KJV John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Lenski:
The thought is not that the world knows nothing about sin. Its daily crime list contradicts that, as well as its moralists with their repressive and reformatory measures. What the world lacks and the Spirit supplies is something that goes far deeper, something that actually convicts in regard to sin. This is not the fact that sin is sin, or that the real essence of sin is unbelief. The Spirit is not to repeat the work of Moses in preaching the law. The conviction in regard to sin lies in one direction: “inasmuch as they do not believe in me.” Yet note that this is the capital sin. For to believe in Jesus is to be saved from sin, to have sin forgiven; and thus not to believe in Jesus is to remain in sin, to perish forever in sin. The Spirit’s work in regard to sin is to confront the world with the terrible fact of its unbelief in Jesus, which means, with the fact that this unbelief leaves it in its damnable sin, doomed and damned forever, in other words, that only he who believes escapes from his sin. This conviction in regard to sin naturally operates in two ways. It will crush some hearts so that they will be frightened at their unbelief and cry out like the 3,000 at Pentecost, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37, and thus be led to repent and to believe. Or it will further harden those who resist this conviction; they will go on, convicted though they are, more obdurate than before, fighting against this conviction until they perish. In this the Spirit will do exactly what Jesus did in 7:33, etc., and again in 8:22–24: “I said, therefore, unto you that ye shall die in your sins; for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
Some fix their attention on the phrase “concerning sin” and thus fail to see the significance of the word “believe” in the elucidating clause, “inasmuch as they do not believe in me,” with its implication that this unbelief leaves them in their sin, and that faith, and faith alone, relieves them of their sin. Thus we get those interpretations which turn only on the word “sin,” unbelief as the greatest sin, the real nature of sin, and the like. But the Spirit uses “me,” Jesus; believing and not believing in Jesus apply to Jesus, unbelief in him and faith in him to the world’s sin—if possible, to save the world from sin, otherwise to brand the world with the conviction of its damning unbelief.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 1082
---
Every so often (daily) I hear someone whining about this blog containing so much Law. The name above is not The Glory of Holy Mother Synod but The Glory Has Departed. One numbskull thought the departed glory applied to his particular sect! The glory of tiger meat, dry heaves, and torturing younger students - moistened eyes. Not quite. The glory is the Means of Grace.
When nominal Lutherans refuse to teach the Means of Grace, blush at rejecting false doctrine, and play games with every doctrinal question, the glory has departed.
John 16 clarifies that the first and most important work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of its unbelief in Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is exclusively in the Word, and the Word works only with the Holy Spirit, never apart from the Spirit.
The amalgamated Pietists (Synodical Conference guys) think sin revolves around fast women, slow horses, and questioning the shopworn edicts of their dead synodical leaders. To question Walther or Pieper is the deepest, most depraved sin of all. When WELS plays that card, remember that they promote the thoughts of a known atheist in their Holy of Holies, the Essay File.
UOJ fails the test of this passage, more pointedly than any other. The Stormtroopers of apostasy want their disciples to understand everyone being absolved, ever since 30 AD.
Forget Abraham as the father of faith. Doesn't work with UOJ.
UOJ teaches that all unbelievers are forgiven, justified, declared innocent, given the status of guilt-free saints. The fragments of the Syn Conference teach this with great conviction, although few of the laity ever agree with the ridiculous contradictions of this opinion.
UOJ proves its apostasy by railing against faith, even though the purpose of John's Gospel--and entire Bible--is to move people to faith in Christ as their righteousness. The proclamation of the Word, both Law and Gospel, accomplishes this.
The Syn Conference seminaries are in league with the forces of destruction because they refuse to teach this simple to understand passage. Instead, they brain-wash students thus:
"Everyone is already forgiven. It is a sin to talk about faith. God has already forgiven the entire world. They have to accept this or not." There are some variations in this tommyrot, but the basics are the same.
Instead of faith being essential, faith is dangerous and bad and a danger to one's faith. The fun part is that any sin (except questioning the synod) is already forgiven. A pastor can have an affair with a troubled, vulnerable married woman and be promoted to mission counselor. That is their version of the Gospel. How popular is that with the clergy? Very.
