by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
To many, “conviction” is the same as “condemnation,” and most of us familiar with condemnation don’t like it much.<\/p>\n
You know, the (not so) subtle voice that hisses,<\/p>\n
Our evil enemy- and sometimes even well-meaning but misdirected people -can heap condemnation on us, leaving us to think that perhaps the words are true: I am <\/em>a failure, and there is no<\/em>\u00a0hope.<\/p>\n Don’t confuse the condemnation by the enemy with the conviction by the Spirit of God. Condemnation dooms us while leaving no door open for improvement. But the conviction of the Spirit, while giving a true assessment of your status before God, offers hope for climbing out of the pit of despair and reaching new and better heights.<\/p>\n But you’ve got to start somewhere.<\/p>\n The place to start is to realize where you are (or aren’t) in your relationship with your Maker. Reading God’s word, the instrument of conviction, will sometimes sting. The gospel doesn’t always drip sunshine and warm fuzzies. It gives a truthful appraisal of your condition. Yes, you’re a sinner. Yes, you deserve judgment. It’s important to feel the weight of our sin and hopelessness without Christ. But the Spirit doesn’t end there.<\/p>\n The gospel is “good news” because it tells us there is help. It reminds us of our utter need for a Savior and the fact that He has come. Yes, you’re a sinner, but you don’t have to stay that way. You start with genuine remorse for your sins, which have caused estrangement from God, then resolve, with the Spirit’s help, to do something about it. And the Spirit of God doesn’t disappoint. Armed with your conviction and His revelation of God’s intention for you, you can begin to make the hard adjustments in your life that will bring you into a full relationship with the One who gave His Son for you.<\/p>\nCondemnation says, “You’re too far gone and there’s nothing better for<\/em> you!<\/em>“ While it may be painful to realize the weight of sin, without it, you can’t rise above. You’ve got to start somewhere.<\/p>\n “And He<\/em> (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment<\/em>” (John 16:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores To many, “conviction” is the same as “condemnation,” and most of us familiar with condemnation don’t like it much. You know, the (not so) subtle voice that hisses, “You’re not good enough!” “You’re a failure!” “It’s too late for you, there’s no hope because you’ll never change!” Our evil enemy- and sometimes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[767,1090,703],"class_list":["post-86658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-condemnation","tag-conviction","tag-guilt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94340,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/guilty-consciences\/","url_meta":{"origin":86658,"position":0},"title":"Guilty Consciences","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In Genesis 42:21-22, Joseph's brothers say, \"Surely we are being punished because of our brother.\" Their guilt surfaces immediately when trouble hits. This reveals a deep truth about the human conscience: God has woven moral awareness into us. Even when people try to bury their wrongdoing, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68925,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/redemption\/","url_meta":{"origin":86658,"position":1},"title":"Redemption","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton To the common man, \"redemption\" is seldom used in his daily vocabulary. To someone captivated and addicted or held in slavery, it means someone is going to pay the price to get them out from under their miserable burden and give them a new start. 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\nConviction says, “You’ve made a mess of things, but I’ve gotten help.<\/em>”\n