I have been working on this word for a while and have finally had the release. This is the first Bible study I have written of this kind, and it is a lengthy post filled with Scripture that you can use to feed your soul. I would ask that you break out your Bible before beginning, grab your journal, highlighters, and a pen, and pray throughout our time together. We are journeying in the Word to see Jesus and work out what we believe by discovering the will, the work, and the witness of the Spirit.
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This word is written especially for those who have questions concerning the conviction of the Spirit and condemnation of the enemy.
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I hope this will move you to pray, contemplate, and discover God's character and then move wholly and confidently toward God because He loves us and desires an intimate, thriving relationship with us. So let’s jump in📖
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Laying the groundwork
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The voice of condemnation has always been the enemy, yet I had attributed it to God because of faulty teaching and my lack of understanding of God’s word for myself.
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Early in my Christian journey, I was told the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin— but no one told me
there was a difference between conviction and condemnation, and I suffered spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically for the better part of two and a half decades not knowing this, and what's worse is no one told me the Holy Spirit’s conviction is specific.
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I believe condemnation is why so many people suffer mental illness, which is why knowing Jesus for ourselves through an intimate relationship with Him and believing the character of God through experiences with Him is paramount to hearing the voice of God.
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Let’s explore the conviction of the Spirit in John 16v8-11.
The Holy Spirit’s Conviction:
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“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:” John 16:8.
In verse 8, it appears that this applies to everyone but doesn't, which is why we must read Scripture in context. So let’s break it down:
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First, where and to whom is Jesus speaking? He is still in the upper room discourse where He has washed the disciple’s feet, Judas has left to betray Him, and then the Last Supper (the Holy Communion) is instituted. Jesus has waited to share this with His disciples and us.
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Now, He is speaking to us about the work of the Spirit. So now notice the importance of the pronouns used in the following three verses because it changes everything and also gives revelation to the third Person of the Triune God.
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“concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;” John 16:9.
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The conviction concerning sin isn’t any random sin—Jesus is being precise! It is the only sin whereby a person goes to hell: not believing in Jesus. Remember, He is speaking to the disciples and us, so note that Jesus used the pronoun “they” to distinguish the world from those who place their faith in Him.
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“concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;”
John 16:10.
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So many are unaware of the conviction of righteousness. This is incredibly important because this conviction works in tandem with the Holy Spirit’s witness that we are indeed the children of God. I want us to savor the Holy Spirit's intentionality in changing the pronouns from they (the world seen in verse 9) to “you” in verse 10. When my pastor pointed this out, I was stunned.
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You see, I knew it within me but never had anything to support it, but here it is in the word of God. I struggled with lies about the conviction of the Spirit and thought condemnation and conviction were the same; they are not.
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Finally, “concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”John 16:11.
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There is a message from the Holy Spirit to the enemy. His time is up. Because He was judged when Jesus was on the cross—“by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”Colossians 2:14-15.
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The Spirit’s Witness:
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I want to mention that the Holy Spirit has a “witness” for believers, which is seldom spoken of yet incredibly profound and can be found 👉🏾 John 16v14, Romans 8v16, Hebrews 10v15-17 when you have time.
“He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:14.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16.
“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Hebrews 10:15-17.
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Let these verses bring you rich comfort and consolation in the love of God towards us. I plan on delving into this more in an upcoming podcast episode, so be on the lookout.
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The Work of Conviction in Believers
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Beloved, conviction will always point us to Christ, Who is the Answer. As believers, we are aware of sin and have become more sensitive to it because the Holy Spirit has made His home in us.
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However, the conviction of the Spirit will always be to see what Jesus has done, to walk in the forgiveness purchased by His blood, and the witness will be that we are loved and the very children of God.
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God isn't into scare tactics—making people afraid is a tactic found in religion, and religion is not God! God is love! God is not wrath. There is not one verse that says He is wrath! I want people to stop portraying my Daddy like that and remember Moses did not enter the land because He portrayed God as angry when He wasn't.
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“Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.” Numbers 20:10-11. (bold mine).
“And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” Numbers 20:12. (bold mine)
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We rarely discuss why Moses didn't enter the land, yet there is a powerful message about how we represent and reflect God to the world around us. I implore us to read the word for ourselves so we don't fall into the same unfortunate peril. Not because it would change our salvation but because our hearts should desire to reflect God in a manner that glorifies His name and represents His nature.
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The Invitation Woven In Conviction
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Conviction invites us to run into the arms of the Father because of His grace. Since we are on grace ground, we are in a posture to receive mercy.
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.
Conviction lets us put the fig leaves down and reminds us we are covered by His righteousness, giving us boldness and confidence. This is our God and Father; this is His heart toward all who believe.
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The Human Condition
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Because of the principle of sin in humanity, we innately know when we do wrong even before we come to Christ.
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“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Romans 1:18.
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.”
Romans 1:19.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
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The thing is, we have minimal capacity to do right in and of ourselves.
“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”Romans 3:10-11.
Before Christ, we did right to avoid sin's consequences or get what we wanted, not because our hearts were pure. And when we look back, we see that we did wrong because we chose it. Come on... let’s be honest. We chose it and hated the consequences when we got caught or the guilt of the sin when we didn’t—just saying🤷🏾♀️. In our pre-salvation state, we didn’t necessarily care if we did wrong; what we didn’t like was the outcome of our wrong choices because the consequences of sin are painful and the condemnation weighty.
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The Christian Reality
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Justification requires Christ’s blood to be shed and a new heart and Spirit to be received and friends; that is precisely what happened to us in Christ. God placed us in Christ at the cross, and when Christ died, we died with Him. When He rose, we rose in Him. When He ascended, we ascended with Him.
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“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”Romans 6:4.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”Romans 6:5.
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Romans 6:6.
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It’s masterful and complex, and the revelation is spiritually discerned. Though we walk on earth, we are seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6). This is the Gospel that gives us the overwhelming victory in Christ. We are no longer who we were; we are one with Him.
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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20.
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To wrap this up, our conviction as believers is altogether different from when we were sinners apart from Christ. Conviction restores us to the Father by reminding us we are the righteousness of God in Christ and knowing in our hearts we can run into our Abba’s arms because we are the children of God.
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Condemnation Kills
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Condemnation comes from the enemy. It points to the individual to shame, evoke guilt, fear, and threaten punishment. Often, the enemy, in the course of his rebuke, not only attempts to convince us of the wrong we committed, which by the way may very well be true. However, he takes it a step further condemning us that “the act” has now become the the totality of who we are.
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An example is making a poor decision. This doesn't mean we are stupid, but through the lens of condemnation, the act becomes the individual's identity instead of separating the isolated act of poor decision-making. I hope that makes sense.
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This is one of the reasons I am so against labels unless they are biblically based on who God says we are. We live in a society that quickly slaps labels on people. What happens is overtime, instead of seeing the individual, they see them as a disease. I am not saying we cannot call things as they are, but I want us to be careful because it's not only the stigma but the spiritual attachment that comes when we release words into the atmosphere. Friends, let us be intentional with our words. Less we pronounce something that is not in accordance with God's word, and the negative confession becomes a sentence.
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So Why All The Fuss?
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So why all this talk about the difference between conviction and condemnation? Why sit in the Scriptures to understand the will, work, and witness of the Spirit? Because the Holy Spirit, who is God, has been given a bad wrap in Christendom, many believers are walking around like I once was, thinking what they hear is Him condemning them. Often, this causes them to feel frustration and shame, and instead of being in a heart posture able to receive the abundance of grace and gift of righteousness found in the Father’s waterfall of forgiveness, they run from Him. They ultimately put up walls around their heart, further barricading themselves in their sin, thus feeling isolated and hopeless, which can lead to anxiety and depression.
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Because they were told the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin without any Biblical context or explanation of the work of the Spirit, they believe that the ping they feel and the voice they hear within that says, “You did this or that wrong?” is the voice of the Spirit. Remember, we are sensitive to sin because we are new creations in Christ. We are aware of our sins and become aware of how sin rips the fabric of our lives apart and cataclysmically touches the lives of others. In Christ, we can see clearly when we make poor choices, and it doesn't feel good!
Before Christ, we had no idea of the level of captivity or even the depth of our depravity, but now we can see that the veil has been removed—not to harm us but so that we can see what He has saved us from. Now, because of the Spirit, we can choose differently by His power.
But without this revelation, people confuse condemnation for conviction, which leaves them in a never-ending spiral, thinking God is angry with them and will respond harshly towards them, especially in their mistakes. Many, not all, but many see Him standing over them, pointing out every single fault that is not true and
precisely why I laid the groundwork above.
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Does God chasten those He loves? Absolutely!!
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Hebrews 12:6.
The word disciplines in Greek is paideuō meaning to discipline; educate; train. The word chastises is mastigoō meaning to flog to punish as a father would a child. He doesn't discipline with sickness or accidents. Friends, He is God. We are lost without Him and we know this because we've been found. The lack of peace in whatever we are pursuing is usually enough of a correction for many of us to stop and ask for His wisdom and guidance.
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Beloved, the Holy Spirit isn’t pointing out every error. We have become sensitive to sin because we have been awakened to righteousness. We have an awareness because we are in Christ, so the things that are unrighteous are foreign and just don’t feel good, which causes us to stop and consider Jesus.
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We now see the Way out when we face decisions that can lead us away from God. We are new creations in Christ; therefore, sin no longer fits us. It makes us uncomfortable, and it should be because Jesus has made His home in us. We hear the good Shepherd calling us in righteousness and truth.
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This is so important‼️
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The devil and his minions go around attempting to pervert and distort the word of God so believers will not live in the glorious victory Christ died to give us.
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What saddens and grieves my heart is that many believers are not in Gospel-centered churches, don’t engage in Christ-centered discussions, are not being discipled, or have a robust community of believers to walk with them. Instead, they are left unto themselves, sheep without shepherd. And if they are not students of the word, the journey becomes lonelier and the road arduous and there is an enemy out there seeking to take advantage of them.
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Who do you think goes around “like a roaring lion” pretending to be an angel of light but pointing out every fault and every wrong? Let that sink in and consider the following few verses:
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.” Proverbs 28:15.
(Bold Italics Mine)
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Notice it is always like and never the Lion. It is a critical distinction. If the word of God makes the distinction, we should take time to study why.
The devil is the master impersonator. He has always wanted to be God (Isaiah 14:12-20), and since he has been defeated and banished by God, he has no other recourse but to attempt to mess with the saints of God for a time. He can't take us out because we are being kept by Christ and in Christ.
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However, this doesn't change the fact that he tries to disrupt the work of God while we are here on earth. He wants to restrict the Gospel of our Lord Jesus because it sets the captives free.
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Make no bones about it: the devil hates us because God so loves us. He hates us because God came to save us. He hates us because the Spirit of God lives in us. He hates us because we are a constant reminder of his future, separated from God forever. The devil has been condemned and uses condemnation as a tactic to enslave believers. Don't let Him!
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?” Romans 8:1.
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Romans chapter 8 remedies the condemnation that most Christians suffer throughout the Christian journey. It is the struggle the apostle Paul penned in Romans 7. I don't believe we study the connection between Romans 5-8 enough in the church, but you can do so this month.
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I admonish you to read these chapters, paying particular attention to Romans 7 and 8 this month. Again, don't miss Romans 5 and 6 because Paul lays the groundwork.
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I will place a pin 🎯here in this body of work and leave you with some homework. Read Romans chapter 7 and see the apostle Paul’s struggle and see if you identify with it. Then read Romans chapter 8 and ask the Lord to give you a fresh revelation.
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Final Word
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I write what I write because of Jesus. I write what I write because I am free, gloriously free. I desire this for everyone. I am not asking you to believe me; I am asking you to believe Jesus, fully embrace the finished work, and walk in every promise of God, for they are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus our Lord🙏🏾.
Live Loved🫶🏾
Andrea
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Conviction vs Condemnations Journal Prompts
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Personal Reflection on Condemnation: Reflect on a time when you felt condemned. What thoughts or feelings accompanied that experience? How did it affect your relationship with God?
Conviction by the Holy Spirit: Think about a moment when you felt the Holy Spirit convicting you. How did this conviction differ from the feelings of condemnation? How did it lead you closer to God?
Understanding John 16:8-11: Reread John 16:8-11. How do you know the distinctions Jesus makes between sin, righteousness, and judgment? How does this passage change your perception of the Holy Spirit’s role in your life?
Role of the Holy Spirit: Reflect on the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life as described in John 16:14, Romans 8:16, and Hebrews 10:15-17. How has the Holy Spirit reassured you of your identity in Christ?
Experiencing God's Grace: Consider when you experienced God's grace amid conviction. How did this experience impact your understanding of God's love and mercy?
Condemnation vs. Conviction in Daily Life: How can you discern between the voice of condemnation and the voice of conviction in your daily walk with Christ? What practical steps can you take to reject condemnation and embrace conviction?
Representation of God: Reflect on Numbers 20:10-12. How do you represent God to those around you? Are there areas in your life where you might portray God inaccurately, as Moses did?
Victory in Christ: Meditate on Romans 6:4-6 and 2 Corinthians 5:17. How does understanding your new identity in Christ empower you to live differently? What old habits or thoughts do you need to let go of to embrace this new life fully?
Spiritual Battle: Read 1 Peter 5:8 and Proverbs 19:12, 28:15. How do you prepare yourself to face the enemy’s tactics of condemnation? How can you stand firm in the truth of God’s word?
Romans 7 and 8 Study: After reading Romans 7 and 8, journal how these chapters speak to your personal struggles with sin and your victory in Christ. What new insights or revelations did you gain from this study?
Living Loved: Reflect on what it means to live loved by God. How does this truth transform your daily interactions and decisions? How can you remind yourself of God's love in challenging times?
Impact of This Study: After engaging with this study on conviction vs. condemnation, what changes do you feel called to make in your spiritual life? How will you apply your learned truths to grow closer to God?
