"And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst." John 8:9.
The dictionary definition of conviction is: a convicting or being convicted (judged guilty); the state or appearance of being convinced, as of the truth of a belief; and a strong belief.
When an individual is convicted by the Holy Spirit, he/she becomes acutely aware of what is right and what is wrong. Everyone who has accepted Christ as their Saviour will be guided by the Holy Spirit and convicted by Him when having yielded to temptation, or repeatedly done wrong time and again and being made consciously aware that that wrong isn't right. However, this conviction is not to be confused with condemnation (meaning knowingly guilty), for those who are in Christ Jesus are not under condemnation, as stated in Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
Please note that one can, for instance, have "false guilt (condemnation)" for the breaking of the Sabbath Day as not fully observant, when the insidious callousness of some blatant sin is cherished to the breaking of God's Heart, and the individual does not recognize God's Redemptive powers resting upon him/her as His Spiritual Rest into and upon [them]. In other words: condemnation takes place when one knows he/she is not fulfilling what he/she knows to be rightfully true of God - to [themselves].
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." John 16:7-12.
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked [convicted] in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:37, 38.
"After Peter's powerful, Spirit-filled message, the people were deeply moved and asked, 'What shall we do?' This is the basic question we must ask. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins - we must let God forgive them, and then we must live like forgiven people." - Life Application Bible, p. 1875.
_______________
Life Application Bible Notes Used By Permission. Life Application Study Bible © 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale Publishers, Inc.
Copyright 2008 Christianist Libertarian Fellowship. This article may be printed in its entirety for personal study and free distribution. Please include the following statement: "Permission granted by Christianist Libertarian Fellowship for Free Distribution Only - Never To Be Sold".
Site Constructed January 2008. This Document