Conviction of the Holy Spirit; What is It?

Conviction.  The word appears 8 times in the New Testament.  Without going into each verse and its meaning, let me just share a few thoughts.

For years we have believed traditionally that the Holy Spirit is there to convict us (Christians) of our sins.  With that belief, the enemy has found the opportunity to sneak in under the guise of “conviction” and heap false guilt and condemnation on the heads of believers; God’s holy ones, the saints, His righteous ones, His sons and daughters.

Let’s look at this.  The word for convict(ion) is elegchos or elegchō: “not merely a charge on the basis of the conviction, but the manifestation of the truth of that charge.  The results will be reaped from that charge, and the acknowledgement, if not outwardly, yet inwardly, of its truth on the part of the accused. This doesn’t just imply the charge, but the truth of the charge.” Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D., Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible

Romans 8:33-34 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

When Jesus became the Propitiation for our sin, He satisfied God!  When Jesus died on the cross for all of the sins committed from the beginning of time to the end of time (Rom. 5), He said “It is finished!”  When we receive His forgiveness and His life, we are given His righteousness.  It’s not your righteousness.  If it is, then you will be convicted of sin every time you miss the mark.  But if it’s His righteousness, you will be convicted of your righteousness every time the Holy Spirit comes to you to remind you who you are when you are walking in opposition to your true nature. (2 Cor. 5:17)

If you are being convicted of your sins, you might be bound in the cycle of sin, try hard, defeat, sin, try harder and ultimate defeat!  Not to mention your eyes would be on yourself!  But, if when you sin, the Holy Spirit is convicting you of your righteousness and wooing you to look again to the cross of Christ, then your eyes are on Him and the joy before you would cause you to run into His arms. 

We’ve been duped.  The enemy has come in for thousands of years and convinced the church that we are sinners and ultimately failures.  He is there tempting us and when we don’t know who we are and what we were created for, we say “yes” to sin.  Then he stands as accuser and pretends that he is God accusing us.  We walk away feeling like God is mad at us or maybe that He is simply disappointed.  How has this helped the church?  Does this bring us into sonship?  Does it release us into our destiny?  How has it worked for you?  …Or does this lead us to run from God, hide from Him and ultimately give up?

Romans 16:7-11 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.  And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin.  The world needs to be convicted of sin because they need to receive the sacrifice for those sins; because they need Jesus.  We do not need a Savior until we are convinced of our need for a Savior. The Holy Spirit convicts the believer of righteousness.  Jesus, talking to His 11 closest friends, hours before His betrayal said, “concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me.” 

Remember, we are in the world, but not of the world.  We are the “you” in John 16 because we are His followers.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  If I am righteous; if I have been justified; if I am redeemed and sanctified… why would the Holy Spirit come and convict me of sin.  He knows that my sin is upon the cross.  He knows that I will walk in it if I believe that it’s still alive in me.  He knows that I will be free of it if I know I have been crucified. (Rom. 6) If God casts our sin as far as the east is from the west and remembers it no more, why do you think the Holy Spirit still remembers?  Hmmmm.  Maybe that voice that is pointing at your sin and causing guilt and condemnation to rise up within you is not the voice of God at all.  Maybe it is the voice of the accuser who accuses us day and night!

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is NOW no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  When will we believe this?  When will we receive this?  If we continue to hold onto our sin and condemnation, then we continue to walk in pride.  It might be masked as false humility, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace”; but don’t be fooled.  Jesus was enough!  Jesus did it!  He went to the cross.  He took the sin of the world and He said, “It is finished.”  He defeated death and hell and is now seated at the right hand of God and we are in Him. (Eph. 1 & 2)  Do not be deceived any longer.  Agree with God. Say yes to the finished work of Jesus and enter into the rest that God has for you. (Heb. 4)  May you be convicted of the truth of that charge: that you are righteous, redeemed, hidden with Christ in God, sanctified sons and daughters; that you have peace with God because of His great love and His great sacrifice.  Amen