Title: Conviction Of Sins
Scripture Reading: John 16:8-11
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
John 16:8-11 is part of Jesus’ teaching about the coming of the Holy Spirit.
- Convicting the World
John 16:8 says, ‘And when He is come, he will reprove the world.’
The Holy Spirit has the power to convict the world of sin.
It is through us that the Spirit produces conviction.
To convict is to ‘expose, convince, or bring to light.’
Today, we do not see conviction of sins in the church even, not to mention the world. Sadly, we are living at a time when ‘self’ is to be praised, pampered and promoted.
Today on the left and the right, we see spiritual indifference, worldliness, compromises, defeat, and barrenness in the church. There is appalling intemperance, licentiousness and vices in the church and in the city.
Only by recognizing that we cannot convict them, turning to the Holy Spirit who convicts is the solution.
The church has become the strongholds of iniquity. There is a dearth of conversions. Only Pentecost brought about by the Holy Spirit can cause conviction of sins, conversion and baptism of the Holy Ghost. So, what is the part of man? It is total dependence upon the work of the Holy Spirit
The Azusa Street Revival in 1906 that started the Pentecostal revival all over the world. In the Azusa Street revival:
- God’s glory came to the humble and hungry.
- God did not choose a palace, but a rundown building and a praying man
- There was deep conviction of sins.
- When God’s glory comes, man fades and Christ is exalted
- No egos, no platforms, just Jesus lifted high.
In Real conviction of sins, God’s people see themselves in a new terrible light. They will be what God says in the bible: ‘then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations.’
Of course, prayer is needed because prayer exposes a man’s total dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Repentance is not conviction on sin.
Repentance is turning from sin to God.
We recognize the weapon given to us to wage warfare again sin.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6, ‘We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thought and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.’
The core sin the Holy Spirit highlights is unbelief in Jesus.
The Holy Spirit has the Power to regenerate.
In Titus 3:5, we read, ‘not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of the regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.’
The Holy Spirit can take the man whose mind is blind to the truth of God, whose will is at enmity with God and set on sin, whose affections are corrupt and vile, and transform that man, impart to him God’s nature, so that he thinks God’s thoughts, wills what God wills, loves what God loves and hates what God hates.
Likewise, we can ask the Holy Spirit to not be distant today. But be near us. Let the Holy Spirit bring the manifest presence of God among us. We must pray ‘Father please do not stay hidden this Sunday. Come with power, with sound and with fire.
- The righteousness of Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit’s role is also to reveal true righteousness – that only Jesus is righteous before God. Jesus’ return to the Father (His resurrection and ascension) proves His righteousness and divine approval from God.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of false standards of righteousness and shows that true righteousness is found in Christ, not in religious rule -keeping.
Without Jesus physically presence, the Spirit continues to testify to His righteousness.
What is this righteousness? Righteousness means being right with God – living according to His standards, being accepted by Him, and in a right relationship with Him. It includes both:
- Moral behavior (living rightly) and
- Spiritual standing (being justified or declared innocent by God.)
- A world ripening for Judgment
John 16:11 says, ‘Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
‘A world ripening for judgment’ evokes a powerful image that suggests that the world, because of increasing sin, injustice, and rebellion against God, is nearing a time of divine reckoning or judgment. The Holy Spirit’s work is to announce judgment.
What are the signs of a ripening world?
- Widespread moral relativism
- Increasing violence and lawlessness
- Persecution of righteousness.
- Rejection of God and scripture.
- Global deception.
Matthew 24:22 says, ‘And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.’
Matthew 24:21 says, that such judgment has ‘not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.’
In verse 21 Jesus said there will be Great Tribulation
- Jesus speaks of a time of unmatched suffering – called the Great Tribulation
- It will be worse than any previous disaster including Noah’s flood or fire coming down from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah or Jews’ past holocaust. Think of the word ‘Sodom’. What does Sodomite mean?
- It will be a final global tribulation before Christ returns.
In verse 22 Jesus said ‘if those days had not been cut short.’
- The intensity of the tribulation is such that if God did not limit its length, no one would survive.
- ‘Cut short’ implies God’s mercy and sovereign control – He does not let suffering go unchecked.
- ‘For the sake of the elect’ means God preserving and protecting His chosen people: those who are faithful
But the number one criteria in all this: Be faithful.
In conclusion, there is such a deadness among the churches today. There is no conviction of sin at all. There is spiritual death and rebellion and self is at the forefront even in the church today. Sins are not kept hidden but displayed openly. We do not feel the need for Christ. We do not feel the need to repent. We are not afraid of judgment and we are heading to hell without God. But God sent His Son Jesus to bring back conviction. His first sermon was similar to that of John the Baptist that shouted, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.’ Jesus reproved the leadership of the synagogue for their sins and hypocrisy. Jesus openly declared that ‘He is the Way the Truth and the Life and no men comes to the Father except through Him.’ He is the righteousness. Jesus preached on the coming judgment throughout His ministry. But they all rejected Him like billions do today. Jesus himself was rejected was crucified on the cross. Why? For our sins and our rejection. So that when Jesus was resurrected, we can be forgiven of our sins and be accepted by God. That the righteousness of Christ can be imputed upon us when we come to him to receive Him. We need not face the coming Judgment. We can come to the Holy Spirit to put a fire and a new love for God and a hatred for sins. We can be made alive once again by the Holy Spirit because Jesus had already sent the Holy Spirit. We just need to come sincerely and depend on the Holy Spirit to revive us. Because of Christ, we can receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, accompanied by speaking in tongues, prophecy, healing, and deep conviction of sin. You just need to come to JesusO
