The Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Convicts, but there are three kinds of conviction! 

JOHN 16:8-11  “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Not condemnation, guilt, or shame, but conviction: 

• He does not point out your sin, making you self-conscious. 

• He calls you out of sin by pointing to whom you are in Christ 

• He makes you Jesus-conscious.  

So, what does convict mean? The Greek word used for convict in the Bible is ἐλέγχω, which means to bring to light or to expose. 

Example

1. To the world, the Holy Spirit will convict or bring to light their sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ. 

2. To the believer, he convicts and brings to light and exposes Jesus’ righteousness in us and how we can trust the Spirit to be like HIM! 

3. To the devil, the Holy Spirit will convict or bring to light or expose his judgment.

Three different players, three different convictions by the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, not sins, but sin. He convicts us of only one sin, which is unbelief in Jesus.

2. He convicts the believer of righteousness. Since we don’t see Jesus physically, sometimes it’s easy to forget that Jesus is on our side. He is our advocate on the Father’s right hand.

3. And finally, the Holy Spirit convicts the ruler of the world, that is the devil, of Judgment.

The difference of 3 convictions: Sin, Righteousness, Judgement 

1. v9 of sin, Sin Focused is not for believers but the world. 

   • Sin not sins – Singular 

   • The conviction of the one sin for the world is unbelief. 

   • That is the one sin that sent everyone in hell to hell. 

     • Problem = Unbelief 

   • He is convicted of only one sin, that is, unbelief in Jesus and his finished works on the cross.

     • 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 

       • The root of all sin is unbelief. If you really believed God’s word and what it says that you can be and have in Him, 

2. v10 of righteousness, This Conviction is for Believers

   • Positive – this is who you are in Christ – you are the righteousness of Christ 

     • So turn back to me and change your mind toward sin- metanoia 

     • Look to my strength, not at your weakness.  

When this happens, you are Jesus conscious, not self-conscious 

• Not condemned by guilt and shame to WILL POWER

• The Devil does an adequate job condemning us by telling us we are wrong, and how bad it is ….He doesn’t need the Holy Spirit’s help. 

• The BIble calls him the “Accuser of the Brethren” (Rev 12:10), not the Holy Spirit. 

•  V10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 

  • Jesus going to the Father would be the presentation of the perfect sacrifice and atonement by our High Priest on our behalf. 

  • So long as the disciples were in the physical presence of Jesus, they had a perfect example of righteousness. 

3. Judgment Focused Conviction – Not for believers but the Devil

   • Negative – The Ruler of this world is judged 

     • The Holy Spirit tells Satan he is finished 

     • He convicts Him that he is judged and condemned to hell.  

Most people don’t see the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, as the Lord called Him four different times in just one gospel. 

Instead, they see the Holy Spirit as the one who convicts them, condemns them, and makes them feel guilty and miserable. People will say, “It says right here that he is convicted of sin.”

• Well, Jesus knew that people were going to misinterpret this and so He explained it in this passage of Scripture, of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

Example: It’s like a parent when you teach your little kid to ride a bike. Very seldom do they do it perfectly the first time. Most parents, if the child starts trying to ride, and they don’t stay on, the parent doesn’t go up and say, “You FAILED, THESE ARE YOUR MISTAKES! If you had done what I told you to do, you wouldn’t have fallen off.”

If you do that, there are a lot of kids who would never get back on the bike. A good parent will come up and say, “Look, you went 10ft, 20ft, you can do it, you already did it partway. Try again!”

You will encourage them and build them up. See, that’s the way the Holy Spirit is.

• Religion has painted the Holy Spirit as a terrible, terrible parent who, if you mess up, is going to condemn you and tell you that you’re unrighteous.

HERE IS HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS; 

Hebrews 10:15‭-‬17 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “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,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 

He reminds a believer with conviction concerning righteousness. 

• JESUS PAID TOO MUCH FOR ME TO LIVE IN SIN!

• GOD’S LOVE IS BETTER!  

• I AM BETTER THAN THIS IN CHRIST! 

• The Holy Spirit convicts or brings to light and exposes a believer of their righteousness before God in Christ Jesus.

  • Hey, look to JESUS! That is not you nor for you! 

    • (Just like training my dog to look, not yelling but rewarding) 

He is not pointing out your badness, but pointing out God’s GOODNESS for YOU!

• Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?~ Romans 2:4

Even when you fail, He is ever present in you to remind you that the blood of Jesus has made 

Church, the Holy Spirit is your Helper (John 14:16). 

1. He was sent to help you, not to hound you

2. He was sent to nudge you, not to nag you and point out all your faults. 

3. He was sent to comfort you, not to condemn you! 

He is here to comfort you and to point you back to the cross of Jesus every time you fail. 

• THIS WILL LEAVE YOU MORE BROKEN CONCERNING YOUR SIN THAN POINTING OUT YOUR FLAWS AND MISTAKES EVER WILL. 

  • Satan before and after sin wants you to focus on you! 

  • The Holy Spirit before and after sin wants you to focus on CHRIST! 

  • GET IT?

The Spirit shines the light on your identity in Christ – You are the righteousness of God.

Who are we? 

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus did more than take away your sins, His Spirit transforms your nature.

• Before you were of the world and lost as an unbeliever. 

  • Now you are a believer and a son of the King

• Before you were a sinner, 

  • Now you become a saint 

• Before you were dead 

  • Now you’re alive 

• Before you’re in darkness, 

  • Now you’re in light 

• Before you were a slave to sin 

  • Now you are a slave to righteousness 

That’s the power of the gospel, and that’s the foundation of being a new creation. 

• Knowing that your new identity in Christ is a new creation is important. 

• You are a son of the Living God. 

Illustration: Adopted

You’ve been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, and in that place, the Holy Spirit begins to teach you,

• By convicting (shedding light on) the fact that you are my son, 

• You are  you’re the righteousness of Christ 

• You are a new creature and creation, you are no longer that person 

• You no longer have a need to think and act that way. 

• THIS IS THE CONVICTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 

Clarification: Three voices when we sin. 

1. The voice of the Holy Spirit 

2. The voice of our conscience 

3. The voice of the Acuser or the Enemy. 

The problem is that we conflate these voices to confuse and combine into one when they are not the same 

So why do I do something bad, and I feel bad, do I feel so bad? 

• Conscience. 

  • After I do something wrong, I feel that it is wrong. 

  • Romans 2:15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

• The Enemy or the Accuser. 

  • After I do something wrong, I feel shame, guilt, condemned, and hopeless.

  • The very name Satan means “accuser.”

  • “the accuser of our brothers . . . who accuses them day and night before our God”(Revelation 12:10). 

  • In his misery, the devil not only loves company — he demands it. He labors night and day to surround himself with the condemned.

    • 1. YOU ARE YOUR SIN  

    • 2. Jesus can’t use you if you have a weakness. 

    • 3. You should give up if you constantly struggle with sin.

    • 4. God is mad at you and is tired of you. 

    • 5. Your past mistakes disqualified you. 

      • Facts for the word, not feelings; feelings are Satan’s best weapon.

      • You are now qualified. Your past is irrelevant. You don’t have to work to win God’s love. When the Father looks at you, He doesn’t see your past sins or present struggles; He sees a robe of righteousness. 

• These are not the Holy Spirit! 

  • The Holy Spirit does not shed light on your sin, 

    • Your conscience and the enemy, does that! 

  • The Holy Spirit convicts you and sheds light on your righteousness in Christ, appearing before the Father on your behalf for every sin you have ever and will ever commit.  

    • Romans 8:34bIt is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  

  • The Holy Spirit agrees with the prayers of Christ for you! 

    • Christ is the perfect sacrifice, satisfying God in heaven and doing the work of the priest to declare, “Atoned for and righteous!” before the Father!

  • The Holy Spirit and Jesus are in agreement concerning believers! 

    • The Holy Spirit does not say to you something different from what Jesus says to the Father about you! 

Here is how the voice of the Spirit sounds, in Romans 14:17, The kingdom of heaven is not meat or drink, but it is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit 

The Kingdom of God is found in the Holy Spirit. 

1. Scripture tells us that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

2. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit comes, being convicted of righteousness should always lead us to live righteously by knowing our true identity in Christ. 

3. This conviction should always result in peace and joy.

The voice of the Holy Spirit in your life will always lead you into greater peace and will always bring joy. 

1. You can discern whether you are listening to the voice that convicts you of righteousness by the effect it has on your heart. 

2. If you feel depressed, anxious, worried, rushed, self-condemned, or ashamed, those are not the voice of God. 

3. Those feelings are the voice of the enemy, trying to get you to look inward, focus on your past, or define yourself by your actions.

In contrast, the Holy Spirit says, “That’s not who you are. I know who you are. I am sent from the Father, who knew you before the foundation of the world, and He knows who He created you to be.”