Before Jesus left earth and returned to heaven, He promised His followers. He would not leave them alone. He promised that He would send a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to live life alongside them. Even today, the Holy Spirit lives life alongside followers of Jesus and helps us live for Him. One of the things the Holy Spirit does is convicts of sin in our lives.
Jesus told His disciples in John 16 that He would be leaving earth soon. He told them that it was best that He went because when He left earth, the Holy Spirit would come (verse 8). “When He comes, He will convict the world of its sin,” Jesus said. That is one of the things the Holy Spirit does. The Spirit convicts the world when we sin. That is why we feel convicted when we mess up and give in to sin. Not only this, but we see in Scripture that the Holy Spirit actually gives us godly desires that go against our sinful nature (Galatians 5:16). As the Spirit works and moves in our lives, He gives us desires to live lives away from sin and offers us the freedom to choose to turn away from it. This is the life we have in Christ.
While sin will always be a struggle for us while we live on this earth, we can take comfort in the fact that the Holy Spirit joins us as we fight against sin. As we grow in our faith, the Spirit will change our desires, help us resist temptation, and say “no” to sin.
Is there a sin that you find yourself struggling with? Take it to God. Talk to Him about the sins you are facing. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you face your battle against sin, and then look for ways the Holy Spirit may be helping you step away from it. Find hope in the fact that you are not left alone in the fight against sin.
“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3 This is because they have never known the Father or me. 4 Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’"
