Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily devotional. This week, we continue in our series, Luke - Exploring who Jesus is. This week, our devotionals are based on Luke 5:1-11. Today’s devotional is entitled, I am a sinful man.
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‘When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners…’ (Luke 5:8-10)
Lesson: God’s presence convicts of sin for salvation and continues to convict for our sanctification.
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Peter’s response is recorded to show a number of things:
1. Jesus is the Holy God with us
Firstly, that Jesus is God with us. He is the Holy God among people. The revelation that Jesus is Lord causes Peter to become aware of His sinfulness. Peter’s response reminds us of Isaiah’s experience:
‘“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.”’ (Isaiah 6:5)
An encounter with God often brings the revelation of our sinfulness; see also Genesis 18:27, Job 42:5-6, Psalm 8:4.
2. Salvation begins with conviction of sin
Secondly, Peter’s response reveals how one comes to salvation; firstly, one must be convicted of one’s sin to receive salvation in Christ. Any genuine work of the Spirit, and a genuine response to the gospel, begins with an understanding of our sinfulness and bankruptcy before God. Jesus speaks of the convicting work of the Spirit:
‘When he [the Spirit] comes, he will prove [convict] the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment…’ (John 16:8)
The Spirit convicts of sin, however, it's very important to realise that He normally does this through the preaching and sharing of the gospel message. Paul writes:
‘For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction…’ (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5)
True conversion always involves conviction of sin leading to repentance and faith as a result of hearing the gospel. Without the revelation of our sinfulness, we will never repent and receive Christ. Paul speaks of his ministry of preaching the gospel and our need for repentance:
‘I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.’ (Acts 20:21).
Wayne Grudem speaks of the doctrine of conversion:
‘Conversion is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation.’ (Grudem)
3. God’s presence - by the Spirit - continues to convict and sanctify
Finally, this experience of Peter is to be repeated in our lives. Through God’s word and our consciences, the Spirit convicts of sin, and we grow in sanctification. We read in Hebrews:
‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’ (Hebrews 4:12)
Response
God’s presence convicts of sin for salvation and continues to convict for our sanctification.
Through the gospel message, the Holy Spirit calls us to conviction, repentance, and faith. It’s very releasing and humbling to know that only God can save, and He does this, firstly, by revealing our guilt and need for repentance and forgiveness through the gospel call.
Added to this, are we still both grateful that our sin has been removed, but also readily repenting on a regular basis? The Holy Spirit continues to convict us in our consciences through the Word. A great secret to a healthy and fruitful life is to regularly fall on our knees before Christ and allow Him to forgive, cleanse, and raise us up on our feet for fresh service. If we fail to continue to take the ‘plank out of our own eye’ as a priority, we will become hard on others and particularly on those outside of faith.
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. NOTICES
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. ICEBREAKER
What has God been speaking to you about from His Word this week and how has this helped you / affected your life?
3. STUDY AND PRAY TOGETHER
Please read Luke 5:1-11
On Sunday we looked at Luke 5:1-11 and saw that we are to:
Look at Jesus so as to gain greater awe and follow Him wholeheartedly.
It’s so easy, if we’ve been a Christian for any time, to read a text like this without being awestruck by Jesus’ glory. We can allow our hearts to go astray and ‘follow’ others in life and on social media but fail to follow Jesus as worshippers.
Discuss/Share/Pray
This text is to inspire awe. What, from this text, most inspires you?
From memory, what events from Jesus’ life, or what truth about Jesus, do you Find awe-inspiring?
Jesus calls us to follow Him and this, in part, will involve, ‘fishing for people’ what does this mean?
What, from this text, gives us confidence that God’s power will be at work in our evangelism?
SIV - Our strategy for ‘fishing for people’ is summarised as SIV. We Serve, Invest and Invite. How and with whom are you currently doing this?
SIV - You have a net and we have nets - mission opportunities. What are the nets that you have and what are the nets that we have as a church that you could get involved with?
SIV - Lets pray for one another that, firstly, our awe and trust In Jesus would grow. Secondly, pray for one another in our call to fish for people - that we would Serve, Invest and Invite more faithfully.
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