A voice in the wilderness: This is that!... Part 2 of 2

You should have figured out that the this is the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7 NASB "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

He did go, and the "helper" did come, to stay. So we should be living in the full benefit of God's presence in us, if we have accepted Jesus Christ.

Migrating through John's gospel with men's bible study and this is what I saw.

John 16:8-11 NASB "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (9) concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; (10) and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; (11) and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

I already attempted to cover the aspect of convicting the world of sin. So as I read on I noticed that the Holy Spirit also convicts on righteousness and judgment. Judgment sort of makes sense, especially when you were raised in a judgmental environment, but what does it mean when he speaks about conviction concerning righteousness.

(Yes, I understand, you merely need to apply some logical thought and God's word to the passage to understand, but very few will do that. I speak from experience, for I sat in church for years, expecting some Pastor to give me all the truth I needed. I did not look into the Word for myself and I cannot swear that I got the truth; at least when I compare what they said to what I see in God's word, I do not think so.)

John 16:10 NASB and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

The Holy Spirit, as we have seen, convicts of offenses, but here He also speaks about righteousness.

What is righteousness? Thayer's definition: “in a broad sense: the state of him who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God.

But this begs another question. Who acts as he ought to be? Or what is the condition acceptable to God? Paul answered both in his letter to the Roman church.

Eugene Peterson's The Message, we have:

Romans 12:1 MSG So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

To be honest, the entire 14^th chapter of Romans defines what is the acceptable condition of the believer.

Odd word this believer, for it conveys someone who adheres to the words and pattern of life of another.

But one verse stands out as the nutshell that has it all.

Romans 14:19 MSG So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words;

When you look at this verse in the context of the entire chapter, it is a life that is not about getting your own way. Set aside your selfishness; Jesus did.

There is absolutely nothing we can do on our own to make our condition acceptable.

Why? Because since Adam's fall we are born with knowledge of good and bad. Bad is the only thing Satan invented and boils down to pure selfishness. It is our nature to pursue one or the other, and selfishness and bad are so much easier and they seem to taste better.

Besides that, who are you to tell me what to do!

Exactly what I am talking about.

It is almost as though we are driven to it or it is built-in.

Hang around an AA meeting and listen to what some say. You will hear, “Hi, I am (insert name here) and I am an alcoholic.”

How did we get that way?

It was easy, attractive, it pulled our minds off of the battle that being unselfish involves, and it is addictive. For many it is hopeless, and they come to realize that they cannot free themselves on their own.

We needed a savior, and perhaps that is an aspect of what we need to be reminded of. Speaking for myself, I have to remind myself often, that my character is patterned after Jesus Christ and the Father; that happened immediately and progressively the day I accepted Jesus Christ. The immediate action came as He came into me, but as I grow in my understanding of Him and what I wish to be, there is a progressive and continual changing to look more like him. (Still working on that.)

Strong's definitions tell us that it is an: equity (of character or act). If you are like me then you are scratching your head asking, what does that mean?

Equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim.

I suppose I could say this another way. Treating others the way God would.

Now some would believe that God's only job in life is to punish us all with hell, and that would be wrong.

How could you believe that if you understood that God so loved a world that did not know him; rejected him in some cases; had no idea of what his character was like; did not love him; did not know that he loved them, even though for thousands of years He tried to let them know; sent His only Son to submit to a brutal death, for one reason, to regain his family (us) back.

What does God's actions have to do with me?

Because I accepted what he did as mine and chose to make Jesus Christ my life, then that makes me as though I am the same flesh and blood as Jesus. To some, that makes me kin folk, and to dishonor me is no different from dishonoring the Son that paid that price for me.

Kinship is available, not shoved down your throat, that would be a little selfish, and out of character for God. The price paid for us gave us the freedom to choose which family to live in and be a part of. Yes, there are family members that do not take out their trash and rebel. And yes, they are an embarrassment, but like many children that do that, eventually, if there is time, they actually turn into decent human beings if given a good example.

What of the others?

Those of you that want an angry God may find him, but that was not the plan for you.

Remember: God so loved the world, and yet, in general, the world does not love him. They are blinded by the enemy, Satan, and many will never come to love the Father, but will rise up, foolishly, against all that he stands for. Scripture calls this the anti-Christ spirit. That which is against God.

Should you be asking how would someone become righteous, escape judgment, or simply join God's family, I would simply ask Jesus Christ to make himself real to you. Accept Him into your life, and choose to have him live inside you.

This is a time of thanksgiving in America. In a way everyday is. Why? Because without his life in me I would have no life.