Hope Alliance Bethlehem Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will come to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Spirit exposes the truth about sin and the emptiness of human effort or religion so that there might be repentance. The main modes of this testimony are the Scriptures which the Spirit will lead the disciples to write and ongoing witness of the church.

Jesus is careful to tell his disciples that the world will be resistant the gospel message. If the world hated Jesus, they will also hate those who follow him. This rub comes when his followers refuse to give full allegiance to anything other than Jesus. In the midst of this, Jesus reminds them that he has intentionally left them in the world to testify about him. While the world resists and even hates, Jesus calls his disciples to engage and even love.

Intimacy with God and obedience to him are inextricably bound together. If we want the full life that comes from seeing and knowing God, then we have to follow his commands. And if we want to follow his commands, we must grow in our love for him. Thankfully, we have been given the Spirit as an advocate to help us grow in our love for God and thus pursue his ways. To continually form and direct us, the Spirit teaches us and reminds us of all that Jesus has said and done.

True and full life only comes from intimacy with God. And the only way to access this kind of relationship is through Jesus. In him, we discover new creation truth and life that makes the original relationship of God and humanity possible again. Though we await this experience in it fullness, we have it now through Jesus. It is the only way to have full life in this broken world.

The gospel of John winds down with the beautiful story of Peter's restoration by Jesus. Peter is led to feel the weight of his sin so he can feel the even greater weight of God's grace. The forgiveness offered through Jesus overcomes our shame, sets us back on course, and transforms us to live in light of the gospel.

Thomas is famously and wrongly demeaned for doubt. In fact, what Jesus warns Thomas about is how to process doubt. We are all constantly moving either toward belief or unbelief. So it matters profoundly where we intentionally place ourselves to engage our questions. The church is meant to be a place where we can ask honest questions and pursue the resurrected Jesus together.