Conviction of Sin

Years ago, a preacher asked, "Tell me, when you preach, do you ever touch on sin?" 

I replied, "I'm sorry, but my experience is such that I can't speak about anything else." He said, 

"Well, I can't preach about sin, because every time I touch on the subject, I see the people getting uncomfortable and moving around on the benches."

For what purpose did Jesus come to this earth? What does the name Jesus mean? 

He came for the purpose of saving us from our sins, and that is what His name means, "He shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

Why did He die on the cross? What did He shed His blood for? 

Wasn't it to carry our sins up to the cross, to deal with them? He was made to be sin for us. He died for us, to save us from our sins.

It was heartbreaking for the disciples when the Lord Jesus told them that He was going to leave, because it was heaven on earth for them to have fellowship with Him. Can you imagine anything better than having Jesus in your midst, to see Him, to hear Him and to discuss all your problems with Him? But Jesus says: There is something better! I must go, or the Comforter will not come. But when He comes, He will convict the world of sin. "Of course He'll convict the world of sin," we agree quickly. "Yes, the world, but not us Christians." We often criticise the politicians and their double-faced statements, but maybe we are worse than they are. When the Bible says, "For God so loved the world," we say it was meant for us. He loves me! But when He convicts the world, He convicts other people, not me. There must be something wrong here somewhere. Remember Peter's statement, that judgement must begin at the house of God? That's exactly where it begins! That's where He convicts people of sin. Whenever the Spirit of God moves, then undoubtedly it will be the way Jesus said He would.

It is not true that the Spirit initially enables people to praise and worship Him. That is nonsense! That's putting the cart before the horse, turning things upside-down. People will be full of joy! No, by saying that, we are twisting the Word of God. The first thing that happens when the Holy Spirit comes into a person's life is that He convicts that person of sin. There is broken-heartedness, and people weep because of their sin. Their faces are sour, not happy. There are tears and not smiles, because the Spirit of God is at work.

Many conversions are not genuine; the "converts" are not born again of the Holy Spirit. There are Christians who don't know what it means to be convicted of sin. One might ask if those people have ever come into contact with the Holy Spirit. Let's pay attention to what Jesus said. When the Comforter comes, He will open our eyes to our sin - and that will be anything but joy - until we have no other alternative but to flee to the cross, where our sins can be washed away. Then joy will enter our hearts.

 In actual fact, we can't love Jesus if we don't know what forgiveness of sin means. The deeper the conviction, the greater our love to Jesus, because: "He who is forgiven much, loves much." The people who love Jesus most are the people whose godly sorrow has gone deepest. Such people don't just say they love Him, they love Him with their entire way of living. They keep His Word, they believe in Him as the Scriptures say, and they live a life of holiness and righteousness.

by Erlo Stegen