"When the Helper has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you will see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
The religion of Christ, the only true religion, is a very great stumbling block for the world. According to Christ, no one comes to the Father but by Him. No other religion saves, because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
The world looks at this truth and says that they cannot believe in a God who condemns all other religions. They tell us to look at those good men in other religions, like the Dalai Lama and Gandhi, who give so much of their time and money and effort to help the poor. What kind of a God would condemn loving and kind people to hell, just because they do not believe in Jesus?
A person may indeed have a very great amount of external righteousness. Their deeds may seem to outshine all the saints. There may be no obvious sins that they have committed at all.
Yet there is a part of the Law of God that they do not keep, even if they could somehow keep every other part. The second table of the Law says "Love your neighbor as yourself." Many unbelieving heathens may seem to do that. Yet the first table says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." The lost cannot do that. If they do not know the true God, then they certainly cannot fear and trust in Him. And if they do not fear and trust in God, then they are not really obeying the rest of the commandments, no matter how much it seems that they do. Their good deeds, no matter how flashy and glorious in the eyes of men, are actually filthy rags.
You also must believe in Christ Jesus, or else all the rest of your good deeds are nothing at all.
That is why Christ our Lord says in the Gospel today that the world will be convicted of sin because they do not believe in Him. Unbelief is the primary sin above all sins. Because of unbelief, all the rest of the so-called good deeds of the noble heathen are not really good deeds at all. You cannot keep any commandment without first having the fear, love, and trust of God above all things.
By God's grace, we are not unbelieving heathens. We have received the free gift of faith. We believe because the Spirit, the Comforter, has placed that faith into our heart. Yet the heart is still sinful, and the primary sin of all sins, their root and source, is unbelief. You and I continue to commit sins every day. So we have unbelief still lurking in our heart.
After all, the only reason you break any of the commandments is because faith is not perfect in you, that is, in your sinful flesh. If you had perfect faith by your efforts, then you would easily obey every commandment and commit no sin at all.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit convicts all the world of sin. It is not only those heathens out there who are condemned. You and I are condemned as well.
Should we be afraid for our salvation because our own heart cannot believe as it should? No. The faith that saves you is not your doing. It is not the faith that you muster out of your emotions or intellect. It is not your decision or choice. True, saving faith is not from you at all. It is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. The Spirit has indeed given you faith, even you who do not deserve it. And with faith, He has given you eternal life and forgiveness of all your sins, on account of Christ.
Christ adds in our text that the Spirit "will convict the world... of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you will see Me no more." There is only one kind of righteousness by which a person is saved. That is the righteousness of Christ which He secured for you by dying and rising and ascending to the right hand of the Father.
You cannot see that righteousness. The world may examine your good deeds and conclude that you are good or evil, depending on what standard they use to judge. But whatever they see or whatever they judge, they cannot see your true righteousness. Your true righteousness is not in your deeds. It is in Christ.
Christ lived the only perfect life. That is your righteousness. Christ suffered to erase your sins from God's record forever. That is your righteousness. Christ rose again and ascended to the Father's right hand, so that your human nature is seated at the throne of glory. That also is your righteousness. You have holiness equal to the Son of God Himself. That is righteousness that far outshines anything the world can do, even if they put all their good deeds in a giant pile. Your righteousness is far better.
Of course, the world despises this righteousness. They think it's not fair. Why would God give His holiness to some people as a free gift, but not to everyone? It is as if they are saying to God, "You sent Your Son into human flesh to save us, but that's not enough. You commanded Your Son to live our life and share our sorrows, but that's not enough. You gave Your Son to die in horrible agony for our sins, but that's not enough." So says the heathen.
Why is Christ not enough for the world? Because the world wants God to approve of their own goodness. They want God to look into their hearts and say, "Oh, my, what wonderful love you have!" The world believes in its own righteousness. Therefore they cannot believe in the righteousness that Christ gives.
Your were that way once. You were part of the world, stuck in self-righteousness and unbelief. But God has rescued you by His Spirit. He has snatched you out of this doomed world full of death, and has given you the life of His own Son. You did not choose Christ because you were wise. He was chosen for you, and His righteousness given to you as a free gift by the Spirit.
This same Spirit also "convicts the world... of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." For Christ triumphantly conquered the powers of this world. The serpent's head is crushed. Death is stingless. Hell is an empty threat for you, since Christ has already judged you innocent.
The world does not want to acknowledge that the devil exists. Or if he does exist in their opinion, they believe that he must live on eternally as the opposite of goodness. According to some in the world, there can be no good without evil, no darkness without light, no God without the devil.
But this is not true. The devil is no equal of God. The devil is beaten already, and is passing away. He is mortally wounded, and soon to be cast into eternal death in the lake of fire.
Christ did not achieve this triumph for Himself. He conquered for your sake. Because of His victory on the Cross and in the Empty Tomb, you are looking forward to a world that does not contain evil and death. You look forward to a world that is the home of righteousness, where everything will be as perfect as the holiness that Christ has given to you.
This is your future, most certainly purchased for you by Christ, delivered to you by the Spirit. There is no doubt, for God has done it, and He does not fail.
All glory to Him alone, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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