CONVICTION

MINISTRY IN GLASGOW

R.J.Campbell

John 6: 67-69; Nehemiah 6: 1-4; Genesis 48: 17-19 (to "I know, my son, I know")

I just had an impression, beloved brethren, as to conviction. I feel for myself the tendency to lack conviction as to things. I think the enemy is satisfied if we are just maintained in the externals of things with a mental knowledge of the truth without a real, inward, deep conviction. If we are thoroughly and deeply convicted I do not think we would ever change from what we have come to accept in our souls. I just feel the challenge of it, that if things are arrived at inwardly we are thoroughly sure about where we stand in relation to the truth. Even the young ones here, are you convicted as to your links with the Lord Jesus, positively sure of your living link with the Lord Jesus? Paul was sure about that; there was no doubt in his mind about his link with the Lord Jesus. He says "I... am persuaded" (2 Tim 1: 12) - absolutely persuaded that he had a link with Christ and that as fully committed to Christ, Christ would keep what he had entrusted to him for that day. He was absolutely sure. I would like to ask each one of us and the young ones, Are you sure about your link with Christ? It is something to be convicted about, that you are inwardly, positively sure that you have a living link with Christ. If you arrive at that in your soul nothing will ever shake that. You can always fall back on that, what you have arrived at in soul history and experience, that you have a living link with Christ.

I read these scriptures because we read of three men who were absolutely sure about things; there was no doubt in their minds. In John 6 there were persons who had an external link with the Lord Jesus; there were those who professed to be His disciples and they had gone along with the Lord Jesus until this chapter. I remember Mr Lyon saying that John 6 is a very stiff examination and that the final test floors many promising candidates. The Lord is testing persons all the way through the chapter and eventually it says "many of his disciples went away back and walked no more with him" (v 66). They had maintained an external link with Christ but the path had become so testing and they were not convicted about it, they were not certain that their link with Christ would see them through, and so they went away back and walked no more with Him. Then the Lord says to those around Him, "Will ye also go away?". I thought the Lord would say that to us: "Will ye also go away?". As our brother has said, the love of the most has grown cold. It applies to our day that the love of the many has grown cold; the great profession is marked by heartlessness as to Christ. The Lord says "Will ye also go away?" Now just think of the fervency, the heart that Peter had; think of what he says: "Lord, to whom shall we go?". Where are you going today? There is nowhere else where we can go. "Thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God". That was conviction, absolute conviction with Peter. There was no doubt in his mind that there was nowhere else they could go but to be linked with the Lord Jesus.

This is not a position, beloved brethren, this is not brethrenism, this is a link with a living Man who has words of eternal life. And I can say that in my own history in some measure I have proved that Christ is the only One from whom we can get words of eternal life. So Peter says "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known". That is not just a mere belief that is an inward conviction: "believed and known that thou art the holy one of God". Beloved brethren, may these things be real to us. How the enemy would seek to maintain us just in externals without the vital heart without the vital conviction as to our link with Christ and our association with one another in relation to Him. In John's gospel He is the centre and every one of us is in orbit in relation to that glorious centre of the world, that Christ is maintaining for God, and supporting us in the testimony here. May we be convicted.

What a man Nehemiah is! He is a man with light as to the recovery of the truth, and a man who laboured in relation to the recovery of the truth. You think of the recovery under Mr Darby, what vital recovery there was in relation to the fact that there was a Head in heaven and a body down here, that there were persons here that formed the body of Christ. These persons were convicted as to that, absolutely convicted; they left the profession, they left what was outwardly accredited in that day. They were sure that the Lord was not in it and they left it and came out in separation and sought to follow Christ in a pathway that was pleasing to Him, and they found others and had fellowship together and the recovery began. What a movement began in that day!

Then there were fifty years of patient service of Mr Taylor bearing on the truth. I thought in that period there was a service in relation to the building of the wall. I think that in Mr Taylor's day there was a certain assurance amongst the brethren, conviction as to the truth and in that way the wall was built and we have come into that. Over against that, you think of this attack here, a very subtle attack; it was not a bold attack, it was not as earlier, a seeking to minimise and weaken and belittle the efforts of these persons, saying that even if a fox went up it would break down their wall. Here it was a very subtle thing, a suggestion to come down to the plain of Ono. In fact they did not even say, Come down; Nehemiah discerned that it was dangerous for him to go down to the plain of Ono. He says "I cannot come down"; the work is so great, there had been so much labour put into this; you think of these persons joined together side by side in the earlier chapters working in relation to the truth, building up the wall, and Nehemiah says, the work is too great, there has been far too much put into this for me to reduce things to the level of what is social to come down to the plain of Ono. What a test! And it says that "they sent to me four times". You think of the constant and insidious attack of the enemy in this subtle way seeking to bring Nehemiah down to the level of what was social. He says "I cannot come down". O, the conviction of the man. The service of God is to be maintained; what is for God will always be maintained as there is conviction as to the truth and a preparedness to maintain things according to God. Later on there were choirs. They finished the wall before there were the choirs, and thus the service of God is maintained. But Nehemiah says, "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease whilst I leave it and come down to you?" - "down to you". Well, brethren, divine things are elevated, there is a certain dignity about them, and my desire is that we might be preserved in conviction as to things. Conviction as to the truth, gate by gate built, the gates all built; Nehemiah went through these exercises, the fish gate and the sheep gate, all these exercises gone through, and Nehemiah says, It is far too great, I am no going to come down. He is absolutely convicted that the truth must be maintained. May this conviction enter into our souls. It is absolutely vital that the truth is maintained and that we do not reduce ourselves to the level of what the enemy would seek to reduce us to - Come down, he says, but Nehemiah says, I will not come down.

I read in Genesis because Jacob is also one who arrives at conviction as to things through spiritual experience. Joseph is a younger man and a very skilful administrator, and sometimes our natural minds might tend to think that this is the way that things should go. It seemed obvious that the older should be blessed first, but Jacob says "I know, my son, I know". Think of the conviction of a man who has been through things by experience! There is no substitute for it, and if we have been through things with God we will never ever change. We may do things just because we have taken them on merely academically and because it is the right thing to do amongst brethren. That is not the way the truth is maintained; we go through things in experience with God. What a history Jacob had! And right at the end here he is blessing these lads. How morally superior Jacob was; when before Pharaoh this poor man was morally superior, even blessing Pharaoh. Then right at the end of his life he is blessing these lads; he puts his right hand on the younger and left hand on the older, and it says of Joseph that it was evil in his eyes "and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it". Joseph was slightly out of line here, his own natural thoughts governing him in relation to what he thought should be done, but Jacob, with all his moral history with God and all his conviction as to things, says "I know, my son, I know". I think it is something to listen to one with experience with God, and the absolute assurance that enters into persons' souls as to the rightness of certain things: "I know, my son, I know". May we be encouraged, beloved brethren. I just feel the challenge of it, that there might be inward conviction as to things, so that we are not "tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching which is in the sleight of men", Eph 4: 14. How many things would seek to turn us aside! Conviction as to things, beloved brethren, will keep us steady. May it be so, for His Name's sake.

Words in meeting for ministry

GLASGOW

5 June 1984