Yesterday my best friend Cierra called me and the first thing she said was "There's no condemnation in Christ" and through the whole phone call she repeatedly said that. All night that was on my heart and I was just thinking there was no better time that she could have told me that. Something I've learned since I've been Christian is that God never intended to use your past sins against you, instead He uses it convict you and to remind you how far He has brought you from then and now and that you have strength in Him to overcome those sins. To understand this, we must understand the difference in conviction and condemnation. Conviction is a supernatural gift from the Holy Spirit placed upon our lives and condemnation is sent from the devil to stir up confusion and shame. God uses conviction through the Holy Spirit to bring our attention on what we are doing wrong and to draw us to repentance. While the devil uses condemnation to make us scared to approach our Holy God at His thrown and humble ourselves to repent because condemnation blinds us and we don't see the truth- that God is a forgiving God and there's no shame in Christ he does not judge. Conviction is revolved around love and forgiveness with opened arms and condemnation is revolved around scare tactics the devil uses through pride, shame and fear to slowly but surely pull you away from God and keep you in sin. Other differences are
1) Condemnation causes us to turn away from God in fear, dread, and shame. Conviction causes us to come to God and boldly place our faith in the perfect life and death of Christ.
2) Condemnation leads us to believe that we’ll never change and that we aren't worthy of God's love. Conviction gives us hope that, even though we sinned, God is still at work in us.
3) Condemnation paralyzes faith for change, keeping us in bondage. Conviction bears the fruit of faith for change, freeing us to fully grow in the love of God.
4) Condemnation causes us to wallow in despair and self-pity. Conviction leads to God-centered hope.
5) Condemnation sees God as an angry judge who is waiting in the shadows to strike at any moment. Conviction sees God as a loving Father who disciplines his children through His love for us.
6) Condemnation is inward, self-focused, and always dwelling on the fact that we have sinned. Conviction is outward, God-focused, and always dwelling on the fact that we have sinned against God.
It is important to know the difference in these. When the devil is condemning you, it's constantly nagging you and it's like your sin is a never ending movie that you're being forced to watch and memorize and repeat everything you are watching. While when God is convicting you it's like a wake up call to do better, to draw to redemption and fall back into His arms. The devil says "remember your past" as he replays, replants ad torture your with sin while God screams out "forget your sin" as he offers you repentance, hope and brighter days. Do not follow your heart, but follow the conviction of the Holy Spirit because Jeremiah 17:9 warns us that
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?"
If our heart is deceitful then it can be easily deceived by condemnation. Follow the truth, written in God's word rather than the lies said by evil (our heart and the devil.) God needs His people to understand this difference so he can bring them out of the sin that is enslaving them. He has given us freedom, don't let condemnation think you're still a slave when GOD says "you're free."
God Bless!~
1) Condemnation causes us to turn away from God in fear, dread, and shame. Conviction causes us to come to God and boldly place our faith in the perfect life and death of Christ.
2) Condemnation leads us to believe that we’ll never change and that we aren't worthy of God's love. Conviction gives us hope that, even though we sinned, God is still at work in us.
3) Condemnation paralyzes faith for change, keeping us in bondage. Conviction bears the fruit of faith for change, freeing us to fully grow in the love of God.
4) Condemnation causes us to wallow in despair and self-pity. Conviction leads to God-centered hope.
5) Condemnation sees God as an angry judge who is waiting in the shadows to strike at any moment. Conviction sees God as a loving Father who disciplines his children through His love for us.
6) Condemnation is inward, self-focused, and always dwelling on the fact that we have sinned. Conviction is outward, God-focused, and always dwelling on the fact that we have sinned against God.
It is important to know the difference in these. When the devil is condemning you, it's constantly nagging you and it's like your sin is a never ending movie that you're being forced to watch and memorize and repeat everything you are watching. While when God is convicting you it's like a wake up call to do better, to draw to redemption and fall back into His arms. The devil says "remember your past" as he replays, replants ad torture your with sin while God screams out "forget your sin" as he offers you repentance, hope and brighter days. Do not follow your heart, but follow the conviction of the Holy Spirit because Jeremiah 17:9 warns us that
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?"
If our heart is deceitful then it can be easily deceived by condemnation. Follow the truth, written in God's word rather than the lies said by evil (our heart and the devil.) God needs His people to understand this difference so he can bring them out of the sin that is enslaving them. He has given us freedom, don't let condemnation think you're still a slave when GOD says "you're free."
God Bless!~
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