Certainty In An Age Of Shrugging Shoulders

Text: John 16:5-15 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We live in a pagan age that hates certainty. And this is not just the pagan world out there, but the church has caught the same pagan disease.

Yes, dear friends, there is a growing mentality, both in the pagan culture and among many well-intentioned Christians, that certainty is a problem. For example, we are told that confidence in God’s truth is arrogant and that doctrine is divisive. According to this pagan spirit, the church is supposed to be soft-spoken, unsure, and ever-so-open-minded. We are told to be on a “journey,” which means that we should not arrive at any actual conclusions, for that would be arrogant.

Again, you have heard this all before: 

“We’re all figuring things out.”

“No one really knows what truth is.”

“We should just feel that Jesus loves everyone, and that’s what matters the most.”

“Doctrine divides, love unites.”

The church’s job is to shrug its shoulders, bob its head sympathetically, and say with a sheepish smile, 

“I’m not totally sure, but Jesus loves you, and I love you, and let’s leave it at that.”

Dear Baptized Saints, this is not humility. This is not Christianity. This is a fog masquerading as faith. This is confusion masquerading as compassion.

Jesus did not die and rise again so that you and I could live in ambiguity. He did not promise His Spirit so that we could build our faith on sentimentality or vague spiritual feelings.

No! He promised the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something profound: 

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth… He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.”

In other words, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit not to leave the church wandering in uncertainty, but to guide the church into the truth. Not half-truths. Not evolving truths. Not multiple-choice truths. But all truth.  

Listen up! 

Vagueness is not humility. Doubt is not a virtue. Confusion is not kindness.  The way of Christianity is not the way of shrugging shoulders and speaking sentimental slogans.  No, the Holy Spirit’s job is not to leave us wondering. He doesn’t plant seeds of speculation. He doesn’t hand out spiritual riddles for us to solve. He is not the author of doubt, but the deliverer of confidence.  

And how does He do this?

He does this through the Word! 

Dear friends, the Holy Spirit does not hover in some mystical cloud. He does not zap us with lightning bolts of feelings. He does not whisper private messages to your heart during yoga. No, He speaks in the Scriptures. He acts in the preached Word. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and He works through the external Word to give certainty.

But the pagan world doesn’t like this.

The pagan world wants a spirit who will say, 

“Follow your heart.” 

The pagan world wants a Jesus who affirms your personal truth – truth that springs from your emotions and feelings. 

The pagan world wants a church that’s non-threatening, vague, and tolerant of every error – a church that does not abide in the certainty of God’s Word but in the shifting opinions of group consensus.  

And sadly, many Christians have bought into this pagan mindset. For example, many Christians have come to believe that bold preaching is unkind, that creeds and confessions are narrow, and that absolute truth is a power grab. And so, churches begin to apologize for the Gospel.  They appeal to the emotions of the parishioners in the pew; they soften every sharp edge until nothing remains but a smiling platitude of nothingness.

But here’s the problem: speculation does not lead to unity, emotions don’t save, vagueness does not forgive, and pious sentiments do not silence the devil.  

Only Jesus does.  Only the Word of Christ saves. Only the Truth of Christ is effective.  

Baptized Saints, Jesus has not left you with spiritual guesswork. He has given you His Spirit. And the Spirit speaks—clearly—through the Word.

Listen to what Jesus says: He says that when the Spirit of Truth comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Notice that Jesus does not speak these words with a poetic sloppiness.  But instead, He speaks it with certainty.  He proclaims it as truth!  

Baptized Saints, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. Not just mistakes. Not bad habits - Sin. He does not confront “brokenness” or “imperfections,” but the deep, damning unbelief of sin.  That is to say, the Holy Spirit does not pat us on the head and say, 

“That’s a boy; you’re doing your best.” 

No, instead, the Holy Spirit holds up the Law and says, 

“You are a sinner in thought, word, and deed. You are born spiritually dead, hostile to God, and in desperate need of mercy. Repent!”

And that’s why the pagan world hates the Holy Spirit.  The pagan world wants a spirit that nods along with human pride. But the Holy Spirit exposes human pride. The Holy Spirit lays bare the heart and brings it to repentance.

But the Holy Spirit doesn’t stop there.

He also convicts on righteousness. And again—not any righteousness, not the pagan world’s fuzzy definition of goodness, but Christ’s righteousness. You see, the pagan world has its versions of righteousness: 

Be nice 

Recycle 

Be true to yourself 

Don’t judge anyone 

Signal your virtue online. 

But the Holy Spirit says, 

“None of that counts. Not one ounce of it will justify you before God.  That kind of righteousness will earn you a ticket to hell.”

Instead, the Holy Spirit points to Jesus: 

“There. There is your righteousness. The One who obeyed the Law perfectly. The One who went to the cross as your substitute. The One who was raised for your justification. He is your righteousness—received not by doing, but by believing.”

Baptized Saints – that is certainty! That is confidence! And it is delivered by the Spirit through the Word!

And finally, we heard in our Gospel reading that the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning judgment.  Listen to what Jesus says, 

“The ruler of this world is judged!” 

In other words, Satan is finished. The verdict has been declared. The Devil’s accusations have been silenced. He has been thrown down. He cannot have the last word, because Christ already spoke from the cross: 

“It is finished.”

And so, if the devil is judged (which he already is), then you, dear Baptized Saints, are free. There is no condemnation for you. The judgment has already taken place — at the Cross. You are not waiting to find out how the story ends. The Holy Spirit through the Word will continually reinforce the end of the story for you, 

“Take comfort; do not fear; there is laid up for you a crown of righteousness because Christ is the victory over sin, death, and the devil – for you.”

Again, how do you know the end of the story? Do your feelings tell you this, do crystal balls reveal this, do you know this through signs in the clouds, or through a dream, or through an Instagram post?  No, the Holy Spirit has told you this through the Word. That’s where certainty is found.

So, dear Baptized Saints of St. Paul’s Lutheran, enough with the shrugging.

Enough with the soft answers and spiritual double-speak.

God has not left you with pious confusion or polite platitudes. He has not sent His Spirit to leave you questioning, doubting, or speculating. He has sent His Spirit to guide you into all truth. That means truth about sin. Truth about Christ’s righteousness. Truth about the final judgment. Truth that anchors. Truth that saves.

And that truth is not up for debate. It is yours.

Yes, the pagan world will scoff at your confidence. The pagan world will call you arrogant for saying, 

“This is most certainly true.” 

The pagan world will label your doctrine narrow and your confession rigid.

But let them call you names.

You have something far better than the approval of the pagan world.

You have the Holy Spirit.; You have the Word; You have Christ.

So do not be ashamed. Do not be silenced. Do not be vague. Do not bob your head and shrug your shoulders.

Instead, lift your chin.  Confess. Preach. Proclaim. Rejoice. Not in yourself, but in the One who sent the Spirit of Truth—to deliver you from doubt into confidence, from darkness into light, from death into life, 

You are not a pagan but a Christian, a Christian who has the Spirit of Truth through the Word of God.  

In the name of Jesus. Amen.