God’s Covert Conviction Operative
David W Palmer
(John 16:8–9 NKJV) “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: {9} of sin, because they do not believe in Me.”
Jesus spoke to his apostles about the Holy Spirit, and the functions he would perform when he came to work with them and in them. Here, he lists three supernatural actions that he performs on “the world”: He convicts them of “sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The first of these is that he convicts the world of sin. The reason he gives is because “they do not believe in me (Jesus).”
The first important point we note from this is that the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin; we don’t. We can cooperate with the Holy Spirit in what we say, pray, and do; but only he can bring people under conviction and draw them to faith in Jesus. For example, in the following passage he gives us a very illogical way of effecting burning conviction—but not by directly confronting the sin:
(Romans 12:17–21 NKJV) Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. {18} If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. {19} Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. {20} Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” {21} Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Wow! “Overcome evil with good.” Overcoming is extremely important for Christians. In the book of Revelation, we are told eight times about the rewards God gives to those who overcome. Here, he is showing us how to be overcomers against evil; he says to “overcome evil with good.” Jesus gave us a similar approach to dealing with certain types of sin against us:
(Matthew 5:39–42 NLT) “But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. {40} If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. {41} If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. {42} Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”
Amazing! Jesus says, “Do not resist an evil person!” He instructs us to offer no physical or verbal resistance to those who render evil against us in these ways. He even goes as far as to use the word, “love,” in the way we are to respond to those opposing us:
(Matthew 5:44 NLT) “... love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
Our wonderful, ingenious Lord is giving us a way to cooperate with the immaterial, but infinitely powerful, Holy Spirit. When we do as Jesus says, and when we cooperate completely with the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he can reach into the heart of the person who opposes us or who is evil towards us. The Holy Spirit alone can do something powerful and inescapable in their hearts that convicts them inwardly of their sin. This is the only way they can be brought to repentance.
No wonder Jesus tells us to love them; our love releases the Holy Spirit to go to work on them. It is also why he tells us to pray for them; prayer also releases the Holy Spirit’s unseen action. If we were to retaliate against the evil person without prayer or love, we would simply be releasing more evil; this would make the situation worse, not bring a solution to sin.
Several years ago, one of our students went out for something to eat. He noticed a group of young men standing outside the food outlet eating their take-out meals. He simply stood near them and couldn’t help overhearing their conversation. Fresh from the classroom, and clothed in Holy Spirit power, he listened with amazement as he too ate his meal.
At first, the group of young men were proudly bragging about all of their evil deeds, mischief-making, and sinful ways. But while our student simply stood there—s
