(Section 6) The Work Of The Holy Ghost Series

VI. THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST

A. In Humans In General

1. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth regarding Jesus Christ.

John 15:26-27 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning."

Acts 5:30-32 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."

If you wish others to get a true view of Jesus Christ — such a view of Him that they may believe and be saved — you must seek for them the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Neither your own testimony, nor even that of the Word alone, will effect this — though it is

your testimony or that of the word which the Holy Spirit uses. But unless your testimony and that of the word is taken up by the Holy Spirit and He Himself testifies, they will not believe.

It explains why it is that when you have shown a man the truth about Christ over and over again and he has seen nothing, suddenly it all bursts upon him, and he sees and believes. The Spirit has borne His witness to Christ. It was not merely Peter's words about Christ that convinced the Jews of the truth concerning Christ on the Day of Pentecost. It was the Spirit Himself bearing witness. If you wish men to see the truth about Christ, do not depend upon your own powers of expression and persuasion, but cast yourself upon the Holy Spirit and seek for them His testimony. This is the cure for both ignorance and skepticism concerning Christ. R. A. Torrey

2. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

John 16:8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”

He convicts (that is, convinces with a convincing that is self-condemning) the world of its sin in not believing on Christ. R. A. Torrey

It is our responsibility to preach the Word and look to the Holy Spirit to produce conviction. Often the reason we fail to produce conviction is we are trying to do it ourselves. Let us not forget on the other hand that it is through us that the Spirit produces

conviction. R. A. Torrey

The jury may convict of crimes; conscience may convict of sins; but only the Spirit of God can convict of sin. J. Oswald Sanders, pg 41

The world of our day is strangely unconvicted, unconvinced, and unconcerned; yet where Spirit-filled men faithfully present the Spirit-inspired Word of God, conviction of sin comes. The great need of the world today is for consecrated channels for the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Only so can there be a genuine turning to the Lord and acceptance of the Gospel.” Buswell, James Oliver (1962)

B. In The Believer (According to R. A. Torrey)

1. The Holy Spirit makes anew or regenerates the believer.

It is not fanning into flame an already existent divine spark, for no such spark exists. Nor does He lift the natural life to a higher plane, for “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” His method is a new creation, not a mere reformation. J. Oswald Sanders pg 56

Regeneration is the impartation of life, spiritual life, to the one “dead in trespasses and sins.” R. A. Torrey

No amount of preaching, no matter how orthodox it may be, no amount of mere study of the Word, will regenerate unless the Holy Spirit works. It is He and He alone that makes a man a new creature. R. A. Torrey

2. The Holy Spirit sets the believer in Christ free from the law of sin and death.

The law of sin and death is addressed in Romans 7:9-24. Paul had been aroused by the law of God to see what was holy and just and good. He delighted in this law after the inward man (Romans 7:22) and strove to keep it. But he found that there was not only this "holy and just and good" law without him, but he found there was another law in his members warring against the law of his mind. This law of sin and death was that when he would do good evil was present (7:21). "To will is present to me, but to do that which is good is not" (v. 18 RV). In this wretched position of approving of the law in his mind, but in servitude to the law of sin and death in his actions, Paul found