And He [the Holy Spirit], when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment

—John 16:8

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

—Galatians 5:16-17

Just like every other job, being a teacher has its highlights and it has those aspects that I would really rather pass on. One of the situations that I enjoy the least is when I have to call attention to a student’s error in front of the class. 

It doesn’t happen exceptionally often. Normally I can play it off and reword things enough to correct the misunderstanding without directly pointing out that he or she doesn’t understand something we’re working on, but every now and then a student will say something in the middle of a class discussion that is just so off-target that if we’d been throwing darts they would have taken out one of the light fixtures on the ceiling, and I have to respond. 

If I don’t say anything or validate the answer, I will be leading the entire class into faulty understanding which will result in poor grades later down the line, so I have to say something. I might ask questions to get them to explain more in the hopes that the student will say something that shows correct understanding, so I can focus on that as a positive, but whether or not I find anything to praise in their answer, I still have to break it to them that they didn’t quite hit a bullseye.

It can be a horribly awkward moment. My students, even the ones who act too cool for school, genuinely want to be successful and seem like they are good at English. I generally soften the blow by saying “not quite” or something less hurtful than “you’re wrong,” but there will still be that moment when they realize they said something wrong out loud. Cheeks will turn pink, eyes will look away, confidence turns crest-fallen.

But here’s the thing: I have never once corrected a student’s misconception, publicly or otherwise, to condemn them or make them feel less than. Of course, you may say. Why would I condemn them? That wouldn’t be helpful. That wouldn’t help them grow.

While that’s true, I think we sometimes think about God and the work of the Holy Spirit that way. Like He’s looking for what we have done wrong so that He can point us out and hand down His sentence, but that’s not what Scripture shows us. Doesn’t matter if we are part of God’s family or not.

In Galatians, the Spirit is standing opposed to our fleshly desires. This doesn’t mean He is violating our free will and forcing us to do what’s right. It means that He is there letting us know when we start going in the right direction, not to shame us or condemn us because condemnation is final and marks the end of relationship. Instead, He is convicting us—pointing out when we are wrong so we can grow and become more like Him. In what I am sure is a much more eloquent and skillful way than I manage in class, He’s giving us a “Not quite” and then pointing in the direction we need to go.

The book of John, talking about the Spirit’s work in the world at large, actually uses the word “convict,” and while that word does carry similar connotations to the word “condemn,” the things about which the Spirit is convicting the world gives us a hint that that’s not what we’re dealing with here.

There are three things the Spirit is actively convicting the world about. Sin and judgment? Those two make sense. When we do something wrong, we deserve judgment, condemnation, a penalty. But the third doesn’t seem to fit—righteousness. The Spirit comes to “convict” us about righteousness? How does that work?

The word translated as “convict” doesn’t just mean the kind of conviction that happens in a courtroom. It can also mean “to convince.” This “convict” isn’t referring to condemnation. It refers to a form of teaching, and just like in my classroom when conviction or correction happens, the reason is always to move that person toward a particular goal. In my class, the goal is to pass the state test. With the Spirit, the goal is understanding and recognizing righteousness and the God who embodies it.

The Spirit indeed calls us out when we are going in the wrong direction. He is eager to let us know when we haven’t got it right, but He doesn’t do so to humiliate us, shame us, or condemn us. He convicts us because He wants us to grow and be better. He wants us to heal where we need to heal and become stronger in areas where we need to become stronger. And even though He, as God, has the right and the power to do this in justified anger, from my experience, He does so in the riches of His kindness and gentleness. 

There are many different ideas about the character of God floating out there in the world. Some think God is willing to accept us only if we meet a certain standard. Some think He’s more force than person. Some think He set the world in motion like a giant top and then lost interest in us. Some don’t even think He’s there.

But the Bible says something so gloriously different. He’s not just sitting in Heaven waiting to see who makes it to Him. He didn’t get bored with us and moved on. He’s here. With us. Caring for us globally and at the same time on such a personal level that He knows exactly where we fail and how we need to grow. How great and how good must be the God who is so huge and yet so personal, so powerful and yet so kind and gentle? When we couldn’t reach Him, He came down to us. First through His Son, and then through the Spirit to grow and learn righteousness. Hallelujah!