“And when He is come, He will convict the world…”
I received my coffee and gave the MacDonald’s clerk a gospel tract. He took a quick glimpse at the tract and excitedly asked me, “Have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit?” “Yes,” I answered, “The Bible teaches that everyone who believes has been sealed by the Holy Spirit and baptized into the body of Christ.” “No,” he said, “I mean, do you speak in tongues?” Again I responded, “Yes, I speak Swahili, a little French, and some greetings in Kilese, Kinyali, and Kingiti.” Puzzled, he tried once more. “Do you believe in Spirit-led witnessing?” “I sure do,” I said, smiling, “the Spirit leads according to what the Word of God says.”
He looked disappointed. I knew the problem and what he was looking for, but I had hopes of raising our conversation to the level of truth rather than feeding emotional experience.
How does the Spirit lead us in witnessing?
Spirit-led witnessing is, for the most part, what we say rather than to whom we say it. The Lord Jesus explained to His disciples what the Spirit of God would do in this world. John 16:8 describes the Spirit’s work as delivering a message entitled, “Conviction,” and lays out the three points of His message: sin, righteousness, and judgment.
The Content of the Message: This convicting three-point message is expounded by the Lord in the following three verses (9-11) as He relates what each point means. (Isn’t it wonderful that the Bible is the best commentary on itself? So often questions are answered by just reading a little further.)
The first point, given by the Spirit, is to be convicted of sin. Not sins, which are the symptom of the sinner’s sickness, but sin itself. The Spirit goes right for the heart. He declares that the sinner does not believe in the Lord Jesus.
The second point is the conviction of righteousness. The Lord Jesus said this would happen because He was going to the Father and would be seen no more. Simply put, no one on earth is righteous. But the Lord Jesus is righteous and, because of His righteousness, He is with the Father. John calls Him “Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn. 2:1). The apostle Paul says that this righteousness must be imputed to us (Rom. 4:5). And Jeremiah calls Him “the Lord our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6).
The third point in the Spirit’s message is the conviction of judgment, because the ruler of this world (the devil) has been judged. God’s wrath abides on him who does not believe (Jn. 3:36). It’s waiting for the moment that the Lord has appointed; for it will fall and crush all those who will have their part in the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. How gripping is this awful torment that awaits those who do not believe!
The Communication of the Message: We’ve learned about the Holy Spirit’s three-point message of conviction. But how does He communicate it? That’s where you and I come in. He calls us to be witnesses. This is the key to conviction and Spirit-led witnessing to our world. A witness simply tells what he saw and heard. We’ve learned what the Spirit says in the Word of God. Thankfully, it’s written in black and white so that we can’t make a mistake. When we have an opportunity to witness, we should use His points. As a Spirit-led witness, you’ll be in good company. Paul was a great example of Spirit-led witnessing as he used the Spirit’s message on Mars Hill (Acts 17), and at Caesarea when he preached to Felix (Acts 24).
So, you see, Spirit-led witnessing is not primarily about to whom we witness, but what we should say. To whom, then, should we witness? Thankfully, the Lord Jesus told us that even before the Spirit came. He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15).