The subject matter of this article is our very own sweet Holy Spirit. Yes, the same one who is our comforter. He does a lot of things in each of our lives. What do you believe is His job in conviction? Do you believe He convicts believers of sin because you read John 16:8? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin. Why am I so sure? This article explains it all.
What is conviction?
Defining conviction in simple terms is exposing something, or if you’d prefer, bringing something out in the open. Now let me rephrase that in this context. The Holy Spirit does not expose believers of their sins. That’s actually good news, don’t you think?
What’s going on in John 16:8?
I hope before you believed the Holy Spirit convicts believers of sin, you actually read it over again and tried to understand it. Here, let me help. John 16:8…..not just verse 8, read to verse 11.
Jesus Christ was the one speaking. He of course never makes mistakes, so He explained further in verses 9-11, so He is not misconstrued. Yet, some people still have. How sad. So, verse 8 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”.
Wait, let’s not make any hasty decisions till we finish. Let’s understand Jesus. Verses 9-11 “of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged”.
Still don’t get it? Never fear.
Jesus explains that The Holy Spirit would convict the world- unbelievers- of sin, not believers. Notice that He said “sin” not sins. So what then is this sin. Unbelief. The sin of unbelief by unbelievers would be convicted.
Let me rephrase that, the Holy Spirit would expose unbelievers of their unbelief. He’s not one to nag. He lovingly draws your attention to that sin. He points it out. When you respond to this conviction, all other sins would be taken care of. Isn’t that amazing!
Then comes conviction of righteousness, that’s of course to the believers, because Jesus was talking to His disciples and He used the second person pronoun, “you”. He convicts the believer of righteousness paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross.
He would bring it to light, when you seem to be straying. Jesus Christ remains on the right hand side of the Father, as our advocate, He pleads on our behalf. Won’t you say “Thank You Jesus” right now.
The Holy Spirit not also witnesses to us; in Hebrews 10:15-17 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
He said our lawless deeds He will remember no more. One more thing to be glad about.
Now, of judgement, The Holy spirit would convict the ruler of the world- the devil. – I think we would all agree when I say the devil is fighting a lost battle. We are all fine with the devil being convicted so there’s an agreement here.
Holy Spirit and repentance
God justifies the ungodly. When an ungodly person receives the gift of righteousness, they are led to true repentance. When a believer sins, unlike the modern Christian teachings, the Holy Spirit still remains with us, according to Paul.
You receive grace to deny ungodliness.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age”. Says the bible.
Know that you are made righteous by faith in Jesus, not by your works. Imagine you’re a tree that bears good fruits- good works – but then the root is rotten- because of lack of Faith in Jesus. Remember, Faith without work is dead. Righteousness is a gift given to us through our Faith in Jesus Christ.
Don’t let the modern teachings put you in the bondage of fear, that’s what the devil wants. The truth is, the devil is the one who puts blames on believers, afterall, he is not pleased with us. We like to keep it that way though, am I right?
So our Holy Spirit doesn’t convict believers of sin, neither does He leave us when we sin, He points it out to us, if He leaves, who would then show us the right way? He loves us too much. Go on, don’t be shy, say a word of thanks to Him.
