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John 16:
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won't come.
If I do go away, then I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin,
and of God's righteousness,
and of the coming judgment.
9 The world's sin is that it refuses to believe in me.
10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.
11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.    (New Living Bible)

In the passage from John 16 quoted above, the Lord Jesus is speaking to His disciples.
He tells them something which probably upset them greatly:
He said that He was going to leave them.
Then He says that if He goes away He will send them The Advocate, who is the Holy Spirit.

Some time after this talk, the Lord Jesus was crucified, buried in the tomb. Then He came back from death, spent some time with them and then He went back into heaven, where He had originally come from, before He took on human form.
Right now, He is positioned at the throne of power and authority in heaven, representing us human beings.

Then after going back to heaven, Jesus kept His promise and sent The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost.
(See the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in the right hand column.)

Jesus said that one of the reasons for the coming of the Holy Spirit, is to:
convict the world of its sin,
and of God’s righteousness,
and of the coming judgment. (verse 8 above)

Previously, we learned that the benefits of being convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit means that I can believe in Jesus and become just as if I never sinned.
We also learned that being convicted of our unrighteous lifestyle means that we have the opportunity to receive the sinless righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Today, we want to examine what happens when we are convicted concerning the coming judgment.
The Apostle Paul talked about this matter when he explained God's Good News to the people of Athens.
This is part of what he said:
Acts 17:
30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.
31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."    (New Living Bible)

The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who has been appointed Judge on the day God has set aside for this purpose.
This is one of the reasons Jesus Christ came back to life after dying on the cross and being buried in the tomb.

However, in order not to be condemned on that day of judgment, you have the privilege of resting your life - past, present and future - in His hands, when You believe in Him as your Saviour.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians about this:
Romans 5:
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.    (New Living Bible)

Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank You so much for all these wonderful benefits that come to me when I believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for being willing to die in my place when I was so far away from You.
Thank You for Your blood which makes me acceptable in God's presence and saves me from the condemnation of the day of judgment.
Thank You! Thank You!
Amen.