We ought to give much more attention to this aspect of spiritual experience than we do

CONVICTION

Arrogance doesn’t come from having convictions about the truth; it comes from having the wrong convictions about how to treat people who don’t share it with you. Humility doesn’t come from not having any convictions; it comes from having the right convictions about the importance of gentleness and respect [see 1 Pet. 3:15-16].

J. Budziszewski

There is something essentially wrong with a man who calls himself a Christian and who can listen to a truly evangelistic sermon without coming under conviction again, without feeling something of his own unworthiness, and rejoicing when he hears the Gospel remedy being presented.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Preachers and Preaching, Zondervan, 1971, p. 150. Used by Permission.

There are other people who are prepared to argue and discuss and even change their opinion, but they do not do anything about it. The evangelical, however, is a man who acts on his convictions. There would never have been Protestantism if this were not true.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What is an Evangelical? The Banner of Truth Trust, 1992, p. 53. Used by Permission.

You must be made miserable before you can know true Christian joy. Indeed the real trouble with the miserable Christian is that he has never been truly made miserable because of conviction of sin. He has by-passed the essential preliminary to joy, he has been assuming something that he has no right to assume.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Spiritual Depression – Its Causes and its Cures, 1965, p. 28, Used by Permission from Elizabeth Catherwood (daughter).

Godly sorrow springs from a view of a suffering Savior, and manifests itself by hatred of self, abhorrence of sin, groaning over our backslidings, grief of soul for being so often entangled by our lusts and passions, and is accompanied by softness, meltings of heart, flowings of love to the Redeemer, indignation against ourselves, and earnest desires never to sin more.

J.C. Philpot

What Is It That Saves a Soul?

Athanasius, early bishop of Alexandria, stoutly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being. Hounded through five exiles, he was finally summoned before emperor Theodosius, who demanded he cease his opposition to Arius. The emperor reproved him and asked, “Do you not realize that all the world is against you?” Athanasius quickly answered, “Then I am against all the world.”

Author Unknown

Convictions are more often caught than taught.

Author Unknown

Convictions of personal conscience are those areas where a strict absolute is not laid down for us in the Bible. [Yet] having such personal convictions does not mean you cannot make a biblical argument for your position.

Bill Busshaus
An Outline for Understanding Issues of Conscience and Legalism, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

Biblical guidelines for evaluating the exercise of our personal convictions:

1. Does it Glorify God? Isaiah 43:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, John 15:8.

2. Can it be done in the name of Jesus? Colossians 3:17.

3. Does it cause a weaker brother to stumble? Romans 14:15, 21, Matthew 18:6-9, 1 Corinthians 8:9-13.

4. Is it profitable for you? I Corinthians 6:12.

5. Does it involve wrong company which may lead you astray? 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1.

6. Does it have the appearance of evil or make provision for the flesh? 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, Romans 13:14.

7. Can it be done for the Lord? Colossians 3:23.

8. Do you have any doubts about it? Romans 14:23.

9. Would your parents understand this activity to be honoring to them? (How do you find out? ASK THEM!) Ephesians 6:2-3.

10. Is it something you would like to reap in the life of your children? Galatians 6:7-8.

11. Are you willing to face it in judgment? 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Bill Busshaus
An Outline for Understanding Issues of Conscience and Legalism, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

There can be few more alarming sights than the sight of what we would be were we left to ourselves, of what we are by nature in and of ourselves. It is a sight which few of us are able to bear for any length of time. That is why such experiences are usually brief, pointed but not prolonged. God shows us enough to make us see our need, to break down any illusions we may have had about ourselves. Like a skilled surgeon His knife work is fast, accurate and clean.

Sinclair Ferguson

Grow in Grace, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 1989, p. 119.

No one enjoys being cross-examined, or accused of having something wrong in their lives. But as we grow as Christians we come to the painful recognition that we have an almost unlimited capacity for self-deception. We slowly learn that we need to be stopped in our tracks by God. He uses Scripture to do this… We cannot reach our destination if we are travelling in the wrong direction.

Sinclair B. Ferguson

Healthy Christian Growth, The Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA. 1991, p. 5.

The spiritual life is lived between two polarities: our sin and God’s grace. The discovery of the former brings us to seek the latter; the work of the latter illuminates the depths of the former and causes us to seek yet more grace… The heart-conviction of sin is the way grace prepares the heart for more grace.

Sinclair Ferguson

Theologian of the Spirit, Tabletalk, Oct. 2004, p. 18, Used by Permission

A ministry which is weak and flabby on the subject of sin is a useless ministry. A preaching ministry that does not result in conviction of sin is useless. If it does not wound, how can it heal? The good news is only for sinners.

Erroll Hulse

Who Are the Puritans? Evangelical Press, p. 172.

Preachers must preach for conviction and change. No one ought ever to leave a sermon without having a very real sense that there is something in their lives they need to do something about.

Don Kistler

Feed My Sheep, ed. Don Kistler, Soli Deo Gloria Ministries, 2002, p. 225.

He that reads his Bible to find fault with it will soon discover that the Bible finds fault with him.

C.H. Spurgeon

I believe the holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness which remains in him.

C.H. Spurgeon

A sermon often does a man most good when it makes him most angry. Those people who walk down the aisles and say, “I will never hear that man again,” very often have an arrow rankling in their breast.

C.H. Spurgeon

When I regarded God as a tyrant, I thought my sin a trifle, but when O knew Him to be my Father, then I mourned that I could ever have kicked against Him.

C.H. Spurgeon

Repentance and Conversion, Sermon 2419.

How do we distinguish between satanic accusation and divine conviction? Among other things, the former comes in the shape of condemnation that breeds feelings of hopelessness. We are told that our sin has put us beyond the hope of grace and the power of forgiveness. Satan’s accusations are devoid of any reference to the sufficiency of the cross. Divine conviction for sin, on the other hand, comes with a reminder of the sufficiency and finality of Christ’s shed blood, together with a promise of hope and the joy of forgiveness.

Sam Storms

Until the sinner is convinced of sin – he can never be converted from sin. Christ’s coming was as a Savior to die for sinners. The Spirit’s coming is to convince us of sin – that we may close with Christ as our Savior. So long as sin is unseen – Christ will be unsought. “Those who are whole need not the physician – but those who are sick.”

Matthew Mead
The Almost Christian, 1661.

Too often, what we call convictions are actually preferences. Real convictions are based on revealed truth (that is, Scripture). Preferences are based on personal desire. Convictions are constant; preferences change with desire. Convictions demand faith; preferences rely on the emotions of the moment.

Paul David Tripp

Age of Opportunity, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 131-132, Used by Permission.

Six characteristics of biblical conviction:

1. A biblical conviction is always based on a study of , submission to and application of Scripture.

2. A biblical conviction is always predetermined

3. A biblical conviction will not change with the circumstances.

4. Biblical convictions are inflexible.

5. True biblical conviction is bold.

6. True biblical conviction is always lived out.

Paul David Tripp

Age of Opportunity, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 132-133, Used by Permission.

When insufficiently convicted of our sin, we do not really confess and ask forgiveness. Instead we explain, excuse, and appeal for understanding.

C.J Mahaney

Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood, ed. Wayne Grudem and Dennis Rainey, Crossway, 2002, p. 198.

God’s Law convicts of sin only as I appreciate whose Law it is I have broken.

Derek Prime and Alistair Begg

On Being a Pastor, Moody Press, 2004, p. 139.

[Jonathan Edwards] seemed to manage very well by what he said rather than how he said it. There was always the memory of Enfield. In that village, in his calm way he had preached a sermon on “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The content of the message had so grabbed hold of his congregation that people held on in terror to the pews lest they slip into the great abyss of hell which they saw yawning at their feet.

Edna Gerstner

Jonathan and Sarah: An Uncommon Union, Soli Deo Gloria, p. 99.

One will never know if what motivates us is moral conviction or moral convenience until we are forced to suffer loss for standing our ground or keeping our word.

Sam Storms

When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.

Abraham Kuyper

Again and again, God’s Word reveals that He is not as concerned about the depth or extent of the sin we commit as He is about our attitude and response when we are confronted with our sin.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Brokenness, The Heart God Revives, Moody Publishers, Chicago, 2002, p. 67.

When Holy God draws near in true revival, people come under terrible conviction of sin. The outstanding feature of spiritual awakening has been the profound consciousness of the Presence and holiness of God

Henry T. Blackaby

Revival Scenes, Revival Commentary, v. 1, n. 1.

Just because someone is sincere in his conviction does not mean that it is true. It is possible to be sincerely wrong.

Alistair Begg

Made For His Pleasure, Moody Press, 1996, p. 125.

Convictions based just on what our parents believe may work for a time; convictions based on personal experiences may help with some situations; convictions based on personal opinions may at times guide us in decisions; and even convictions based on the values of the world may in a rare situation also honor God; but by far the best, the strongest, and the surest conviction that will guide us in every situation, decision, and temptation is a conviction formed by sound and thorough biblical study and teaching.

Karl Graustein

Excerpted from: Growing Up Christian, P&R, 2005, p. 103. Used by Permission.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

Blaise Pascal

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us.

C.S. Lewis

We need to be careful that we do not add our own manmade rules to the Scriptures. Some convictions that we hold dearly may be derived more from our particular Christian culture than derived from Scripture, and we need to learn to discern the differences. It is okay to have cultural convictions, but we should be careful that we do not elevate them to the same authority as Scripture. So much judgmentalism among Christians today occurs because we do this.

Jerry Bridges

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees, Tabletalk, May 2008, p. 47, Used by Permission.

This is the way we develop conviction – by bringing God’s Word to bear on specific situations that arise in our lives and determining God’s will in that situation from the Word.

Jerry Bridges

What about those areas in which Christians differ in their convictions as to God’s will? Paul speaks to this question in Romans 14, where he takes up the problem of eating certain food. He lays down three general principles to guide us. The first is that we should not judge those whose convictions are different from ours (verses 1-4). The second principle is that whatever our convictions are, they must be “to the Lord,” that is, developed out of a sense of obedience to Him (verses 5-8). The third principle is that whatever convictions we have developed as “to the Lord,” we must be true to them (verse 23). If we go against our convictions, we are sinning, even though others may have perfect freedom in that particular thing.

Jerry Bridges

A conviction is a determinative believe: something you believe so strongly that it affects the way you live.

Jerry Bridges

Conviction should actually grow throughout our Christian lives. In fact, one sign of spiritual growth is an increased awareness of our sinfulness.

Jerry Bridges

Having convictions can be defined as being so thoroughly convinced that Christ and His Word are both objectively true and relationally meaningful that you act on your beliefs regardless of the consequences.

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler

In dealing with our old self-life, there will come a day when the Master must take us in hand and apply the keen cutting edge of His Word to our lives. It may be an unpleasant business for a time. No doubt we’ll struggle and kick about it. We may get a few cuts and wounds. But what a relief when it is all over. Oh, the pleasure of being set free from ourselves! What restoration!

Phillip Keller

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Permission by Zondervan, www.zondervan.com. 1970, p. 58.