The Holy Spirit - Convicting the World

The book of Leviticus yesterday. We'll look at Deuteronomy 16, verse 9.

God inspired in Moses captured in writing this passage in verse 9, You shall count seven weeks for yourself. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Then you shall keep the feast of weeks to the Lord your God, with the tribute of a free will offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide. I hope that we are rejoicing on this special holy day. I hope that we are here in unity and peace as God wants his people to always be. This day of Pentecost is especially significant to Christians because on the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ's death, God established the New Testament church through the giving of his Holy Spirit. Often when we hear the phrase act of God, we think of an environmental or natural event that occurs on this earth.

But on this special feast of Pentecost, the spiritual act of God occurred because God made a promise given through the prophet Jeremiah that he would make a new covenant with the house of Israel. Let's turn to Deuteronomy 31 and verse 31. Jeremiah 31 and verse 31.

Jeremiah 31 and verse 31. The prophet captures, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord.

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The expression that we just read, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, introduces a new era in the history of God's dealing with his people. An era when God says he will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. The UCG commentary on this passage says this. It says, in describing the new covenant in contrast to the one he made with Israel when he brought them out of Egypt, God is by implication declaring the previous one old.

Thus the term old covenant for the Sinai covenant. The old covenant was, as we see here, essentially a marriage covenant by which God was the husband to Israel. In this covenant, Israel, the wife, had agreed to submit to God and obey his laws, but she did not. The people never had the right heart and mind to obey. This fault of the people in the book of Hebrews explains what's the problem with the old covenant and the reason the new covenant was necessitated.

Through this new covenant and with the giving of God's Holy Spirit, Jesus shared a profound statement found in John chapter 16. You can just note that we'll come we'll turn to John 16 here in a bit and you can read it with your own eyes, but this statement says, and when it referring to the Holy Spirit, when it has come, it will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

The question I would like to explore with you today is this. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit, as it works powerfully in our lives, to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and in judgment? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment?

In the book of Acts and in chapter 1, we have captured the last conversation that Jesus had with his disciples all together in just a few days before the giving of the Holy Spirit. This is in Acts chapter 1, and we'll begin at the beginning of this book in verse 1. Acts 1 verse 1. The Apostle Luke captures this statement. He says, "...a former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began, both to do and to teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after he, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the apostles, whom he had chosen, to whom he had also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, that amazing promise of the Father, which he said, You have heard from me.

For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

And he said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons, but the Father has put it in his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me. Notice that. Don't just read over those words quickly.

You shall be witnesses to me and to Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. It's important that we note that statement because it ties in to John chapter 16 when we get into it in just a moment again. But notice what he says, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me. And then verse 9, And when he had spoken these things while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Jesus refers to this promise in verse 4 that he had shared with the disciples, and that they would be witnesses of Christ to all the ends of the earth. John chapter 14 contains some of the final words that Christ shared with his disciples while physically with them, and it is part of a passage we normally read each Passover. In these last words, we read the promises that the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14, and let's turn to verse 15. John chapter 14 and verse 15.

In verse 15.

John 14 and verse 15.

Christ shares these words, If you love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper. This word, as we've seen and studied before, is paracletos in the Greek, which can mean advocate, comforter, helper.

He says, If I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, that he, speaking of God, may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it, but you know it, for it dwells with you, and will be in you. Verse 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name, it will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.

Let's flip forward to a couple chapters to John 16, and continue the thought there. John 16 and verse 7. Verses 7 through 11 will be the core of what we'll look at, and to consider, and come back to several times. John 16 verses 7 through 11.

It says, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper or the Pericletos will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send it to you.

And when it has come, it will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because they do not believe in me, of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you will see me no more, of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

As I mentioned, we will spend the majority of our time here in this passage.

So, let's break it down and review these three ways that the Holy Spirit will convict the world.

The word convict in verse 8 can also mean to refute, or to confute, or to prove something to be wrong, to find fault with, or to correct. It can also mean to call into account, or to show one's fault. The explanation, or the definition I appreciate for this message, can also mean by conviction, to bring to the light, to expose. Christ himself said, you shall be witnesses to me, and that the Holy Spirit will convict the world. So, Christ is saying that the Holy Spirit will call into account, or to bring to light, or to expose sin, righteousness, and judgment to the world. Have you ever considered how God's Holy Spirit, working in our lives today, convicts the world? It's an amazing thing to consider. So, let's look at each aspect of this passage here in John chapter 16, the first being that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and the need for repentance. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and the need for repentance.

As we looked at last week, the message that we shared from God's Word, the one that goes out across the airways through our publications, through our media department, that message is a message of repentance and of change to a new way of living. This message is not popular, even among other Christian denominations. But what does Paul say about the law?

Let's turn to Romans 7 in verse 7.

This passage from Paul is one that's often skipped over by those who want to say that the law has been done away with, that Paul spoke about all the ways that the law has been done away with.

When they're speaking from that tone of voice, they never read this passage here from Paul's own words. Romans 7 and verse 7. Paul says, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not.

On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. That is so important for us to remember because we know the law defines sin. We fall short of this law. We sin. We transgress God's words. And Paul says, Without the law, there'd be no sin.

He goes on to say, For I would not have known covetous, unless the law had said, You shall not covet. Verse 12. Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.

As we learn before we are baptized, we must have belief in God and in his instructions to live by.

There is only one way to eternal life, and that is through Jesus Christ. Therefore, there must be belief in, and that belief comes with discipleship in Christ. But many rejected Jesus while he dealt with men and was a living example of the righteousness of God. Some reviled him.

Some mocked him. Some desired to hurt and kill him. And eventually, he was crucified, according to God's will. Christ said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin because they do not believe in him. Because of the belief we have in God, we are also rejected at times, maybe reviled or mocked, or even taken advantage of or thought negatively towards.

We're treated this way because of the sin in people's lives and their lack of belief in God.

For those of our preteens and our teens, you are also rejected at times because you are different from this world. You may not have yet have God's Holy Spirit dwelling inside you, but God's Spirit is working with you, as God is calling you right now today. Someone pressures you to steal something from someone else, but you turn and you say, I won't do it. Or someone curses around you and there's pressure for you to curse along with them as well. But because you won't do it, maybe you are mocked or made fun of. But your choice to not follow along actually convicts their own conscience what they are doing is wrong. That what they are doing is sin, which in turn causes them to want to reject God's righteousness in you, which is displayed by your choices. But they're not really rejecting you or any of us. They're rejecting God. And they reject God because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. But while we have all been rejected, reviled, or been made fun of at times, none of us has suffered to the extent that Christ did for each of us. None of us have given up our life to the point of death as the majority of the apostles did.

So the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and their need for repentance.

The second aspect of that passage from John 16, the Holy Spirit reveals the standard of God's righteousness because Christ would no longer be physically present on this earth.

That the Holy Spirit that you and I have today reveals the standard of God's righteousness because Christ would no longer be physically present on the earth. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of righteousness because I go to my Father and you will see me no more. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the way that you and I should reflect the way that Christ is living inside of us. This is in Matthew 5 and verse 13.

Matthew 5 verses 13 through 16. Christ was here present with the disciples, with those who were listening to the words that he shared. He was present on this earth. He was teaching. He was living by his own example.

But he knew himself that he wouldn't be able to continue that forever because he knew his life would have to be taken. He knew he would give his life willingly. And so, he also knew that the Holy Spirit would come and convict the world of righteousness. Matthew 5 and verse 13. Again, Jesus knew that his ability was to be an example to the world through his own actions. His attitudes and responses would come to an end because he couldn't remain on this earth in physical form forever. So, he told his disciples to be that light that he was in this moment. And by doing so, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of them when they received that. And they went out as that example to the world. And the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside us to show God's righteousness in our own lives. For light to be seen, it must be different than the darkness around it. Pretty basic. Pretty elementary, right?

Light must be different than darkness. But are we different? Are we? Or is our speech and actions reflective of the society around us?

We may not be committing crimes that will lead us to jail or land us in jail, but are we engaging in ideas or attitudes that are commonplace around us? Are we tolerant of things that God expresses we should not be tolerant of in our lives? Would someone be able to see that our expression of emotions blends in with the chance of others around us?

This rawness of emotions displayed by so many that we see commonplace today? Is that what they would see? That our emotions, this spilling over, this boiling over that we see around us, is the same thing that they see in us? If so, we must recognize that our light isn't light at all.

But rather, it's the same darkness that is permeating society and which is commonplace today.

This is where Christ again says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you'll see me no more. We are that righteousness when our words, our actions, our attitudes reflect Christ living inside of us and thus displays a different type of light, a type of God's righteousness that the world sees in us. This past week, something occurred in our community that was shocking for Laura and I to see. We live in a subdivision, has an HOA. We've had HOAs before and we don't have too many issues with them. But our HOA has a board of community members. They're non-paid. They're volunteer, five of them, and they serve as servants to our community to make sure the bylaws are followed, to at times make sure to review contracts of the people who mow our grass, like the common areas, and those types of things as well. But as any with any group of people or any community, sometimes there's friction among people. Some of our members that are live in our community, they don't always say the nicest thing to board members. They complain. They second-guess. They undercut. They talk to their neighbors. And we have a Facebook group, which it's unbelievable some of the stuff. I won't share in detail what all goes on. But you can have one post completely ripping someone who lives next door to them, and the next post, that same person could be welcoming someone to the neighborhood.

It's kind of hard to understand and read at times.

Well, because of the struggle that some of our board have, because people are questioning, people are critiquing, people are making assumptions about the decisions they're making, and because they operate as a board, they created a separate chat where just the five of them can talk about things going on and just among them, confidentially and privately. But because of human nature and because of attacks, they decided that at times they would make pretty pointed comments about some of these people in our community that they didn't appreciate were questioning them or attacking them, or to minimize or undermine or to not respect the work and the service that they're doing.

And one of the board members who kind of fell out of this group and created other issues screenshotted all of these comments, and they went public this week in our community.

It was unbelievable to see some of these comments that were shared and the damage it did to relationships in our community. People on Facebook, some supported the comments, saying these people are crazy in what they're saying. So yeah, this stuff needed to be said.

Others critiqued our board for being that unprofessional, that hurtful, that spiteful.

Some supported the person who leaked it out and shared it. Others critiqued that person, saying that they broke the confidentiality of the group.

But this is just some of the examples that we see going on in society around us.

This coming week, the timing couldn't be more horrible, is our annual board meeting, where this same group of people are going to have to get before the entire community, all those who join on virtually, to talk about our community. This great community that we're part of that is in shambles right now.

Are we different? This is what's going on around us today.

My example may just be for me and what I saw this week, but we don't have to look far beyond our own neighborhoods, our own lives, our own walls, this beautiful building God has blessed us with. We don't have to look far to see a contrast from the ways that God has placed His Spirit into us and the direction that He has asked us to live our lives, to be witnesses to the world, and to let His righteousness be seen in us. Are we different?

A passage that fits with this example I just shared is found in 1 Corinthians 2. In verse 6.

1 Corinthians 2.

And verse 6.

Paul says, However we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of the sage, note that, nor of the ruler of the sage, who are coming to nothing, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of the sage knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Verse 10.

The reason we don't get on Facebook and we completely blast other people is because God has given us His Spirit. He has revealed to us a different way to live.

The reason that we don't say negative things about our neighbors behind their back is because God has put a different way of life into us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches, it goes on to say in verse 10, for the Spirit searches all things, just the deep things of God, for what man knows the things of man except the Spirit of man which is in him, even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

These things we also speak not in words which man's wisdom, can I be more sarcastic or put quotes around that? Man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him. That people, this is what was so shocking, that people in our community would think that it was appropriate, even if you're even as a servant to our community, that you think it's appropriate to completely trash someone else's name behind their back with others in the community. Maybe that person has been difficult. Maybe that person has been unprofessional. Maybe they've even attacked you. But to think that that's okay to do, you and I live a different life. We would not be caught in those traps that the world is caught in, that we see the wisdom that man teaches. We wouldn't be caught in that because we live a different way. God's Spirit inside of us is directing us down a new path from the way that this world is going. But man gets caught up into it, as Paul says there in verse 14, because the natural man, again, does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned, but he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? And this is the amazing part I was considering on the drive over here today, just the blessings that we have on this day, especially to think of and to remember right here in verse 16 at the end. But we have the mind of Christ. It's just unbelievable.

It's life-changing to the utmost degree. We have the mind of Christ, so we must not get caught up in the foolishness of man's wisdom, as Paul put it.

Let's look at another example, how Paul and others revealed the standard of God's righteousness, and how they turned the world upside down. This is in Acts 17, verse 1.

Acts 17, verse 1.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollona, and they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews, then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for three Sabbaths, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.

In this account here, we see that Paul was allowing the Holy Spirit to lead his words, his actions, and the instructions he shared in Thessalonica. And again, in verse 2, it says, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating. I believe they would have 100% had seen God's righteousness within Paul in that moment, as he taught, as he expounded on, as he guided them, as he encouraged them. But then what happens? Verse 4, And some of them were persuaded, which was a great thing, and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. It's going good. It's going in a positive direction. And then it turns left on Paul. Verse 5, But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious. That's a key aspect to pull out of here. It wasn't that they just simply disagreed or said, I don't know if that matches Scripture. There was human nature behind this. Becoming envious took some of the men from the marketplace and gathered a mob. And then they went and they set all the city in an uproar, and they attacked the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people. Did Paul do anything wrong here? Absolutely not. Did he teach God's word boldly? 100%. Yet, challenge came in. They could see his righteousness, and it was convicting their own hearts of their own sins, and they didn't like Paul's words. Verse 6, But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. It's an amazing statement, because Paul's actions, his words, the other apostles were turning the world upside down because this new way of thinking, this new way of behaving, this new belief in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit that was working powerfully within them was convicting the world of their own sin.

They were demonstrating it was convicting the world of the righteousness of God.

And they were turning the world upside down.

This is an amazing aspect that you and I have the ability to do as well today. Verse 7, Jason had harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar. They are saying there is another King, Jesus. The Life Application Study Bible says this about the passage, What a reputation these early Christians had! The power of the good news revolutionized lives. It broke down all social barriers. It threw open prison doors. It caused people to care deeply for one another, and it stirred them to worship God. Our world needs to be turned upside down to be transformed. The good news doesn't merely improve programs and encourage good conduct. It dynamically transforms lives.

Now, you and I, we recognize we can't leave here today and completely fix this world.

We could barely put an actual dent that people would see.

But what if your actions, God's righteousness within you, changed one person?

What if your ability to be that example to God impacted somebody else's life in such a way that they said, I want to know what's different about you?

And what if that person then went on later on to turn the world upside down?

We have that ability today to make impacts on other people's lives, because God has gifted us his Holy Spirit. To convict the world of sin, to convict the world of God's righteousness, we have that ability today.

The apostles who witnessed the miracles performed by Jesus Christ, and who could stand behind Christ, where I would have been 100 percent, behind Christ, watching him teach, watching him perform miracles, watching him heal people, watching him teach. I would have let the master do his work, and I would have stood behind him, and I would have watched everything that he had done, just like the disciples did. But they knew that was no longer going to be permitted.

The master, the Lord, he was gone when he was crucified. They knew it was their time to then take a stand, to teach, to show the world that there's a different way to live. And God allowed them to be able to do that because he gave them his spirit. They had to be light to a dark world.

They had to represent God's righteousness in their own lives. So the Holy Spirit reveals the standard of God's righteousness, because Christ no longer would be physically present on the earth. The third aspect that we see in the passage from John 16 is that the Holy Spirit demonstrates Christ's judgment on Satan and on his evil. The Holy Spirit demonstrates Christ's judgment on Satan and his evil. Each of us knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Satan is the ruler of this world.

His evil is ever present, his hatred for mankind forever documented in the archives of mankind's existence. From the beginning, Satan tempted Eve in the garden and placed doubt in her mind of God's goodness and his truthfulness. And until Christ returns to this earth and brings all the kingdoms of man and Satan himself under submission, Satan will continue to wreak havoc on this earth. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict the world of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. That's John 16 and verse 11 again. Satan has great power and is an adversary of man, but people can be delivered from his reign of spiritual darkness through the perfect life of Jesus Christ. We know that we are each guilty of transgressing God's holy, just, and perfect law, but we also know that God has reconciled the world to himself through Christ. This is in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. Second Corinthians 5 and verse 17.

Again, the apostle Paul shares, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Now all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Through Christ overcoming death and becoming the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, and through this act of reconciliation, God holds responsible the one whose judgment remains on, and that is Satan the devil himself.

Revelation 20 in verse 7 through 10 pictures this time when judgment will be finally handed out to Satan. Revelation 20 in verse 7.

Now, when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, together them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire, in brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Satan's power over mankind will be forever removed, never to be seen or felt again. He will never again be allowed to deceive anyone.

You and I, through belief in God and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we can be freed from the judgment and punishment deserving our sins when we repent of our transgressions and turn towards God. In this commitment we made at baptism and the receiving of God's Holy Spirit through the laying on the hands, convicts the world of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. Let's turn to Hebrews 2 and verse 14.

There's an important two-verse passage here that has to be connected to these other passages for this third aspect. Hebrews 2 and verse 14 and 15. Hebrews 2 and verse 14.

And as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, meaning that Christ was physical flesh on this earth, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. This is that freedom that you and I have because we have a Lord and Savior that overcame physical death through the perfect life that he lived. He is worthy to bear our sins and our sins can be fully removed and cleansed from our physical bodies, our weaknesses that we have. That's why judgment sits with Satan.

It's an amazing, unbelievable witness that you and I can be to convict this world of Christ's judgment on Satan and his evil. In the beginning of this message, I shared the prophetic passage from Jeremiah 13 when God inspired Jeremiah to write, I will put my law on their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people. The very next verse follows this thought by saying, and this is Jeremiah 31-34, no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more. The UCG Bible commentary again says, God is talking about putting an end to law-breaking and end to sin through enabling people to obey. With help from God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he gives them, they grow in obedience. God's law being written unto their character gradually, but eventually all scripture shows people are to be transformed into perfect spirit beings who will never sin again. This is how sin will ultimately one day be remembered no more. It will no longer exist. We struggle to imagine what life would be like without sin. We struggle to imagine what this world would be like without sin, but the promise of eternal life and the transformation we will someday experience will make this all possible.

We were told in John chapter 16, again, the passage that we shared earlier, I will just read one more time, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send it to you. And when it has come, it will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because they do not believe in me, of righteousness because I go to my father and you'll see me no more, of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. This is the power of God that you and I have working in our lives today. In closing, let's turn to Hebrews 10 and verse 12.

Hebrews 10 verses 12 through 17.

The writer says, Speaking of Christ in this passage, the writer says, But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

From that time, waiting till his enemies are made his footstool.

For by one offering he is perfected forever, those who are being sanctified, those who are being set apart, that is you and me.

Verse 15, But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us.

For after he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them.

Then he adds, Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.