“And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin.”
John 16:8
A poll recently taken asked the question, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” The number one answer was the economy. Number two? Bad government. Number three? Immigration. Number four? Racism. Number five? Terrorism. I grant you these are all problems, but they are actually only symptoms of the true number one problem: Sin.
Did you notice in John 16:8 that Jesus said the Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of sin (singular) and not sins (plural)? God never deals with the symptoms of a problem; He deals with the cause. Sins (our actions) are the symptom; sin (our condition) is the problem. Sins are the fruit of our problem and sin is the root of our problem.
Not only is sin our number one problem, but the number one sin that is the root of all other sins is the refusal and failure to believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:9). Jesus says the greatest sin of every person on this planet is the sin of not believing in Him. The general consensus is that people are bad because they do bad things. But the opposite is true. People do bad things because they are bad…and the reason they are “bad” is because they have never believed in Jesus Christ.
Refusing to believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him into your life is the only sin that God cannot forgive. He can forgive a murderer, a rapist, and even a terrorist. But He cannot forgive anyone who does not believe in Christ. That is why the Holy Spirit has come to convict us of our sin…because if He takes care of our sin problem He will take care of our “sins” problem.
There is only one sin that will cause you to be eternally separated from God if you die in that sin. It is not because you murder, lie, steal, kill, gamble, get drunk, or cheat. Jesus Christ died on the cross for every one of those sins, and can forgive you for every one of those sins. But the one sin that will kill you eternally is the sin of refusing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. There is no worse sin than the sin of unbelief. Only the Holy Spirit can convince you that is true.
Dear Lord, thank you for being such a merciful, gracious, and forgiving God. Please forgive me of my sin and help me to repent and turn from any temptation I may face today. In Jesus' name, amen.
Topics: Sin
