12.8 The Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness, not of sin
What does the Bible say about conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit? Traditional thinking tells us that the Holy Spirit is always convicting us of all our sins. We would be surprised to know that Jesus said the exact opposite.
(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.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of only one sin – not believing in Him. He has already paid the price for all the sins of the world and people are condemned for only one sin – failing to receive forgiveness. When the gospel is preached and unbelievers are convicted of sin, they will respond to the call to receive Jesus.
Now that we have received Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in us to convict us of righteousness because Jesus is interceding for us at the Father’s side. When the Father sees Jesus’ pierced hands, He declares we are righteous. The Holy Spirit’s job is to convince us of our new identity in Christ so that we can come boldly to the throne of grace to commune with the Father.
Traditional thinking tells us that conviction of sins is the solution to turn a believer from sin to righteousness. In fact, conviction of sins by the law causes a believer to feel condemned and far from God. The law says, “You have failed God again, you are not worthy.” When the believer feels condemned, far from God, helpless, alone and depressed, he will end up in greater sin.
But when the Holy Spirit convicts a believer of righteousness, it brings about repentance, and empowers the believer to walk in righteousness. The Holy Spirit says, “You are the child of God. You are righteous. Why are you eating filthy food when Jesus is serving wholesome food at home? Let me lead you home!” It makes the person want to run back to God, and to eat from His table.
Conviction of righteousness is the key to reigning in life (Rom 5:17). Let me give a natural illustration. Imagine you are an athlete who competes in the Olympics. Would you succeed with a coach who keeps telling you, “You are not good enough, you keep falling short, you are a loser and you are not worthy to compete in the Olympics,” or a coach who keeps giving encouragement saying, “Your father was an Olympic champion, the champion is in you, I believe you can make it and I know you are a winner.” The answer is obvious.
What about conviction of judgment? The judgment referred to by Jesus is for Satan and not for us. Our judgment has been borne by Jesus and it makes us want to treasure and love Him even more.
(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.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of only one sin – not believing in Him. He has already paid the price for all the sins of the world and people are condemned for only one sin – failing to receive forgiveness. When the gospel is preached and unbelievers are convicted of sin, they will respond to the call to receive Jesus.
Now that we have received Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in us to convict us of righteousness because Jesus is interceding for us at the Father’s side. When the Father sees Jesus’ pierced hands, He declares we are righteous. The Holy Spirit’s job is to convince us of our new identity in Christ so that we can come boldly to the throne of grace to commune with the Father.
Traditional thinking tells us that conviction of sins is the solution to turn a believer from sin to righteousness. In fact, conviction of sins by the law causes a believer to feel condemned and far from God. The law says, “You have failed God again, you are not worthy.” When the believer feels condemned, far from God, helpless, alone and depressed, he will end up in greater sin.
But when the Holy Spirit convicts a believer of righteousness, it brings about repentance, and empowers the believer to walk in righteousness. The Holy Spirit says, “You are the child of God. You are righteous. Why are you eating filthy food when Jesus is serving wholesome food at home? Let me lead you home!” It makes the person want to run back to God, and to eat from His table.
Conviction of righteousness is the key to reigning in life (Rom 5:17). Let me give a natural illustration. Imagine you are an athlete who competes in the Olympics. Would you succeed with a coach who keeps telling you, “You are not good enough, you keep falling short, you are a loser and you are not worthy to compete in the Olympics,” or a coach who keeps giving encouragement saying, “Your father was an Olympic champion, the champion is in you, I believe you can make it and I know you are a winner.” The answer is obvious.
What about conviction of judgment? The judgment referred to by Jesus is for Satan and not for us. Our judgment has been borne by Jesus and it makes us want to treasure and love Him even more.
posted by Joshua Lye @ 10:08 PM
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