The Holy
Spirit and Salvation
(The work of the Holy Spirit in
bringing lost people to Jesus)
During
a Billy Graham crusade in London, England, a Russian official came to one of
the services. He spoke no English. When Billy Graham gave the invitation this
Russian official came forward to receive Christ as his savior. The trained
Russian speaking counselor for Billy Graham asked him how, knowing no English,
he had understood enough of the message to respond. The Russian said, "When
I entered this place, I was overwhelmed with a longing for God. Tell me, how
can I find Him?"
That
is nothing less than the work of the Holy Spirit bringing lost men and women to
Jesus Christ. Many think that the Holy Spirit does nothing in our lives until
after we're saved. Yet, if it were not for the holy spirit working in our lives
before we accepted Christ, we
would have never accepted Christ.
What
then is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of an unbeliever?
I. HE
BRINGS CONVICTION
Let
me break this into 2 simple parts so that we all can understand it
1.
He tells us of our sin
John
16:8-11… “And when He has
come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father
and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
The
word "conviction"
or "reprove"
in KJV means to reveal, to bring to light, to expose.
2
Corinthians 4:4 says that the
devil has blinded the spiritual eyes of an unbeliever. One of the primary
things the devil does is to blind us about our sin. It's the Holy Spirit that
opens our spiritual eyes, he brings to light our sin.
Notice
vs8..."in
regard to sin." Do you see that the word "sin" singular,
one? What one sin does the Holy Spirit expose in our life as he leads us to
salvation? Is it your worst sin? Is it
adultery, drunkenness, which one? The one sin is the sin of unbelief. (vs10)
The Holy Spirit exposes our sin, the sin of unbelief.
But
that’s not all the Holy Spirit does in the life of a lost person
2.
He tells us what we need to do
See
when the Holy Spirit brings conviction, he brings to light our sin of unbelief and
summons us to repentance. He reveals to us our sin and then points us towards
Jesus, towards repentance and faith.
What
I mean by all that is this. That desire in your heart to be saved was put there
by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like a giant magnet that draws you to
Christ. The desire in that Russian's heart to know God was put there by the Holy
Spirit.
Let
me illustrate that by my own salvation. I was going to church as a teenager
where most of the youth group was lost or those that were saved didn't act like
it. At that time in my life I knew I needed to get saved, I was under
conviction. The Holy Spirit had exposed my sin of unbelief. One Sunday night, I
went to my uncle's church where he was serving as youth minister. There I saw a
group of young people that were alive in Christ, excited about Jesus. I wanted
what they had, which was Jesus. Before that night I knew I needed to get saved,
but now I wanted to get saved. That's how the Holy Spirit brings conviction. He
exposes our sin and then points us towards the Savior.
I
must warn you that you can resist the Holy Spirit. That desire in your heart
will not always be there. The more you say no the more your heart hardens. Your
heart can become so hard and calloused that it no longer desires to be saved.
That is why the Bible says that "today is the day of salvation."
But
not only does the Holy Spirit bring conviction but also,
II. HE
REGENERATES OUR SPIRIT
Consider
several passages:
1.
Our Problem
Ephesians
2:1 And
you He made alive, who were
dead in trespasses and sins
We
all, before meeting Jesus were dead in our sins. Spiritually dead, possessing
no spiritual life, no connection with God.
2.
Our Need
That’s
why Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3 that he “must
be born again.” We're spiritually dead and we need to be "born
again"
3.
Our Solution
Titus 3:5…
“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His
mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Spirit.” The word "renewing" means
regeneration and it is actually a compound word that literally means
"birth again" or as Jesus would say, "born again"
It
is the Holy Spirit that cleanses and causes the new birth. It is the Holy
Spirit that renews, regenerates that which is spiritually dead. A spiritually
dead person does not need to walk an isle and rededicate their life nor do they
need to reform and turn over a new leaf. A spiritually dead person needs to
repent and allow the spirit of the living God to give them new birth! It is
through the power of the Holy Spirit and only through the power of the Holy
Spirit that makes the spiritually dead come alive.
What
does the Holy Spirit do in bringing unbelievers to Christ? First, he convicts,
then he regenerates, and next,
III. HE
SEALS OUR SALVATION
Ephesians
1:13 … “In
Him you also trusted, after you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having
believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
This one verse gives the entire process of
salvation. You heard the gospel,
believed the gospel, and then were sealed by the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to be sealed with the Holy
Spirit? Think of how a seal was used in
the bible. In Jeremiah 32, we find Jeremiah buying a piece of
property. The deed was signed and then
sealed, making Jeremiah the new owner of that property.
After the crucifixion of Jesus, his body was placed in
a tomb and the opening covered with a rock.
A seal was placed over the rock.
The only way to get into the tomb was to break the seal. Under Roman law, if you broke that seal it
would cost you your life.
A seal was used in Bible times
as proof of ownership and to provide security.
The Holy Spirit operates in the same fashion. The Holy Spirit living in your life is proof
that you belong to God. With the blood
of Christ he has bought you. He now owns
you. The Holy Spirit living in your life
also provides protection and security.
It is impossible for you to ever lose your salvation because no one has
the power to break God’s seal.
IV. HE
GUARANTEES OUR SALVATION
Ephesians
1:14… “who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, to the praise of His glory”
The
Holy Spirit in your life is God's down payment on your salvation. The word guarantee or deposit is an interesting
word. In Paul’s day it meant engagement
ring. A fitting illustration, don't you
think? Christ is the Bridegroom and His
church is the Bride. We know he will
come and claim His bride because he has given us his Spirit as the engagement
ring.
It
also means earnest, as in earnest money, like a down payment on a house. When
you want to put an offer in on a house you are asked for some earnest money. It
proves you are serious about your offer. What happens if you back out on your
offer and no longer want to buy the house? You lose your down payment, your
earnest money.
It’s
the same way with salvation. If the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is
God’s earnest money, what would happen if God were to back out on your
salvation? If you were to lose your salvation then God would lose His down
payment, He would lose the Holy Spirit.
Wait
a minute, the Holy Spirit is God, God can’t lose God. Exactly! The presence of
the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee of salvation!
