one that is through faith in Christ from outside of you.
You must cling to that message of the Holy Spirit with all your heart. Don’t fall into the temptation of doubting this Gospel, wondering if it’s actually real, thinking it’s too good to be true. Instead say, “Even though I don’t deserve it, I know that God loves and accepts me, for He is merciful and compassionate, and He has atoned for all my sins with Jesus’ blood.” Don’t look to yourself; look only to the cross. For through that faith you are saved.
But at the same time be prepared for the devil and the world to oppose you because you have such faith in Christ. The world portrays those who follow Christ and take God’s Word seriously as being a bit goofy and on the fringe of society. They say, “Who are you to suggest that only those who believe in Jesus can be saved? What about all the other good people and religions in the world? Don’t my efforts at moral living count? You Christians just want to impose your thinking on everybody else.”
To all of this Jesus says here, “Take heart and be of good courage; you must not let the opinion and judgment of the world affect you. For ultimately their words come from the devil, who is the prince of this world. And He cannot help but condemn and persecute Christian faith and the righteousness of Christ. Do not fear or waver, for the prince of this world is judged. His condemnation can do you no harm, for he himself is condemned along with all those who parrot his empty words.” It is written in John 3, “He who believes in Jesus is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” And it is also written, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
This is the third part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to proclaim the defeat and the judgment of Satan, the ruler of this world. Christ conquered him forever by His cross and resurrection. Jesus will retain the upper hand when it comes to judging, no matter how wise or powerful the people of the world appear to be. Jesus alone is wise and righteous, while all others are fools. In the end He will have the last word on the last day.
So then, it is indeed to our advantage that Christ went away through Good Friday and Easter to the right hand of the Father. For only in this way could our righteousness have been won for us. Only in this way is the Holy Spirit now poured out on us to rescue us from our unbelief and to keep us in the saving faith in Jesus. God grant you to know ever more fully and deeply this help and comfort of the Holy Spirit, to whom with the Father and the Son belongs all glory, honor, and praise, now and forever. Amen.