Before Jesus was crucified, rose from the grave, and ascended back to heaven, He spoke these words: John 16:7-11, “ But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the [a]Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

The Helper, of course, refers to the Holy Spirit (H S), who came, as Jesus said, on the Day of Pentecost, and His presence on this earth has been constant ever since.

What has the H S been doing? What is He doing now? Jesus gave us the answer in the scripture above. What the H S has been doing and is still doing is why no one can blame God for missing out on heaven. No one has a valid excuse for missing out on heaven and ending up in hell.
Why is that you may ask? It is because of what the H S has been and is still doing since arriving in full force over 2000 years ago. Let’s look at what Jesus said the Helper or H S came to do.

John 16:8 says the H S came “…to convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment.” The world here means all mankind – everybody. Convict means “showing people their sin and convincing them that they stand guilty before God.”

The H S is here throughout the whole world convicting everyone of their sin, convincing them they stand guilty before God. In the eventual judgment to come, no one will be able to claim they did not know they were sinners.

Jesus goes on to expound on the H S ‘s conviction: John 16:9, “regarding sin because they do not believe in me.” The reason the H S convicts the world of sin is “because the world does not believe in Christ. If the world did believe in Christ, its sin would be forgiven and its guilt removed.”

Jeus continues, John 16:10, “and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me.”
This means that Jesus, the one who will be our righteousness before the Father, is going back to heaven and will be seen on earth no longer. Therefore, the H S will convict the world that their attempt to be righteous enough to be acceptable to God is futile. They must take on the righteousness of Christ that comes through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

Finally, Jesus concludes in John 16:11, “and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
This means the H S “convinces people that they are liable to the judgment of God. Even as Satan, the prince of this world, has been condemned, so they, too, will face the condemnation which their sin deserves.”

To summarize, the H S convicts the world that all are guilty of sin, that it is futile to attempt to try to be righteous enough to be acceptable to God on their own, and that there is a future judgment where they will be condemned for their sins.

Implied in the H S ‘s work of conviction is God’s desire and hope that it will motivate the world – all people – to accept God’s provision for forgiveness of sin and finding peace with God. What is that provision? It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Namely, that God loves us and chose to pay the penalty for the sins of all people Himself. He did that by coming into the world as a man – Jesus Christ – and suffering the death of a Roman cross for the express purpose of taking the punishment for all our sins upon Himself.

Because Christ did our punishment for us, He offers forgiveness to each of us as a gift. But we must receive the gift, and the way we do that is to admit and repent of our sins and believe what God in Jesus did for us to the extent of trusting in or relying on it for forgiveness of our sins, being at peace with God, and acceptance into heaven when we die. The Bible calls this gift from God to you “the gift of eternal life.” From now on you are forever included in God’s kingdom as His child.

If you will accept God’s gift of eternal life through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus, then the convicting work of the H S will have accomplished its purpose for you. If you have not accepted God’s gift, I urge you to do it and enjoy the wonderful peace with God that passes all understanding. Further, help your loved ones know about and accept God’s gift of eternal life so they can have that same peace.