Three Reproofs of the Holy Spirit
Text: John 16:8-11
Hallelujah!
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be poured out abundantly upon all of us today.
To us who believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again,
God has poured out His marvelous grace,
and that grace is none other than the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit reproves the obstacles in our thoughts and values that prevent us from reaching the goal of true faith.
These obstacles are distorted perspectives on sin, righteousness, and judgment.
The reproof of the Holy Spirit is not condemnation but loving correction,
with the purpose that throughout our lives, we may:
Become those who truly love souls as the Lord does,
Faithfully fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the Lord,
And ultimately, when we stand before Him, receive His commendation.
When we realize this,
we will live on this earth as believers who enjoy true happiness.
This aligns perfectly with the Lord’s words:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
In today’s passage, Jesus says,
“And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8)
What does “the world” mean here?
John 1:10 explains:
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him.”
Here, “the world” is seen as a personified term, referring to people.
Yet, these people did not recognize Jesus, their Creator.
Jesus is the Light.
However, because the deeds of the world are evil, they love darkness rather than light and even hate the light.
John 7:7 states:
“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it that its works are evil.”
Therefore, “the world” refers to human society that hates and refuses to follow the Lord.
Nevertheless, the world is not merely an object of condemnation.
John 3:16 declares:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
In summary,
the world, by nature, does not know God,
but through the love of God and the reproof of the Holy Spirit, it can become the object of salvation.
Thus, to lead them to salvation,
the Holy Spirit reproves their three distorted values,
and today we will reflect upon these teachings.
First, the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of a False Understanding of “Sin.”
Sin is the breaking of the law.
Just as in human society, breaking the law is considered a crime and is subject to punishment,
in the Kingdom of God, there is a law—the Law of God—and breaking it is sin, and the consequence of sin is death.
Dear friends,
if someone were to deny that their biological father is truly their father,
this would not be a mere mistake,
but a fundamental sin—denying the very source of their existence.
In the same way,
the Holy Spirit testifies that refusing to believe in Jesus as Lord is sin.
Jesus is the very source of our life and existence.
To deny Him is to reject the relationship with God Himself—a grave and serious offense.
Those who do not attend church often do not even realize they are sinning,
because they are unaware of God’s Law.
But we have come to know Jesus through the Word of God,
and we believe that Jesus is our Lord.
Therefore, we must live according to the will of our Master.
However, when we try to live according to our own desires,
the Holy Spirit lovingly convicts us.
A person who responds sensitively to the conviction of the Holy Spirit
is one who is spiritually awake.
Are you, perhaps, depending more on yourself than on the Lord right now?
There is a moving story related to this truth.
A certain believer once prayed,
“Lord, make me a Christian like a faithful dog.”
When people asked him why, he explained:
He once had to send his dog away to another place.
But one day, that dog ran away and returned home,
welcoming his master with unwavering love.
At that moment, the believer realized,
“Am I loving my Lord as faithfully and unwaveringly as this dog loves his master?”
From that day forward,
his prayer became,
“Lord, make me a steadfast believer who loves and trusts You until the very end.”
Second, the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of a False Understanding of “Righteousness.”
The Lord said,
“Because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer.” (John 16:10)
What does this have to do with righteousness?
Here, “going to the Father” means that after Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead,
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God.
As Jesus prayed in John 17:4,
“I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do.”
Jesus accomplished the righteousness of God by fully obeying the Father even to the point of death on the cross,
paying the penalty for our sins and bringing us salvation from sin and death.
Dear friends, have you received this righteousness of God?
The world, however, rejects this righteousness.
Romans 10:2-3 explains:
“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”
James 1:20 also says,
“For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
Brothers and sisters, why do we become angry?
It is because of our own self-righteousness.
Thus,
the world rejects the righteousness of God and insists on its own righteousness.
The Holy Spirit convicts and reproves such self-righteousness.
May we be sensitive and responsive to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.
Third, the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of a False Understanding of “Judgment.”
The Lord declared:
“Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:11)
Dear friends, there is no judgment for the children of God.
If a child of God fears judgment, it stems from a distorted value system.
The Bible clearly states that judgment is reserved for the “ruler of this world,” namely Satan.
The “ruler of this world” refers to the devil.
Originally, God gave dominion over the world to humanity.
However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by succumbing to the serpent’s (Satan’s) temptation,
the world fell into sin and its authority was handed over to the devil.
Luke 4:5–7 records how the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said,
“To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus did not deny Satan’s claim of authority,
but instead responded,
“You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”
The Bible consistently portrays Satan as
the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11),
the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2),
and the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
However, through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection,
Satan’s judgment was decisively sealed.
Hebrews 2:14 explains:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”
By becoming human and dying,
Jesus destroyed the power of the devil,
who had ruled humanity through the fear of death.
What this means is that people, fearing death,
had lived their entire lives in slavery to the devil.
But the resurrection of Jesus confirmed that those of flesh and blood do not end in death.
In other words,
His resurrection broke the power of death and set us free from Satan’s dominion.
Whoever believes in and receives Jesus
becomes a child of God,
does not come under judgment,
and enjoys eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
This world is but a temporary lodging place,
a mere shadow and model of the true Kingdom.
However,
2 Corinthians 4:4 says,
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers…”
Satan entices us to love the world through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Yet James 4:4 warns:
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?”
And 1 John 2:15 commands:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.”
We must not love the world more than we love God.
The Bible teaches us how to overcome the world:
Only those born of God overcome the world (1 John 5:4).
And we overcome the world by faith (1 John 5:4b).
This faith is not merely intellectual agreement,
but a living, personal union with Jesus Christ.
We must abide in Christ, and Christ must abide in us.
May the prayer that we remain in Him continue without ceasing.
Sermon Conclusion
Let me summarize the message:
Sin is not believing in Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicts us of this.
Righteousness is that Jesus died for us on the cross, rose again, and now intercedes for us at the right hand of God. If we do not believe in this righteousness, the Holy Spirit convicts us.
Judgment has already been passed on the ruler of this world.
The devil deceives people by binding them to the values of this world in order to bring them to share his destiny.
But our true King is Jesus Christ.
Therefore, when we follow the ruler of this world, the Holy Spirit reproves us.
Such conviction from the Holy Spirit is the grace of God, intended to save us and lead us to true happiness.
Dear friends, today let us open our hearts and respond before the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Let us turn away from sin, believe in the righteousness of God, and fix our eyes not on the values of this world but on the Kingdom of God.
In this moment of enlightenment by the Holy Spirit,
let us confess anew:
“Jesus alone is my King!”
and dedicate ourselves afresh to Him.
Prayer of Dedication
Let us all pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You.
Today, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts,
You have allowed us to rightly understand sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Lord, forgive us for the sin of not believing in Jesus.
We confess that Jesus is the source of our life and existence.
We resolve no longer to live according to our own will,
but to live with Jesus as the true Lord of our lives.
Lord, we lay down our pride that insisted on our own righteousness and rejected Yours.
We fully believe in the righteousness of God,
which was fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the cross,
and we commit to live by that righteousness.
Lord, help us not to love the world nor to follow the ruler of this world,
but to confess and follow Jesus Christ as our true King.
We believe that Satan has already been judged,
and that in Christ we possess eternal life.
Now, led by the Holy Spirit,
may we walk each day with pure hearts,
with unchanging love,
and become faithful disciples who trust and follow You to the end.
Today, we all renew our commitment before You:
- We renounce sin,
- We believe in the righteousness of God,
- We reject the ways of the world,
- And we walk toward the Kingdom of God by faith.
Lord, help us in our weakness,
and renew us daily by the power of Your Holy Spirit.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray,
Amen.