“And when [the Spirit] is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not in me” (vs8-9)
We have to be convinced of our sin, so the Spirit reveals this until we relent and trust Christ. He doesn’t allow the elect to perish, because He makes us KNOW we need saving. We went without Christ so long and comfortably, but now we HAVE to have Him, or we die. This CONVICTION, painfully obvious to those who know God, is a terror to the heart NECESSARY to bind up my wounds.
Imagine dying and not knowing it until the pain comes. Then, you have time to get medicine. It is BECAUSE it hurts that you got the salvation, so despise not the chastening of the Lord (Heb 12:5-11). This is what God does for His LOVED ones, He makes us SEE ourselves EVIL enough to believe the Son, and there is no salvation without DISTRESS in myself, inability, and utter shame. This is the lot of believers as long as we’re saved: we will see our wretched sinfulness, so that we trust Christ for good works.
