Jesus confronted the Scribes and Pharisees with their own sin when they brought to him the adulterous woman. "And they being convicted by their own conscience went out one by one" (John 8:9). When reproved of their sin, they hardened their hearts. We find this pattern throughout the New Testament--that most, when confronted with their guilt, are impenitent. The woman, on the other hand, refused to justify her sin, but acknowledged the Lordship of Christ.

Jesus said, "The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil" (John 7:7). So if Jesus testified to the world that men's lives were evil, should not his disciples do the same? Paul affirms that God's purpose in sending his own Son was to "condemn sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3).

If we are to labor effectively with the Holy Spirit we must have a correct understanding of sin. Sin is defined as "transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). Sin, then, is a choice to deliberately and intentionally rebel against God. Sin is not a substance we inherit at birth, but it is a decision to live selfishly, instead of lovingly, as God intended us to live.

Many misinterpret Jesus' statement, "of sin, because they believe not on me." They believe that Jesus is teaching that men are primarily condemned, because of rejecting Christ, not for breaking the moral law. Therefore, they "just preach Jesus" and encourage men to accept him immediately, instead of first dealing with their transgressions.

Actually Jesus is teaching that because men reject him as Savior, their transgressions are not forgiven, and they are still subject to eternal death. Men are condemned to hell when they sin against the light of nature and their conscience. Rejection of Christ greatly intensifies men's guilt, but rejecting Christ is not the source of their guilt. If not believing in Jesus were the only sin that damned souls, then the heathen which have not heard the gospel would have to be excused by a just God. But Paul makes clear in the Roman letter that all men are without excuse.

Evangelicals are advised to offer Christ to people unconvinced of their sin (rebellion). What would we think of the doctor who haphazardly offered medication or surgery to people? The physician first must diagnose his patient's problem (sin); next he gives the prognosis (death). Finally, he wants to give him some hope (the Great Physician). One should not speak of healing until the patient is first convinced that he is sick.

This analogy must not be taken too far. Sin is not a physical ailment, but an immoral choice. The sin problem cannot be cured by a "gospill," but by a choice to change the direction of one's life, and to put one's faith in the person and work of Christ.

Even among those who acknowledge that it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convince of sin, few appreciate the responsibility of the believer to work alongside the Spirit in accomplishing this goal. Since he is the Spirit of Truth, he will use the medium of the believer (who is supposed to be filled with the Spirit) to bring conviction to the conscience of the unbeliever. So the Christian needs to be sure he has the right message, backed up with the holy character that will reprove the world of sin.

We need to "preach the Word--reprove, rebuke, and exhort" (II Timothy 4:4). In today's message as little as possible is said about sin. What used to be called sin is more likely to be labeled "hurts", or "problems". Certainly sinners may be hurting and have problems, but if they are going to be helped, they must acknowledge their sin.

When the 120 were filled with the Holy Ghost in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, devout Jews of every nation gathered together with the disciples to observe what was happening. They were utterly amazed, because the disciples were speaking in the languages of their native countries. Some Jews mocked; others wanted to know what all this meant.

Peter stood up, but he did not testify, "Oh, I just had the most wonderful experience; I have received my prayer language." No, he began to preach--calling the crowd's attention to the prophets of old, signs of judgment, and the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Finally, he put his finger on the house of Israel. "Know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). When they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts (convicted of sin).

If Peter had not accused the Jews of murdering the Holy One, they would not have been convicted. Peter did not have the lights lowered and the music playing softly in order to produce a certain mood as he issued an invitation. Instead he plunged the sword of the Spirit's convincing truth into their hearts and made them cry out in agony, "What shall we do?" [They gave their own altar call.] Peter then commanded them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38).

In Acts chapter 3, after healing the lame man in the temple, Peter accused the men of Israel of murdering the Prince of Life and ordered them to "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." The religious leaders arrested him, but meanwhile about 5,000 were converted.

In Acts chapter 5, the apostles are preaching in the temple when the chief priests have them arrested and brought before the council. Peter accuses the priests of slaying Jesus, a Prince and a Savior, "for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sin."

When the Jews heard, "...they were cut to the heart (convicted), and took counsel to slay the apostles." But Gamaliel, one of the leading councilman, was able to give the apostles a little space. The priests were content to beat them and let them go, commanding them to speak no more in Jesus' name. But the apostles departed, "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."

Despite the persecution, as Jesus had prophesied, the Holy Spirit was there to comfort the disciples. They were not offended even when put out of the synagogues and beaten.

Finally, the opposition to the Christians culminated in Stephen's arrest and defense before the council and High Priest. He calmly related the history of Israel's unbelief and rebellion and consequent rejection by God. Suddenly, Stephen accused his persecutors of being stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, of resisting the Holy Ghost, of persecuting and killing the prophets, of betraying and murdering Jesus, and of breaking the law. When they heard this, the Jews were "cut to the heart." Evidently, they realized their guilt, but instead of repenting, they gnashed their teeth and stoned him to death.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (John 3:19-20).

Stephen's light was so bright that all who sat in the council saw that his face was as the face of an angel. Yet they hated his light so much that they put out the light. They declared war on God!

Charles Finney called this type of reaction to truth, "the heinous sin of impenitence." Finney explained, When the claims of God are revealed to the mind, it must necessarily yield to them, or strengthen itself in sin. It must, as it were, gird itself up, and struggle to resist the claims of duty. This strengthening of sin under light is the particular form of sin called impenitence.

Impenitence essentially consists of cleaving to self-indulgence under light.

Saul of Tarsus, who stood by as Stephen was martyred, continued to take the lead in the war against God by "making havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison" (Acts 8:3). But as he was on the road to Damascus to arrest more Christians, a light brighter than the sun appeared unto him, and the Lord accused Saul of persecuting him. Paul finally reacted positively to the truth and came to the light.

Often ministers of the gospel have been discouraged when they do not see mass conversions like those in the Book of Acts. They forget that history shows, and Jesus warned, that most men would resist rather than receive the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Ministers must accept this and they must come to an understanding of how the Holy Spirit works with the sinner.

The Holy Spirit provides the friction which rubs against the sinner's conscience. Initially the sinner will often resist this rubbing. The Holy Spirit steps up his activity and begins to grind away at the sinner's conscience, but still the sinner resists. The Spirit may lay siege to the sinner's conscience and carry on a battle until there is a gradual wearing or weakening of the sinner's will, and, hopefully, his heart is broken and he surrenders to his Sovereign.

Theologians use the term contrition to describe the sinner's surrender. Contrition is the repentance of sin perfected by the love of God which makes a man shun sin. It is a deep sorrow experienced for having displeased God by behaving sinfully. This godly sorrow results in a sincere hatred of sin and a resolve not to sin again.

Contrition is a necessary condition in order to be pardoned by God. Contrition is genuine repentance in contrast to attrition which is false repentance motivated by fear of punishment or rejection by God. The merely attrite sinner has been worn down, but not pulverized. He resists so hard that he forms calluses upon his conscience, until the Holy Spirit is grieved away because he cannot break the sinner without violating his will--something the Holy Spirit will never do in the matter of man`s salvation.

King Saul and Judas felt attrition over their sins, but instead of becoming contrite, they both committed suicide. Peter and King David, on the other hand, experienced contrition over their sins. David affirmed in Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

In the early days of my ministry I was quick to push people into "professions of faith" or praying the "sinner's prayer." As I studied the Bible more, it became obvious that many of my "converts" had never reached contrition over their sins. In fact, some had never experienced attrition. Convinced that true converts were more important to God than evangelistic numbers, I strove to be more sensitive to the workings of the Holy Spirit in the life of the sinner.

Paul was a freshman in business aviation at The Ohio State University. When I met Paul in l987, my evangelistic efforts had been in conformity with those of the Holy Spirit for a number of years. Yet watching Paul's experience was to give me a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Holy Spirit's role in conversion. He had read a few gospel tracts and he regularly watched a television preacher. When he heard Brother Max Lynch preaching on the campus lawn in Spring l986, Paul was wavering between atheism and theism. Paul was amazed that an educated man in his late fifties would spend his time preaching to a crowd of jeering college students.

"I was impressed that he was not out golfing," Paul said. "I remembered two scriptures that Brother Max quoted,`Be ye holy for I am holy', and `Except ye repent ye will all likewise perish.'"

Later Paul heard me preaching from my favorite text for college students, I Corinthians 6:12: "Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Paul recalled, "I knew that if what Brother Jed was saying was true, I was in trouble. I also intuitively knew that some things I did were wrong. I began to see the vanity of sin and cut down on sinning."

Paul concluded that atheism was not a reasonable option.

Driving in his pickup truck in February l987, Paul professed faith in Christ and claimed the salvation experience.

One day, while ministering at Ohio State, Paul and I discussed sin, holiness and temptation. Paul asked me, "What if you keep on doing the sin?"

I quoted the promise given us in I Corinthians 10:13: "`There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.'

Paul," I explained, "If you are tempted to cheat, be honest. If you are tempted to lie, tell the truth. If you are tempted to lust, think about something else. Just say `no' to sin."

Most Christians probably would have quoted I John 2:2 to Paul: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous", and I would not dispute that, forgiveness is a great blessing but Jesus also promised deliverance from sin.

Paul began coming to our Bible studies and church services in Fall, l987. I accepted that he had become a Christian in February. Paul was a serious Bible reader and truth seeker. By everything I could see, Paul demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit. He was faithful, reliable, and responsible. I hoped for a church full of men just like him.

Little did I know that Paul was only in a Romans, chapter 7, experience and had not yet been converted. However, the Holy Spirit knew, and he continued to work on Paul's heart.

In the Bible studies and sermons over the next few months, I emphasized Biblical holiness and concentrated on themes of sin, righteousness and judgment.

The Holy Spirit was faithful to complete the work that he had begun, and within a year, Paul submitted to the point of contrition. Today, Paul's testimony is one of total victory over sin.

Paul developed into a powerful lay preacher. He graduated from Ohio State in Winter, l991. He spent the following spring boldly preaching in the same spot where 5 years earlier the Holy Spirit had begun to convict him of sin, righteousness and judgment.

Paul's testimony gave me more confidence that if I was faithful to preach the truth, the Holy Spirit could and would do a complete work in the soul of the sincere individual.

The minister of the gospel must be determined to preach with conviction regardless of his listeners' reactions. Too often Christians, in attempting to present the gospel, weaken the message so that they are no longer declaring the truth. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is frustrated in his efforts to convince of sin, and impenitent souls continue in their mad rush for hell. A softer message may increase church membership, but it will decrease the number of true conversions. Woe unto the minister that treads such dangerous ground. He will be reproved of God on judgment day for fighting against the Holy Spirit.

Men-pleasers are opposed to any preaching that results in condemnation--both to those who do not profess the faith and to those that do. They are fond of quoting John 3:17--"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved"--thus the saying "Jesus saves, he doesn't condemn." They ignore John 3:18: "He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." The true message must warn men that they are judged guilty. One only offers a pardon to those who are already condemned, not to those who insist they have never done anything deserving hell.

An Evangelical offering pardon to a sinner unconvinced of his guilt is much like President Ford pardoning Richard Nixon, concerning the Watergate Affair. Nixon had never been declared guilty by any court of law, or even formally charged of a crime by a court, nor did Nixon ever admit to guilt of any criminal offense. He admitted to mistakes and errors of judgment and even showed some remorse for certain actions. But it was irresponsible of President Ford, entrusted with the execution of laws, to pardon a man who was merely generally assumed to be guilty. Ultimately, such action only generates a lack of respect for due process of law.

There is a gross disregard for due process in the evangelical community today. We have preachers, who are supposed to be responsible for upholding God's law, offering pardons to people without insisting on an admission of guilt or demanding evidence of true repentance. God's court has already accused and condemned the sinner to death, but until the sinner acknowledges his guilt and condemnation, ministers are not acting justly or wisely to offer him a pardon, because God demands an admission of guilt, and a willingness to change, before he exempts the individual from the death penalty for sin.

Since the Holy Spirit is often quenched, multitudes have come into the church without being convicted of their sin and coming to true repentance and faith. Prematurely, men have been lead in a sinner's prayer and pronounced "saved".

In a typical evangelistic crusade of our day it would not be unusual to hear a conversation around the altar something like the following:

Sinner: "I asked Jesus into my heart, but I don't feel like I am saved."

Evangelist: "What you feel is not important, what counts is what The Bible says. John 1:12 reads, `For as many as receive him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.'"

Sinner: "I still don't think that I am a child of God."

Evangelist: "Are you calling God a liar? John 3:16 says, `God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' The Bible says it; if you believe it, that settles it. You are saved. I just prayed with you."

It is arrogant for anyone to try to convince someone else that they are saved. This is intruding on the office of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16). Yet so many evangelists seem to think it their calling to travel the country assuring impenitent sinners and carnal professors that their sins are forgiven based on answering an altar call and repeating a prayer. These same evangelists would condemn a Roman Catholic priest for acting as a mediator between God and man when they do the same thing merely under different authorities, structures, and rituals. Evangelists would better serve the Church if they would challenge people to question their salvation in light of the conditions of justification instead of attempting to give assurance of salvation.

In Acts chapter 8 Philip the evangelist had a great revival in Samaria, including miracles, which affected the whole city; and a large number believed and were baptized. Simon the sorcerer also professed to believe and was baptized. Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to lay hands on the believers for them to receive the Holy Ghost. When Simon saw that the Holy Ghost was given by the laying on of hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost."

But Peter said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee,....Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent and pray to the Lord that if possible, this may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity."

Simon is like so many that have been swept into the Church through the Pentecostal revival and the Charismatic renewal. It seems obvious that Simon was primarily seeking the power, the gifts, and the supernatural, rather than a righteous relationship with the Lord.

Jesus had to deal with the multitude that followed him for the loaves and fishes, for what they could get from him, instead of what they could give. When his preaching brought conviction of sin and called for righteous living, the crowds had a way of dwindling. They wanted everything but the truth which demanded a life of self-denial.

The apostles effectively used the miraculous in the book of Acts to gain attention to their message, minister to the needs of people, and witness to the power of the Resurrected Christ and the Holy Spirit in their lives. But their main concern was to proclaim a message that would transform lives; this is what is so often lacking in our generation. The gifts of the Spirit have been used to expose sickness and disease, but not sin. Ministers who have proudly proclaimed the presence of the Holy Spirit in their services, have themselves time and time again been exposed as hypocrites. Churches have been founded primarily to give people an opportunity to express the gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy, but rarely has this gift been used to bring forth a message that will convict and judge the sinner.

Paul admonished the Corinthians that when the whole Church comes together, "If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth" (I Corinthians 14:24-25).

Typically in churches where prophecy is given free reign, we hear only words of approval and acceptance. Of course, Paul did teach that "he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation and comfort." However, this should not eliminate a rebuke, a strong, or even a harsh word. These words are also edifying and comforting, when received and acted upon.

Those lacking in understanding often claim that the Holy Spirit never condemns believers, he merely convicts. Their proof text is Romans 8:1--"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus"--but they fail to quote the rest of the verse: "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Granted, some modern translations omit the last part of Romans 8:1, but verse four of chapter eight also includes the qualification. So professing believers who are governed by their fleshly appetites are condemned. Actually, they stand in greater condemnation than those who have never seen the Truth, because guilt is always measured according to knowledge. The greater the knowledge, the greater the guilt (Luke 12:47,48).

Many scholars consider the seven churches of the Revelation to be typical of the modern church. Hear what the Spirit was saying to the seven churches. Although the Holy Spirit does have some positive things to say about each, except the Laodiceans, five of the seven churches are reproved for sin and called to repentance, under the threat of dire judgments. The Church of Smyrna is warned of great impending tests, trials, and tribulations. The Church of Philadelphia is commended for having "kept the Word of my patience", but is warned to "hold fast which thou hast." The Spirit makes clear that all the churches need to live righteously. Nothing is said to any of them about the Spirit's pleasure or presence in their worship services.

Are we really hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches, or are the churches quenching the Spirit's desire to convince of sin, righteousness, and judgment? Is God really as pleased with the Church as we are hearing, or are we only hearing what pleases us?