Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2004 : May 30, 2004
The Holy Spirit is the Perfect Witness
Pentcost
Everyone seems to be infatuated these days with the courtroom. Whether you are watching Judging Amy or the People's Court or The Practice, for some reason, many Americans seem to love the dynamics and intrigue of a day in the courtroom. Or, if you're watching some court shows, you're just happy to watch some poor saps who have a worse life than you do, kind of like the people on the Jerry Springer show.
Strangely enough, the Bible also loves to talk about a courtroom scene. The doctrine of Justification, the most fundamental doctrine of Scripture, tells us what happens to us in God's courtroom. God the Father is the Judge; you and I and every sinner are on trial for breaking God's law; the Devil is the prosecuting attorney; Jesus is our defense attorney. The Devil has an open and shut case. He only has to prove us guilty of one sin, but he brings thousands of examples before the Judge. Jesus, our defense attorney, can offer no evidence based on our lives that we did anything good that would help us to escape the death penalty. Based on the evidence, the Judge must declare us to be guilty and sentence us to eternal death. But that's when Jesus speaks up. "I'd like to call my one witness to the stand;" that Witness is the Holy Spirit. In his testimony, the Holy Spirit tells about what Jesus did to save us from our sins -- lived a holy life in our place and died in our place -- thus paying our penalty for our sins. The Judge hears the testimony and declares us not guilty, or justified. He declares the guilty to be innocent.
On this Day of Pentecost, we will look at the testimony that the Holy Spirit gives, the testimony of the perfect Witness. We see that the Spirit of Truth testifies to us and through us about Christ.
There were many Old Testament believers in Jerusalem on that Day of Pentecost because Pentecost was already a festival for Old Testament believers. It was a celebration of the wheat harvest during which they would give of their firstfruits to the Lord. God used that day to mark the birthday of the New Testament Church, which we read about in Acts 2. The apostles were bold witnesses to what Christ had done for their salvation, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had promised to send, 3000 people came to believe in Jesus -- the firstfruits of the harvest that is still going on today as more and more come to trust in Jesus for salvation.
The apostles were bold that day, but that wasn't always the case. They had had many doubts, many fears. In the early years of Jesus' ministry, even after they had seen Jesus heal many people and cast out demons, they still asked each other, "Who is this?" when Jesus showed he controlled all creation when he calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Even after Jesus rose from the dead, John admits that the disciples "still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead." (John 20:9) They were growing in faith, but they still didn't get everything. In fact, just before Jesus' ascension, some of them thought that Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom. Now, after Jesus' ascension, they were all alone, told by Jesus to remain in Jerusalem until he would send them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then they were to be Jesus' witnesses in the whole world.
That would be a scary thought to the disciples, no doubt. How could they recall everything Jesus had done and said exactly and then tell others about it? I can't even remember what I had for supper three days ago. If their memory was wrong, people's souls were at stake. That would have to be some change brought about the Holy Spirit.
It was. Jesus had promised, "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26) That's how they could be faithful witnesses to everything Jesus said and did -- by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was the faithful Witness to them. Jesus says the same thing in our text: "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." With the Spirit of Truth testifying to the disciples about all Jesus said and did, they were assured that their memory of what Jesus said and did was 100% accurate. They knew that the message they would then be believing and then proclaiming to the world would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That gave them the boldness to proclaim Jesus to the world because they knew that Jesus had done everything for man's salvation and was the only hope anyone had for having eternal life. That gives us the assurance that everything in the Bible is true and trustworthy -- not the words and ideas of some men, but the very thoughts and words of God himself, and so true and reliable and trustworthy in every part, every syllable.
Not only did that make the disciples bold as they knew that the Spirit of Truth testified to them about Christ, but that also makes us bold as the Spirit of Truth testifies to us about Christ. How can we be bold to proclaim that message when we can expect persecution and rejection? We look to the perfect Witness, just as the apostles did. We look to the power of the Word, the Sword of the Spirit, to pierce our soul with its truth -- to convict us of our sins, but to assure us of our forgiveness through Christ. Then we can use that Sword of the Spirit to conquer others for Christ.
As the Perfect Witness, the Spirit of Truth testifies to us about Christ through his Word. And through that Word we are also assured that the Spirit of Truth testifies through us about Christ.
Jesus told his disciples, "And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." They must testify because they knew what Jesus was all about. The Holy Spirit would teach them, would perfectly witness to them, so they would not only tell others, but some would write it down so that others centuries and even millennia later would be reached. The Spirit of Truth testified to and through the apostles about Christ; the Spirit of Truth testifies to and through us about Christ as well. There is a problem, though, when it comes to the Spirit of Truth testifying through us -- the problem is with us. Just like the apostles, we might have doubts and fears. We might wonder, and then question, if what the Bible says in a particular passage is really true. "Does God really say that I need to be in church every Sunday? Does God really say that I should be in Bible class every week? Does God really say that I should have home devotions every day?" Well, what do you think Jesus meant when he said, "Let us not give up meeting together..." or when he said, "A person must remain in me; apart from me you can do nothing"? It sounds to me like God wants us constantly to be in his Word which connects us to Christ. "Does God really say that I must honor and respect my parents?" It sounds like it to me when he says, "Honor your father and mother." "Does God really say that I can't indulge in a little bit of pornography or sexual immorality or drunkenness?" It sounds like it to me when he says, "Flee from sexual immorality...Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) "Does God really say..." That sounds exactly like the line the devil used on Eve in the garden of Eden to bring sin and death into this world and on mankind.
Sometimes I think we might not think the Holy Spirit is as powerful as he was in early New Testament times. We don't see flames of fire when we proclaim his Word; we don't speak in tongues; we aren't able to heal others like the apostles were; we don't see those we speak to speaking in tongues either. Is the Spirit still working?
Oh, yes, the Spirit of Truth is still working. And first he is working on you. We can use every excuse in the book to justify our sinful lives, by saying things like, "Does God really say..." But when we see that God does tell us to live holy and upright lives, and that those who don't will be punished eternally, we have to realize that we can't mess around with the testimony of the Holy Spirit of Truth. God calls a spade a spade. He sees all kinds of times when we fail to live up to his demand of perfection. And every one of those sins must be punished, otherwise God would not be just. But what an amazing truth it is that the Spirit of Truth teaches us in his powerful Word: "though your sins are as scarlet, they will be like wool; though they are as red and crimson, they will be white as snow." Jesus lived and suffered and died for you to take all your sins away and to give you his holiness. The Holy Spirit is God's seal of perfection on you. The Spirit, the perfect Witness, testifies that you are God's child, and completely forgiven, simply through faith in Jesus Christ. "Does God really say that?" Absolutely: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Romans 8:16)
That makes all the difference in the world for us. In order to be as bold as the early believers, we need to be filled with the Spirit. That's exactly what happens when we hear the message of salvation and the beautiful sound of the gospel in Word and sacrament. Then, with the Spirit of Truth living in us and filling us, we can't help but share that perfect Witness with the world so that he can change their world, too.
When the apostles proclaimed the truth of salvation on Pentecost and afterward, their message was supported by miraculous signs -- tongues of fire, a rushing wind, speaking in different languages. The result was that the Spirit of truth brought 3000 people to faith that day. When we go and tell others about Christ, we don't see and experience these things. Instead, we tell someone about Jesus, and we are often rejected. We don't seem very filled with the Spirit and His power as the apostles were. It might even seem that the Holy Spirit isn't as powerful as he once was or that the message isn't as effective, both of which we know can't be the case.
Look at it this way. When you plant a tree, it needs extra special care. You need to water it regularly, prune it regularly, weed around it, nurture it. That's what the Holy Spirit was doing with the early New Testament Church. He wanted everyone to understand that he was behind the message that the apostles were proclaiming. It's like getting a car moving -- you have to overcome inertia, so you have to press the accelerator down to get more force behind the car. But once the car is moving, not as much force is needed. That's why we don't see as many visible signs of the Spirit's working today. But that doesn't mean that the Spirit isn't active and working. He works in the same way he has always worked -- through the little whisper of the gospel message. You tell me there's no power behind that message when you comfort an elderly lady on her deathbed with the certain knowledge of her forgiveness and the assurance of her place in heaven. You tell me there's no power behind the message of the gospel when a parent sees her two year old say "Jesus died on the cross for my sins" for the first time without prompting. You tell me there's no power behind the message of salvation in Jesus Christ when a burdened soul goes to communion with the weight of his sins around his neck, and leaves the altar knowing Jesus shed his blood for that sin and that it is now gone, paid for in full.
Are you on fire with the Holy Spirit as he testifies to you and through you with his Word? If not, you've dropped your weapon. Toward the close of WWII, two pictures appeared in a magazine depicting a soldier fighting a tank. The first picture showed a huge tank bearing down on a tiny soldier who was armed only with a rifle. The tank would surely win. The other picture showed the soldier now larger than the tank because he had armed himself with a bazooka, which would surely destroy the tank because it had much more firepower than a rifle. If you aren't on fire with the Holy Spirit, it's because you are trying to fight your battles in life with your own rifle. When you take up the powerful Word of God, arm yourself with it by digging into the Scriptures, and use it against the forces of evil, even the gates of hell itself can't stand against you because you are unleashing the power of God's Word. The Spirit of truth is the perfect witness to your forgiveness in Christ. Now use his power to spread that message to those who need that message as much as you do. Amen.
