The Holy Spirit and You: Turning a Sinner into a Saint
Series: Acts, #5
Chuck Sligh
March 2, 2014
A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Initial text: Acts 1:8, [Please turn in your Bibles to John 16.]
INTRODUCTION
For the past three weeks we’ve been talking about the Holy Spirit—Who He is; His coming to permanently indwell God’s people at Pentecost; and what He does in the lives of people. So far, we’ve looked at five important activities in the lives of BELIEVERS. Today we want to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in NONBELIEVERS.
I’d like to begin our study by posing this question: Did you find God, or Did He find you? That may seem like a trivial question, but it is really quite profound, and it ultimately dovetails into our study of the Holy Spirit we’ve been in over the last few weeks.
The Bible is clear that on our own, NONE OF US would come to Christ. Paul says in Romans 3:11: “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”
Paul is very clear here that we do not, nor would we ever, on our own, seek after God.
The reason for this is that every part of our being is so affected by sin that we have no ability to either desire or understand spiritual truth without the Holy Spirit’s aid. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man [Paul’s term for the person without Christ] receiveth not [which means “does not accept” or “does not welcome”] the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: NEITHER CAN HE know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
There is a spiritual dullness, indeed a spiritual BLINDNESS in those without Christ. “Blindness” is the very image Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 where he says, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The truth is that it is GOD who INITIATES salvation, as well as who ACHIEVES it. We play a part in receiving or rejecting the light God gives us, but we would not even THINK of coming to Christ apart from God’s working in our lives.
Illus. – J. Vernon McGee tells of asking a young man how he came to Christ. The young man replied, “God did HIS part and I did MY part.”
McGee asked him, “Well, what was GOD’S part, and what was YOUR part.”
The young man replied, “God’s part was SAVING and my part was SINNING. I ran from Him as fast as I could, but He took after me till He ran me down.”
Well, God will never violate a person’s free will so that ultimately every person chooses or rejects Christ or truth about God by his or her own free will, but the idea this man expressed captures perfectly the important truth we want to see this morning. That is the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing to faith, and then turning a sinner into a saint.
If you’re a believer, my hope is that this study will help you to realize how much you truly owe God for EVERY part of your salvation, prompting you to give ALL glory to God. And if you are a pre-believer with us today; that is, someone still considering Christ and His claims on your life, I trust that you’ll recognize the clear working of God the Holy Spirit in your life and that you’ll cross the line over to faith and give your life to Jesus.
Basically, there are two main works of the Spirit to bring a person to Christ and save him.
I. THE FIRST IS THE MINISTRY OF CONVICTION – John 16:7-11 – “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I 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. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
The things Jesus says the Holy Spirit would do in this passage are what we might call the “ministry of conviction.” This is HOW God the Holy Spirit shines the light of the glorious Gospel in the lives of those without Christ, as Paul described it in the scripture we looked at earlier. “Conviction” is the process by which the Holy Spirit CONVINCES you of three facts you must understand to be saved:
1) First, Jesus said the Holy Spirit convicts you of SIN.
In other words, the Holy Spirit shows you your sinfulness and waywardness, and your resulting guilt before God’s utter, infinite holiness. You see, you cannot be saved—which means to be in a right relationship with God, and to have the assurance of eternity in heaven when you die—until you first realize your sinful condition before God.
Romans 3:23 says, “For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” – We have ALL disobeyed God’s commandments and fallen short of His perfect standard of righteousness.
Do you recognize that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness? Do you see that you fall far short of God’s perfect holiness?
A cancer patient cannot receive the cure for his cancer until first he admits that he’s sick. Likewise, you’ll not come to the Great Physician and receive the medicine of salvation until you recognize your spiritual sickness before God.
To be saved implies being saved FROM something.
The Holy Spirit helps us recognize our true state of sinfulness before God so He can help us.
1.
2) Second, the Holy Spirit convicts the sinner of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
In other words, the Holy Spirit reveals our need for righteousness before God.
In order to be saved by our own merit, we must live a life of absolutely, spotless, perfect, sinless obedience to God from birth to death. There must NOT BE ONE deviation from God’s Law; NOT ONE angry or lustful thought; NOT EVEN ONE sinful act; NEVER A SINGLE evil or hurtful word. You must never in your entire lifetime have taken God’s name in vain; stolen so much as even a penny; told a single lie; hated a single person; lusted even once; dishonored your parents even the slightest; ever once told even a white lie; or ever coveted anything.
James says that “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10)
No wonder Paul says in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one..”
You say, “Chuck, if I must be perfect before God, there is no hope!” EXACTLY!—That is EXACTLY what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is designed to do in the life of the nonbeliever—to show you the hopelessness of your situation; to show you your sinfulness; to show you your need for righteousness which you do not have, nor ever could attain; to show you that you need GOD’S help because there is no hope in your own efforts.
But there is one more thing Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict sinners of:
3) Third, the Holy Spirit convicts the sinner of JUDGMENT.
The Holy Spirit shows you that you will face God someday for your sins you have done and for your lack of perfect righteousness before Him.
Hebrews 9:27 says “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him [Jesus] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The Bible teaches that those who have not had their sin burden taken away by faith in Jesus Christ will one day stand before God who will judge them for their sin and their unbelief before they are cast into the lake of fire.
Dear friend, if you have never come to Christ to be saved…
• If you have a fear of death—that’s the Holy Spirit convicting you of judgment and telling you that you need to give your life to Jesus.
• If you fear meeting God someday in that judgment—that’s the Holy Spirit convicting you and wooing you to be saved to escape the certain and unavoidable judgment of God.
• If you have a fear of an eternity in hell—that’s the Spirit whispering to you to avoid God’s dreadful judgment and experience the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.
So the first work of the Spirit in the life of nonbelievers is the ministry of conviction.
Illus. – This work is illustrated by the conversion of prominent homosexual activist Michael Glatze, whose testimony I read about this week. Until he left the homosexual movement in 2006, he was a rising star in their ranks. At 22, he was editor of Young Gay America magazine and received numerous awards and recognition from major homosexual-rights organizations. At this point, the media gravitated toward him, leading to appearances on PBS television and MSNBC and being quoted in a cover story in Time magazine titled “The Battle Over Gay Teens.”
But at some point he began to seriously doubt what he was doing with his life and influence. Knowing there was no one who he could approach with his questions and doubts, he cried out to God for answers.
The radical change in his life, he recalls, began with inner “promptings.” Where did these promptings come from?
He said, “I hope I can share my story. I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things—when I felt like, ‘Why am I here, what am I doing?’—there was always a voice there.”
Whose voice did he hear and where did it come from?
And just before leaving that Young Gay America magazine—not fully realizing why he did it—he wrote his thoughts on his office computer, ending with the declaration: “Homosexuality is death, and I choose life.” Who led him to that conviction despite all the people and influences around him that told him otherwise and sought to pull him back?
There’s much more to the story, but what caught my attention were the repeated references to the conviction he kept experiencing as he made his way out of this sinful lifestyle. God’s Spirit was “convicting” him of his sin, of his need for righteousness and of a certain judgment for his sin. [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56481]
His perhaps seems all the more remarkable because we tend to think that there are some sins too great, but the truth is that all sin is equally heinous before a perfect God. And the journey from sinner to saint is no different for us than it was for Glatze. Before we can be saved, the Holy Spirit must convict us of sin, of our need for righteousness and of God’s judgment. And if we respond positively to the light the Holy Spirit gives us, there is yet one more ministry He will do in your life, as he did for Glatze…
II. THE SECOND IS THE MINISTRY OF TRANSFORMATION.
Titus 3:5 says “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”
There’s much we could say about this verse this morning, but since the focus of our study today is on the activities of the Holy Spirit, let’s zero in on that little phrase at the end of the verse—“and renewing of the Holy Ghost?”
One of the most magnificent activities of the Holy Spirit is His work of turning a sinner into a saint!—The ministry of transformation.
This renewal doesn’t come about by self-effort, but by the Holy Spirit – “Not by works of righteousness which WE have done…” the verse says. It is THE HOLY SPIRIT who renews us, or transforms us.
Many think, “Well, I’m going to have to clean up my life to become a Christian.” No, no, no—a thousand times, no! That’s not the Bible answer. The Holy Spirit takes you just AS YOU ARE and HE changes you AFTER He takes ownership and possession of you.
Illus. – A story is told of a businessman who wanted to sell an old warehouse. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and thrown trash all over the place. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, he said that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.
The buyer said, “Forget about the repairs. When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want this building; I want this site.”
That’s God’s message to you today if you have never been saved. God wants to take you as you are and start from scratch, not fix up the mess you’ve already made.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
You see, you do not change yourself; THE HOLY SPIRIT changes you. God’s not interested in reformation; He’s interested only in transformation.
Illus. – Imagine a person without artistic genius and devoid of the artist’s training sitting down before Leonardo da Vinci’s famous picture of the Last Supper and attempting to reproduce it.— How crude and mechanical and lifeless his work would be!
But what if the spirit of da Vinci could somehow enter the untrained man and obtain mastery of his mind and eye and hand. This is impossible, of course, but imagine it were for a moment. Then it would be entirely possible for him to paint this masterpiece, for it would simply be da Vinci reproducing da Vinci through the untrained artist.
This is what the mystery of the Holy Spirit saving a person and transforming him is like. He indwells you and then HE paints the picture of Christ in your life; HE reproduces the spirit of Christ within your heart; HE changes you and gives your new desires and transforms you. And HE does it WITHIN you; not YOU doing it from WITHOUT.
What a marvelous, precious truth!—The Holy Spirit reproducing the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer!
What does this mean for you practically?— It means there is nothing you could do to make yourself good enough or worthy enough to earn your salvation. That’s getting the proverbial cart before the horse. To be saved, you come to God as you are—sinful, dirty, guilty—and HE changes you by giving you a new heart, a new nature, a new family and a new hope. No song captures this truth better than that old hymn, “Just as I Am”:
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind—
Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need in Thee to find—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
CONCLUSION
These are the two main activities of the Holy Spirit for the person without Christ. The Holy Spirit is God’s agent to accomplish God’s will on earth. God’s will is first of all that you be saved.
Dear friend, what is your spiritual state right now?
• Have you ever come to the place in your life where you realized you are indeed a SINNER, destitute of righteousness to please God, and facing God’s wrath?
• Have you realized how useless self-effort is to earn your salvation and how futile reformation is?
• Have you come to the place where you realized that Jesus did not come to this earth to show us how to live or to be some great teacher?
He came to die for our sins as your SUBSTITUTE to pay the penalty for our sins. He died to give you the righteousness of God that comes not by works, or religion, or ceremony, or self-effort—but by faith in Jesus Christ?
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul says of Jesus, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Christ, the Son of God, who knew no sin; who never one sinned; paid the penalty for your sin in your place.
If you’ll come to Jesus and trust in Him and ask Him by faith to save you, He will. And in exchange, He’ll forgive you of all sin you ever did or ever will do. He’ll give you His spotless righteousness so that God will see you through the perfect, obedient righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, rather than your own imperfect, sin-tainted, insufficient righteousness. And He will lift the curse of judgment from your life and graciously give you eternal life.
If you’re a believer, I challenge you to thank God for the Holy Spirit’s working in your life. Give Him ALL the glory for your salvation for if it weren’t for His working in your life, you would be lost and in your sin even today.
