“And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness.” John 16:8
If we are going to come to Jesus, we must believe not only that we are sinners in need of a Savior, but also that we are failures in need of forgiveness. Not only will the Holy Spirit convict us of what is wrong; but He will also convince us of what is right. Why does the Holy Spirit have to convince us of what is right? It stands to reason that if we don’t truly understand what is wrong (our sin problem) apart from the Holy Spirit, then we cannot understand what it means to be right apart from the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting that when Jesus talks about righteousness in John 16:10, He doesn’t mention what we do, but rather what He has already done. He doesn’t talk about who we are, but who He is. In John 16:9 when He said, “I go to My Father and you see Me no more,” Jesus was referring to the fact that He was going to die on a cross, come back from the dead, and then go back to His Father where He came from as our Savior, our Redeemer, and our righteousness.
The only righteousness that God will accept is His righteousness; and the only way you can gave His righteousness is to receive the righteousness that is in Jesus Christ. You can compare yourself to a murderer, a rapist, a terrorist, a liar, a thief, or a bank robber and think you are a really good person. But when you compare yourself to Jesus, you realize you are a failure in need of forgiveness.
There has only been one man who could go to God on His own righteousness and stand equal with God and that is Jesus. You cannot come to God except through Jesus Christ; and you can only come to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
Dear Father, thank you for the example Jesus set for me to follow. I know that I will never measure up to His level of perfection, so please forgive me when I fall short. In Jesus' name, amen.
Topics: Forgiveness
