JANUARY 14, 2026 – SIN, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGMENT

READ: Jn. 16:1–15: … It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you … when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment … He will guide you into all truth …

Jesus tells His disciples, and through them all believers, what to expect from unbelievers. He wants their faith not to weaken, but to be strengthened through persecution and fanatic hostility. They must realize this stems from unbelief. Jesus must now warn them, because He will soon no longer be with them in person. Let them remember His words!

Let them not be sorrowful about His departure to the Father, because He will send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (v.7). They need Him. What Jesus accomplished through His suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection will be explained to them by the Spirit.

The Spirit also works in regard to the world through believers who testify of Christ (see v.27; Acts 4:31). Even though most remain ungodly, through the witness of apostles and believers many will be convicted of their sins and come to repentance, believing in Jesus Christ as their Saviour (v.9; cf. Acts 2:37,38). Their greatest sin is rejecting Him, yet even that can be forgiven.

The unbelieving world will also be convicted of righteousness (v.10). The Jews condemned Jesus as a blasphemer, but the gospel reveals by the Spirit that He is raised and exalted by the Father as the only Righteous One.

Finally, the witness of the Spirit will show that whoever condemns Christ will himself be condemned (v.11; Acts 2:23,24). The Spirit will also lead into more truth, including what is still to come.

Do we recognize this work of the Spirit?
Sing: Hymn 37:4 (1984) / 48:4 (2014)