True conviction

John 16:8-11
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 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.

Have you ever gone to church and heard a sermon where the pastor “convicted” you of your sin? You know what I’m talking about, right? Here’s a Biblical truth: it’s not the pastor’s responsibility to convict you of sin; it’s the Holy Spirit’s responsibility. Furthermore, what most pastors refer to as “sin” isn’t what Jesus was referring to in this passage!

You may have been preached at about lust, envy, lying, cheating, cursing, drinking, or failure to tithe, but none of these things are what the Holy Spirit intends to convict you of. The Holy Spirit has a threefold mission of conviction. One, He convicts, that is, He shows you your fault (singular) by pointing out your disbelief in Jesus Christ. When you are “pricked in the heart” (Acts 2:37) by the Holy Spirit and acknowledge Jesus Christ’s fulfillment of God’s expectations, He moves on to step two.

And what is step two? He convicts you of righteousness! He solidifies in your heart, through accurate interpretation of the scripture and honest revelations of who Jesus Christ is, that you are righteous because Christ has made you righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). After you become a Christian, the next mission for the Holy Spirit is to remind you, continually, of your righteousness in Christ. He no longer has the need to remind you of your sin (singular). Because God the Father sees you as righteous by faith in Christ, the Spirit, the Comforter is there to gently remind you of this truth. Why? Because you may be told otherwise. Perhaps by your own misconceptions of who God is, but more likely than not, by a preacher who thinks that by pointing out the flaws that he sees in your life, you’ll become a “better” person! The Holy Spirit is there to remind you and comfort you with the fact that you are righteous regardless (http://just-thinking-grace.blogspot.com/2011/10/righteous-regardless.html)!

Finally, the Holy Spirit has one more thing to convict you of: JUDGEMENT. This is the one that really gets the pulpit firestorm raging. Judgement and condemnation, these two make a wonderful concert and open the floor up for some true “hell-fire and brimstone” preaching. Oh, but that’s not the judgement that the Holy Spirit is here to convict you of! So, if that’s the judgement that’s been preached to you, righteous Christian, you are not hearing a lesson from the Spirit (at least not the one with a capital “S”).

You see, the Holy Spirit has come to convict you that Jesus is the Way. He has come to convict you that you are righteous in Christ and nothing, nothing, nothing, can take that away from you. And He has come to convict you that “the ruler of this world is judged”. Who is the ruler of this world? The devil! The Holy Spirit’s final mission with you is to convince you that your enemy, the devil, is defeated and judged.

It’s terribly unfortunate that in most churches today the Holy Spirit never gets a chance to move past step one. In fact, I’d dare to say that He never even gets an opportunity to work into step one! What grieves the Spirit of God? Corrupted communication (Ephesians 4:29-30). The corrupted communication that doesn’t reveal the finished work of Jesus Christ. Grace works through the Spirit of God, not through the condemning speeches of men!

The truth is this: a true revelation of Jesus Christ, what He’s done, and how He loves will convict an unbeliever’s heart that they didn’t know Christ. A true revelation of Jesus Christ, what He’s done, and how He loves will convict a believer of his or her righteousness in Christ. Even still, a true revelation of Jesus Christ, what He’s done, and how He loves will convict the believer that the devil is defeated. Let’s reveal who Jesus is!