The Holy Spirit Brings Conviction: The Three Questions Every Soul Faces

We will now read from the Gospel of John, chapter 16, verses 5 through 11: "Now I am going to Him who sent Me, and none of you is asking, 'Where are you going?' Because I have told you these things, you are filled with grief. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment—about sin, because they did not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world now stands condemned."

The Lord Jesus Christ had come to the final period of His ministry and is telling His disciples: I am now about to go back to the one who sent Me. The work for which God sent Me to this earth, I will complete through the cross. I will suffer, and on the third day I will die and rise again. And then I will go to the Father. Therefore you will not be left alone here. My going is very necessary because only if I go will the Holy Spirit come to you.

Why the Holy Spirit Was to Come

And why will He come? So that He may give you a deep and intimate fellowship. It is written, "If I go, I will send Him to you." The hearts of the disciples had become very sorrowful, very grieved, because they had been with the Lord Jesus Christ for so many years. With Jesus Christ they had seen works, had learned, and were waiting for the kingdom of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ is saying that I am going to the one who sent Me.

It was natural that the hearts of the disciples would become deeply sorrowful, and to take away their sorrow, the Lord Jesus Christ is discussing that Holy Spirit and is telling them that this Holy Spirit whom I will send from the Father, He will give you an intimate fellowship. That is, a fellowship so intimate that one human being cannot give to another—that kind of fellowship the Holy Spirit will give with your soul. It is necessary for you that I send that Holy Spirit.

Three Questions That Trouble Every Soul

Going further, the Lord Jesus Christ is touching upon three important points with His disciples. These are not only for them but for the world today, for every soul that is yet to come. As long as the Lord Jesus Christ does not return, this word remains in effect: when the Holy Spirit comes, He will bring conviction to the people of this world regarding three main questions and will make them aware.

These are three questions that trouble every human being, and those questions are: sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Bible clearly states that every person who is born in the flesh will die in the flesh, but the judgment of both his body and soul will take place.

What are these three questions that forever shake the soul of man? These questions trouble a person when he is alone. Sin, righteousness, and judgment—Jesus Christ is saying that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will give a correct answer to you and to all those people who will listen to My word.

The Truth About Sin

Regarding sin—what? It is written: "About sin, because they did not believe in Me." Every person who is born in the first Adam, every one who is born in the flesh, is born in the first Adam. This is a truth and the fruit of that Adam's sin comes into every life.

Paul has stated this very clearly: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." The meaning of falling short of glory is that God's glory, the presence of God, has been separated from within them. Today God is not within every person—this is a truth. But God wants every person to have Him within, for every person's body to become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is God's work, which the Holy Spirit fulfills.

Christ's Mission: To Save, Not to Condemn

Because of Adam, sin entered into man, and someone else took up the punishment of that sin. The means of deliverance from sin was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. And that is why God sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world. John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The meaning of perishing is that he may not fall under the power of death but may obtain eternal life.

"God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." And Jesus Christ also said this: I have not come to destroy the sinners, I have not come to pass judgment upon them, but I have come to save them from judgment. Jesus Christ came so that we who were sinners may be saved through the Lord Jesus Christ.

This was God's purpose in sending the Lord Jesus Christ, this was the mission for the Lord Jesus Christ—that He may save humanity, the humanity that is in the first Adam, from the judgment upon them. And how could He save them? He took that judgment upon Himself. For the sins of all humanity, He bore the sentence of death, through which today the world can be saved through Jesus Christ.

The Weight of Belief and Unbelief

Verse 18 says: "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned." What does he believe? He believes that the judgment that was to come upon me, Jesus Christ has taken upon Himself. Jesus Christ took our sin upon His body and went up on the cross so that we may die to sin and live unto righteousness.

Very serious words are written further: "But whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the Son of God."

In the last days, when the Lord Jesus Christ will judge—and judgment will be for all, for the righteous as well as for the unrighteous—who is righteous? Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior; upon them there is no judgment. But those who have rejected that sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, who have rejected this truth that the Lord Jesus Christ was killed for them—upon them that judgment still remains.

Spiritual Reflection

And the result of this judgment a person will have to bear—and that will be that he was not delivered from sin. It is not about what he has done, how many good works he has done or how many bad works he has done, but the judgment that will take place, the final judgment, will be regarding whether a certain person has believed in Jesus Christ, has accepted Him as Savior, or has not believed and that person stands under judgment.

The Holy Spirit does not bring conviction in order to destroy or to leave us without hope. He convicts regarding sin so that we may see clearly the emptiness within us. But He does not leave us there. He reveals that salvation is available, that Christ has already taken upon Himself the judgment we deserve, and that through faith in Him, we may be set free.

Practical Application

The Holy Spirit has come into this world to bring conviction to people regarding this—about sin, because they have not believed in Jesus Christ, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior and the Redeemer who has come to save from sins.

Today the Holy Spirit is at work. He is bringing conviction, not to condemn, but to draw near to Christ. If you are carrying the burden of sin, if there is emptiness in your soul, know this: Jesus Christ did not come to destroy you. He came to save you. The judgment that was yours, He took upon Himself on the cross. He died and rose again on the third day. Believe in Him. Accept Him as your Savior. And the Holy Spirit will make this truth real and alive in your life.