And He, when He comes, will convict the world about (the guilt of) sin (and the need for a Saviour), and about righteousness and about judgment; about sin…because they do not believe in Me. John 16:8 (AMP)
God’s love is described as agape love, which is unconditional, sacrificial, pure love in its highest form. Agape love doesn’t point out faults.
Many think it’s Holy Spirit’s job to point out our mistakes, but that’s not true. Todays’ verse doesn’t say that He points out the faults of the world. It says that He will convict the world of sin. Now, He’s not convicting the world of all its sins, but of the sin nature we are trapped in if we don’t believe in Jesus.
Once we believe in Jesus, Holy Spirit’s job is then to convince us that we’re righteous. Notice that He’s still not focused on our faults! Unfortunately, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, legalistic religion focuses on keeping people sin-conscious, where they’re constantly centered on their faults and wrongdoings. The trouble is, whatever we focus on, we magnify and become drawn to.
So, if we’re saved but are focused on sin and our behaviour, we’ll live out frustrated lives, feeling constantly condemned. We’ll never be truly free. You see, the secret lies with changing our focus from the external to the internal. If we want different fruit, we need to change the root!
Roots are not visible, but they’re critical to keeping something grounded, alive and growing. Rooted in Christ, Holy Spirit draws us toward experiencing true love, realizing our freedom from condemnation. He reminds us that we’re righteous before God.
When we change our focus to our Saviour and our freedom in Him, we begin to experience God’s love—the agape love we all yearn for!