Would you turn back to John chapter 16? I've entitled this message, Holy Spirit Conviction. God, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. There's one God in three distinct persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, called the Comforter in this passage of scripture I just read. Holy Spirit conviction.

Charles Spurgeon said, if you want to show the crookedness of a stick, don't try to describe its crookedness, but lay a straight stick beside it. And then the crookedness will be evident. And that is what I want to do this morning. I want to express from the scriptures, declare from the scriptures, what Holy Spirit conviction is. And you and I will know whether or not we have been the recipients of Holy Spirit conviction. Most, not some, but most of what goes on under the name of what is called Christianity operates without the Holy Spirit of God and is a stranger to Holy Spirit conviction.

Verse eight of our text, and when he has come, he will reprove. That word reprove means convince, convict overwhelmingly convince the world of these three things, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The natural man has no understanding of these three things, sin, righteousness, and judgment. And when God the Holy Spirit convinces, convicts, overwhelmingly convinces someone of this, they have a God-given, Holy Spirit-given understanding of these three things, sin, righteousness, and judgment. Now in verse five, the Lord is telling them who he has been with every day for over three years. Can you imagine being one of his disciples, following him every day, hearing his words, seeing him? They loved him.

And he tells them, I'm leaving you. That would have been devastating. I'm leaving you. I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you ask me, whither goest thou? But because I've said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Verse seven. Nevertheless, it's one of my favorite words in the Bible. Nevertheless, let me give you an example of the nevertheless. I'm going to read you a scripture from one Psalm 106.

We've sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. What does that say to you? Would this be your confession? Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

Nevertheless, there's the word. Nevertheless, he saved them for his name's sake. No other reason is needed. Isn't that a glorious word? Nevertheless. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. Boy, the Lord always does that, doesn't he? I tell you the truth.

It is expedient for you, it's for your benefit. You're the one that's going to benefit from this, even though you're filled with sorrow thinking of me leaving you, I'm telling you the truth, it's necessary for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. Turn back to John 7 for just a moment.

Verse 37, on that last day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters. But this spake he of the Spirit, the Comforter, which they that believe on him should receive.

For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus Christ was not yet glorified. Now, God the Holy Spirit will not come in the way he comes until I'm glorified. Until I die, I'm raised from the dead and I'm glorified. And when I'm glorified, he will come, the Comforter. Now somebody says, weren't Old Testament saints saved by the Holy Spirit? Of course they were. David said, take not thy spirit from me. Old Testament saints have the Holy Spirit, but He's given in a way that they have not experienced yet. Somebody says, can you explain that? No, I can't. I'm not going to try to. But I do know this.

When the Lord leaves, the Comforter will come. And I love this name of God, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. If you're comforted by the gospel, He comforts you. He's the one who does it. I love Isaiah chapter 40, verses one and two, where God says, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare will be accomplished if, no, I didn't quote that right, did I? Her warfare is accomplished. Comfort her by telling her that her iniquity will be pardoned if, no, you tell her her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Does that comfort you?

It's God the Holy Spirit comforting you with the gospel, the comforter. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you. Do you know all we experience of God, of the gospel, of Jesus Christ, His Son, is through the work of God, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. I will send him to you. Verse 8, and when he has come, God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, he will reprove the world of these three things, of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment.

Here are three things that no natural man understands. Do you believe that? If I'm not born of God, I have no understanding of sin, don't really even know what it is. Of righteousness, don't really know what it is. Of judgment, I don't really know what it is.

Now, the work of God the Holy Spirit, convincing, overwhelmingly convincing, is just as essential in the salvation of the sinner as God choosing them before time began. And of Christ dying for them, living for them, working out their righteousness, dying for them, putting away their sins, being raised for them. The work of God, the Holy Spirit, is just as essential as the work of the Father and the work of the Son. The only people who are convinced of these three things, sin, righteousness, and judgment, are those who are born of God's the Holy Spirit, and that's why I said most of what goes on in the name of Christianity is without the Spirit of God, because there's no understanding, and I hope every one of us do not leave this room without a heart understanding created by the Holy Spirit of these three things, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

When He is come, He will overwhelmingly convince the world. Who is meant by the world? That's the word God the Holy Spirit used to convey this. Who is meant by the world? When He was come, He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Does that mean everybody? All men without exception? All men to ever live? Do you know not one time in the scriptures, not once, does the world refer to all men without exception? Not even once.

I know people run to John 3 16. I love that verse. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Thank God for that word. But it doesn't say he loves all men without exception. It says he loved the world this much. He gave his son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Most preaching says that God loves all men without exception and Christ died for all men without exception.

If that's the case, then the love of God and the death of Christ did not secure the salvation of anyone. And salvation is ultimately dependent upon what the sinner does. Salvation by works. Now, I've got to say this, I say it, I suppose, almost every time I preach, but somebody that preaches or believes that God loves everybody, Christ died for everybody and wants to save everybody, but it's up to you as to whether or not you'll be saved, that person doesn't know God, they don't know the gospel, they never believed. That's just the truth. By the world, the scripture sometimes means the created universe, Acts 17, 24, God that made the world and all things therein. Then there's the world of John 3, 16. Jews, Gentiles, men, women, humanity, men as a race. God so loved the world.

Verse 3, the world of which John said, love not the world, Does that mean you're not to love every single individual without exception? Of course not. Love not the world, this world that has no love for Christ. The world is used by the Lord in this manner. My kingdom is not of this world. I love that verse of scripture. The world under Satan's influence, who is called the God of this world, is the prince of this world. The world's a large group without meaning every single individual. John 3, 16, God so loved the world. He's called the Savior of the world. Don't you love that title of our Lord? The Savior of the world. If you're gonna be saved, he's gonna have to save you. The Savior of the world.

Everybody who believes, everyone who's been convicted and convinced by the Holy Spirit He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now, what is meant by reprove? He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Well, the word is used like this in Revelation chapter 3, where the Lord is speaking to the church at Laodicea.

And he says, as many as I love, I rebuke. That's the same word. I reprove. I convince. It means to convict, to convince overwhelmingly to where there's no doubt about it to you. You ever heard somebody say, maybe you've even said, God's trying to teach me something. No, he doesn't try to do anything. If he teaches you, You're taught overwhelmingly. You are convinced.

When He has come, God the Holy Spirit, almighty, all rise, independent, not bound by space or time, God the Holy Spirit. the third person of the Blessed Trinity, who's incapable of failure. God the Father's incapable of failure. God the Son is incapable of failure. God the Holy Spirit is incapable of failure. When He's come, He will overwhelmingly convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. There is a conviction that happens without the Holy Spirit. Turn to John chapter eight. John chapter eight. Verse two.

And early in the morning he came again unto the temple, and all the people, came unto him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman, taken in adultery, caught red-handed physically, no doubt about her guilt. And when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, This woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. These idiots, and I call them that for a reason, thought that they had Christ trumped.

If he says stoner, where's your mercy? If he says let her go, where's your respect for God's law? Any answer he gives will condemn him. We have the perfect storm here. But Jesus stooped down with his finger and rode on the ground as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, the men who made this accusation, he that is without sin among you, Now he's not talking about sin in a general way. He's talking about this sin. This sin. Are you without this sin? Do I need to remind you that the Lord says, whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her in his heart hath committed adultery already. Anybody free of this? He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground, and they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience." Now, when the Lord put it this way, these fellas felt like hypocrites. I'm telling her to be stoned when I've done the same thing. They were convicted by their own conscience because they knew they were guilty of this sin. I would say all of them were physically, as far as that goes. They were guilty of this sin. So what did they do when they were convicted of their own conscience? They went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even into the last.

They left the Lord Jesus. Perhaps they were thinking, I need to make this right. I need to do something about this to make things better. I need to, I need to, I need to. And they left Christ. That's what Holy Spirit conviction doesn't do. It doesn't cause you to leave Christ. It drives you to Christ as having nowhere else to go. That's what God the Holy Spirit conviction does.

You must come to Christ. You don't have any other options. You don't decide to come to Christ. You come because there's nowhere else to go. You're driven to Christ when you have the Holy Spirit conviction. The conviction of your own conscience, you'll go and try to fix things. When you have the Holy Spirit conviction, you know you can't fix things.

And you are driven to the Lord Jesus Christ, having no other place to go. I love it when the Lord said to His disciples when He saw the 5,000 leaving, will you also go away? Peter's answer, Lord, to whom shall we go? It's not like there are options. It's not like there's another place we can go. Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. When He has come, He will convince the world of sin. Of sin. Not of sins. These men were convicted of their sins. But of sin. Would you turn with me to 1 John 1? Now, 1 John 1. Hold your finger there. John 16, 1 John 1. Verse 8.

If we, me and you, me and you, Everybody in this room, everybody outside of this room, this we is me and you. If we say that we have no sin, and there the word is a noun. If we say we have no sin, right now, present tense, Present tense, if we say we have no sin, a sinful nature, what?

We deceive ourselves. We've told ourselves a lie and made ourselves believe it. It's amazing how good we are at that. We deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. We've lost all credibility. If we say we have no sin, at all times, I'm aware. Sin. Look in verse 10. If we say that we've not sinned, they're the words of verb. Now I'm preaching a message right now. If I say I'm not sinning and preaching this message, I'm calling God a liar because he says I have. With regard to every action you and I have, sin. Sin. Everything I do, sin. Every gift I give, sin. Every prayer I pray, sin.

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. These are the words of someone who does not know God. He'll convince the world of sin. You're convicted by the Holy Spirit when you believe what the Bible says about you. Now, the Bible doesn't speak to others. It speaks to me. It speaks to you.

Somebody says, I believe in the doctrine of total depravity. Do you believe you are totally depraved? Big difference. Genesis chapter 6 verse 5, and God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Well, I see that in society. Do you see it in you? Well, I see man's a depraved creature. Look at all the bad things he does. Do you see it in you? Now, you only see this in you when you see who he is.

That's what causes this. Job said, I've heard of thee with the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I hate myself and repent in dust and ashes. Isaiah said, in the year that King Uzziah, I saw also the Lord. And what did Isaiah then say? Woe is society. Woe are all those unbelievers. Woe is me. For I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, Daniel.

You read the book of Daniel, what a man. But he says, with regard to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, when I saw him, my comeliness turned to corruption. Now what is it that'll make a man or a woman see themselves in that light? Seeing who he is. Won't happen until that takes place. Sin is the transgression of the law. By the law is the knowledge of sin.

I have put everything before him. I've been an idolater. I am an idolater. I take his name in vain every time I mention his blessed name. I'm a Sabbath breaker. I don't rest. I've been disobedient to my parents in all authority. I'm a murderer. I'm an adulterer. I'm a liar, I'm a thief, I'm a covetous man. Somebody says, I'm not those things.

Well, then you're not a sinner. Look at this statement back in John chapter 16, if you turn back there, the Lord says about the conviction of sin. Verse eight, and when he has come, he will overwhelmingly convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin, because they believe not on me. You're convinced of sin when you see the only way it can be removed is by you having been given the grace to believe on Christ and you can't come up with the goods.

You can't even believe. Do you know you've never believed until you see you can't? When you try to believe or you decide to believe, that's not believing. That's some kind of psychological tricks you're trying to play with yourself. You believe when you find yourself believing. You didn't decide to. And you find out before you believe that you can't believe. Now when you believe is when you see the only way your sin can be taken away is by Christ taking it away. And you trust him to do it.

You can't do anything about your sin. You look to him only. sang the song, not the labor of my hands could fulfill thy law's demands, naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Savior, or I die. He'll convince the world of sin. You're being convicted convicted, convinced by God the Holy Spirit of sin, when you see all you do is sin. And you cannot not be that way.

You see that your righteousness is filthy rags. And it's all your fault. You're not blaming Adam. You're not blaming your raising. You're not blaming your parents. You're not blaming your circumstances. It's all your fault. You can't look down on anyone by way of judgment. You have no claims on God. Sin full, full of sin.

Now, when you have this conviction of sin, what does he say next? And when he has come, he'll reprove the world of sin and of righteousness. When you have the conviction of sin, That's when you have the conviction of righteousness. I repeat, you believe that your righteousness is as filthy rags, that self-righteousness with you is an oxymoron. And you are convinced, overwhelmingly convinced, that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only righteousness there is. Now, if you're not convinced of that, you've never been convinced of righteousness. Because when God the Holy Spirit convicts one of sin, they understand that the only righteousness they could possibly have is the righteousness, the perfect obedience, the law keeping of Jesus Christ, because they have none.

They look to him alone for righteousness. And look what he says, verse 10, of righteousness, because I go to my father and you see me no more. Now, he's going back to the father because the father accepted what he did. He's bringing his own righteousness to the father.

It's only when a man is convinced of sin that he will look to Christ only as His only righteousness. Now, if you're not doing that right now, you've never been convinced by the Holy Spirit of your sin or of righteousness. David said in Psalm 71, 16, I may mention of thy righteousness, even thine only. Do you know right now what it is to trust Jesus Christ as your only righteousness before God? Because you are convinced that you have none of your own.

Verse eight, and when he has come, he will prove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Verse 11, of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. When he says the prince of this world is judged, the word is in the perfect tense. a judgment that has already taken place, perfectly completed, never to be repeated. The prince of this world has been judged.

Satan, though he thought he was defeating Christ, all he was doing was sealing his own eternal doom. And the doom of the world over which he was princed, but not only was Satan judged, All of the elect were judged. You see, all judgment took place on the cross. You know, on judgment day, all it's going to be is the handing out of the sentences.

Judgment has already taken place. When Christ said, it is Finished. Judgment was finished. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Judgment has already taken place. Now this is what you come to understand when God the Holy Spirit convinces you. You're overwhelmingly convinced of your own sinfulness, of His righteousness as being all that is needed for God to be perfectly pleased with you. And you're convinced that judgment took place on the cross. Complete judgment.

You were justified. I love When the Lord said, with regard to that man beating upon his breast, God be merciful to me, the sinner. This man went down to his house justified. You know, there were people that heard him at that time, they'd never heard of the doctrine of justification. They were amazed. He's an evil man. He's going down to his house justified?

He's made the way to be just and justify the ungodly. Now, when the Holy Spirit convinces you, not somebody else, you, are convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name that we might be by your spirit convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Take this word and bless it for Christ's sake. In his name we pray. Amen.