The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin

John 16:1–11 HCSB

1 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or Me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 “But now I am going away to Him who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. 8 When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

From the very beginning of the church, the apostles were marked men. They were associated with intense persecution. They were crucified, whipped, beheaded, speared to death, stoned — all for their unwavering commitment to Christ.

Protestant historian John Dawling estimated that the Roman Catholic Church murdered 50 million Christians from AD 606 to the 1800s. Godly leaders like Jon Huss, Hugh Latimer, and William Tyndale were all martyred for the faith.

Jon Huss, when chained to the stake to be burned, said with a smile —

“My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one?”

When asked to recant, Huss declined saying,

“What I taught with my lips, I now seal with my blood.”

There was a report in 1997 that “more Christians died this century simply for being Christians that in the first 19 centuries after Christ’s birth.

Christ takes His disciples alone to the Upper Room to give them last instructions. The theme of persecution was introduced in and it continues in the opening section of .

But they would not face the world’s hostility alone. Their witness would be accompanied and empowered by the witness of the Holy Spirit. Although the content is similar in chapter 16, there is a subtle difference. In , our Lord instructed the disciples as to what they were to do. They were to “remain in Him,” “remain in Christ’s love,” “keep God’s commandments,” “love one another,” and “do what Christ commands.” This is all human responsibility. There is an aspect of perseverance. We must continue in Christ.

For example, God commands us to humble ourselves. He doesn’t do that for us.

1 Peter 5:6 HCSB

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,

1 Peter

But here in , the focus is not on us, but God — specifically, what God would do for them through the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is the Sovereignty of God aspect. The Holy Spirit would comfort and aid them AND He would also Convict the World of Sin.

Look at verse 1 with me.

John 16:1 HCSB

1 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.

I. Warning to the Disciples

“These things” refers back to the warning of of the persecution to come.

Why was He telling them all this?

Have you ever had someone who is telling you something bad, something you don’t want to hear, and you find yourself asking them — Why are you telling me this?

He tell them these things “to keep you from stumbling.” σκανδαλίζω — we get our word scandal and scandalous from this word. It literally refers to a “bait stick in a trap.” Figuratively, Christ warns the disciples to make sure they do not get caught off guard!

“Persecution will come so don’t be shocked and stumble because of it.”

σκανδαλίζω

Despite being warned, they wilted at the first sign of persecution.

So, why the warning if he knew they would fail?

This may hurt a little. It was to drive home the point of their responsibility. This should say something to us about our sin. I think many times we continue to make excuses for our sin, rather than obeying Christ and being responsible to Christ. This has been such an issue that the big thing is to be “accountable.” We need to have someone we can be accountable to. Well, that sounds great, but that doesn’t deal with where the sin begins — in our hearts. We can play a good game, but end the end, what’s in our hearts will come out. And there is not really this idea in the Bible of “letting go and letting God.” There are times when we have to stand against sin that easily besets us. The unbeliever has no resources for this, but the believer does. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. To say, “That’s just my personality” or “This is because of the way I was raised” or “You don’t know how hard this is for me” are ignoring the power of the Holy Spirit in you — if you are a believer. No! That won’t do. We are responsible to obey God! Don’t blame God for what He has commanded you to do.

A Time is Coming

John 16:2 HCSB

2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.

Jesus warns of a specific hour to come. And I think for the disciples, this is connected to the Lord’s death, resurrection, and exaltation. Look what He tells them.

“They will ban you from the synagogues.”

This was more than not being allowed into worship — They were EXCOMMUNICATED!

They branded them as traitors to God and the people of God. They would lose their families, their jobs. They would have no connection with the community.

Do you remember the man that was blind from birth? And Jesus gave him sight. They tried to corner the man so that they could get something on Jesus. “All I know is, I was blind and now I see.” So, they cornered his parents.

John 9:22 HCSB

22 His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.

“He’s of age. He’s an adult. Ask him.” Talk about throwing your own son under the bus.

And look — the thing about it is, those who persecuted them would believe themselves to be doing service to God.

For example, Saul.

Galatians 1:14 HCSB

14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

How could religious people commit such atrocities?

“They will do these things because they haven’t know the Father or Me.”

They have no knowledge of God. They are religious, but religion has killed many people.

Another Reason for the Warning

John 16:4 HCSB

4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

He told them so they would remember His words. Much like the angels reminded the women at the tomb in .

Luke 24:6–8 HCSB

6 “He is not here, but He has been resurrected! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 8 And they remembered His words.

Luke 24:6-8

Jesus protected them while He was with them. But He would no longer be with them. He bore the brunt of the attacks.

Matthew 15:1–3 HCSB

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?

Matthew 15:1-

But now He would not be there and so He warns them so that they would not stumble. So, He tells them. He warns them. This was not something He told them before because He was there to protect them, but now He’s going away.

But He never did gloss over the truth.

Luke 9:23–24 HCSB

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.

Luke 9:

He warned them the following Him would never be a way of comfort and ease.

Matthew 7:13–14 HCSB

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

But it would be a glorious reward for their suffering.

2 Corinthians 4:17 HCSB

17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

Not only did He warn them, but He comforted them.

II. Comforting the Disciples

John 16:5–7 HCSB

5 “But now I am going away to Him who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you.

Here we see the contrast between Christ’s selflessness and the Disciples selfishness.

They were not concerned about Him, but what was going to happen to them. All they asked was “Where are You going?”

Peter

John 13:36 HCSB

36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to Him, “where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”

John 13:

Thomas

John 14:5 HCSB

5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?”

When they realized that He was leaving them, they became very sorrowful because of what they realized it meant for them and it consumed them with worry and anxiety. It should have brought to them great joy. When we don’t understand the circumstances, we often respond like the apostles and not Jon Huss.

Let me ask you this question.

Why did the Holy Spirit not come until after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension?

Let me give you two reasons.

1 — The Holy Spirit was to reveal Christ and His works. That could not happen until it was all accomplished.

2 — The Father gave the Holy Spirit in order to vindicate the Son’s faithfulness.

Acts 2:33 HCSB

33 Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear.

III. The Convicting of the Holy Spirit

John 16:8–11 HCSB

8 When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

The Holy Spirit ministers not only comfort to believers, but conviction to unbelievers.

The word Convict generally implies a negative connotation of judicial judgment. But there’s also a theological aspect of convicting sinners of their sin and bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

No one can be saved apart from the Holy Spirit’s convicting and regenerating work. Here again is the Sovereign work of grace.

Ephesians 2:1 HCSB

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins

Ephesians 2:4 HCSB

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us,

2 Corinthians 4:4 HCSB

4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

John 6:44 HCSB

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Colossians 1:13 HCSB

13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

The sinner is in no condition apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, to choose Christ, to repent from their sin. He is lost and hates Christ . He is powerfully secured in the kingdom of darkness. It’s the ministry of the Holy Spirit to penetrate the heart steeped in sin, to overcome the sinner’s resistance to the Gospel, and bring them to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to fellowship with God.

To do that the Spirit must break the power of sin that enslaves the unbeliever.

John 8:34 HCSB

34 Jesus responded, “I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

The Spirit testifies of Christ to the World in and now here in , He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Let’s look at each of these.

1 — Sin — this is not sin in general, but the specific and ultimate sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ. This is the sin that finally sends people to hell.

John 3:18 HCSB

18 Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

John 5:40 HCSB

40 And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life.

John 8:24 HCSB

24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

John

Listen — This is the issue as John MacArthur explains it.

The sole issue that determines people’s eternal destiny is how they react to the Spirit’s convicting ministry concerning their sin and provision of forgiveness by grace through Jesus Christ.

2 — Righteousness — This always confused me. I could understand the Holy Spirit convicting the world of sin, but what did it mean convicting the world of Righteousness? This is not our righteousness, but Christ’s righteousness. It’s the flip side of sin. We have no righteousness.

Romans 3:10 HCSB

10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.

The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of not only how terrible their sin of unbelief, but also of How Great Christ’s Righteousness is.

John 16:9–10 HCSB

9 About sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;

Then finally, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of Judgment.

3 — Judgment — This is the judgment on their sin of unbelief and despising the righteousness of Christ, their only means of salvation. They will be judged for their rejection of Christ.

So, there is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict the world.

And there are only two responses:

Repentance that would bring them to inexpressible glory in heaven.

Rejection that would bring eternal damnation in hell.