What the Holy Spirit Does

And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. (John 16:8–11)

You may be surprised to know that the Spirit is involved in the unsaved world. He works among the unsaved at all times. As a matter of fact, in one of the letters to the Thessalonians, we read that He is actively involved restraining sin (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Do you have any idea how much evil would be on this earth if the Spirit of God were suddenly removed? His omnipresence is like a worldwide envelope of righteousness, a bubble of invisible restraint. He holds a great deal of evil in check. But when He is removed, literally all hell will break loose on this globe! Thankfully, He currently restrains sin.

The same Holy Spirit “convict[s] the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8 NASB). I am comforted when I read that. It frees me from the need to moralise when I’m in a group of unsaved people. I don’t have to try to convince lost people about how unrighteous they are. They already know they’re unrighteous. How?

The Spirit is already convincing them! I don’t have to fly a big flag over my home that reads, “We’re pure and holy—you’re dirty and nasty.” My ministry is not to convince someone else that they’re really bad people. That’s the Spirit’s ministry. “He convicts the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” His convicting work is much more effective than mine ever could be.

Many without Christ struggle with their guilt and unbelief. You’d better believe it! They try every way in the world to run away from it—through a bottle, through drugs, through travel, through activity, through education, through philosophy of some kind or another, or some other means of escape. It’s the inescapable guilt that haunts them.

The Spirit not only convicts the world of sin but also of righteousness. He is like the prosecuting attorney saying, “These are the facts. Here is the evidence. All these things demonstrate guilt.” And they are shut up without excuse in light of facts and evidence. There is simply no way the lost can measure up to God’s righteous demands. They may try, but the Spirit of God will convince them of their need.