The Spirit Convicts of
Judgment
Jesus also declared
that the Spirit would convict the
world “of judgment, because
the prince of this world is
judged.” John 16:11
Behind the play and
counter play of history, supernatural
forces, good and evil, have waged an
unceasing warfare. At the cross, the
great controversy between Christ and
Satan became visible. Christ and
Satan stood before an empanelled
universe to be judged. One would be
acquitted, the other condemned. The
events that culminated in
Christ’s crucifixion would
expose to the universe the inner
feelings of each. Would Christ in the
hour of test and trial accept some
attitude of Satan and be brought
under his dominion? When reviled,
would He revile back? When outraged,
would He strike back? When abused,
insulted, tortured, and tormented,
would Jesus become vindictive.
Behold the Lord of
glory in shame. The Light of the
world stands in the midst of
darkness, but the darkness cannot put
out the light of God’s love. The
Prince of life, seized with paroxysms
of pain, chooses to die rather than
be disloyal to God. The Sinless One
is robed in sin, but His
righteousness shines through. The
universe stands amazed at the
spectacle of the Creator in the hands
of His creatures. Satan sits in the
judgment seat ready to pronounce the
death sentence. The world unseen sees
it all: the rigged court, the false
witnesses, the timeserving judge
intimidated by the Jerusalem rabble.
Satan condemned the
innocent One to the cruelest of
deaths. A being lacking God’s
Spirit demonstrated what all who lack
that Spirit when unrestrained would
do. When unrestrained by the Spirit
of God, the unconverted man inspired
by him who “was a murderer from
the beginning” (John 8:44) will
act out all the evil that is in his
carnal nature, even to perpetrating
unprovoked murder.
Satan stood unmasked.
Christ’s death exonerated God
and proved that He was in no way
responsible for sin. John pulled the
curtain back so that all might see
what then took place in heaven.
“And I heard a loud voice saying
in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Christ: for the
accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day
and night.” Revelation 12:10.
Shortly before, Jesus had foretold
Satan’s eviction: “Now is
the judgment of this world: now shall
the prince of this world be cast
out.” John 12:31.
A court higher than
any that Satan could convene
witnessed the innocent One suffer
death at the hands of Satan. God
acted as Chief Justice, and every
heavenly intelligence formed a part
of the grand jury. This court, having
examined Jesus under the searchlight
of God’s law, reversed the
rigged verdicts of those courts that
Satan had dominated. Heaven
completely absolved our Lord and
decreed that He should not be held in
Satan’s prison house of death.
Death must not have dominion over Him
who Heaven judged innocent of any
sin. Of the Hero of Calvary, Peter
declared, “Whom God hath raised
up, having loosed the pains of death:
because it was not possible that he
should be holden of it.” Acts
2:24. And how was Christ raised from
the dead? He was “quickened by
the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18.)
However, though Satan
stood unmasked and guilty at Calvary,
man’s judgment had not yet come.
The awful fact remained that men had
shared in this monstrous crime. We
are all guilty; for we have all
displayed the same, evil traits
toward on another and God that ran
riot there.
Thank God, the accuser
of the brethren is cast down. This
would-be judge has been judged and
but awaits the execution of the
sentence. In heaven’s verdict,
all who follow Satan on earth can
read their own doom. The Holy Spirit
works to keep this before our minds,
for as Satan was judged guilty of
Christ’s blood, so all his
followers will ultimately be judged
guilty as partakers with him in his
reprehensible deed. And as Jesus
stood exonerated before the universe,
so all His followers will someday
stand completely absolved, for their
acceptance of Jesus will have shown
that they deserve to turn from the
attributes of character that impelled
Satan to perpetrate the diabolical
outrage.
The Holy Spirit, then,
not only convinces that the prince of
this world has been judged but that
every member of the human family will
also be judged. Man has two
appointments both of which he will
inevitable meet: death and judgment.
“It is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the
judgment.” Hebrews 9:27.
“We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ.” 2
Corinthians 5:10. Moreover, there
will be nothing haphazard about these
judgment-no favoritisms of any kind.
God declares, “Judgment also
will I lay to the line, and
righteousness to the plummet.”
Isaiah 28:17.
The Spirit of God
desires that every soul make
preparation. All who respond to the
Spirit’s promptings will confess
their sins and thus send them
beforehand to judgment. “Some
men’s sins are open beforehand,
going before to judgment, and by the
spirit of burning” (Isaiah 4:4).
As the Spirit
impresses the exceeding sinfulness of
sin upon the soul, a sense of
condemnation and guilt rests heavily
upon us and we long to have this load
lifted. Then the Spirit points us to
Calvary, as we pour our souls in
repentance and confession, the
condemnation rolls away. We
experience the freedom Paul, the
wretched, felt when he found
deliverance in Christ Jesus. (Romans
7:24,25.) That this sense of
condemnation might not return, we are
to “walk in the Spirit.”
There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1.
Though God has
provided a way whereby the righteous
may be delivered in the judgment, He
also “knoweth how… to
reserve the unjust unto the day of
judgment to be punished.” (2
Peter 2:9.) The Holy Spirit earnestly
and often pleads with sinners to
forsake their evil ways and accept
salvation. The Holy Ghost saith, to
day if ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts.” Hebrews 3:7,8.
The Pentecostal appeal of the Spirit
sounds across the centuries. Would
that it might reach the lost of every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people:
“Save yourselves from this
untoward generation.” Acts 2:40.
Memory Verse:
2 Corinthians
5:10. “For we must
all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad.”
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