Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit.  He is the author of conviction.  Jesus Christ said in John 16:8, “And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin…”  This is the message of hope.  Some would think, since it is unpleasant, that conviction is not good.  Quite the opposite is true.  Oswald Chambers said, “Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God.”

Conviction is a real sense of the absolute filth of our sin. It is not the mere knowledge that we have many sins and that the Lord’s anger is revealed against them all.  Knowledge alone cannot save.  Hearing along cannot save.  Conviction should lead us to a feeling of the dreadfulness of sin—of what it means to dishonor God, and of the wrath to which it exposes our souls.  Conviction of sin is not a natural work of the heart.  There is a HUGE difference between knowing that fire will burn us, and actually feeling the pain of being burned.  In the same way, there is all the difference in the world between knowing the dreadfulness of your sins and feeling the dreadfulness of your sins. It is all in vain if we read our Bibles and hear the Word preached, unless the Spirit uses them to give us a sense and feeling of our dead hearts. The simplest words will not awaken us as long as we are in a natural condition. He that made our hearts can alone impress our hearts. It is the Spirit that convicts us of our sin.

Condemnation is the tool of the Enemy.  Romans 8:1 proclaims, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  For those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus, there is absolutely no condemnation against us.  Shame and guilt are ways by which Satan attempts to keep us locked up in our sin.  Satan knows the truth (James 2:19) and shutters.  He works to distort the Word of God.  Remember what happened in Genesis 3?  Satan will even attempt to use the Word against us.  Remember what he did to Christ in Luke 4?

Think through this with me for a moment.  What is the sin you struggle with the most? When you commit this sin, what happens?  If you are a Christ-follower, your conscience will start bothering you.  At this point, you can either respond to this “bothering” by repenting and confessing or you can choose to ignore it.  For the purpose of this illustration, let’s you choose to ignore it.  Sweep it under the rug and act as though it never happened.  Maybe no one saw you.  Maybe only one other person knows.  You go on about your day or night.  What starts happening?  Your sin will start gnawing at you. If you have hardened your heart to the Spirit’s prompting to repent, then it will continue to eat away at you.  Now Satan has you right where he wants to have you.  You are alone.  Imprisoned. You are disconnected from the Father and your relationship is hindered by your sin.

My earthly father’s name is Greg.  His DNA runs throughout my body.  All of my cells have a mark of Greg in them.  There is no separating me from my dad.  However, I could say something or do something to my dad that might place a strain on our relationship.  With this “thing” between me and my dad, we could be in the same room or house and not speak to one another.  If I have offended him, I might become prideful and harden my heart towards him as a way of shielding myself from the guilt of my actions.  If this were to happen, this would be a direct consequence to my action. Right?  However, this cannot change the fact that I am my father’s son and he is my father.  Just because I have offended him does not change the fact that his DNA is part of what makes me up.

Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This is a truth that has never and can never change.  But after committing a sin, Satan would have us think otherwise.  Condemnation is the constant nagging of “God doesn’t love you.”  Or “Your friends would disown you if they knew what you had done.”  ”You will never measure up, so why try?”  How do you refute this condemnation?  Try starting with Romans 8:38-39.  Claim the truth.  James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Look at the promise right after this… “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

Conviction is a gift.  It is a work of the Holy Spirit and it’s purpose is to lead us back to the Lord.  It should lead us back to Christ, not away from Him.  Condemnation is of work of the “deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9) or the Accuser (Rev. 12:10).  Condemnation is meant to drive us away from God.  A great way to tell the difference is to look at the direction you are being guided to.  To Christ or away from Christ?

It looks so simple written out, but is totally different in trying to live out.

Conviction or condemnation?

I cannot think of a time where I have received a birthday card or note of encouragement from my Granddaddy and Nona that didn’t contain the words found in Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” It is easy to gloss over these words and but hard to live them out.

As a Christ-follower, I am to trust in God with all that I have. In a world filled with very untrustworthy people who are filled with wavering emotions and words, for me this causes me not to want to trust anyone, including the Lord. Now I have no founded reason not to trust Him. He has never left me nor forsaken me. He has never lied to me. He has never told me one thing and done another. He has never told me He loves me and then not backed it up with His actions. Yet I have allowed factors in my relationships with others (flawed- all of us are) to impact my trust in Him.

Lean not on my own understanding. This is very hard for me. I have always wanted to understand things or know the details about something before participating with, agreeing to go along with, or purchasing something. Before purchasing something, I will spend hours researching the product and comparing it to similar items. I am not talking about a box of kleenex or crayons. I am talking about a more substantial purchase. I will learn everything that I can about it before making a decision. I am trusting not in the advertisers claims, but in my assessment of the item. I cannot carry this over with me in decisions of faith. I realize my understanding is limited, whereas His is not.

In all my ways acknowledge Him. How do I do this? By coming to the fork in the road and asking Him what to do. Not polling my friends and family, which I have a tendency to want to do. I have to dig deep into the Word and recognize what He has said and rely on Him.

And He will make my paths straight. This is a great ending. A great promise. A certain and trustworthy saying. Who wouldn’t want Him to make their paths straight?

These verses are incredibly important to me and my faith. I am at what some would call a crisis of belief. I say I trust in the Lord, even when it doesn’t make sense. But will my actions line up with that claim? We will see. I hope and pray that I will show others my faith, by the actions of my feet and not my mouth.

In her most desperate time, she clings to Truth.

Almost one month after her world literally shook, this Haitian woman clings to the Truth which has stood the test of time.  In Psalm 46, we are told that God is our refuge and strength, even when the earth gives way.  A great lesson for all Christ-followers, find your help in God.

- Jesus Christ, Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 28, Verses 19 and 20