The Equipping Ministry, Student Workbook, SW15

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T H E E Q U I P P I N G M I N I S T R Y

concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; [10] concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; [11] concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. Here, Jesus makes it plain that the Holy Spirit (not the evangelical preacher) is the one who convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is the Spirit who draws the world to the Lord, that enables them to see themselves as they really are—lost, desperate, without hope and without the Lord. If this is so, and only the Holy Spirit can truly convict the lost person of their need for God, what is the role of the “foolishness of preaching” (cf. 1. Cor. 1.18, 21)? If the Spirit is the only one who can truly transform, why do we need preachers at all? What does Paul mean when he suggests that people cannot hear without someone preaching (cf. Romans 10.14-15: But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”)? Discipline and rigorous preparation in sermon preparation and study is absent from the lifestyle of many evangelical leaders today. Resting on the truth that without the Holy Spirit no spiritual fruit can be borne, many are substituting what they call the “faith walk” for diligent study of the Word of God. Overmuch concentration on preparation is viewed by these leaders as carnality, pride, and a denial of the fundament work of the Spirit. They rather “go with the flow,” “look for the leading of the Lord at the moment,” and “wait for the leading of the Spirit when the time is right.” Others, equally committed to the Holy Spirit, believe that, like discipline and exercise, preparation does not hinder spontaneity but rather makes it possible. They argue that Michael Jordan could do all the remarkable things he attempted on the court because of untold hours of preparation during practice. Which “school of thought” do you think gets closer to the biblical injunctions both to “walk in the Spirit” as well as “study to show yourself a workman that needs not to be ashamed?” Dependent on the Holy Spirit, or Just Plain Lazy?

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