Conviction - Sermon for Cantate - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Fifth Sunday of Easter – Cantate                
April 28^th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches, 
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Conviction - John 16:5-15

Audio of this sermon available HERE.

In the Name of Jesus. 

   Last Sunday we considered Confusion, Confrontation and Conviction, Conversion and Confession, which lead us to Joy.  Today, we’ll keep it quite a bit simpler.  Just Conviction.  As in the Holy Spirit will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment.  

   Speaking of conviction, we could use more people with convictions these days.  I’m not yet convinced our democratic republic is destined to fail; I pray not.  But it certainly seems that good citizens with the conviction to act for the public good, even to sacrifice for the good of others, are a disappearing breed.  Politics in a democracy have always tended toward becoming a self-serving cesspool; this is why the Greek philosopher Plato opposed democracy in principle.  Now, I’m not anti-democratic, but there are definitely problems when the citizens of a democratic system lack widely shared values and a common culture.  These shared fundamentals serve to limit the excesses that are bound to come when you have a f “50% +1 vote” way of governing.   

   Democracy in a large multicultural and disunited population leads to purely partisan politics.  Sooner or later, self-interested parties splinter into rent-seeking and tribalism.  Let’s get ours while we can, no matter the consequences for the society at large.  Public life can devolve into a fight to secure an ever-increasing portion of tax revenue and special rights for my team.  Now we’ve connected such normal human tendencies to a 24-7 media culture and a national addiction the interwebs, which isolates and conditions each of us to seek only our personal entertainment and pleasure.  In this brave new world we’ve created, principled conviction as a guide to action is in trouble.  And it’s not just at the highest levels.  Shelee and I are members of a little home owners’ association in Hill City, (speaking of crosses to bear).  Our HOA is worthy of a situation comedy, as 30-some households bicker and gossip and fail to function, in what is a distinctly small-potatoes arena. 

   Our communities and our nation need more citizens of good conviction, people not just looking out for themselves, but also wisely seeking the good of their neighbors. 

   The Holy Spirit convicts as He re-creates.  Believers are made to love what God commands, and to desire His promises.  With their hearts fixed on the true joy of knowing and serving Jesus Christ, Christians live differently.  Faith in Jesus creates good convictions in fallible human beings.  There might be some hope to improve things in our land by looking in this direction. 

   The Holy Spirit creates convictions.  If you trust in the love of God, revealed in Jesus, if you are confident that your eternal future is guaranteed, and your present day is lived under the protective gaze of the God the Father, who is showering good gifts on you, well, then you are free.  You are free from fear and doubt, and you are set free to stand up for truth, for principles, for the good of all, even if you don’t come out ahead.  You don’t need to put others down to make it in life, because, in Christ, you’ve already won.  You don’t need to scheme and strive to get ahead, because life eternal is yours, because of and in Jesus.  I’m convinced that turning around the trajectory of our country and society depends on two things, which are closely related to each other:  promoting Biblical families, and making more Christians. 

   To be clear, I’m not imagining some top-down, “renew America with a great slogan and a national program” kind of thing.  Whatever good has come from the American experiment didn’t happen that way, top-down.  Not top-down from government and human leaders, that is.  Decent government and a good nation are good gifts, and so they do come down to us from on high.  From the Father of Lights, from whom every good and perfect gift descends.  Like we ask for our nation in the song America the Beautiful: “God shed His grace on thee.” 

   But God doesn’t bless a nation by putting a savior in the White House.  God’s grace builds a good nation from the bottom up, from good families building good communities for their children to live in.  And from the influence of God through His Church.  When there is a large core of citizens who by faith in Christ hold true Christian convictions, whose character and actions are being guided daily by the Word of Truth, then benefits spill over for the society. 

   Building a good culture is not the primary goal of Christ and His Church.  A right relationship with God that leads to holy living and eternal life, these are the Church’s goal for the souls she claims as members, and for the souls around her in the world who as yet lack Christian conviction.

   A better society is a by-product of the Church converting lost sinners into sinner-saints, bound for heaven and living each day guided by God and His Word.  So, it would seem good for us to understand well how the Holy Spirit works  And our Gospel reading this morning gives us some important clues. 

   On this 5^th Sunday of Easter, our readings begin to prepare us to celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, which this year falls on May 9^th, and then 10 days later, for Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the tiny group of disciples in Jerusalem, jump-starting the growth of the Christian Church.  In our Gospel, Jesus is teaching the Eleven on the night when He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot.  At this climactic moment, Jesus took time to teach about the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus declares: I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ^[8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ^[9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ^[10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ^[11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

   The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.  Since He does this convicting work through the Church which He creates and sustains, we need to understand it, so that we can discern between the work of the Spirit of God, and the work of other spirits abroad in the world. 

   Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.  Those who believe in Jesus are called and made to be children of God, saved souls.  Believing that the Man from Nazareth is also the Son of God, who has died to take away the sins of all humanity, this is the Way of Salvation. 

   But no one will take a single step on the Way of Jesus, unless first convicted concerning their own sin.  It is no coincidence that the spirits of this age work so hard to re-classify sins as personal choices, immune from judgment.  The secular therapeutic religion of America really only recognizes one sin.  The only thing the culture won’t accept is you suggesting that some crazy thing someone feels like doing is wrong, a sin. 

   The world celebrates the denial of the nature and importance of marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman.  Material acquisition is promoted as the meaning of life.  We are told it is wise and good for society to kill babies in the womb, and to hasten the deaths of the elderly and disabled, because they are a burden.  Ubiquitous pornography, ever-expanding substance abuse, legal, illegal and prescribed, these are the convictions of our world today.  Unfettered access to all these horrible things, and many more, such access is defended as a human right.  But if you dare to speak a Word from God against these things, and you are a dangerous bigot, and probably a Nazi.    

   We Christians are called to declare sin to be sin, regardless of the reaction from the world.  To truly love our children and our neighbors, we are called, with all gentleness, humility and respect, to speak the truth of God’s Word, including His rejection of sin.  Because no one will believe that Christ crucified and resurrected is their Savior, today and forever, unless they first understand they are sinners in need of salvation. 

   The Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.  The Lord had been off-and-on visibly displaying His righteousness to the children of Israel for thousands of years.  They should have believed, from all the signs God did for them to see.  From the plagues that freed them from slavery in Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea, the Manna and the Quail, down through centuries of miraculous military victories over superior foes, ancient Israel should have seen and believed. 

   Likewise when the Lord took on human flesh.   Jesus begged His own people, “Believe in me on account of the works I do.” (John 10:38, 14:11)  He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed 5,000 from five loaves of bread and two fish.  But salvation will be by faith, or it will not be at all.  As Jesus proclaimed to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”  Believing that, in Christ Jesus, God has given us His righteousness, and so also eternal life, as a free gift, such faith comes only by hearing, by the faith of the heart created by the proclaimed Word of Christ. 

   Jesus is risen and is present with His Church, forever and ever.  But we can’t see Him, nor can the world.  He must be heard to be believed.  Creating faith of the heart, a trust in the Righteous One, who forgives the sins of the whole world, this is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit.  And He does this work through us, through His Church. 

   We are tempted to try to grow through impressive works.  We may not be able to do visible miracles, but sometimes we build soaring cathedrals, or impressive social programs, or really-with-it youth programs, hoping that people will see these wonders, and believe.  But, that’s not how God works.  If we build beautiful buildings to glorify God, great!  If we show mercy our neighbor because Christ has had mercy on us, that’s right, that’s good.  If we raise up our children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord because we love them, very well.  But our visible impressiveness does not save.  Only the righteousness of Christ, imputed, or credited, given to sinners, by faith, this is the only Way of Salvation.  And the Holy Spirit drives this bus, through His Word. 

   The Holy Spirit convicts concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  The world loves a winner, and so the prince of darkness who rules this fallen world must maintain the façade that he is the winner, the champion.  One of the devil’s best tools to keep people lost in darkness and unbelief is to convince them they will be winners, when they have the things he offers. 

    Status, pleasure, wealth, popularity, autonomy, self-actualization, pride-of-self, escape.  These are the baubles the evil one dangles before our eyes, tempting us to think he is truly in charge.  But Satan is judged.  He is the biggest loser, the biggest liar, who only wants to drag human souls behind him to share his misery. 

    The judgment of the devil, all his works and all his ways, was complete, once and for all, when Jesus breathed His last and gave up His Spirit.  In that darkest of all moments, less than 24 hours after Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit’s convicting ways, in the moment of Jesus’ death for our sin, Satan lost everything.  It is finished, and so the devil is finished. 

    The spectacular announcement of Christ’s victory and Satan’s defeat would wait for the 3^rd day, until Jesus burst from the tomb.  Now that announcement is the heart of Church’s message, for herself and the world, because this is the convicting message of the Holy Spirit. 

    Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen, and so Satan and all the lies and evil he inflicts on humanity are also judged.  With this eternal conviction in our hearts, we are set free to love our families and each other, building one another up in the Name of Jesus.  In this joyful conviction, we are free, as church and as individuals, free to serve the world around us.  We are free to be truly good citizens.  Even more, we are free to live in love and Christian confidence, always ready to give the reason for our hope.  Through such Christian living, God will help our nation.  And even more, much more, through such Christian living, the Holy Spirit graciously keeps us in the Way, and reaches out through us, convicting souls, convicting with the Truth of Jesus, for the life of the world, Amen.