130. Reprove of Sin
John 16:8a He will reprove the world of sin.
The promise is that Holy Spirit will convict the people of the world of Sin. This is one step in the conversion process, which is the peculiar work of the Spirit. The first necessary movement toward salvation is being convinced that I am a sinner; as a sinner: I am lost and condemned; I am guilty of temporal and eternal punishment; I am sinful to the core, and, dare I say, even evil; I cannot make myself right or improve my thoughts and behavior at all on my own, no matter how many self-help steps and self-improvements projects I undertake; I am a helpless slave to Sin and Satan and I cannot set myself free; I have no hope of standing in the Judgment Day and no prospect of acquittal.
The Holy Spirit through the Word of God convicts me deep in my heart that there is no hope and nothing I can do to save myself or come out from under the eternal just judgment of God. I am driven to the point of despair and there is nothing left for me to do than admit that God is right: I am wrong; I am the sinner; I must come to the point, and HS brings me to that point, where I can only plead for mercy with God. If God is not merciful I am doomed.
The conviction of sin also includes the hoped for prospect of forgiveness of sin and acquittal from guilt. Romans 2:4: “The kindness of God leads to repentance.” The conviction of sin and the plea for mercy is the definition of repentance. Godly sorrow is the result of the convincing work of the Holy Spirit. A vital part of this conversion work is the awareness of the terror of facing the just judgment seat of Christ.
This conviction of sin is much more than just being sorry, and more than just hoping that maybe God will not carry out his just judgment, that He will be nice to me. Conviction of sin is more than admitting, “Nobody’s perfect,” “Everybody makes mistakes.” “I’m bad, but I’m not that bad.” This is how the natural man thinks of himself, even the hardened criminal, and each person needs supernatural revelation of his true and real condition, as we stand naked before a Holy God.
In theoretical theology, conviction is the first step, although in real life and chronologically it does not always work out that way. The work of conviction of sin may be sudden or it may be a process. It may even be after faith in Christ that true conviction of sin happens in the heart. Either way, it is necessary for the Holy Spirit to reprove (convince) me of sin. Genuine repentance and faith in the Gospel is connected to this wonderful promise of what the Holy Spirit will do for us.