The Conviction of the Holy Spirit

Q: Can the Holy Spirit convince someone of sin apart from reading the bible?

A: Thank you for your question. Given the fact that many of those who are written about in the Bible, primarily the people of the New Covenant, did not have the Bible to read, I would say "yes," the Holy Spirit can convince someone of sin apart from reading the Bible. In John 16 we read about the work of the Holy Spirit. "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me (John 16:8-9)." The "he" who "comes" that is mentioned here is the Holy Spirit; referred to by Jesus as the "Counselor" in verse 7. Of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says that He will convict the "world of guilt in regard to sin." The sin Jesus Christ is speaking about here is unbelief in Him. With Easter upon us this weekend, it is appropriate to talk about the sin of unbelief. It is the only sin that Jesus did not die for on the cross. However, in many cases, it is necessary for a person to be shown their need for salvation before they can respond to God's offer of forgiveness and life through faith in Jesus Christ. Again, I call your attention to the John 16:8-9. There Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit convicting "the world." The world is everybody who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. There are three ways God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts the world of sin without them necessarily reading the Bible.

There are many people around the world that have never even heard of the word sin, the Bible or Jesus Christ. Therefore, how does God reach these people with the saving message of the Gospel? God uses His creation to reach them. "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2)." In the second verse of the Bible the Holy Spirit is mentioned as being a part of the creation of the world and universe. Later in the Bible we read, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:20)." The evidence of God is shown within His creation. One does not need to look any further then outside their window or up into the sky to see the evidence of God. The trees, the oceans, the mountains, the sun, moon and stars and all the living creatures testify to a Creator. That is why the Bible says man is "without excuse." I know a story of a young man who came to faith in Christ in Africa after his father was worshiping an idol he made from a tree. The young man wanted to know Who made the tree! Later, the young man came in contact with a Christian missionary who led him to faith in Jesus Christ. He never had a Bible up to that point in his life, but the creation testified to him about God.

The Bible records the spiritual death of mankind in this way; "And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:17)." God warned Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit or he would die. Adam ate the fruit. However, he did not die physically. The Bible records that Adam lived to be 930 years old. The death he suffered was a spiritual death; the Holy Spirit of God was removed from him and he became spiritually dead to God, but alive to the world. Subsequently, all mankind is born into this world in the image of Adam. We are a reflection of what is like not to have the life of God, the Holy Spirit, indwelling us. However, because God made us to indwell us, the fact that He is missing from our lives, leads to our constant searching for Him in various ways. One evidence of this truth is the fact that all of us to some degree inherently recognize many things that are good and evil even without having a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Romans 2:14-15 says, "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness ..." The Gentiles, non-Jews, especially when this passage was written, did not have the Bible to teach them about sin. Yet, they, like all of us, have a natural awareness of sin  because of our design to have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

It was previously mentioned that the Holy Spirit will convict the world in regards to sin and "righteousness." What is righteousness? Righteousness basically means that because of a person's placing faith in Jesus Christ, God now sees that person as perfectly justified and sinless in His eyes. It is through the Holy Spirit convicting an unbeliever of their sin, whether through the revelation of their being a God by evidence of His Creation or the acknowledgment that we instinctively have the thumbprint of the Holy Spirit on our conscious that we come to the realization that we are not righteous people in God's sight. But, the Bible says "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:21-22)." When the Holy Spirit convicts a person of their sin, they have the opportunity to turn from their unbelief and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They immediately become righteous because they now have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, made available through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is one of many ways the One true God of the universe has revealed Himself to mankind in order to convict them of their sin so they will come to faith in Jesus Christ. I pray this has shed some light on your question. Grace and Peace.