How does the Holy Spirit convict a person of sin?
Through the word preached. "When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin" (John 16:8). The Greek elenchō means to prove a person wrong to his face; the Spirit does this in the hearer as the gospel is preached.
What the text states
The convicting work is inward and through the word: "faith cometh by hearing" (Rom 10:17), and the word is "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12). He convicts "the world" (John 16:8), every hearer. It can be received (Acts 2:37, "pricked in their heart") or resisted (Acts 7:51). Real, effectual work that leaves a man convicted and able to respond, not neutral and not compelled.
Calvinism holds the effectual call is irresistible for the elect. We hold His conviction through the word is genuine for every hearer and can be resisted, which Scripture shows on the same page (Acts 2 and 7).
Go deeper
Checked 2026-09-29 by Darren. 50 Scripture citations verified against the KJV rows. Wave 4. 50 quoted fragments table-passed against the verses table, splitting every quotation at its ellipsis. 49 pass. ONE CORRECTION: the file quoted "Dead in sins" (Eph 2:1); the KJV reads "dead in trespasses and sins", and the quotation was corrected to the table. One exhibit does not resolve and ships omitted rather than guessed: what-does-dead-in-sin-mean listed 'is-faith-a-work', which is not a slug on this site (the nearest is is-believing-a-work); flagged for Darren.
wsb.bible/answers/how-does-the-holy-spirit-convict