Have you ever heard Christians say that the Spirit convicted them, may a wrong though of going to do something, or wrong actions or reactions to something. Chances are that it has everything to do with our own conviction, or beliefs about what is wrong or right, it has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes we think that it is the Holy Spirit getting on our case, if we did, thought, or said something wrong. It is not the Spirit. It is our own conscience. Our own hearts. We know if we do something wrong, and we convict ourselves. The Spirits job is to come alongside us to help, comfort, and guide us into the truth.
Here it says that condemnation comes from our own heart. But God is able to see past that. His love is greater than any condemnation from ourselves, our hearts, or other people, and even the devil.
In whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 1 John 3:20-21 NASB
The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. The Spirit will convict us of righteousness. Let us know that we have to get up and move forward in and with the Lord Because we are righteous That is what he will do to help us and strengthen our faith. He will remind us of who we are in Christ, so that we can stand.
The Spirit will convict of Judgement to remind us that we have moved out of judgement into eternal life. Remind us that all the stuff that the world has to throw at us has been judged, there is nothing that the enemy can do he has been judged. The enemy, satan will try and do what ever he can to prevent us from seeing that all of his schemes have been judged. The word says that we are not ignorant to the schemes of the devil.
This is the conviction of the Spirit, about righteousness to bring us to a state of mind where we have a strong assurance about what we believe knowing that our sin is forgiven, that we are the beloved children of God. The He will not be angry or rebuke us.
God is not and will not be holding any sin against us. The Spirit even helps to get up and get moving in the right way again.
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; Romans 8:26 NASB
Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a comforter, helper, a guide, teacher. Nowhere does it ever say that the Holy Spirit is a convictor, condemner of His children. His adopted, through Jesus.
God is faithful and just. His judgement on us was made the day we became born again. We received His forgiveness. He wrote our names in the Lambs book of life before the foundation of the world. He sanctified us and put a stamp of His righteous on our hearts. He made us righteous. We are righteous. He does not look upon the sin, but the righteousness of our renewed spirit.
” For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Hebrews 8:10 NASB
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB
And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24 NASB
We should allow the Holy Spirit to show us, teach us what this really means. For once we get to understand this there will be no room for self-condemnation. Only rejoicing. The Spirit of God will not condemn us, Condemnation is one kind of conviction!
We should have conviction of our faith, in what we believe and know about our total forgiveness, and eternal life. The Spirits work is to establish that within us. It becomes our conviction not the Spirit’s. We should have no fear of God’s judgement against us, as we have passed from death into life. We have already received the mercy of God, that mercy is the forgiveness of our sin of not believing in Jesus.
Blessings, and more to come in part 3
Charlie
FREEDOM IN CHRIST 