Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Tuesday, May 24,

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

Memory Verse 1 Cor 13:13 “But now abide (live forever) faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

John 16:8-11 The Convicting Ministry of God the Holy Spirit: He is the Prosecutor of a lost and dying world!

Concluding Principles: 1. Sin, Righteousness and Judgment address the past, present, and future.

a.Sin entered the world, and into all mankind, at the Fall (past).

b. Through self- determination, religious activity and/or human good (present), men attempt to lead righteous lives.

c. Nevertheless, without faith in Christ, only judgment (future) awaits.

2. This is the office of the advocate in a cause, in a court of justice; …

… who, by producing witnesses, and pleading upon the proof, convicts the opposite party of sin, …

… demonstrates the righteousness of His client, and shows the necessity of passing judgment upon the accuser, Rev 12:10.

3. God the Holy Spirit is a “prosecutor” of the unbelieving world as also seen in, Jer 50:34; 51:36; Lam 3:58-66; cf. Ps 43:1; 50:8.

Psa 43:1, “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!”

4. GtHS proves that all the world is guilty before God in His three fold conviction. He also imparts the righteousness of Christ, to the unbeliever who believes, for justification and salvation (E.G.).

5. GtHS uses witnessing Christians and the Word to convince the unbeliever of his sin of unbelief; of his need for righteousness and of the fact that since he belongs to Satan, Eph 2:1-3, he is on the losing side.

6. There is no salvation without Spirit-led conviction, for the Spirit uses the Word to convict lost souls.

7. On the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was given, multitudes of Jews were convinced of their sin of unbelief, and converted to God. Acts 2:14-44

8. The Spirit’s prosecuting ministry proves of the necessity of being pardoned, and made righteous through the blood of the Lamb, who is our Intercessor, Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2.

Rom 8:34, “…. Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

9. The death and resurrection of Jesus were a condemnation of Satan, John 12:31; Col. 2:15. By Jesus’ death, He defeated the devil, who held “the power of death”, Heb. 2:14.

10. God’s righteous judgments are His saving justice; therefore, judgment and salvation coalesce.

11. Yet, people in rebellion must take note of Satan’s defeat and fear the Lord who holds the power to judge, as the fact of coming judgment. Rev 20:1-3, 10-15

12. Therefore, the Spirit convicts people and prepares them for salvation. cf. Acts 17:30-31, 34

13. This tells us that there are three different states of man:

a. Under sin, the general corruption of human nature, and the reign of sin until the coming of Christ.

b. Under grace, in which sin is pardoned and righteousness is acquired by faith in Christ; the reparation of our nature by the Lord Jesus, and the reign of righteousness by His grace, Rom 5:20-21.

c. In the peace and glory of heaven, where Christ will reign with His members and the devil with his angels and servants being banished into the Eternal Lake of Fire.

14. The role of the Spirit in the world is to “convince” (expose, bring to light) mankind that Jesus is the only hope of salvation.

Grace Fellowship Church Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Tape # Convicting Ministry of God the Holy Spirit GtHS, the Prosecutor of a Lost & Dying World! Upper Room Discourse, Part 511 John 16:11; Acts 2:14-44: 17:30-31, 34 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2011