Effectual Conviction?

Does the conviction of the Holy Spirit always lead to salvation?

One common issue that is raised in light John 16:8-11 is whether or not the Spirit’s conviction is effectual, that is, if the Spirit convicts someone, it will always result in his or her eventual repentance and faith in Christ. For this to be true, The Spirit would always have to convict someone of all three aspects, or none at all. It would mean that an individual would never be able to have a sense of their own sinfulness unless they are eventually saved. There are unbelievers in the world that seem to have a sense of their own sin, and a need for righteousness outside of their own that seek it in things other than Christ. One would be forced to answer the question of where their sense of their own sinfulness has come from if not from the Spirit.

Biblically, we are taught that the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing so they will not see the glory of Christ (2 Cor 4:3,4). There is not anything in Scripture that definitively says unbelievers will never be convicted, just that they have rejected the only True remedy for their conviction, Jesus Christ. Also, what about those who respond to the gospel message, but eventually reject it (Heb 6:4-8; Matt 13:3-9)? Are we to believe they were never convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment in the first place because they have fallen away? It seems reasonable to conclude that the ministry is more evangelistic than effectual, and the conviction for some may not be a once for all, on-going conviction, but a conviction that is able to be snuffed out by the hardening of the heart through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:12-19).

This is not to say the Holy Spirit lacks the power to bring helpless sinners to see nothing but the cross of Christ for salvation, but there is where the mystery lies. To say the conviction of the Spirit is effectual is to suggest that there can be no conviction of sin outside of true believers before their salvation. To say it is not effectual is to suggest that the Spirit would enlighten someone to the reality of their sin (or righteousness, or judgment), but not enough for them to see Christ as their only hope for salvation in a way that leads to true repentance and faith in Him. To ask "Why would the Spirit do that?" is similar to asking "Why doesn't God bring everyone to repentance and faith in Him?" Our task is to be sensitive to the work of the Spirit, and try to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through His Word. What we can be sure of is we have His help! When we share our faith, the Spirit is working in us and through His Word.

The Work of the Spirit in the World.

For a paper I did recently on an aspect of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, I choose to exposit John 16:8-11, namely, what Christ taught about the Spirit’s ministry to the unbelieving world. I was encouraged to see how thoroughly Christo-centric and evangelistic it is. I summarized the 8 page exposition in about a page, and I’m posting it here with the hope that you will be encouraged to see the grace and mercy of our Lord, which is still active through the ministry of His Spirit in the world.

The Spirit’s ministry in this passage is threefold, the first of which is the conviction of sin, which works to enlighten individuals of their spiritual condition. Individuals would not be convicted of their sin in a judicial sense if they believed in Jesus, so the Spirit convicts unbelievers of the reality of their condition apart from belief in Christ. He also, through his disciples and His Word, convicts the world of righteousness. Through this ministry, unbelievers are confronted with the futility of their own attempts at righteousness because of the unattainable and shining righteousness of Jesus Christ. His ascension to the right hand of the Father proves His righteousness to be the only acceptable righteousness. Hopefully, under this conviction, the individual will sense their need for that righteousness, and appeal to Christ, who freely gives it to those who trust Him.

The Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. The source behind the world’s system of judgment has been judged (16:11), whereas Jesus Christ is the judge (John 5:22). One may have a sense of their own sin and see their need for righteousness, but will be unable to solve the problem by changing the standards of judgment in their favor, because their ruler has been judged. Even if their own judgment declares them innocent on whatever creative grounds they may concoct (usually an elaborate system of self-righteousness, i.e. Mormons, JW’s, Roman Catholics, cultural fundamentalists, Pharisees, ect.), it will be appealed to a higher court, where Christ Himself will judge. The hope is, under this conviction, the unbeliever will appeal to the judge for mercy and ask for an alien righteousness, which, again, will be freely given to those who believe in Him. Only Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection makes this offer possible.