John 16:7-8 says that when the Comforter comes - the Spirit of truth - He will, "... reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." The next verse, verse 9 does not change the plain meaning of verse 8. It is the Holy Spirit which "reproves" the world of sin. Verse 9 gives the reason why the sin is there to be reproved. It is because not having believed in Jesus their sin remains.
When a man is converted, two things must be accomplished. (i) he must believe with his heart that Jesus is Who He claims to be, and (ii) the man must confess this out loud. A prime example of this is the Pharisees in Matthew 21. They knew who Jesus was - their King and Heir of the Vineyard Israel. But they did not admit it. The result? Planning to murder Him. A man must BOTH believe and confess out loud what is in his heart by faith.
In Ephesians 2:8 the grammar, in English and Greek, follows a rule. The last mentioned noun is modified by the pronoun. It reads;
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God"
The pronoun
"that" modifies
"faith", not "grace". The verse could have been formulated in two ways;
- "For by faith are ye saved through grace; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God". Here, the "grace" was a GIFT
- "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God". Here, the "faith" was a GIFT
This is confirmed by
Hebrews 12:2:
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."