The Holy Spirit Restrains Evil

The Holy Spirit plays a key role in restraining evil in the world and saving them from their sins. Paul describes non-Christians as dead in their sins, gratifying the lusts of their flesh. They follow Satan, “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, the children of wrath” (Eph 2:1–3).

¹And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Non-Christians are evil and do selfish, evil things, even demonic things. And if it were not for the Restrainer’s work (2 Thess 2:6–7)

⁶And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

in convicting “the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8),

⁸And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

then the world would literally be hell on Earth (Rev 9:18–21).

¹⁸By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. ²⁰The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

People are not totally evil, but do you suppose that’s God’s work or Satan’s? The God who works in humanity, restraining our worst impulses, is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s Work in Salvation

But God went further than that and sent the Holy Spirit to bear witness of Jesus (John 15:26).

²⁶“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

He changes a non-Christian’s heart so that they can believe in Jesus and have saving faith. Theologians call this work of the Holy Spirit “regeneration”, based on (Titus 3:5).

⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

Without being born again in the Spirit (John 3:3–7),

³Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

no one would believe in Jesus.

Jesus gives a helpful parable in Matthew to explain why, “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matt 13:3–9).

³And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear.”

Why the Spirit Is Necessary for Salvation

For someone to become a Christian, they need two things: the gift of the good news that Jesus saves, and a heart free of rocks and thorns so that they can receive the gospel. The Holy Spirit is the one who softens a non-Christian’s heart and removes the thorns that stop them from belief. You can preach all you want, but without the Holy Spirit’s regeneration of the heart, there is no saving faith in Jesus. In terms of gift theology, a gift is not effective for its intended purpose unless it is received. Preaching the gospel is what we do, but we cannot force someone to receive that gift; only the Holy Spirit can overcome birds, rocks and thorns in a person’s life to grant them saving faith.

Two Responses to Evil

This has massive implications for everybody who suffers under sinful people and sinful structures. The world’s approach is to fight fire with fire and wrest power to stop them from exploiting you. And if you succeed, then you become the exploiter and the power struggle starts all over again. And if you don’t, well, you suffer. This is the history of the world: systemic and global injustice.

The Christian response to evil is to… pray! How does that even make sense? How does that stop oppressors from just walking over you and winning? The key insight is to be reminded that the battle is the Lord’s (Exod 14:14).

¹⁴The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

How the Holy Spirit Opposes Injustice

The Holy Spirit “convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).

⁸And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

What you cannot do while suffering from injustice, God can and does do through the Holy Spirit. He is the one who pricks the conscience and convicts your oppressor of sin. That might stop them, or at least slow them down. The Holy Spirit might send a preacher to tell your oppressor the good news that Jesus saves them from their sin.

Or, you may have shared the gospel over and over with a family member and they get mad at you and tell you to stop. But this time with prayer, the Holy Spirit softens their heart, and the gospel leads to saving faith. And then your former oppressor, led by the Spirit into becoming like Christ, repents of sin like Zacchaeus and restores what they stole from you (Luke 19:1–10).

¹He entered Jericho and was passing through. ²And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. ⁷And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Then they join God’s team to preach the good news that Jesus saves, just like He did for Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–8).

¹But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” ⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

Conclusion: The Subversive Giver

The Holy Spirit opposes injustice in the world not by fighting it, but by subverting it. He turns enemies of the Gospel into friends. The Gospel saves, and Jesus wins. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4).

⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We fight not as the world fights, but through the power of prayer. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36).

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Instead, the Holy Spirit turns enemies into friends through convicting them of sin and giving them the ability to believe in Jesus. Think about your life before Christ; if the Holy Spirit can save you, He can save anybody, because He’s God. So ask Him to do that, and pray.