Sin and Righteousness and Judgement

But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:5-11)

Outsourcing? The gospel mission is a daunting task. And for some reason we like to make a lot more daunting. When Jesus commanded his disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, he wasn’t outsourcing. Jesus didn’t ascend to the right hand of the Father because he was tired of getting his hands dirty and wanted his church to finish what he started. Yet somehow this is the vision we often have of our mission. When we think of evangelism, discipleship, missions, charity, etc., we generally see it as our work, the Church’s work. God has outsourced it to us.

The Promise. Jesus, however, said that he was ascending to the Father in order to send the Spirit to us. Jesus wasn’t abandoning the work to us; he was making way for the Spirit. The “Advocate,” he promised, would come and convict the world of its unbelief, its culture of injustice, and the impending day of judgement. Talk about a fun list of subjects, and yet salvation cannot come into our lives, communities, nations unless we are convicted on these points.

Chutzpah. There is an amazing passage in Acts 24 where Paul stands trial before Felix the governor of Judea, an official known for his corruption, brutality, and licentiousness. As his future hangs upon the whims of this powerful procurator, Paul is summoned before Felix and his wife, and what should his topics include? Justice, self-control, and the coming the judgement (Acts 24:24). Luke records the governor’s response: “Felix was alarmed and said, ‘Go away for the present.”(Acts 24:25). Paul had some serious chutzpah, or perhaps he just believed that the Spirit would do his job.

Supporting Cast. Paul grew used to the Spirit doing his job. In Acts 16:14 Luke tells us that as Paul discussed the gospel with Lydia outside Philippi, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said.” Such is the work of mission. We act, we speak, we care, but it is not our voice, our words, or our giftedness that opens the heart and convicts it. We work in tandem with the Spirit. Mission is God’s work first and foremost. Not ours. God isn’t outsourcing mission to us. He is inviting us to join His mission. So as we live lives of mission, we are not acting alone. The Spirit goes before us, speaks through us, continues his work after we are long gone. We aren’t the main actors in this drama of cosmic revolution; we’re just supporting cast. Nevertheless, by God’s extravagant grace our names are still in the credits.