How to Embrace Conviction and Experience True Transformation

As we discussed in the previous post, one of the works of the Holy Spirit is “sanctification,” our ongoing, life-long growth in knowing God better and better and acting more and more like him. 

In an earlier post, we talked about the Holy Spirit’s work of conviction in the lives of unbelievers. He convinces the non-believer that he is unrighteous and can never make himself righteous. He tells us we’re guilty and convinces us that it’s true.

Conviction, though, is not only a work for unbelievers. As part of our sanctification, the Holy Spirit also works in believers to convict us of our sins.

Unfortunately, believers often confuse conviction with condemnation. One of these is from God. The other is most assuredly not.

Condemnation is an expression of strong disapproval. It’s both a guilty verdict and the sentence that the verdict deserves. All mankind stands under this condemnation. We’re guilty of sin and separated from God by our sin. Without God, our only response is to run away from him in shame. 

Christ, though, died so we could receive forgiveness, and once we’re made right with him, condemnation disappears.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

There is no longer any condemnation for those “in Christ Jesus.” Jesus paid the penalty our sins deserved. 

Condemnation has to do with salvation. But for the believer, salvation is no longer an issue. God has declared us not guilty and has freed us from the penalty of sin. He’s now freeing us from the power of sin in our lives. Part of that process is showing us our sins so we can allow him to change us.

Believers are no longer condemned. Condemnation makes you feel worthless and unlovable. It drives you away from God in shame. It is not from God.

While for the believer there is no longer condemnation, there is conviction. This is a good work of the Holy Spirit in which he makes us aware of our sin. Its purpose is not to leave you in shame but to lead you to repentance. 

God is holy, and he calls his children to holiness. He wants us to be so much more than we think we can be. God gives us a desire for holiness (1 John 3:9), and he’s given us his Holy Spirit to empower us to grow in our holiness. Our proper response to conviction is not to turn from God in shame but to him for forgiveness and strength in killing those sins he shows us.

For the believer, then, condemnation is a hateful lie from Satan designed to ruin you.

Conviction is a loving statement of truth from the Holy Spirit, a gift designed to draw you closer to your Heavenly Father.

Condemnation for the believer ended at the cross, but conviction happens throughout our lives. The more you grow in personal holiness, the more conviction you’ll experience. Because we’ll never reach perfection in this life, there is always sin to fight. As we come to know God and his holiness more, we also see more of our sinfulness, and how far away we are from God’s perfection. The more we grow, the more need for growth we see.

Conviction can also be a warning sign that danger is ahead. About a month ago, I decided to play pickleball with two of my grown children. The problem is that I tend to get competitive, and I think at my age that my body can do what theirs can do. It can’t. So when I tried to charge the net to get to a ball, I suddenly felt pain in the back of my ankle. I took it as a sign to sit on the bench. The doctor said that was a good idea. The pain was a warning sign that danger was ahead.

Sometimes, we wish we had a personal robot who would shout, “Danger, Will Robinson!” whenever trouble was coming. If you know what show that reference is from, you’re really old. Me too. The thing is, we do have a personal warning system – the Holy Spirit. 

God says, “Look, I love you, and I’m trying to protect you. If you keep doing what you’re doing, or don’t start doing what you should be doing, danger is ahead.”

If there is sometimes confusion between condemnation and conviction, there’s also confusion about what to do with conviction. We often think the feeling of conviction is spiritual growth in itself. So many times after a sermon, someone has come up to me and said, “You really stepped on my toes today! That was a great message!” As if having our toes stepped on was the end game. You feel convicted, and that’s good because when you’re convicted, you feel close to God. 

Then you go out and do nothing. Preachers making you feel bad isn’t spiritual growth. What good does it do if nothing changes? Nothing. But you feel better about yourself because you felt bad about something. 

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)

Feeling bad about something isn’t enough. God doesn’t convict us just to make us feel bad about ourselves, or to feel good about ourselves because we feel bad about ourselves. He gives us “godly grief,” and that grief is there to lead us to change.

Conviction is not punishment. It isn’t God taking all the fun out of life. It’s an act of love, helping you grow to be all God is calling you to be. It’s a warning there to protect you, to stop you from heading down the wrong road, and to get you back on the right road. 

Some of you, as you read this, are being convicted by the Holy Spirit. There’s something in your life that isn’t as it should be, and you’re thinking about it right now. “I shouldn’t do that” or “I should start doing this.” That’s the presence of the Holy Spirit convicting you and leading you to change. 

You have the choice to struggle against God or surrender to him. Choose surrender. Go to your loving Father and ask for his mercy and forgiveness, and for his strength to grow in holiness. Receive his conviction in the love in which it’s offered. Heed his warnings. 

Surrender to him as he makes you more like him. 

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