One, as we sang that song, I think the second verse kind of pictures the coming of the Holy Spirit and what he does for us is like the dawning of a new day as the sun rises on a new day, which certainly the Holy Spirit brings in a new day for us when we receive him, when we trust Christ as Savior. And then the third verse talks about like the deliverance from the bondage to sin, like the vacant cell where we used to be held in bondage to sin and to Satan, and we rejoice in the fact that we're not there anymore. So I think that's kind of the idea of those second and third verse, and the first and last verse were, I think, a little more self-explanatory. By the way, just, and for those of you at home, again, I know that some of this, because the way we do things on Wednesday night now, you're not getting everything, but I'll try to reiterate what's been said here. So you'll have some idea of things you don't hear from the congregation. But I also wanna encourage you, every month we get reports on our live stream. In the month of January, we had over 800 people tune in to either live stream or they listened to a message that's recorded, it's on our page. And we reached seven countries in January. So we praise the Lord for that. All right, so last week we talked about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, what He was doing during the first 4,000 to 6,000 years of history, and now we're gonna turn our attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the New Testament age, which is, even now as we live, the things we're gonna talk about, and we won't get through all of this tonight, but the things that we're gonna be talking about are things that are ongoing. the Holy Spirit is continuing to work in these ways, even today. And so, but we see it in the New Testament. So, what I, now I gave you a sheet of paper, and, Maybe if we can just, I thought about just having you go through the all, what is there, five different things the Holy Spirit does in the New Testament age on that sheet. That's not all, but that's all, that's the first five things we're gonna talk about. I thought about just letting you go through very quickly and try to look up all those verses. Let's just do them one at a time. So turn to John chapter 16. and look at verses seven through 11, and then you tell me what goes in that blank. Those blanks are, what is the Holy Spirit doing today? What did he do in the New Testament? What is he doing today? What does those verses tell us the Holy Spirit is doing in the New Testament age? What word is going to go in that blank? Reprove. He will reprove the world. So that's what you're gonna put in that first blank. The Holy Spirit will convict, reprove, that's what the word means, to convict. By the way, look at that passage, beginning in verse seven, Jesus said, nevertheless I tell you the truth, it's expedient for you that I go away. It's necessary that I go away. If I don't go away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Think about this, what Jesus is saying is, When he says it's expedient for you that I go away and so that the Comforter can come, if I can put it this way, the coming of the Spirit had a more beneficial effect for the disciples than the physical presence of Jesus as far as providing comfort. We'll probably talk about, come back to this, but just to note the word comfort, the comforter, the word means to come alongside to help. And there are many different ways that the Holy Spirit is the comforter, and we'll talk about that in another study. But Jesus said it's beneficial for you, more beneficial for you, that I go away and the Holy Spirit come. Now, we might ask the question, why would it be more beneficial for Jesus to depart and the Holy Spirit to come? Because Jesus, while he was on earth, was subject to the limitations of his humanity. Now, he never stopped being God and he never stopped having the attributes of God, but in his physical body, he could only be at one place at one time. So if he were here in this room, physically, bodily, speaking to us, he's not in, say, Smith Memorial Baptist Church. If he's here tonight, he's not over there, or Faith Fellowship, or wherever, you know, whatever other church. If he's here with us physically, bodily, then he's not there. And that's what he's saying, because when the Holy Spirit comes, he doesn't have a body. He is able to be in everybody's body. He's able to be with everybody, all believers at all times. Now we understand the Lord is omnipresent. But Jesus is, again, is talking about the limitations of his physical body, of his humanity. And so he says, for that reason, it's good for you that I leave, and the Comforter comes. And when he comes, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. The word reprove is used two different ways. It can either mean to convict. which is a word that we put in here, and you can use reprove, convict, convict in the sense of causing to see error, or it can also be used in the sense of convince of truth, and really both, when the Holy Spirit convicts, it's both. He shows us the error of our ways, our sin, and convinces us that our only hope is in Jesus, which we'll see when we get further into that verse in just a moment. But let me share with you a quote. This is from a theologian by the name of Ryrie. You may have a Ryrie study Bible. That's the guy that I'm quoting. He says, what is conviction? It is convincing or refuting an opponent so that he has the matter set before him in a clear light, whether he accepts or rejects the evidence. He sees very clearly what is true about himself. In this case, we're talking about the Holy Spirit convicting sinners, what he sees about himself and what he knows to be true about God. And then he goes on to quote another theologian by the name of B.F. Westcott who says, the idea of conviction involves the conception of authoritative examination, unquestionable proof, decisive judgment, and punitive power. So in other words, like you're before a judge And the evidence is weighed. It's unquestionable proof. The evidence has been presented. And it's all true. There's no question. And after an authoritative examination. So all the facts have been examined. The conclusion is you're guilty. Judgment is what you deserve. And the judge has the power to punish you. Because that's what he's saying. the idea of conviction. And he who convicts another places the truth of the case in dispute in a clear light before him so that it must be seen and acknowledged as truth. And then if he rejects that conclusion, he does so with his eyes open and at his peril. So in other words, when the Holy Spirit convicts us, he convicts us that we are indeed sinners. And when it's the Holy Spirit that is convicting us, we can't argue with that. I mean, we can, but we argue with it knowing we're wrong and he's right. And that we are not only sinners, but we are, as sinners, we are under the condemnation of God and deserve that condemnation and that our only hope is found in Christ. We can reject that, but when the Holy Spirit convicts us, he causes us to see our state before God and to acknowledge that what the Bible says is true. So if you're saved tonight, there was a point when you recognized you were a sinner before God, and that you couldn't save yourself, and that your only hope was Christ, who died on the cross to pay for your sins. Everybody, we all came to Christ differently, and our understanding, some understood it more fully than others, but there is that basic understanding, and I acknowledge it, I'm a sinner. And I have no hope. I can't save myself. It's not anything that I would do that could ever earn salvation or heaven for me, make me acceptable to God. I can't do it on my own. It's only through Christ. And Jesus paid for my sin when he died on the cross, and I believe that. And so I call upon God to forgive my sin and to save me, and he does that. But there are people who hear all that and they believe it, but they never trust Christ as Savior. Because faith is not just believing something is true, it is resting in that truth, it's accepting it for myself. that Jesus died for my sins and that I need his salvation myself. And I'm trusting him and him alone for the forgiveness of my sins and my entrance into heaven. So the Lord goes on to say, when the comforter comes, he will convict you, he will reprieve you of sin and of righteousness, of judgment, and of judgment of sin because they believe not on me. That word sin there means to miss the mark. It's the idea of if you're shooting an arrow at a target and the arrow always falls short, it never hits the target. And it's a reminder when the Lord uses that word for our sin, it's a reminder that there is a standard of right and wrong. And that standard is what? God. God is absolutely holy. That's why Romans 3.23 says, for all have sinned, missed the mark, we've all come short of the glory of God, that God's glory, God's holiness, that's the standard that we, in order to save ourselves, we would have to hit the mark, the bullseye, every time. Never do anything wrong, never sin, because that's the standard that God holds up. If you wanna get into my heaven, you have to be perfect. None of us measure up, right? and the Holy Spirit reminds us, you don't measure up, you're not absolutely holy. He convinces us of sin. But understand that the sin that condemns men to hell is not the sins of drunkenness, or immorality, or adultery, or profanity, or lying, or stealing, or whatever. A man doesn't go to hell because he commits adultery, or because he gets drunk, or because he lies, or steals, or whatever. A man doesn't go to hell because of those things. He goes to hell because he does not believe on Jesus Christ as his savior. And the Holy Spirit convicts us of those things. Those things are labeled as sins in the Bible. They fall short of the glory of God. That's not who God is. And so the Holy Spirit convicts us of that because in order to believe on Christ as my Savior, why do I need a Savior? Why do I need a Savior? Because I'm lost. I'm a sinner. So the Holy Spirit convicts me of sins to understand that I am a sinner, but I will go to heaven or hell based on what I do with Jesus Christ. If I trust Christ as my Savior, then I will go to heaven. But if I reject Christ as my Savior, I will go to hell. Now, I can accept Christ as Savior, then now I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself, but now I've got a new nature within me that wants to live up to the holiness of God. Before I'm saved, I may or may not, and I may or may not care, and I may care in some things and not in other things. Once I get saved, I wanna do right, I wanna do what pleases God, and now I have the ability, because the Holy Spirit lives within me, I have the power of God to live a holy life, I won't always do it. But if, as a believer, I commit adultery, I'm not going to hell for that sin. Now I have sinned against God and it needs the forgiveness of God or I need to confess that sin. Lord, that was wrong. And when David committed adultery and Nathan confronted him, he admitted, I have sinned. And Nathan said to him, you won't die. God has forgiven you. David's a believer. He's an Old Testament believer, but he's a believer just like you and I are. And so he's forgiven. But that sin didn't affect his salvation. It affected his relationship with the Lord or his fellowship with the Lord, not his relationship with the Lord, but his fellowship with the Lord. He's still a child of God. So it's not the individual sin. So of sin, verse nine says, because they believe not on me. the Holy Spirit convicts me of my sins so that I will understand how much I need a Savior and that Christ is the Savior that I need. John 3.18 says, he that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. So the condemnation is not based, again, upon individual acts of sin. It's on whether I believe on Christ or not. Okay, am I clear on that? Are you clear on that? You understand what I'm saying? You got it? I don't want to be confusing. I want to make sure we're clear. I understand that. By saying all that, I'm not saying it's okay. As Christians, we just go do whatever we want. We can sin, it doesn't matter. No, again, we want to do right, but it is faith in Christ that is the issue of salvation. In John 3.36 it says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. So again, it's a matter of what we do with Jesus Christ. But secondly, in verse 10 he says, you know, he will reprove the world of sin, because they believe not on me, of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more. The righteousness of Christ and our need of it if we would be accepted by God. That's the righteousness the Holy Spirit convicts us of. Again, conviction is, first of all, showing me my sin, convicting me that I am a sinner. But secondly, convincing me of the truth that my only hope is in Christ. And so he convinces me that Christ was righteous, that Christ did no sin, And how do we know that? Because the Bible tells us that. But turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. I know tonight I'm a little more lecture, if you will. I can't get you as involved in this as we have in the last couple weeks. I'm sorry about that. And if you have a question at any point, please don't hesitate to stop me and ask. If you have a comment, don't hesitate to stop me and comment. But look at the beginning of verse nine, and I've got these verses in my notes, but it says there, then said he, that is Christ, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that is, the sacrifices of the Old Testament law, the law of Moses. He's taken away the law of Moses to establish the second, which is righteousness through faith in Christ. He, as the ultimate sacrifice for sin, by the witch will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. How many times did Jesus have to die? Once. That's what verse 10 is saying. And we are saved through that once-for-all sacrifice when we believe on Christ. And every priest standed daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. So in the Old Testament, they had to keep offering sacrifices. Because those sacrifices, they covered sin, they didn't take away sin. But this man, verse 12, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expect until his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Now somebody's pointed out the fact that, you know, in the temple, in the tabernacle in the Old Testament, and in the temple, in the holy place, and in the holy of holies, there was no chairs. We're told about all the furniture in the tabernacle in the temple. There was no chair there. Why? Because the priest never sat down because his work was never done. This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. What does that mean? What does that say to us? It's complete. The job is done. How do I know that God accepted, the Father accepted the son's death as the full, complete payment for my sins? Well, because he's in heaven today seated at the right hand of the Father. If his sacrifice was not enough, he wouldn't be seated today at the right hand of the Father. He'd be down here offering himself again and again and again. The fact that he went back to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the father, indicated that the father was satisfied with his sacrifice, that his righteousness was sufficient. His life of obedience, I come to do thy will, oh God. So his obedience enabled him to die for our sins, to be the sacrifice for our sins. He didn't have to die for his own, he could die for ours, because he had no sin. And so he died for our sins, and then was raised from the dead, ascended back into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father. The Father allowed that because the job was done. And so he is, as it says in 1 John 2, he is the propitiation for our sins, the satisfaction, the Father satisfied that Jesus paid for your sins and mine. They're all paid for, I don't have to pay for them. he paid for him. All I have to do is trust his death on the cross as the payment. And so now he's just waiting for the end. The job is done, providing salvation, and he's waiting until his enemies be made his footstool. So, the Holy Spirit convinces us of the righteousness of Christ, that Christ was righteous sinless and that his death was sufficient to pay for all of our sin. And then he convinces us that believing on Christ as Savior that I am declared righteous in the sight of God. What is the term that we use for that? I'm declared righteous in the sight of God. There's a term for that that we often use. Justification. We are justified. When we believe on Christ as Savior, we're justified. We're declared righteous. We're credited with the righteousness of Christ. I'm not righteous. I still sin. I don't want to, but I do. But when the Father looks at me, he doesn't see my sin. He sees Christ's righteousness. And that's why I'm secure, because it's not what I do. It's not what I do before I get saved. It's not what I do after I get saved. It's what Christ did for me. And again, I want to do right, but I don't always do right. But that is not what matters. What matters is what Christ did for me. and I'm accepted by God because Christ paid for all of my wrongs, all of my sin. And so the Holy Spirit convinces me, first of all, that I am a sinner, and therefore I need a Savior, that Christ is the Savior that I need, that if I don't believe on Christ, of judgment because the prince of this world is judged, if I don't believe on Christ, that I will face the judgment of God. But if I do believe on Christ, I will never face the judgment of God. What does Romans 5.1 say? Can anybody quote that verse? Romans 5.1? That's 8.1. And we're coming to that one. We're coming to that one. But 5.1, look it up, look it up. Romans 5.1, look it up. Somebody, when you find it, go ahead and read it. Yeah, we are justified by faith and we have peace with God. Now, look back at the chapter 4, verse 25. Christ was delivered for our offenses, for our sins, and raised again for our justification. So again, He is ascended to heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, so that we might be justified, that we might be declared righteous in the sight of God. And then, so then I know that, again, if I die, that I'm justified, that I have peace with God. And so I will not go to hell. So again, Romans 8.1. Rob, give us that one again. 8.1. No condemnation. I can never go to hell. I never forget a preacher saying that one time. It was at a pastor's fellowship and the guy was preaching and he said, I can't go to hell. And I thought, that's good. I'd never heard anybody say it exactly like that before, but I thought, that's good, because that's right, I can't go to hell. I trusted Christ as Savior, I can't go to hell. I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, and there's no change in that. I cannot go to hell, because if I go to hell, then God is a liar, and he's not a liar. He gave me eternal life, everlasting life. I'm going to heaven when I die. So, turn to Hebrews chapter two. Yes, yes, okay. If they are truly saved, and we'll talk about this more later, but just to answer your question, if they're truly saved, they cannot lose it. The question would be, and I don't know their heart, only God knows, they know and God knows, when somebody backslides, So here would be a question. Have they turned their back on God and said, I don't believe in God anymore, I'm gonna go do my thing? And if they've done that, and they sincerely, they mean that, they're not just talking, that's their heart, it'll become their heart. That's an indication that they never got saved. 1 John, I don't have the reference right off the top of my head, but I think it's in chapter two, they went out from us because they were not of us. If they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us. So he's saying people who walk away from the Lord, that indicates they never were truly his. They had an outward they outwardly conformed, but they weren't really saved, and so they left. But if it's a believer who just falls into a life of sin, one of two things is, first of all, if that's the case, then the Holy Spirit is gonna convict them of their sin, because this conviction isn't just to get saved, it's also after we get saved. And again, we're kind of getting ahead of ourselves. But the Holy Spirit will always convict you. And so when a Christian sins, the Holy Spirit convicts. If I confess my sin and turn from it based on that conviction, that's as far as it goes. If I refuse, then the Holy Spirit or God will chase him. He'll bring troubles and trials into my life that are intended to get me to turn from my sin back to him. If I continue to resist, that chase thing gets stronger. And if I continue to resist, and I am a child of God, then he will take me home to heaven. So a person who's truly saved is not going to lose their salvation if they backslide and they just do not turn back to God. Eventually, God will take them home. He won't let that continue. But he will do everything to try and bring them back to repentance before then. So it could take years. I mean, God is long-suffering, He's patient. He could be patient with a sinning believer for a long time before He finally says, that's it, you're not gonna repent, come home. So does that help answer? So the question is, did they really get saved? Because, you know, I've tried to stress this here, that praying a prayer does not save you. It is what's in my heart. I can say the words, Lord, I'm a sinner and I need your salvation, forgive me and save me, and it means nothing. And I can walk away saying, I got saved, I made it professionally, I got saved because I prayed this prayer. Well, praying a prayer doesn't save you, it's believing in your heart. Matter of fact, there are examples in the Bible of people who got saved who never prayed. Lydia at Philippi, Paul's preaching, And the Bible says the Lord opened her heart and she believed. It doesn't say she prayed and said, Lord, I'm a sinner, save me. She believed the message of salvation that Paul was preaching, and the moment from her heart she believed, she was saved. The home of Cornelius. Peter's preaching, and all of a sudden, Cornelius and the people in his house start speaking in tongues, which back then was a sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit. And so, you know, it's like, wow, they got saved right then and there while Peter's preaching, but they never prayed. There's no indication that they prayed any prayer, but they got saved. So the prayer doesn't save, it's the heart that saves. If they walk away, that probably means they were never saved. But again, I don't know their heart, only God does. And so if they walk away like that, then I'm going to pray that one of two things happens. Either they really get saved, or if they are saved, they get right with God. And I'm probably going to deal with them as if they were not saved. Okay. Do you have a question back there? Somebody else? I thought I saw another hand. Okay. All right. And it is hard. It is hard. I mean, because we've seen that too. And you just have to trust the Lord and go from there. So the Holy Spirit then convinces us of judgment, either that if we have trusted Christ as Savior, we will not be judged, or if we haven't, that we will. I think I had you turn to Hebrews 2, look at verses 14 and 15. Let me just read it. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. That is, because we're flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood. That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. Why did Jesus become a man? Because that was the only way he could die for our sins, was by becoming one of us. And through his death, he delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. The prison door is open. The cell is empty when we believe on Christ. And we don't have to be afraid of death. and what's gonna happen to me when I die because I know I will not face the judgment of God. My works will be judged and the things that I've done for Christ will be rewarded, but I'm not gonna face the judgment of God. There's no question about heaven or hell for the believer, it's heaven. So I will never be judged for my sin. So now, we're not gonna get any further than this tonight, but let me just stress one other thing and we'll wrap it up. If the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, then what is necessary for an unbeliever? Let's see, how can I put this? Instead of asking the question, let me give you the answer. The Holy Spirit has to be working in a person's heart when I witness to them in order for them to be saved. They're not gonna get saved apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, okay, because it is the Holy Spirit that convicts men of sin and convinces them that their only hope is in Christ. So I have to be careful that I don't try to persuade men to pray that prayer. You know, on the one hand, yes, I want to encourage men, those that are unsaved, if I'm talking to them about the Lord, I do want to encourage them that this is a serious decision and they don't need to put it off. But I have to be careful that I don't get people to make an empty profession. I don't ever want to say, just pray this prayer and you'll be saved. Because again, it's what's going on in their heart, and ultimately, it has to be the Holy Spirit working in their heart. Hang on, I'll get to you in just a sec. Nor do I want to say, like, you know, I ran across this some years ago, a guy was witnessing to somebody, he was telling me about this, but he had witnessed to somebody, and when he got all done, they said, write down that prayer and give it to me, and maybe I'll pray it sometime, as if somehow, if I just say these magic words, I'll be saved. That's not the way it works. Again, it's it is the heart where I from my heart I know I believe I agree I am a center. And I agree, there's no way, I have no hope but Christ. And I rest in the death of Christ as a payment for my sins. Oftentimes that is expressed in a prayer, but it's the belief. I mean, you've heard people say, you know, I walked the aisle to get saved and I prayed at the altar, but I believe I got saved before I ever got to the altar. And they probably, if they believed, they did. The prayer at the altar just sealed the decision that had already been made in their heart. Let me give you one verse. 1 Thessalonians 1.5, Paul said to the Thessalonians, there was a great work of salvation that was done at Thessalonica because when Paul preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of those who heard and they got saved. Yes, sir. into the 6th chapter of John and start here at verse 64. But there are some of you that believe not. But Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him. And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me except it was given unto him of My Father. And I feel that what Jesus is probably saying there is that it's the Holy Spirit that reaches out to you and puts convictions upon your heart that you are a sinner and you need a Savior. And I felt convictions upon my heart. I could feel the Holy Spirit pouring upon me. I knew I needed Jesus, that all my hope was in Jesus Christ and not in myself. And everybody's testimony is different, but here's the thing if you really believed on Christ as your Savior It's because the Holy Spirit was working in your heart That because that's the only way that anybody gets saved is the Spirit convicts them You know, and we talk about conviction and we think about feelings, but it's just a belief in the truth that I am a sinner and my only hope is Christ. And I claim that promise that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, we need to quit for tonight. Maybe tuck that sheet in your Bible, bring it back with you next Wednesday night, and we'll move on to the second. And if you want, between now and then, you can fill out the rest of it, and then you can find out as we go along if you've got the right answers. Alright? Let's pray, and then we'll just sing one verse of this closing song. But let's pray. Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for that conviction that we did experience, understanding our need of salvation and that our only hope was in Christ. And we cried out for your salvation. We believed on Christ and were saved. Maybe there's someone here tonight or someone watching the live stream, they've never done that. I pray that they would understand, that your Holy Spirit would give them an understanding of that truth, that they might be saved. And we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Words will be on the screen behind us here. We'll sing just the first verse of a song, not in your hymnal, I am His and He is mine. Loved with everlasting love, Led by grace that love to know, Spirit breathing from above, Thou hast taught me it is so. All this full and perfect peace, All this transport all divine, In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine. In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.