God the Holy Spirit is the one who applies the great salvation that God the Father purposed before the foundation of the world, the great salvation that God the Son purchased by His obedience unto death. Christ promised this great work of the Holy Spirit to His disciples before He left them -- "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7). The Lord tells them here that His work as the mediator, His righteousness, is the only ground of salvation. The work of the Holy Spirit in them is the assured result, the certain fruit and effect of His work for them. This is a matter of vital importance. Many who claim to be Christian are confused on this issue, and the result is deadly, self-righteous religion. None of the work of the Holy Spirit in a sinner, as necessary as it is for salvation, forms any part of the cause or the ground of salvation. Christ's righteousness, His work for a sinner, is the only ground of salvation. God's love is the only source of salvation. So Christ told His disciples that if He did not "go away," i.e., go to the cross to establish a righteousness for them and ascend unto the Father, there would be no work of the Holy Spirit. "It is expedient (necessary for the desired result) that I go away." The desired result was the sovereign work of the Comforter (God the Holy Spirit). The ground of the Spirit's work was the work of the Mediator, Christ Jesus.
 

The Lord then tells them the nature of the Holy Spirit's work in conviction. Holy Spirit conviction is greatly misunderstood and confused in religion today. Christ shows us exactly what Holy Spirit conviction is. Holy Spirit conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit applying the truths of God revealed in the law and the Gospel to our minds, affections, and wills. The word "reprove" means convict or convince. God the Holy Spirit will bring God's elect out the world, Jew and Gentile, to a saving understanding and value Christ, His person and His atoning work. God the Holy Spirit will take God's truth and use it to convince God's elect by showing them the truth in three specific areas -- sin, righteousness, and judgment. In essence, He will give God's elect a new standard (God's standard) of sin, righteousness, and judgment. As Christ said before, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Consider these three areas for an understanding of Holy Spirit conviction.
 

I. CONVINCED OF SIN -- "Of sin, because they believe not on me" (John 16:9).
 

In what way must we be convinced of sin? What sin or what kind of sin is it that it takes the Holy Spirit for us to see it? Whatever it is, it is something we do not know by natural conscience or natural reasoning. It is something we cannot see by looking at the outward appearance. There are some things we know by nature. For example, we know obedience is better than disobedience. We know love is good, and hatred is evil. We know kindness is better than malice. We know morality is better than immorality. We even know to some degree that we are sinners, not perfect. Natural conscience conviction can even make a person admit that he is a sinner and make him sorry to some degree, even to the degree that he will change his behavior.
 

The Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the law and the Gospel, convinces us of sin we do not recognize by nature. Why don't we recognize it? It is because our standard is wrong. Christ shows us what the standard is. It is directly related to SAVING, JUSTIFYING FAITH - "BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME." He is saying that without faith it is impossible to please God or do anything good. Without faith in Him, all our works and efforts to be moral and righteous are evil deeds, dead works, because without faith in Him, we are in a state of condemnation and guilt, and in that state we are cursed. We can do nothing good in the sight of God. Apart from faith in Christ, our ground of salvation is wrong as we are trying to establish a righteousness of our own. This is an abomination unto God because it means all our efforts are the results of self-righteousness.
 

We see examples of this kind aspect of Holy Spirit conviction in John 3:18-21, Romans 7:4-11, and Philippians 3:5-7. In John 3:18-20, we see how all of us by nature hate the light of truth, the Gospel which reveals Christ's righteousness as the only ground of salvation, because it exposes all our efforts, that which we highly esteem, as being evil deeds. These efforts are evil, not because they are immoral or insincere, but because (1) they are done by one who is in a state of guilt; (2) they are performed in unbelief which denies the God of redemption and denies Christ and His righteousness; and (3) they are the fruit of self-righteousness. When the Holy Spirit convinces a person of this, then he "doeth truth" and "cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" (John 3:21). This means the convinced sinner believes the Gospel, trusts Christ alone for salvation, and repents of ever thinking that his efforts at religion and morality could have made the difference between saved and lost. The light of the gospel shines on his deeds and reveals them to be good works, not his own self-efforts, but the those which please God as they are performed in faith to the glory of God and the preeminence of Christ.
 

In Romans 7:5, the Apostle Paul admits that before he was saved, before the Holy Spirit brought him to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works, all he could do was bring forth "fruit unto death" -- works aimed at saving himself, keeping himself saved, making himself fit for God's presence, seeking to earn his reward and establish a righteousness of his own. In Romans 7:4, he shows that when he was united to Christ, married to Christ, having Christ's righteousness imputed to him and receiving Christ by faith, then he could bring forth "fruit unto God" -- works inspired by the Holy Spirit as He motivated Paul by God's grace and Paul's gratitude for the great salvation provided in Christ.
 

In Philippians 3:5-7, Paul shows how that before salvation, before Holy Spirit conviction, his standard was too low. That which he highly esteemed and valued as making a difference in salvation and in God's sight was his heritage, his obedience, and his zeal. But in light of the only thing that can make a difference in salvation, the righteousness of Christ, the Holy Spirit convinced Paul that all the things he thought of as "gain" were in reality "loss," even "dung" when it comes to the ground of salvation. Paul's standard had changed.
 

When we are convinced of sin by the Holy Spirit, our standard of sin changes. What we used to call good, we now call evil. The works of which we were before so proud, we are now ashamed (Rom. 6:20-23). This is how the Holy Spirit convinces God's people of sin. God's people are convinced of this by the Spirit when they are dogmatic that all works before justifying faith, before hearing and believing in Christ and His righteousness as the only ground of salvation, were dead works, evil deeds. The sinner who is convinced of sin knows that the moment before he believed God's Gospel, he was lost, ungodly, wicked, and producing nothing but fruit unto death.
 

II. CONVINCED OF RIGHTEOUSNESS -- "Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more" (John 16:10).
 

When Christ arose from the dead, He ascended unto the Father. He ascended unto the Father as the Representative and Substitute of His sheep based on the fact that He had satisfied all the requirements of God's law and justice. He BY HIMSELF fulfilled the righteousness of the law on their behalf to insure their salvation in a way that God could be just and justify the ungodly. God the Holy Spirit convinces sinners that their only hope of salvation, even unto final glory in heaven, is the righteousness of Christ imputed and received by God-given faith. He changes our standard of righteousness to show us that God is so holy that He cannot save any sinner based on anything else and all who are either ignorant of or not submitted to Christ and His righteousness imputed are lost and their deeds are evil, dead works (Rom. 10:1-3).
 

Most religionists who claim to believe in Christ have some notion of God's holiness. They will tell you that a person must be righteous to go to heaven. But how righteous does a person have to be, and how does a sinful person become righteous? This is where the standard comes in. By nature all we know is trying to establish a righteousness of our own to some degree and in some way. But when the Holy Spirit convinces us of righteousness, He changes our standard and shows us that we need one we cannot produce. He shows us God's standard in the law. The purpose of God's law towards lost sinners is to bring them in guilty before God (Rom. 3:19). The purpose of the law towards the guilty is to show them their need of a righteousness they cannot produce, and to slay them from having any hope of salvation based on their best efforts. It is to cause them to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. As long as any sinner thinks that anything other than the righteousness of Christ freely imputed and received by faith can remove God's wrath or gain God's favor, he has not been convinced of sin nor of righteousness. A sinner may believe he is guilty. He may believe that God would be just to damn him, but as long as he can find relief from the wrath of God anywhere else other than the merits of Christ alone, he has not been convinced of sin.
 

This shows us that the main issue in Holy Spirit conviction is not simply an admission of guilt and sin or even a real sense of the wrath of God. These are all included in Holy Spirit conviction, but these are not the only issues. The main issue is this -- WHERE DOES THE GUILTY SINNER FIND RELIEF? This is how we know the difference between legal, natural-conscience conviction and true Holy Spirit conviction. Legal, natural-conscience conviction can and does bring people to see that they are sinful, wicked, guilty, condemned, vile, even deserving of God's wrath based on their sin, but it will not lead people to rest in Christ alone and plead His blood and righteousness as the only relief from guilt and condemnation. It will lead people to seek and find relief in many different things such as their faith, repentance, tears of remorse, promises to do better, attempts at reformation. Holy Spirit conviction will lead people to find relief in one place and one place alone -- Christ and His finished work, His righteousness alone.
 

Until we see this, we do not really know how holy God is. Until we see this, we have a wrong standard (Prov. 11:1). The standard is Christ in His righteousness (Acts 17:31). Does your character and conduct equal Christ's; i.e., in perfect subjection and conformity to God's will? Everyone will say, "No, my love does not equal Christ's love. I'm not perfect." Well, God cannot save you unless His law pronounces you perfect and righteous. Admitting that we are not perfect will not help us at all unless it drives us to Christ for atonement and for righteousness.
 

God's people are convinced of righteousness by the Spirit when they are dogmatic that God will save sinners and bring them to glory based upon the imputed righteousness of Christ, and that God will send sinners to hell who are either ignorant of or not submitted to Christ's righteousness as the only ground of salvation. Holy Spirit conviction always leads sinners to plead nothing but the righteousness of Christ. Natural conscience conviction always leads sinners to try to establish one of their own in some way.
 

III. CONVINCED OF JUDGMENT -- "Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:11).
 

This judgment is not being convinced that there is a final judgment in which God will judge all without exception. A person can be convinced of this without true Holy Spirit conviction. The key to understanding this judgment has to do with Satan's hold over natural, fallen humanity. To understand this, we must go back to fall of Adam, the representative of the whole human race. Remember, Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that in the day they ate of it, they would surely die (Gen. 2:17). Satan opposed God and told them they would not die (Gen. 3: ). Adam took sides with Satan against God when chose to make judgments of right and wrong based on Satan's lie. Adam judged that he would not die, that he would be safe, but he made this judgment against God's truth. This is Satan's main hold over natural, fallen humanity (2 Cor. 4:3). By nature, we all judge salvation, whether or not we are saved or lost, based on Satan's lie. By nature, we will always speak peace to ourselves and to others based on Satan's lie.
 
 
 

Satan, in essence, told Adam and Eve, "You can set your own standard of good and evil, of saved and lost." Spiritual kinship with Satan, total depravity, enmity with God, and not subject to the law of God have always been evidenced mainly, not exclusively, in this area. Why do, before salvation, before saving faith, think that our efforts, our faith, our repentance, etc., recommends us unto God? It is because we judge things based on Satan's lie. Before salvation we are spiritually kin to Satan, and we follow his lusts, mainly in seeking to establish a righteousness of our own. This was the problem with the self-righteous Pharisees (John 8:44). Before God saves a sinner, that sinner is dead in trespasses and sin, and he walks according to lies of Satan (Eph. 2:1-3).
 

God tells us plainly that all who come to Him by faith in Christ, pleading His righteousness alone, shall be saved. They shall not surely die. All who come to Him without Christ, pleading anything else, shall be damned. They shall surely die. Satan and his followers will deny this. They will always insist on salvation at some stage and in some form before justifying faith while sinners are either ignorant of or not submitted to the imputed righteousness of Christ as the only ground of salvation.
 

A sinner who has been convinced of judgment by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel is convinced of the absolute certainty of God's faithfulness to carry out His threat of eternal damnation upon all who seek to enter into judgment with God based on something other than the imputed righteousness of Christ. The ones who seek salvation and eternal blessedness based on anything else are inspired by Satan and will be judged as ungodly, evil doers, and workers of iniquity. On the other hand, the sinner who has been convinced of judgment by the Holy Spirit also is convinced of the absolute certainty of God's faithfulness to fulfil His gracious promise of eternal salvation and blessedness based solely upon the merits of the atoning blood and imputed righteousness of Christ. These are inspired by the Spirit of God and opposed to Satan. They have come from spiritual kinship with Satan and entered by grace into spiritual kinship with God in Christ. Now, if we are convinced of judgment, we will not speak peace to or have religious fellowship with anyone whom we know is not submitted to Christ and this one ground of salvation (Rom. 10:1-4; 2 John 9-11).
 

Consider the issue of total depravity. Total depravity certainly includes all who are immoral, irreligious, unconcerned, and those who are perverted and totally self-consumed. But if we stop there, we will be deceived. When we speak of total depravity, we must include the most moral, dedicated, religious, sincere person who claims to believe in Christ, but who is not submitted to the righteousness of Christ as the only ground of salvation. We even have to include lost Calvinists who speak peace to themselves and others apart from the only ground of peace, because they too "believeth not on Him." They give mental agreement to the doctrine of Christ, but they do not abide in the doctrine of Christ. Can we say by God's testimony that such as these are lost, that their deeds are evil, or do we set our own standard and call them brother? If we do, we evidence our own spiritual kinship with Satan, our own unbelief.
 

What should we say to those who do this? We should tell them that they are lost and they need to seek the Lord. They need to seek the means of grace, the means of the new birth. They need to believe and repent. They need to seek to change their minds, their standard and bow to God's standard. We need to tell them that all who do shall be saved. It is true that this is offensive to self-righteous religionists. It is the offense of the cross. This is the reason the world hated Christ (John 7:7), and it is the reason the world hates all who follow Christ (John 15:18--16:3). This is why Cain hated and murdered Abel (1 John 3:12-13). Our Gospel exposes the false grounds and evil deeds of all who believe not the Gospel (John 3:18-20).
 

Why would believers suffer the hatred and persecution that comes over this message? It is because they have been convinced of judgment by the Holy Spirit. They are convinced that God will save sinners for Christ's sake alone and that God will damn sinners who seek to come to Him any other way. Those who give mental agreement to the Gospel and its truths, the doctrines of grace, but who continue to speak peace where sinners plead something other than the true Christ and His sufficient blood atonement, His glorious righteousness imputed, give evidence that they have not been convinced of sin, of righteousness, nor of judgment. Think about it. Would you speak peace to someone based on things of which you yourself have repented and of which you are now ashamed? Of course not. Whenever believers are tempted to compromise the Gospel and speak peace in order to remove the offense of the cross, always remember that the same truth that brings on the hatred of the world is the same truth the Holy Spirit uses to bring Christ's sheep to a saving knowledge of Him (John 17:15-19; 2 Cor. 4:6).