97: What Does It Mean that the Holy Spirit “Convicts” the World?

In John 16, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit would come into the world and “convict” people in the areas of sin, righteousness, and judgement. What does this mean? In this episode, Kenny explains that the term “convict” comes from a Latin origin which means “to know” or “to point towards truth.” That is what the Holy Spirit does in our lives; He points us towards truth and He helps us see things clearly. The Holy Spirit does this so that we will better understand sin, so that we can better understand what it means to live a righteous life, and so that we can have a better understanding of the impending judgment on humanity. As we have a better understanding of these things, we are much more likely to become people of conviction. A person of conviction is any person that has a track record of being a person of high character or a person with a strong moral resolution. In essence, whenever a person sees something as true and begins to live their life in accordance with that truth, they are often called a “person of conviction.” That’s what the Holy Spirit is seeking to transform us into, people of conviction whom have built their conviction on God’s morality.