Here is another view of the 3.
This ministry involves Conviction and Convincing in the areas of:
1. Sin - The Holy Spirit convicts the lost sinner of the fact of his sinfulness. He makes Romans 3:23 and 3:10 to become real to the heart of the sinner. He points out their sin! (Ill. Men may deny personal sin, but when the Spirit of God comes by in conviction, the sinner knows that he is guilty! Ill. Conviction may not be very pleasant, but it is essential and it is a blessing from the Lord!)
(Ill. Not only does the Spirit convict of sin, but He also convinces of unbelief. That is, He teaches men the foolishness of not believing in Jesus. He show the sinner that unbelief is wrong. In fact, if there must be a classification of sins by their awfulness. The worse son a person can ever commit is not murder, blaspheme, abortion, adultery, etc. The worse sin a person can commit is unbelief - John 8:24. After all, it is the only sin that will send man to Hell! Thankfully, the Spirit of God just doesn't show us the bad side and then leave us to twist in the wind, but He points us to where salvation can be found - John 3:16. Verses like that one have been sprinkled throughout the New Testament to give hope and direction to every seeking sinner.)
2. Righteousness - The Holy Spirit convicts the lost man of the need for getting right with God. He produces in the heart of the lost a deep seated feeling of filthiness. We need to remember that we are absolutely unrighteous in and of ourselves! According to Isaiah 64:6, the very best we can produce is a pile of filthy, stinking, putrid rags. The term in Isaiah literally refers to menstrual wiping cloths. Totally defiled and absolutely wretched!
(Yet, in His convincing ministry, He points us to the truth that Jesus has paid the price for sin and that He has been accepted by the Father. Now, anyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation will be saved and declared righteous by God in Heaven. The righteousness of Jesus will be "imputed" to anyone who receives Him, Rom. 4:24! There is hope! Don't run from Jesus, rather run to Him!)
3. Judgment - The Spirit of God convicts the heart of man about the reality of approaching judgment and condemnation. Ill. Men may joke about Hell, and they may even use the word Hell as a by word in every day language, but deep in the soul of man, he knows that when he leaves this world without Jesus, that he is headed to a Christless eternity in Hell!
(While He convicts men of approaching judgment, He also convinces men of the great truth that the price of judgment has already been paid in full! He teaches us that when Jesus went to Calvary and died, that He satisfied the demands of God for sin and that judgment has already been passed. You see, Satan and sin have already been judged, all that remains is for the death sentence to be carried out.)