HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION

BY: FRANK TUNSTALL, D. MIN.

Three outstanding facts stand out regarding Peter’s bold preaching on Pentecost morning. The first: Peter was absolutely convinced Jesus was raised from the dead; it was a “fact” to him (Acts 2:32 NIV). The second: Peter knew Jesus had forgiven Him for his denials and reinstated him as an apostle (John 21:15-19). The third was that Peter, along with the others in the Upper Room, had been filled with the Holy Spirit.

 Jesus had taught them the Holy Spirit would convict people of their sins; the time had now arrived for them to see it in action (John 16:8). The Spirit woos, draws and even courts, with the goal to bring people to the cross of Jesus, but never compels. When people see with the eyes of their hearts the gory death of Jesus in their place, they will feel conviction for their sins. In addition, they discover the cross of Jesus as the divine mirror that shows God’s great love.

Apostolic preaching, therefore, becomes partnering with the Holy Spirit, having the goal to inspire people to want a new heart in a new birth (John 3:3-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:23). For this to happen assumes willingness to confront sin in Jesus’ name, and follow up with the solution – repentance that results in the rich grace of God in forgiveness.

Repentance is best defined as people willingly making the decision to turn their lives around with the help of the Holy Spirit. In true repentance they successfully get on the right road – the gospel road – that yields peace with God and the blessed hope of eternal life with God in heaven.

Oh! that the pulpits of the land that miss this cornerstone principle of the ministry of the Holy Spirit will discover it anew; and those who know it will rediscover its power to redeem lives.

Because the Holy Spirit is God, He knows what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done, and the Spirit can tell Jesus’ followers what to say, when to say it, and how to say it to get it done. This means the Holy Spirit is boldness personified as He confronts and convicts of sin. Because Peter was full of the Spirit, he showed the same boldness, and was willing to confront wickedness of the worst kind that memorable Pentecost morning.

We should not be surprised that boldness is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples, “the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” So, wherever you go in your preaching, when “you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say [be bold enough to say] whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:10-11).

People continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the 21st century, and a new boldness always follows the infilling.

Peter sealed his indictment saying, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” The statement shows both the indictment and hope, because Jesus is now “Lord and Christ.”

To see clearly the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that produces Spirit-anointed preaching, one needs only compare the reception Peter received on the Day of Pentecost with the reception Jesus received in His hometown synagogue. When Jesus declared in Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me…” his hometown folk tried to throw Him over a cliff. At least twice in His ministry the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him (John 8:59; 10:31). And at the end of His ministry, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Caiaphas the High Priest put out an all-points bulletin for His arrest.

At Pentecost Peter indicted the crowd for murder and accused them of the heinous crime of killing their own Messiah. But this time, no rocks went flying; instead, the crowd was “cut to the heart.” They started asking, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

The difference has to be the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that convinced them of their grievous sin.

Oh! for the pulpits of the land to be so full of the Holy Spirit that God’s heavy hand of conviction for sin burns in peoples’ hearts (Psalm 32:4). For some pulpits, the very idea of Holy Spirit conviction needs to be discovered.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:38-40).

How does a person repent for murdering His Messiah? It certainly will not be flippant and casual. Instead, an individual would surely be filled with Godly sorrow for such a grievous crime (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).

The doctrine of repentance can easily become trite and commonplace, as if to casually say, Jesus, please forgive me for my sins that are very minor.

“With many other words [Peter] warned them and pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’” (Acts 2:40-41). Three words stand out here – warned, pleaded and corrupt. The word translated warned carries the idea of giving earnest testimony and witness about the danger ahead. The word translated pleaded communicates to beseech or to intreat, even to pray. Corrupt indicates warped, perverse, crooked, and bullheaded.

“With many other words [Peter] warned them [earnestly witnessed to them and gave testimony, beseeching and intreating the people in the crowd] saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt [warped, crooked, stubborn, obstinate, and bullheaded] generation.

Peter’s earnest warning was merited, and for two outstanding reasons. Peter knew the corruption was there; his boldness to say it came from the Holy Spirit. The Jewish religious leadership, in cooperation with Rome, had just a few weeks earlier done the unbelievable and crucified their own Messiah. The spiritual tragedy of the decision to kill Jesus meant the majority of the Jewish people had rejected their Savior too, and had done it in the most callous way possible. They would lose their souls if they did not repent; Jesus had made that clear. Again, repentance means a complete change of heart; turning around in a total new beginning. “I am the way the truth and the life,” the Lord said. “No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6).

Abraham, Moses or David would have been horrified and shamed beyond belief for their descendants to do so wicked a deed as to crucify their Messiah. Surely, these great leaders would have thought, what in the world has our nation come to; have they gone crazy?

Messiah’s miracles and signs were there as well as the prophecies. Jerusalem’s religious leaders were a classic definition of corrupt, warped thinking; and Jesus’ death was the result.

A colossal national tragedy was also eerily near. Peter surely remembered Jesus’ prophesy that one stone would not be left on another when the “den of thieves” temple would be torn down (Luke 19:46; 21:6). Peter knew the what, but he did not know the when, the timeline.

As for the nation, and especially Jerusalem, their hatred for Rome would move them closer and closer over the next forty years to rebellion. That decision would cost them the demolition of their beautiful, but corrupt temple, as well as the ruin of the whole city. Tens of thousands of men, women and children would die, including babies and toddlers, and about 100,000 Jews would be force marched to Rome and made slaves.

“Those who accepted [Peter’s] message,” however, “were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:37-41 NIV).

We are left with a very honest question: who among us needs another infilling of the Holy Spirit? And, whose ministry now in the doldrums would come alive with new convicting power, and even apostolic results, if that infilling were to happen?

Related posts

SO

Dear Readers,  A lifetime friend asked me to add some remarks and comment about...

JESUS: “MY TIME”

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. This lesson can be effective for high school and...

PASSING THE TORCH

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. “If you love me, you will obey what I...

A Hated Messiah?

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. The name, Jesus Christ, means Savior-Messiah. As Jesus neared...

UNEXPECTED JOY

  By: Frank Tunstall and Phil Larson Join us as we pray and study...

“CRAVING TO UNDERSTAND”

By: Frank Tunstall The prophets:  “yearning to understand Messiah’s suffering and glory” (1 Peter...

“But if Not”

By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min. All children of God sooner or later will need...

THE PRECIOUS RING

By: Frank G. Tunstall We all have our treasures that we hold to strongly....

Beth Moore: God Uses Your Mistakes for Good

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/january-web-only/beth-moore-god-uses-your-mistakes-for-good.html By: Beth Moore Years ago, when the number of attendees at Living Proof...

THE CROSS IS OUR STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

 ChristianityToday.com/ct/2019/November/cross-is-our-stairway-to-heaven.html Our salvation comes not from someone on our level, but from someone infinitely...

HOW BILLY GRAHAM LEARNED THE ART OF PREACHING

https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2019/august-web-exclusives/billy-graham-learned-art-of-preaching.html? The late evangelist called himself the “champion rambler.” By: Grant Wacker  When I...

BIVOCATIONAL AND COVOCATIONAL MINISTRY

  www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2019/spring/no-easy-calling.html? Three honest stories about its rewards and challenges. BY: LINDA W. PERKINS...

THE MAGNIFICAT

By Frank Tunstall The Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary in the miraculous and...

CHINA CRACKS DOWN – AGAIN

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november/what-to-do-about-persecution-in-china.html?share=56xKkXi%2fdTPQjQCm3LBm6NPogOGXW4vm   The government is removing crosses from their steeples and replacing them...

SINGLES: A VITAL PART OF OUR CHURCHES

www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/july/singles-vital-part-of-our-churches Singles make up half of our churches, so we best learn to treat...

THESE BOMBS LED ME TO CHRIST

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/may/napalm-girl-kim-phuc-phan-thi-fire-road.html The “Napalm Girl” from a famous Vietnam War photo tells her story of...

JESUS’ GLORIFIED BODY

 By Frank G. Tunstall  Cleopas and his unnamed friend had Jesus’ undivided attention on...

“JESUS WEPT!”

 By Frank G. Tunstall When Mary walked up to Jesus on the outskirts of...

5 TOP PRIORITIES FOR INCREASING YOUR CHURCH

 sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/charles-arn-5-top-priorities-for-increasing-your-church This article is a classic on church growth. It was first released in 2010...

OFFENDED BY JESUS?

By: Frank G. Tunstall  Luke records a story about Jesus paying a visit to...

EVANGELIST BILLY GRAHAM HAS DIED

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/billy-graham/mom-mass-media-and-me.html ‘America’s pastor’ shaped modern evangelicalism. By: Marshall Shelley Billy Graham was perhaps the...

ICEBERG COLD REJECTION

  By: Frank G. Tunstall  Jesus the Prophet deserved the highest adoration, but the...

THE SURPRISING REASON YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARE

https://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-mission/the-surprising-reason-you-are-where-you-are-8093 By: Ron Hutchcraft Some years ago, we took a delegation of teenagers to...

CAN THERE BE ONE RIGHT RELIGION?

http://seanmcdowell.org/blog/can-there-be-one-right-religion; Posted November 14, 2017   By: Sean McDowell Recently I was in a...

HEALING HEALERS

By Phil Larson, as told to Frank Tunstall The world’s largest casino is located...

FAITH IS NOT BLIND!

BY: FRANK TUNSTALL Some critics’ claim Christians believe on blind faith, defined as belief...

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE: CHRISTIAN HISTORY TIMELINE

 http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-43/how-we-got-our-bible-christian-history-timeline.html Have you ever wondered how the Bible has developed through the centuries, so...

WHAT THE CARPENTER SEES IN YOU

https://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/what-the-carpenter-sees-in-you-7979  By Ron Hutchcraft  Hutchcraft.Com Many years ago we were shopping for a place...

THE MANY BENEFITS OF GRATITUDE

http://blog.thrivingpastor.com/the-many-benefits-of-gratitude/?refcd=504701&utm_campaign=The+Many+Benefits+of+Gratitude This well written article is excellent for focusing us on the grace of...

THE SOBBING SAVIOR

By: Frank G. Tunstall I thought about it hundreds of times over the years,...

HOSANNA

By: Frank G. Tunstall “The next day the great crowd that had come for...

“PRAY FIRST!”

Dr. Ron White serves as president of Emmanuel College. He assumed that role October...

I WENT TO HELL IN A DREAM

  charismamag.com/spirit/supernatural/28155-revivalist-i-went-to-hell-in-a-dream During this night of terror more than 25 years ago, I fell...

WILL MORE INVITATIONS RESULT IN MORE SALVATIONS?

http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/hal-seed-will-more-invitations-result-in-more-salvations-2592.asp? By Hal Seed // PastorMentor.com For a long time I’ve wondered if there...

“IT IS FINISHED!”

 By Frank G. Tunstall The ancient Greeks boasted about being able to say much...

RETHINKING DREAMS

By: Frank G. Tunstall  John 1:43 “The next day Jesus decided to leave for...

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




Top