The
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost brought an immediate
conscious awareness of the immanent presence of God to those who were gathered. God was with them and dwelling amongst them,
and powerfully so. In
consequence, the power of God that was upon Peter had an astounding effect upon
his listeners when he preached:
‘When the people heard
this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers,
what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is
for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord
our God will call.”’ (Acts 2:37-39)
The phrase ‘they were
cut to the heart’ which is used here describes the phenomenon known as ‘conviction
of sin.’ Under the influence of the Holy
Spirit who was upon him, the word of God in Peter’s mouth became like a sharp
sword, giving it power to penetrate deeply into people’s hearts. The conscious awareness of the presence of
God, here combined almost immediately with the bold preaching of the word of God
by Peter, brought about a dynamic interface between God’s presence and truth on
the one part, and the sinfulness of the hearts of those who were listening, on
the other. This led to a subjective, experiential
conviction of guilt in their heart and conscience regarding sin. They knew deep within themselves that they
had sinned and needed to get right with God. The light of God’s truth shone into their hearts
and subjectively exposed what was there.
There was no hiding from it, and they could see themselves as God
himself saw them.
As they cried out to Peter in response to this,
he brought them the very simple but powerful gospel message that they needed to
repent, believe in Christ and then be baptized.
As they did this, then they too would also receive the infilling of the
Holy Spirit, just as the 120 had done, in fulfilment of the covenant promise of
God to them. The narrative records that
3,000 people became believers and were baptized that day: the birth of the early
Christian community. And furthermore, as
we read on through chapters 2-4, we see that these people, although they
continued to live daily in the fear and awe of the presence of God that was
dwelling actively amongst them, yet they were a community that was filled and characterised
by grace, sincerity, praise unto God, joy in their relationships, unity of
heart and mind, and free generosity with one another.
Conviction of sin, confession of this and getting their lives right with
God through whole-hearted repentance, led them into experiencing the deep
spiritual freedom and joy of new life in Christ:
‘Everyone was filled with
awe… All the believers were together and
had everything in common… They broke
bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God
and enjoying the favour of all the people…
All the believers were one in heart and mind… and much grace was upon
them all. There were no needy persons
among them.’ (Acts 2:43-47, 4:32-33)
‘And the disciples were
filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 13:52, cf. 8:8)
This process of experiencing
conviction of sin (whether to a greater or lesser extent), leading to
confession and repentance, and then into deep spiritual freedom and joy, is normal
in the experience of entering into new life in Christ.
In
the powerful events which are described in the book of Acts, we can also
discern another phenomenon which is closely related to that of conviction of
sin, vis. the fear of God in people’s
lives. On the day of Pentecost, we are
told that everyone was filled with awe at what was happening around them (2:43)
and, after Ananias and his wife Sapphira were both struck down for their
hypocrisy, we are told that great fear seized the whole church and all those
who heard about these events, and that no one dared to join the new Christian
community (5:11,13).
We can also see the very real fear
of God leading to repentance in the case of the jailer, after the earthquake in
answer to Paul and Silas’ praise actively demonstrated the power of God, shaking
open the doors of the prison in Philippi and loosening everyone’s chains. Also, when the new believers in Ephesus heard
about the incident involving the seven sons of Sceva, they recognised the
absolute Lordship of Christ over evil spirits and understood the very real dangers
of involvement in the occult. So they
confessed and repented openly and wholeheartedly:
‘The jailer called for
lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”’ (Acts
16:29-31)
‘When this became known
to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and
the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour. Many of those who believed now came and
openly confessed their evil deeds. A
number who had practised sorcery brought their scrolls together and burnt them
publicly.’ (Acts 19:17-19)
The
Holy Spirit does not come into our life to cohabit with our sinful nature, but
to rid us of it and to build up in its place our new nature in Christ (Col.
3:5-10). Becoming consciously aware of our
inward sinfulness and corruption, and experiencing conviction over it, is therefore
inevitable and indeed necessary, if we are to become believers and to grow in
Christ in the way that God intends.
The Holy Spirit wants us to be able to cooperate with him in ridding ourselves
of sinful habits in our life, and therefore it is necessary for us to become
consciously aware of these within ourselves, so that we can then co-work with
him in dealing with them. For God to be
able to bring about the transformation that he desires in a person’s life, the
Holy Spirit has to begin at square one: the sinfulness of human nature. This is why Jesus said of the Comforter that
when he came, he would convict the world of sin (John 16:8).
The
nearness of God’s pervasive holy presence will always produce to a degree, the
uncomfortable, shame-filled, guilt-ridden feelings associated with conviction
of sin that we experience within our heart and conscience. When God’s penetrating light encounters
darkness there is always an uncomfortable reaction. Darkness wants to escape from God’s light and
to hide, so that its works are not exposed.
However, God’s intention in convicting us of sin is not to torment us,
but so that through his grace and deep love in Christ, as we acknowledge and
confess our sins, he can forgive, cleanse and free us from them. We then come into deep inward peace and freedom. People who love darkness rather than light
resist conviction of sin and simply run away from it, because they are afraid
of their deeds being exposed (John 3:19-20).
In this way they frustrate God’s purpose for themselves and remain in
spiritual darkness. However, for those who are willing
to acknowledge and confess their sins, and to put things right with God and
with other people where necessary, God’s cleansing work leads them into deep
inward spiritual freedom and great joy.
This is God’s intention.
To
those who wanted to experience the revival blessing of God, Evan Roberts gave a
very simple four-point message to congregations during the Welsh Revival of
1904 – 1906. In this message, he
emphasised confession of any sins which they were consciously aware of in their
life, and of making restitution to others over wrong things which had been
done. He exhorted people to put away
from themselves any and all doubtful habits:
1.
You
must confess any known sin to God and put right any wrong done to others.
2. Second, you must put away any
doubtful habit.
3. Third, you must obey the Spirit
promptly.
4. Finally, you must confess your
faith in Christ publicly.[1]
Conviction
of sin is often very deep and intense in times when God pours out his Spirit in
revival. People’s hearts and consciences
are gripped by it, and this is invariably the first phase that believers and
non-believers alike go through as they encounter this pervasive, holy and pure
presence of God. Consequently, the deep
and awesome fear of God also grips people, because they see their sin as the awful
and terrible thing that it is in his sight.
Apathy and carelessness about their spiritual condition disappears. They are sobered and become profoundly aware
of eternal realities, because they realise that, outside of Christ, they are
lost and that there is only one thing that a holy God can do with their sinful
nature. Sin has consequences: it separates us
from God in this life and then also eternally. Realising this brings them into a time of
confessing their sins and seeking God’s mercy through Christ, leading to
wholehearted repentance and spiritual freedom.
This
is what Isaiah experienced when he saw the Lord. He became consciously aware of his sin and
inward corruption, and he realised that, apart from God’s grace, he was lost
and condemned. However, in his mercy and
grace, God purged him of his sin and then commissioned him into a prophetic purpose.
‘I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and
exalted… “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean
lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live
coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and you sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom
shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
He said, “Go and tell this people…’ (Isa. 6:1,5-9)
Duncan
Campbell reported of the revival in the Hebrides in 1949 – 1952 that people
were being convicted of their sin not only in meetings in church buildings, but
also outside by the roadside, in their homes and in other places:
‘As I was walking along that country
road… I heard someone praying by the roadside.
I could hear this man crying to God for mercy. I went over and there were four young men on
their knees at the roadside. Yes, they
were at the dance but they were now there crying to God for mercy. One of them
was under the influence of drink, but a young man he wasn’t 20 years of age.
But that night God saved him and he is today the parish minister…
Now when I [arrived], I saw
something that will live with me as long as I live. I didn’t preach – there was no need of preaching. We didn’t even sing. The people were crying to God for mercy. Oh, the confessions that were made! There was one old man crying out, “Oh, God,
hell is too good for me! Hell is too good for me!” This is Holy Ghost conviction! Revival began in an awareness of God. Revival
began when the Holy Ghost began to grip men...’[2]
Eye-witnesses
recorded the following about the awesome events and conviction of sin which took
place when the Holy Spirit was poured out in what was then the Belgian Congo in
1953:
‘...before the 1953 Congo revival,
religious coldness stalked the land.
Many people attended church because it was expected, but secret sins
were practised habitually with no one the wiser, or so it was thought.
“That last Friday evening in July
1953 – I remember it as though it were yesterday... A noise as of a mighty rushing wind filled
the place. All over the hall, people
were down on the ground, crying to God for mercy. Others were shaking violently, apparently
uncontrollably. Here and there, a few were
on their feet, their hands upraised, their faces radiant, praising God!
All over the hall, a shattering
conviction of sin was gripping hearts.
Sin was suddenly seen as desperately sinful. There were no gradations, big or small – sin
was sin, and separated one from God.
People were moved to tears, and almost forced by the Spirit of God to
confess – confess to petty thieving, jealousies, anger, coldness of heart,
spiritual pretence... And then, as sin was
brought out and laid at the foot of the cross, cleansed by the precious blood
of the Saviour, an amazing joy flooded in!
Singing started – in great waves – words being made up as they sang,
each song praising God for the Blood.
The 7:00 pm evening meeting would
always be finished by 9:00 pm – many of us were still there at 2:00 am! Some stayed all night. And all through Saturday night. By Sunday, the news had spread of the Spirit’s
gracious visitation to the ‘big church’ at Ibambi, and Christians began
arriving from the surrounding villages. Throughout the day, the Holy Spirit continued
His wonderful work. Many were broken down
under conviction of sin, then led into a new realization of cleansing and
forgiveness. By afternoon, joy – joy and
an extraordinary power and wonder – filled the vast crowd. The singing, the radiant faces, arms up at
every mention of Jesus – what a day!”
The revival swept on through the
countryside, through villages and cities, churches were filled and souls were
brought into the kingdom as the mighty flow surged on and on.’[3]
‘The people were amazed at the
sensitiveness of the Holy Spirit to what they called small sins. The breaking of the sixth, seventh, and eighth
commandments they understood, but heart sins like murmuring, evil thoughts, and
criticism they had thought He would not be so particular about. But when they came under terrible conviction
over such sins, then they saw them as God sees them.’[4]
Similarly,
after several years of sustained united prayer for God to do a deeper work of
grace in the lives of the converts with which their work had been blessed, Pandita
Ramabai and her co-workers saw revival come to their Mukti Mission in 1905,
bringing deep conviction of sin:
‘The next evening... the Holy Spirit
descended with power, and all the girls began to pray aloud. Little children, middle-sized girls, and
young women wept bitterly and confessed their sins. Some few saw visions and experienced the
power of God... Two little girls had the
spirit of prayer poured on them in such torrents that they continued to pray
for hours. They were transformed with
heavenly light shining on their faces.
From that time their Bible school
was turned into an inquiry room. Girls whether
in school, or in the industrial school, or at their work, were stricken down
under conviction of sin [pride, anger,
love of the world, selfishness, uncleanness, …]. Lessons were suspended... Prayer continued all night in the various
compounds on more than one occasion. The
Bible school was filled with those crying for mercy. Such repentance, such heart-searching, such
agony over sin, and tears, as they cried for pardon and cleansing and the baptism
of the Holy Spirit! Then a baptism like
fire within came upon them. They seemed to
have their eyes open to see the “body of sin” in themselves. Then came a strong realisation of Christ’s
work upon the Cross; then, followed by intense joy. It often took a person hours to pass through
all these experiences. The Lord used the
Word greatly, the work went on rapidly for three days… and a spirit of prayer
and supplication for a revival in India was poured out like a flood.
A letter written by one of the Mukti
workers at this time says: “Even young girls are stricken down with the spirit
of repentance. They cannot eat, sleep, or
work till they go to the bottom of things. They seek the peace of pardon, and immediately
begin to seek sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They search and weep before God, until He
shows them the state of their heart.
They repent, restore, confess, and finally come into such joy that it
knows no bounds. They call it a baptism
of fire. They say that when the Holy Spirit
comes upon them the burning within them is almost unbearable. Afterwards they are transformed, their faces
light up with joy, their mouths are filled with praise.”’[5]
In
the two quotes just above, we can see the process that God takes people through
when they are convicted of sin.
Conviction of sin is not an end in itself. It is simply the first step in the process of
having our heart and life cleaned out of any and all sins of which we are
consciously aware, and thereby being set free from them. It is what Duncan Campbell was referring to
when he said about conversion that, ‘It means deliverance from sin. God dealing with root principles, and when He
deals with that he deals with the old man.’[6]
God’s intention is to set people free
from the hold that sin has over them, and to bring them into the deep inward spiritual
freedom, joy and love which characterises new life in his kingdom.
[1] From https://greatawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/prayer-and-revival-j-edwin-orr.html,
accessed 13.03.2020.
[2] From http://www.revival-library.org/index.php/pensketches-menu/historical-revivals/the-hebrides-revival,
accessed 21.05.2020.
[3] From http://www.evanwiggs.com/revival/history/1953%20Congo%20Revival.htm, accessed 15.02.2020. Sourced from “The Spirit of Revival” by Norman
Grubb.
[4] From Grubb, N. (Comp. and
Ed.). This is That: The Spirit of Revival,
https://www.gospeltruth.net/spiritofrevival.htm,
accessed 15.06.2020.
[5] Synthesised from from
Dyer, H.S. Pandita Ramabai, “The Story
of the Great Revival”, Chapter 12, 1900, sourced at http://www.revival-library.org/index.php/catalogues-menu/1904/pandita-ramabai-the-great-revival-at-mukti-india,
accessed 28.06.2020, and Liardon (2006:37-38).
[6] From http://articles.ochristian.com/article1650.shtml,
quoting from Campbell, D., Chapter 1, The
Price and Power of Revival, accessed 21.05.2020.
