Conviction of Sin

Today, Our Churches are Silent on Teaching This Fundamental Doctrine!

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“For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.” -Psa 38:17-18 (NKJV)

Do you feel any remorse when you have knowingly wronged someone else? If you hurt someone with your words or in other ways, does it affect you at all? Are you sorry for what you did? Do you go to them and ask their forgiveness? Why or why not?

There used to be a time when you walked into church you felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and in that presence you felt the heavy conviction of your sin. There was an uneasiness and guilt you felt sitting in a cold hard pew. There used to be a time when sin brought you to your knees in Godly sorrow for your iniquity against an Almighty and Living God and you weeped because of it. Our God is a holy and righteous God who cannot tolerate any sin; He does not wink at it, condone it or accept it. This is why His Son Jesus Christ came to make the ultimate sacrifice for us through His atoning blood shed on the cross of Calvary for our sin. And now God can look at us through Christ but we must also come to a realization that our unconfessed and unrepentant sin separates us even from Him. We must remember that God is not an indulgent Grandfather who approves of everything we do. God forbid! He is Almighty God, Yahweh, Jehovah, our Creator and Creator of the universe. We must keep this at the forefront of our minds all the time. He is God and we are not – Psa 103:14.

Are you aware of your sin? Do you even know what sin is? Sin is enmity against God – Rom 8:7 (enmity meaning hostile, opposed or hateful to God). Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of the Lord – Rom 3:23. In today’s society this has become a vanishing concept of everyday living. For many, our ‘stuff‘ has supplanted God and we focus mainly on the things that are pleasurable, visible, touchable and fun. We tend to run from things that are negative or that would hold us accountable. We even challenge authority; our rebellious nature seems to take hold of us at times even in hearing the Word of God – John 8:45.

So how does this conviction of sin affect us? And what about going to church – what impact does it have on our lives? The truth is we experience no conscious sting of our sin, no pang at our rebelliousness in rejecting and disobeying God’s word. We continue in our sin as if it were a cloak of self-righteousness wrapped tightly around us. We have no thought nor do we hear about the consequences of our sin, the awareness of hell and who will end up there – Eph 5:5. We have become impervious to why we attend church – we have become, yes, an unholy people before a Holy God. We sing, clap our hands, raise our hands in praise, listen most time to a watered-down, powerless sermon and then go out and right back to our sin. Watching filth on TV, swearing, back to our idols with little thought of God -Psa 10:4.

We have little knowledge of our sin, what it is and what it means. Cowardly church pastors and elders are the purveyors of this lack of Biblical truth. They don’t teach it because they are fearful of losing their patrons in the pews. We have a plethora of unholy self-gratifying [dead] churches because sin is not taught nor is the doctrine of repentance preached; therefore the Christians inside don’t feel their sin and most don’t even care. Many have no fear of God either. Why? Because they are not taught. We must remember that God is love and His love also requires His justice – His kindness demands His severity – Rom 11:22. Sin is deadly serious in God’s eyes but do we hear about this today in our plush, comfortable, coffee-bar, entertaining and musically rocked-out houses of God?

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”  -John 16:8 (NKJV)

The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sin for those wanting to hear. When we become convicted of our sin, we will feel the sorrow and pain of hurting our heavenly Father who loves us so dearly. This conviction of sin brings the knowledge of a righteous judgment of an Almighty God who knows our every thought, word, action and deed. We have no recourse, no defense in our wickedness, our rebellion, and, yes, our evil hearts before Him. Churches today don’t teach on these things for fear the people would be offended and take off with their pocketbooks in hand. The conviction of sin is required for salvation and revival for without it how will we know God? But we also know that in this conviction there is freedom, a freedom to know we can be forgiven but we must ask and we must repent and turn away from those things that cause us to disobey Him. And how do we know our disobedience? How do we know what displeases Him? By reading and understanding His word – the Bible. But where do we hear about all this today?

“For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.” -Psa 38:17-18 (NKJV)

The conviction of one’s sin can be very powerful in the life of a saved, born-again Christian. Examine King David’s sorrow at his sin after his affair with Bathsheba. Recall that Nathan, a prophet of God during that time (similar to a pastor nowadays), was dispatched by the Lord to remind David of what he did. How much more do our church preachers need to remind us of what the Bible says about sin and repentance today. God doesn’t change in His regard of sin for He is the same yesterday, today and forever – Heb 13:8. Read Habakkuk 1:13.

“A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight–That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.” -Psa 51:1-4 (NKJV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem – Psa 122:6 (KJV)

Coram Deo

-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman