and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned. Sermons
I. THE SIN OF WHICH THE SPIRIT CONVICTS THE WORLD. By the world we understand humanity at large, as alienated from God, and as in rebellion against him. Our race has been the prey of sin. However the form of sin has varied, the principle has remained the same. But the most striking and the most awful proof of the presence and the power of sin in the world is its rejection of Christ. "They believe not on me." For Christ was goodness incarnate; a greater sin it was not within the power of man to commit than to reject the Holy One and the Righteous. Jesus foresaw how he was about to be treated by his fellow-countrymen the Jews, and by the Romans. II. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SPIRIT CONVICTS THE WORLD OF SIN. In the Mosaic dispensation very much was done to introduce into men's minds the Divine estimate, the Divine abhorrence, of sin. The Law and the prophets ever kept this in view, and their work was doubtless that of the Spirit. But in the later and completer dispensation the Spirit has made manifest in many ways the exceeding sinfulness of sin. We may instance the emphatic condemnation of sin in our Lord's words, in which it is come, red to darkness, to bondage, to death; and yet more in the contrast presented to a sinful world by the spotless character and perfect moral example of the Son of man. Yet to the Christian mind the world's sin is brought home most effectively by the provision of redemption. Jesus was the Sin Offering; he condemned sin in the flesh; he redeemed the sinner at the priceless cost and ransom of his life. The Spirit, accompanying the gospel which conveys these tidings, has rendered sin obviously and flagrantly such in the view of all who are capable of judging. Especially the sin of unbelief, of willfully rejecting the Savior, has been charged upon the human conscience in such a manner as to lead multitudes to contrition and repentance. III. THE RESULTS WHICH HAVE FOLLOWED THE CONVICTION OF THE SINFUL WORLD BY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. There is something paradoxical in attributing such a result as conviction of sin to the Paraclete, the Comforter. Yet it is not to be questioned that the consciousness of sinfulness is essential in order to its forgiveness. It is the Spirit of God who renders the sinner not merely aware of his state and of his danger, but contrite and penitent; whilst contrition and penitence are necessary and indispensable in order to pardon and acceptance. There is for the sinner no true consolation which does not come by way of conviction. - T.
Of Judgment, because the prince of this world is Judged. Through His whole life did Christ judge the prince of this world. When He, who was born King of the Jews, was born in the stable of Bethlehem, and when the shepherds were called to be the first witnesses of His birth, then was the prince of this world judged; and this judgment was made manifest in that he who sat on the throne of Judaea was so troubled with the tidings, and tried to frustrate the purpose of God by the massacre of the children. Hereby the prince of this world laid bare the hell that boiled in his breast; and though he sent forth the fiercest of his servants he was foiled. When He who came to fulfil all righteousness submitted to be baptized by John, the greater by the less, the sinless by the sinful, God by man, then was the prince of this world judged. Then was man taught not to seek his own glory and righteousness, but the glory and righteousness of God — not to seek to be first, but to be last; and therefore were the heavens opened and the voice from heaven heard, "This is My beloved Son," &c. Again in the whole course of our Lord's temptation was the prince of this world judged; he was judged in that all his most powerful lures were scattered at once by being brought to the light of God's Word. Throughout the whole Sermon on the Mount the prince of this world is judged. His most vaunted blessings are declared to be woes, and his woes declared to be blessed. Every time that Christ forgave sins the prince of this world was judged. It was proclaimed in the sight of heaven, God Himself bearing witness that a Man was walking on the earth mightier than the prince of this world, and who could arrest his captives even out of his nethermost prison; and men were taught how they might obtain this deliverance — by faith. By every miracle that Christ wrought, the prince of this world was judged. In that He cast out devils by the Spirit of God it was proved that the kingdom of God had come on mankind, and that among the sons of men there was One who had bound the strong man, and was spoiling his goods; and when the devils took refuge in the herd of swine, and ran down the precipice into the lake, then was it shown what is sin's only congenial abode, its only rightful doom. Moreover, by every grace in our Lord's character the prince of this world was judged — by His meekness, His patience, His forbearance, His infinite lovingkindness, His perseverance in well-doing, His spotless purity, His zeal. The judgment of the prince of this world was consummated on the cross, and then when he had thus been finally overthrown, death, the last enemy, was also subdued. In all these manifold ways do they who are convinced of judgment by the Comforter perceive that the prince of this world has been judged. And what ensues? Will they follow him into his judgment, share his condemnation, be confounded with him in his confusion? Surely this cannot be. They who have been truly convinced of judgment will no longer cleave to that which they know their Saviour has condemned. Feelings of justice, honour, compassion, may sometimes urge a man to uphold the cause of the vanquished. But here all honour and right and mercy are on the side of the victor, and the victory consists in this, that the shame of sill has been unveiled, that its hatefulness has been disclosed, and men's eyes have been opened to discern its malice and its cruelty, its falsehood and its woe. Those whose eyes have been thus opened must needs loathe and turn away from sin. As Christ condemned sin so will all His faithful servants condemn it. They will condemn it in the world, but still more in their own hearts, for until they have condemned it in themselves, in vain will they try to condemn it in the world.(Archdeacon Hare.) The judgment of the world is the natural sequel to its being convinced of sin; and the statement in the text assures us that one day a distinction will be made between the good and the evil, the servants of God and the servants of the devil, and that the result of that distinction and separation will be the condemnation and destruction of the wicked.I. THE NECESSITY OF THE CONVICTION OF JUDGMENT. If men are to be so convinced of sin as to feel that the service of sin is a hopeless one, they must also be convinced of judgment. It is not enough to set forth the beauty of righteousness, and the deformity of sin. All law, whether human or divine, whether it points out a duty, or forbids a transgression, must have its sanctions. It must have something connected with it, in the shape of rewards, or of punishments, which shall make it to be respected. So it is with regard to righteousness and sin in general. Men must be convinced of more than the mere abstract wrongness of sin, of more than the mere deformity of vice, of more than the rightness, and beauty, of virtue and holiness. It is true that the beauty of holiness was illustrated in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that sin was rebuked by the purity and glory of His character; by means of the righteousness of Christ the conviction of righteousness is worked in the hearts of men. Yet in vain would the Holy Ghost set before many men at least that glorious ideal, or show that sin was a departure from it; unless He could also show that righteousness must triumph, and that sin must be put down and overthrown. II. THIS NECESSITY GOD HAS BEEN MEETING IN THE PAST HISTORY OF THE WORLD. 1. The first chapters of the sacred history contain this lesson in the probation, fall, and expulsion from paradise of our first parents. Here righteousness and sin confronted each other in their simplest forms of obedience and disobedience. Adam and Eve were put upon trial to see whether they would obey or disobey the Divine command. There was discrimination, an examination of the moral character of their conduct; there was condemnation, and there was rejection, and consequently punishment. All this is involved in the idea of judgment. It was the first lesson given by God to man, the first of a long series by which He has sought to convince His creatures of judgment. 2. We find the same repeated in the Deluge. The sins of mankind waxed grosser and more heinous, and the long-suffering of God waited and warned His rebellious creatures, until, it may be, men ceased to believe in judgment, and thought that to-morrow should be as to-day, and the wicked even as the righteous. But their dream was broken in upon and their delusion dispelled. The Flood came and took them all away. 3. We might point next to the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we pass on to the illustration of the subject in the history of God's dealings with the Israelites. In that remarkable history we have not only law, we have not only guidance and direction, we have judgment also. If God revealed Himself to the Israelites as their Teacher and Ruler, He also manifested Himself as the Judge of them and of the whole earth. The Judge of all the earth does right, even when the evil has been committed and the penalty merited by the seed of Abraham. It would not be judgment, it would not be a help towards convincing men of judgment, unless it were the result of discrimination and the just consequence of the act which had been performed. The whole history of the Israelites illustrates these remarks. It abounds in what we should call especial Divine interpositions; and those interpositions are frequently acts of retribution consequent upon the disobedience of the Divine commands, or a refusal to comply with His requirements. When Israel came out of Egypt, the exodus was accomplished by means of a Divine judgment. 4. We dwell upon these illustrations of God's dealings with mankind, because we possess His own interpretation of them, and are not liable to the charge of presumption which is sometimes brought against us when we seek to trace the hand of God in secular history. But we must not therefore suppose that the same lesson is not taught, and clearly too, in the whole history of nations. The conviction of judgment, in a measure at least, is impressed upon the religious belief of the whole human race, and is reflected in all their mythologies. Its very distortion is often no mean proof of its reality. The foot-prints of the Avenger are never far separated from those of the evil doer. III. HOW THEN IS THE CONVICTION OF JUDGMENT WROUGHT BY THE COMFORTER? Let us endeavour to understand what our Lord means when He tells us that the Comforter shall convince the world of judgment, "because the prince of this world is judged." The two principles of good and evil have been contending from the beginning of the world; but since the Incarnation it may be said that the great leaders and representatives of these opposing powers have encountered each other face to face. "The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). And His whole history tells us, that whenever they met in spiritual warfare, the prince of this world was judged. 1. It was so in the temptation of our Lord in the wilderness. The prince of this world was judged. In that contest from which he departed beaten, he had a pledge of the power and authority of Him who was to be his Conqueror. 2. The prince of this world was also judged in our blessed Lord's works of Divine power, and especially in His casting out devils. When the disciples of Christ returned with joy to their Master, saying: "Even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name," His answer was, "I beheld Satan as lightning fail from heaven" (Luke 10:17, 18). His empire was overthrown: the prince of this world was judged. 3. The same victory was won, the same act of judgment was performed upon the cross. It is clear that our blessed Lord looked forward to the death of the cross as the consummation of His victory. "Now," He said in prospect of that hour (John 12:27-31), "Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: But for this cause came I unto this hour." And the cause He mentions distinctly directly afterwards, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of the world be cast out." Blot out the propitiation from the work of Christ, and the judgment of the god of this world is incomplete. That was the great means whereby Satan was cast down; for when the blood of atonement was sprinkled upon the mercy-seat, he had no more claims upon sinful man, and no more hold upon the conscience. 4. And the victory was completed by our Lord's resurrection and ascension. If the Cross was the victory, this was the triumph. If Satan was defeated by the Conqueror on the cross, the resurrection declared His defeat. Nay more, it declared by the entrance of the Redeemer into the holy of holies that the curse was done away, that man could now enter into the presence of the Most High. This is what is meant by the accuser of the brethren being cast down, when the Man-child was caught up into heaven (Revelation 12:5, 9, 10). Satan falls as lightning from heaven. The prince of this world is judged. We have seen what is meant by the fact of which the Holy Ghost makes use in working the conviction of judgment, we have seen in what sense the prince of this world was judged: let us now ask what use the Comforter makes of this act in producing the conviction of judgment. Evidently the very descent of the Holy Ghost is a witness of the triumph of our Lord. He is the promise of the Father, the gift of the Son. But this not all. He produces this conviction by carrying on the work, by giving effect to the triumph of Christ. In the progress of the Church of Christ, a progress which has been the work of the Holy Ghost, in the triumph of the individual, or of the body over sin and over the opposition of the world, we have seen the conviction of judgment. But the judgment of the prince of this world, which is now being manifested in the overthrow of evil, is the pledge of a future and final judgment. I need not say that the pledge is adequate. The fact of the descent of the Holy Ghost, the mighty works which accompanied, and which since then have followed His descent, the power which He has put forth in human society, all these things are our pledge for the future. And the pledge will be redeemed. We know not when or how; but the time will come when there will be a separation of good and evil, of light and darkness. (W. R. Clark, M. A.) People Jesus, DisciplesPlaces JerusalemTopics Condemned, Judged, Judgement, Judgment, Prince, Ruler, Sentence, StandsOutline 1. Jesus comforts his disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and his ascension;23. assures their prayers made in his name to be acceptable. 33. Peace in Jesus, and in the world affliction. Dictionary of Bible Themes John 16:11 2309 Christ, as judge 1436 reality 3248 Holy Spirit, conviction Library Presence in AbsenceEversley, third Sunday after Easter. 1862. St John xvi. 16. "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." Divines differ, and, perhaps, have always differed, about the meaning of these words. Some think that our Lord speaks in them of His death and resurrection. Others that He speaks of His ascension and coming again in glory. I cannot decide which is right. I dare not decide. It is a very solemn thing--too solemn … Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons November 6 Evening November 29 Evening May 14 Morning December 21 Morning June 15 Evening August 15. "He Will Guide You into all Truth" (John xvi. 13). October 29. "Whatsoever Ye Shall Ask the Father in My Name, He Will Give it You" (John xvi. 23). March 5. "I have Overcome the World" (John xvi. 33). 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