Conviction: Mercy in Motion
Conviction: Mercy in Motion
....And that IS mercy!
By Pastor Aaron Rios | Garden City Church | February 15th, 2026
It Is for Your Good
In Gospel of John 16:7–15, Jesus tells His disciples something that must have unsettled them: “It is for your good that I am going away.” For their good? The One they left everything to follow was saying His departure would somehow benefit them.
He explains that unless He departs, the Advocate will not come. But if He goes, He will send Him. And when He comes, “He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.”
That word prove carries the language of conviction. It is courtroom language. It is the language of verdict. And conviction that leads to repentance is not cruelty. It is mercy in motion.
A Kingdom and an Advocate
Conviction is a legal term. It refers to a verdict rendered by a judge. Scripture consistently uses legal imagery because the Kingdom of God is not governed by popular vote or cultural consensus. It is ruled by a King. There are laws. There are decrees. There is truth that does not bend to preference.
And in this Kingdom, we are not left defenseless. We are given an Advocate.
Jesus calls Him the Paraklētos—Counselor, Comforter, Legal Representative. He is not an impersonal force. He is not spiritual energy. He is certainly not some vague, feminine cosmic atmosphere. He is a Person. He speaks. He moves. He reveals. He convicts.
Throughout Scripture He is called the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Grace. He is fully God, actively working in the world and within the hearts and lives of believers.
The Work of Conviction
One of His primary works is conviction. When Jesus says, “He will convict the world,” the meaning is to expose, to bring to light, to render a verdict. The Holy Spirit reveals what is wrong, what is righteous, and what is already judged.
This is where many believers misunderstand their role. We are not the ones who render the verdict. God does that. We are not called to replace the Spirit’s work but to yield to it.
Yes, sin must be called what it is. Wickedness is not to be rebranded or excused. But the One who searches motives and sees beneath the surface is God. The Holy Spirit convicts from within. We are invited to cooperate with Him, not compete with Him.
Conviction always has direction. It either draws you toward God or, when resisted, pushes you into condemnation. If it drives you into the arms of Jesus, it is the work of the Spirit. If it drives you into hiding, despair, and distance, that is condemnation. Condemnation is not what HE (the Spirit) does.
Sorry or Sorrow?
There is a difference between being sorry and being repentant.
Many people apologize because they feel cornered, not because they feel broken. They are frustrated that they were confronted, not grieved that they caused harm. When you wrong someone, do you wish the moment had never happened because it fractured relationship? Or do you wish they had never “made you” react?
When confronted, do you instinctively ask, “What did you do?” or “What have I done?”
And what about when we wrong God?
Conviction is ultimately about relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit pulls us back to Jesus. Every time we say yes to the Spirit’s prompting and yes to God’s Word, something forms in us. We grow in righteousness, godliness, and holiness. But when we repeatedly say no, we drift.
The most dangerous part of drift is that it feels normal. We convince ourselves we are fine while slowly moving away from truth.
The Posture of Resistance or Surrender
Scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit can be resisted. In Acts 7:51, Stephen rebukes his hearers: “You always resist the Holy Spirit.” That resistance is not accidental. It is a posture.
At the same time, Romans 6 calls believers to 'present themselves to God'. God is sovereign, yet He manifests where He is welcomed. He moves where He is yielded to. This is why we pray, “I surrender.” It is not emotional theatrics. It is alignment. It is a heart saying, “I will not fight Your verdict.”
Conviction or Preference?
In our culture, the phrase “that’s my conviction” is common. Often, however, what people mean is preference.
Romans 14 does address matters of conscience in disputable areas. There is room for liberty in non-essential matters. But Scripture never turns conviction into a license for sin. Without a higher law, conviction collapses into preference. Without absolute truth, everything becomes negotiable.
We are living in a time described in Second Timothy 4:3–4, when people gather teachers to suit their desires and turn their ears away from truth. The problem is not that truth has changed. The problem is that hearts no longer want to respond to it.
When Truth Is Rejected
Romans 1 paints a sobering picture. Three times the text says that God “gave them over.” This is not God ceasing to love. It is God allowing chosen rebellion to run its course.
Conviction resisted long enough results in increasing darkness. The moral confusion and spiritual perversion visible in our world are not merely social trends. They are evidence of what happens when truth is continually suppressed and conviction repeatedly rejected.
Yet even here, mercy remains available.
The antidote is not opinion but revelation. The Holy Scriptures make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Truth is not discovered by looking inward. It is revealed by the Spirit of God through His Word.
The alternative is deception.
Deception is the byproduct of refusing to love the truth. It forms slowly, like a callous. Repeated resistance hardens the heart until it becomes seared—like flesh branded with a hot iron. A brand marks ownership. Scripture speaks of consciences seared through continual rejection. Over time, repeated refusal marks us. We become desensitized. Numb.
A seared conscience does not develop in a moment. It develops through repeated no’s.
If You Can Still Feel It
If you can still feel conviction, that is grace.
If your heart still stirs when the Word confronts you, that is mercy.
A conscience that can still be pierced is a conscience that has not been abandoned.
And what does that conviction produce? Sorrow.
In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul distinguishes between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow grieves consequences. It says, “I got caught.” Godly sorrow grieves relationship. It says, “I have wounded fellowship with God.”
Godly sorrow produces repentance. It leads to earnestness, renewed obedience, and restored joy. Conviction reveals truth. Godly sorrow embraces it. Repentance responds to it.
The Invitation
The invitation is not complicated, but it is costly. If you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Ask Him to search you. Ask Him to soften you. Ask Him to make you sensitive again.
We do not want a fleeting spiritual moment. We want to become a habitation for His presence.
Here is the steady line that helps us discern what we are experiencing: if it drives you toward God, it is conviction. If it drives you away from Him, it is condemnation.
The Holy Spirit convicts in order to restore. He exposes in order to heal. He renders a verdict not to destroy, but to rescue.
And that is mercy.
In Gospel of John 16:7–15, Jesus tells His disciples something that must have unsettled them: “It is for your good that I am going away.” For their good? The One they left everything to follow was saying His departure would somehow benefit them.
He explains that unless He departs, the Advocate will not come. But if He goes, He will send Him. And when He comes, “He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.”
That word prove carries the language of conviction. It is courtroom language. It is the language of verdict. And conviction that leads to repentance is not cruelty. It is mercy in motion.
A Kingdom and an Advocate
Conviction is a legal term. It refers to a verdict rendered by a judge. Scripture consistently uses legal imagery because the Kingdom of God is not governed by popular vote or cultural consensus. It is ruled by a King. There are laws. There are decrees. There is truth that does not bend to preference.
And in this Kingdom, we are not left defenseless. We are given an Advocate.
Jesus calls Him the Paraklētos—Counselor, Comforter, Legal Representative. He is not an impersonal force. He is not spiritual energy. He is certainly not some vague, feminine cosmic atmosphere. He is a Person. He speaks. He moves. He reveals. He convicts.
Throughout Scripture He is called the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Grace. He is fully God, actively working in the world and within the hearts and lives of believers.
The Work of Conviction
One of His primary works is conviction. When Jesus says, “He will convict the world,” the meaning is to expose, to bring to light, to render a verdict. The Holy Spirit reveals what is wrong, what is righteous, and what is already judged.
This is where many believers misunderstand their role. We are not the ones who render the verdict. God does that. We are not called to replace the Spirit’s work but to yield to it.
Yes, sin must be called what it is. Wickedness is not to be rebranded or excused. But the One who searches motives and sees beneath the surface is God. The Holy Spirit convicts from within. We are invited to cooperate with Him, not compete with Him.
Conviction always has direction. It either draws you toward God or, when resisted, pushes you into condemnation. If it drives you into the arms of Jesus, it is the work of the Spirit. If it drives you into hiding, despair, and distance, that is condemnation. Condemnation is not what HE (the Spirit) does.
Sorry or Sorrow?
There is a difference between being sorry and being repentant.
Many people apologize because they feel cornered, not because they feel broken. They are frustrated that they were confronted, not grieved that they caused harm. When you wrong someone, do you wish the moment had never happened because it fractured relationship? Or do you wish they had never “made you” react?
When confronted, do you instinctively ask, “What did you do?” or “What have I done?”
And what about when we wrong God?
Conviction is ultimately about relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit pulls us back to Jesus. Every time we say yes to the Spirit’s prompting and yes to God’s Word, something forms in us. We grow in righteousness, godliness, and holiness. But when we repeatedly say no, we drift.
The most dangerous part of drift is that it feels normal. We convince ourselves we are fine while slowly moving away from truth.
The Posture of Resistance or Surrender
Scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit can be resisted. In Acts 7:51, Stephen rebukes his hearers: “You always resist the Holy Spirit.” That resistance is not accidental. It is a posture.
At the same time, Romans 6 calls believers to 'present themselves to God'. God is sovereign, yet He manifests where He is welcomed. He moves where He is yielded to. This is why we pray, “I surrender.” It is not emotional theatrics. It is alignment. It is a heart saying, “I will not fight Your verdict.”
Conviction or Preference?
In our culture, the phrase “that’s my conviction” is common. Often, however, what people mean is preference.
Romans 14 does address matters of conscience in disputable areas. There is room for liberty in non-essential matters. But Scripture never turns conviction into a license for sin. Without a higher law, conviction collapses into preference. Without absolute truth, everything becomes negotiable.
We are living in a time described in Second Timothy 4:3–4, when people gather teachers to suit their desires and turn their ears away from truth. The problem is not that truth has changed. The problem is that hearts no longer want to respond to it.
When Truth Is Rejected
Romans 1 paints a sobering picture. Three times the text says that God “gave them over.” This is not God ceasing to love. It is God allowing chosen rebellion to run its course.
Conviction resisted long enough results in increasing darkness. The moral confusion and spiritual perversion visible in our world are not merely social trends. They are evidence of what happens when truth is continually suppressed and conviction repeatedly rejected.
Yet even here, mercy remains available.
The antidote is not opinion but revelation. The Holy Scriptures make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Truth is not discovered by looking inward. It is revealed by the Spirit of God through His Word.
The alternative is deception.
Deception is the byproduct of refusing to love the truth. It forms slowly, like a callous. Repeated resistance hardens the heart until it becomes seared—like flesh branded with a hot iron. A brand marks ownership. Scripture speaks of consciences seared through continual rejection. Over time, repeated refusal marks us. We become desensitized. Numb.
A seared conscience does not develop in a moment. It develops through repeated no’s.
If You Can Still Feel It
If you can still feel conviction, that is grace.
If your heart still stirs when the Word confronts you, that is mercy.
A conscience that can still be pierced is a conscience that has not been abandoned.
And what does that conviction produce? Sorrow.
In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul distinguishes between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow grieves consequences. It says, “I got caught.” Godly sorrow grieves relationship. It says, “I have wounded fellowship with God.”
Godly sorrow produces repentance. It leads to earnestness, renewed obedience, and restored joy. Conviction reveals truth. Godly sorrow embraces it. Repentance responds to it.
The Invitation
The invitation is not complicated, but it is costly. If you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Ask Him to search you. Ask Him to soften you. Ask Him to make you sensitive again.
We do not want a fleeting spiritual moment. We want to become a habitation for His presence.
Here is the steady line that helps us discern what we are experiencing: if it drives you toward God, it is conviction. If it drives you away from Him, it is condemnation.
The Holy Spirit convicts in order to restore. He exposes in order to heal. He renders a verdict not to destroy, but to rescue.
And that is mercy.
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