Reply To: Pneumatology Discussion Board 2

[Ben]

An instance of the conviction of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new testament and three things that proves are as follows:

First, the word conviction means, to confute, admonish, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
Then, an instance of the conviction of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new testament can be seen in the experience of Lydia as recorded in Acts 16:14-15, ” And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she….”

Worthy of note, Lydia was called a worshipper of God- a “religious ” fellow but at the point she heard the teachings of salvation by Paul, the Holy Spirit convicted her heart. Which lead to

1. The conviction of sin in her life hence the need for a Saviour. The scripture doesn’t tell us that she was caught in any sinful act but that she was a worshipper of God. So the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon her heart was to turn her away from unbelief in the Lordship of Jesus Christ( whom she had not known possibly), to believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ unto her salvation. This goes to prove that it is only the Holy Spirit that can make men believe on Jesus and be saved, even through His ministry of “conviction “.

2. The conviction of righteousness. This woman the bible described as a worshipper of God; which is safe to say, was a “self righteous” woman. Could only be declared truly righteous and accepted by God through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Upon what the Holy Spirit did to her heart, she had faith in the righteous One, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, having peace with God. So this proves that true righteousness comes as a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit unto faith in Jesus. This demarcates self righteousness by works from true righteousness by faith.

3. Conviction brings Judgment. This woman who was once under the domain of the enemy walked into freedom and victory by yielding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit in her heart. This goes to prove that upon the defeat of Satan through the vicarious work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come into the experience of freedom and victory by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

In summary, the conviction of the ministry of the Holy Spirit will always reprove men of sin, righteousness and judgment unto their salvation.