PARAKLETOS 3 (d) the convictor iv: the sin of unbelief

The ministry of the Spirit, then, is to convince the world of two unpleasant truths that it is reluctant to hear. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard, because his righteousness is absolute; and therefore all face God’s judgement, as delegated to Jesus, because his justice is inexorable. As John puts it, “God is light, and with him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1.5). The world, in fact, is “condemned already”, as Jesus (or John) starkly puts it (John 3. 18). This brings us to our last verse, verse 9: “he will convict the world of sin, because they do not put their trust in me”. This is the Greek verb ‘pisteuo’, to ‘believe’, followed by the preposition ‘eis’, meaning ‘into’. This combination is used 37 times in John, and implies not just ‘belief in’ but ‘commitment into’ Jesus with the whole of our lives: that is ‘faith’, and it is that faith alone which can save us from God’s righteous judgement. Two more verses from John’s gospel make this as clear as it could be: “the one who puts his or her faith in Jesus is not condemned; the one who does not have faith is condemned already. --- The one who puts his or her faith in the Son has eternal life, but the one who does not believe the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him (or her)” (John 3. 18, 36 - both 'pisteuo eis'). If Jesus is the world’s ultimate hope, then disbelief is the ultimate sin. Paul says, “there is no distinction: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3. 23). But there is a distinction, the crucial one, between those who put their trust in Jesus as their “atoning sacrifice”, and those who commit the ultimate sin of disbelief. It is here that the ministry of the Spirit, the ‘parakletos’, is so vital: it is his purpose to “glorify” Jesus (John 16.14) by so convicting unbelievers of their sin that they are “cut to the heart”, and cry out, “what must we do to be saved ?” This, of course, was the crowd’s response to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the day when Jesus’ promise was fulfilled and the Spirit came in power. First, he filled all the disciples with an inexpressible joy – a joy that could only be expressed in languages which the Spirit himself gave them, joy that Jesus was with them once again in the person of his Spirit, and now would never leave them. Then he filled Peter with the courage to preach to the crowd, illuminating the scriptures for him as he spoke, so that his words were the word of God. Finally, he ‘convicted’ the crowd of sin, not to condemn them – they were “condemned already” – but to lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus, a faith which alone could save them from judgement.