His work is the reproof of righteousness, and He will surely help us do it.
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John 16:8 – And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
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Again today we continue in our examination of the purpose of Holy Spirit in the earth. Look once more at our Text for Today. Holy Spirit has come to “reprove the world….of righteousness.” In the second verse following our Text for Today, we see the reason for reproving the world of righteousness. Jesus said it was because, “of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.” Jesus said in His John 17 prayer that He “kept” His disciples as long as He was with them. But here He said He was going to the Father, and they would see Him no more. So, what will be the keeping power to keep His disciples from the world now?
That keeping power is revealed in righteousness. We have been made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus has been made unto us “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” And while so much more could be said, allow me to add one further item. RIGHTEOUSNESS SPEAKS. And that, my friend, is one of the most critical statements of faith-building truth that every believer MUST know. The “righteousness….of God speaks” in a certain manner. The righteousness of God NEVER allows itself to consider the slightest possibility that any part of the work of redemption was anything less than completely successful. The righteousness of faith is so convinced of that truth that regardless of the situation it faces, its declaration falls on the actions of our Lord when He faced temptation. The righteous-ness of God that is by faith will say, “It is written.”
In Romans, the Apostle Paul makes that completely clear. The righteousness of God that is of faith “speaketh on this wise. The Word is nigh me, even in my mouth and in my heart; that if I will confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord over all things, and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead to exercise that Lordship, I shall be saved from any and all things that would come against me to steal, kill, or destroy.” Those words should be like heaven’s music to our ears. That same Roman passage goes on to say that with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. My friend, that covers one’s life in total. It is FAR more than the new birth. That is but the beginning. This salvation passage covers it all; the new birth, the renewing of the mind, the healing of the body, the provision of all needs, and the deliverance from all temporal evil. And when the believer lives out that salvation with the help of Holy Spirit, the world is surely reproved, convinced, and powerfully persuaded of the righteousness of God and its benefits.
Manna for Today – John 16:1-16; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; John 14:12-14; Isaiah 55:8-13; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; John 17:12; Romans 10:6-17; 1 Corinthians 1:30
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My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 