The Holy Spirit: Comforter or Convicting Communicator
by Linden Wolfe
The answer is yes – to both! As a matter of fact the Holy Sprit has many critical roles in our faith. My concern here, however, is that contemporary Christians seem to emphasize His comforting role over His communicating (convicting) role. Let me explain the situation that gave me pause about this error.
A lady that I know well, seemingly lacking in guilt and conviction over her injustices to a fellow believer made, in the midst of the conflict, this telling comment, "The Comforter has come to me". Now, to frame this comment, this was a person inclined toward seeking after friends that would tell her what she wanted to hear and appease her conscience. She was not a truth seeker but had "itching ears" (2 Timothy 4:3) and often found enablers to aid her in denial, rationalization, excuse making and, finally, the blaming of others for her own poor choices. She wanted anything but the truth even though that is what we all so desperately need. This is a most perilous form of deception.
Our pursuit of comfort is one of the problems of the modern church. Affluent western civilization has made us soft and we have come to believe that God’s (the Holy Spirit) obligation to us is to make us feel good. We want to live guilt free and we think that’s God’s job. And if He doesn’t we’ll find someone who will. "Working out you salvation with fear and trembling" has become a foreign notion since ease is our ultimate goal. Genuine confession and real repentance has been replaced with the inoffensive and non-transforming encouragement of one’s self-esteem.
Let’s get back to the Holy Spirit. He truly is a Comforter or Counselor. John 14, verse 26 says, "But the Counselor (or Comforter), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…". Unfortunately that’s where some folks stop. John goes on with Jesus’ wise words, "…will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you". The Comforter does so through communicating truth - the truth of Jesus. Jesus tells us two chapters later that this truth is convicting:
"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:7-11).
Now this is not the Comforter that this lady was seeking. She wanted the comfort without the conviction. But she needed both. Beautifully, these together are not contradictory. They are in perfect harmony. This is one of the sweet mysteries of the Gospel. Comfort comes from the conviction that leads to confession. Confession leads to cleansing (I John 1:9). We also know that when you know the truth it will set you free (John 8:32). Now that is real comfort. It’s found in the repentance that leads to forgiveness. And it all happens courtesy of the Comforter.
The Holy Spirit is God. We must not grieve Him by treating Him as if He is a cosmic Santa Claus waiting to bestow the gift of comfort alone. I do like the name Counselor better. A true counselor seeks our best and that always means that we need the truth. See how gloriously generous our loving Father is? He sent a Guide to lead us exactly where we need to go - back to Him where there is eternal comfort through the forgiveness of sins. And that’s because He is truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Let’s ask the Comforter to be a convicting communicator to us that so that we may see Jesus in all of His truth and Beauty. Then we will have real comfort.
