Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?

[Laela]

Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?
Written By Mary Whelchel
November 28, 2011


Question: Are you under conviction or condemnation? You may wonder, "What's the difference?" But there's a big difference and I'm learning how very important it is for me to discern the difference between condemnation and conviction.

Condemnation is a vague, indefinite guilty feeling, like a black cloud over your head all the time following you everywhere you go. And no matter where you are or what you're doing, you just can't get rid of the black cloud. But the problem is you don't know exactly what you feel guilty about.

Conviction, on the other hand, is definite and specific. When you are convicted about something, you know exactly what it is, and you know exactly what you need to do. It's not vague; it's usually piercing. It feels like an arrow in your heart or your side or your stomach. But you're not confused about what the problem is. And that feeling of conviction bothers you until you do what you know you should do, and then it goes away and your joy returns.

God is not the author of confusion and he never deals with us in vague and indefinite feelings. He gives us clear signals when we are in disobedience, and his conviction is easily recognizable. So, the big difference between conviction and condemnation is that one is from God-conviction-and the other one is not-condemnation. In Romans 8:1 Paul reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. God never condemns his children. He often convicts us for our own good, but he never deals with us in condemnation.

Usually conviction concerns something in our immediate past: an unkind word we spoke yesterday, or a jealous reaction we had last week; a relationship that is not glorifying to God. Those are the kind of things in our lives that God convicts us about. And the closer you walk to the Lord, the more quickly you are convicted and the more the little things bother you, as well as the big ones.

Not long ago my tongue got out of control-again-and I said some really stupid words to a person. No sooner had I said them than the arrow of conviction pierced my heart, and I had no rest until I apologized and asked for forgiveness. That is conviction; it's painful, but you know what it is and you know what to do.

Condemnation, on the other hand, often drives us into ancient history and dredges up things that have long been forgiven and forgotten by God. It is messages we've received or been given from our past which come back to haunt us. Condemnation is often untruthful and it is never edifying. It doesn't cause you to repent and change, because you don't know what you're guilty of!

Are you under conviction or condemnation?

 

[LucieLoo12]

This is really good

 

[Laela]

Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?
Written By Mary Whelchel
November 29, 2011


Conviction comes from God and it is his way of bringing us back in line, walking in his way. Condemnation never comes from God to his children.

You see, conviction is given by God for our good, not to punish us or belittle us or humiliate us. God knows that we are fulfilled and happy when we are walking closely with him and living by his principles. Therefore, for our own good he convicts us of specific things in areas of disobedience. But it is always for our own good, and conviction is intended to yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

Condemnation, however, crushes a person. It is not given for the purpose of building someone up or helping them improve. It is given judgmentally; it is intended to hurt; it is frequently vindictive and usually hateful. Like conviction, it is painful, but unlike conviction, it doesn't yield a beneficial result. Rather it results in broken relationships, hurt feelings, discouragement, revenge, bitterness, malice and all kinds of ugly things.

I've noticed that often people who've endured the most condemnation themselves in their lives are often the ones to lay condemnation on others. It is typical behavior when we're hurt, to strike back and try to hurt others. That's usually not a conscious thing they're doing, but it is true that those who feel most condemned are usually the ones who condemn the most.

Condemnation can come from all kinds of sources, and it can come in small doses or in large ones. It can be a one-time shot we take from someone, or an on-going barrage of condemnation to which we are continually subjected.

Employees are often condemned by employers and vice-versa! Co-workers can lay condemnation on us easily; mates and family members do a good job of condemning us at times. And often we are our own worst enemy, as we condemn ourselves easily.

Do you sometimes feel as though you're under a heavy load of condemnation from some person or persons? I've been realizing lately what a burden it is when we feel condemned. And that's a good way to put it-when we feel condemned-because condemnation is a feeling.

If you are feeling condemned today, stop and ask yourself: Is this condemnation or is God convicting me of something specific? Make certain you know what you're dealing with. Remember, God never condemns those who are in Christ, so if you're in Christ and you are being condemned, it's not from God.

 

[LongTimeComing]

Good stuff! I didn't realize the difference until I read this.

 

[Shimmie]

An excellent 'Word', Laela. Thank you so much for your heart in Ministry.

 

[Laela]

Just sharing what has blessed me, Shimmie!

to you!

 

[Laela]

Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?
Written By Mary Whelchel
November 30, 2011

I believe it's extremely important that we learn to recognize the difference in conviction and condemnation, because we need to respond quickly when God is convicting us, and learn to not allow the condemnation of others to affect us.

Where does condemnation come from? Your enemy! Satan is a master at keeping us under this cloud of condemnation because then he knows he will keep us from the joy of the Lord, which is our strength.

Our enemy often uses other people as his means of delivering condemnation. It may come through a boss who is impossible to please. Or perhaps through a co-worker who has a way of letting you know that he or she does things better than you, doesn't make mistakes like you do, and is smarter than you are. Many times even a good friend can lay condemnation on us if we let them, or the person closest to us, like a mate who criticizes all the time, or a parent who has unrealistic expectations.

Many of us are very good at condemning ourselves by not letting go of the past. And often we feel condemned because we take things too personally. Someone says something intended to be an innocent off-hand remark, but we let it get blown out of proportion in our minds, and receive it as condemnation rather than in the spirit in which it was intended.

We must learn to recognize condemnation, whatever the source, and not allow ourselves to be condemned. "How do you do that?" you say? Well, first, identify the sources of condemnation. Then you are better prepared not to accept that condemnation.

Maybe it's a person who just says little things to you all the time; nothing specific, but you always have that guilty feeling that you're not performing up to their expectations. So, in that person's presence, you feel condemned. But when God reveals to you that they are trying to condemn you-for whatever reason-but you are not condemned by God, then when they say those things, you think, "But I am not condemned by God and you can't condemn me." Then, no matter what they say, you do not allow them to condemn you, and therefore you're not condemned.

Of course we must not do this with a hateful or bitter spirit. When we respond appropriately, actually we feel much more loving toward that person who is trying to condemn us because we understand them better and we feel sorry for them. But God would never lead us to any kind of vengeful or vindictive reaction. However, he will teach us how to recognize and refuse to accept condemnation.

 

[Laela]

Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?
Written By Mary Whelchel
December 1, 2011

The good news today is that if you're born from above, you are no longer condemned and you should not live under condemnation. Romans 8:1 makes it very clear: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." If you are feeling condemned, you can be sure of one thing: It is not from God! He never condemns us.

We may find that hard to accept sometimes, because we know that we often deserve condemnation. But God never condemns those who are born again-never! You and I must repeat that over and over until it gets drummed into our thick skulls and we learn the freedom of no condemnation.

Our question is "Are you under conviction or condemnation?" I am convinced that all-too-often we allow ourselves to live under a cloud of condemnation, and that just cripples us spiritually. So, we must learn to recognize the difference between the two. Conviction is specific, usually concerning something in the recent past, and we know what we should do. When we obey that convicting voice, the guilt and heaviness goes away. Condemnation, on the other hand, is feeling guilty about you-don't-know-what!

One thing I need to make clear at this point. When we are feeling condemned, we should first of all check it out to see if we're trying to avoid God's convicting voice in our life. It could be that God wants to use even someone's unkind word to us to get us to see an area where we need to change. So, just because the source may not be kind or considerate, they may still be God's instrument of conviction in our life. We must first be certain that we are indeed dealing with condemnation, not conviction.

When you're feeling condemned, stop immediately and pray about it, something like this: "Lord, I'm feeling very condemned right now by this person (or situation), but I'm not sure why. If there is something you're trying to convict me of, please make it very clear to me so I'll know what you want me to do. But if this is not conviction, then by your grace I refuse to accept it and thank you that I am no longer under anyone's condemnation."

You and I must be willing to face ourselves and discover if we indeed are trying to ignore true conviction, and we must be willing to face our failings and do what the Lord wants us to do. If nothing specific is brought to your mind after you've sincerely prayed about it, you can treat it as condemnation. That means you claim, out loud, over and over, that you are not condemned and you refuse to receive the condemnation.

 

[Laela]

Are You Under Conviction or Condemnation?
Written By Mary Whelchel
December 2, 2011

It's great news to know that if we are born from above, condemnation does not come from God and therefore, we do not have to accept it from other people. And it's also extremely important to know how to react to a person who tries to condemn us.

Don't get caught in the trap of giving back the condemnation someone is trying to lay on you; you can fall into that trap easily. And don't allow it to make you bitter or angry. Ask God to give you love for that person. You don't have to like what they do, but we are called to love others.

In most cases you won't need to even talk to them about it. God will take care of their judgmental attitude and give you grace to handle it. But once you know that they are trying to condemn you and you remember that you cannot be condemned, it's like you have an armor of steel on and their remarks and attitudes just bounce off without penetrating inside of you.

There may be times when it will be appropriate to confront the condemnation. For example, to that person who keeps trying to condemn you, you might say at an appropriate time, "You know, I sense that you feel I could do better, but frankly I'm just not sure exactly what it is that you're unhappy about. I'd be more than glad to try to correct this situation if you could just give me some specific suggestion or recommendation as to what I'm doing wrong and how I could resolve it."

In this way that nebulous condemnation gets brought out into the open and you put the ball in their court, so to speak, so that they must now identify the problem specifically or (hopefully) stop throwing the vague condemnations your way.

We learn from Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And David taught us in his Psalm of confession that when we refuse to respond to God's conviction, our joy is taken away. (Psalm 51:12)

Conviction by God is intended to lead us to repentance, which means our joy is restored and thereby we are strengthened for service. Condemnation steals our joy from us, and we must learn not to accept condemnation so that we do not lose the joy of the Lord.

Check it out: have you been joyless lately? Pray about it and see if your lack of joy is from conviction or condemnation, then take appropriate steps to get rid of it by either obeying God or refusing to accept the condemnation. You'll see how the joy of the Lord starts bubbling up inside of you right away as soon as you learn how to deal with condemnation and conviction God's way.