The Conviction of the Holy Spirit

The Bible teaches us that all people are by nature rebels against God and hostile to Jesus Christ.  We are dead in trespasses and sins and by nature children of wrath. We are alienated from God and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds; blinded by Satan so we cannot understand spiritual truth. In that condition, we are helpless and unable to believe the truth. But through the Spirit of God bringing about a convicting work in our lives they are confronted with the truth, drawn to the Father and brought to life. (paraphrase of John MacArthur) 

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin. Primarily, this means the greatest sin of all; the sin of not believing in Jesus Christ. But beyond that, the Spirit convicts of us of the sin in our lives on daily basis. If you are brought under the conviction of sin, especially your sin against Christ, grace is at work in your life.  Pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit and cast yourself upon the mercy of God! 

You see, the work of conviction in your life is actually an evidence of God's endless grace.  Until you know how bad the bad news is you'll never know how good the good news is. Conviction always comes before conversion. Blaise Pascal once said, "Man is great insofar as he realizes that he is wretched."
  
Those who are truly close to God do not feel an overwhelming sense of righteousness. Instead, they see their sinfulness in light of Christ's righteousness.  And through the work of the Holy Spirit of God in their lives, seek to draw ever closer to Him.