The Holy Spirit Convicts Us Of Sin

Nevertheless I tell you

the truth.

It is to your advantage

that I go away; for if

I do not go away,

the Helper will not 

come to you.

but If I depart,

I will send Him to you.

And when He has come,

He will convict 

the world of sin,

and of righteousness,

and of judgment.

John 16:7-8

     There is a chasm between the terms: sorry, and conviction. It is easy to feel sorry for something, we all do have that sentiment. We get caught and we make a statement to the fact that "we are sorry." It is good to feel "sorry." You may even have a feeling of conviction but this does not necessarily mean that you are truly convicted. A thief may feel sorry that he is caught stealing but is not convicted for doing that act. Conviction does carry and is so conjoined with being sorry but is often only an outward display of feelings, but not truly is the person convicted. We assign to be convicted is to be sent to prison and this is a form of the word and its meaning, it uses. But that does not cause the 'convict" to be attuned to the word convicted, for he may not have such feelings, only sorry that he must go to prison. We may for a moment have a conviction of our sin, but are we convicted. Has the Holy Spirit convicted you? If the Holy Spirit is not a Person then how can a "power' convict a person? In fact the Holy Spirit convicts us of "sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." If the Holy Spirit was not righteous Himself, He cannot convict us of not being righteous. If the Holy Spirit is not a Person then He as a power cannot judge us. If the Holy Spirit is sinful, or could sin, then He could not be a true judge and convict us of sin. To only feel "sorry" for our sins is one thing but this happens often in many churches were the pastor or speaker by compelling words, an emotional call to come forward, by music that softly plays tunes that touch our hearts and we feel sorry for our sinfulness, that is, the things that we have done that are wrong, and then go forward to admit that we are "sorry." Sorry for what? Sins, even sinners who have no thought of becoming a Christian know they have done something wrong. A person may have a sense of conviction. Conviction of what? Sin? Feeling exposed to what you have done and now feel that you must make some amend? Pastors are famous in the emotional appeal to come forward and "be saved." There is no conviction that is true conviction for to be convicted our your sins does not enter into the lives of a person be feeling "sorry" or feeling "convicted" by such emotional appeal, or that famous old Hymn, "Just As I Am," played over and over until you are emotional touched. It must be admitted that there is nothing so wrong with certain music or a sermon that touches us so that we begin to reflect upon our lives. But if it is the pastor or the music that is convicting us, leading us to just an emotional, in the moment conviction,then it is not the Holy Spirit that is doing the conviction. If the Person of the Holy Spirit is not convicting you of your sin then you are not truly convicted by God. The Holy Spirit convicts us so that we are truly "sorry" truly convicted of sin, that is that we are sinners, that we deserve God's justice, that is we deserve to die for we have sinned against God who is righteous. If we do not come to that place where we understand that we are totally depraved and only deserve death and that by the Person who is sinless, who could never sin, who came and took upon Himself a human body just so that He could die, and by His death be the payment for the sins of all of God's children, then we have missed what true conviction is. It is the sinless Person, Jesus Christ, who sent the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to convict the world of sin, and to the fact that man is not righteous, and that man must be judged by our Just and Holy God. We are convicted, drawn, enabled, by God and this is done by means of the Holy Spirit bringing upon God's children that true understanding, that true conviction that we are sinners and that God, Jesus Christ, paid our debt by taking on our sins. Now God sees us as righteous, we have been judged and we have the Son of God making intercession for us. God sees us through His Son. We are justified, sanctified in the eyes of God, although our sanctification in this life is worked out daily as we grow in the knowledge of Him. This enabling, this drawing, this conviction of sin is not left to just some power, rather it is by the Person, the Holy Spirit. This knowledge of sin is first to acknowledge that we are totally depraved, we are in need of redemption, and that we cannot pay for our sins. We are not just sorry for our sins, we have sinned against God. This then is where our emotion lies, we are brought to tears for we sinned against God, against His Son the Redeemer, and against the Holy Spirit. Unless we understand that fact of our sin then we will not be convicted of our sin, only will we be sorry for our sins. We don't need to be emotionally drawn to salvation by some speaker, some pastor, some music, we need to be drawn, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) and it is He who guides us into truth, the one who speaks with the authority of God. The truth of God is found in His word, not some emotional sermon, or music, therefore if you are not in the word of God, daily, often as you read the Holy Spirit will take that truth and convict you of who you are and what God has done. 

     Good sermon, good music may open the door of your heart. Those things done properly are good and are necessary for the truth of God comes by preaching His word, and by us hearing His word. But, it is the Holy Spirit that convicts us as being sinners. Are you truly convicted or just feeling sorry for your sins? True conviction causes a person to leave all that this world has to offer, and to become devoted to God, to His Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Our lives change and that change is to become a true Christian, that is a little Christ for that is what God is doing to His children. God is making us into the image of His Son. 

Sanctify them by

     Your truth,

Your word is truth.

             John 17:17

Have Peace And Be Of Good Cheer

Richard L. Crumb