{"id":2354,"date":"2012-01-04T01:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-01-04T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2012-01-04T09:57:36","modified_gmt":"2012-01-04T14:57:36","slug":"conviction-vs-condemnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/conviction-vs-condemnation.html","title":{"rendered":"Conviction vs condemnation"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a tricky thing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We desire to follow God but we stumble over our own good works.<\/p>\n

It’s a s0litary venture. \u00a0Yet, the cry of our hearts is to be understood not only by God but by another skin-faced person.<\/p>\n

Too often in my walk with the Lord, I find myself fumbling around to hear the voice of the Savior while echoes of despair and reproof assault my thoughts and emotions with visions of condemnation.<\/p>\n

Romans clearly states that there is NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. \u00a0Neverthless, in my search to know the Lord more perfectly, words of condemnation pierce my spirit more often than I like to admit. \u00a0Even worse, I listen to them. \u00a0I wallow in them, while hating the notion of those hateful thoughts.<\/p>\n

What is the difference between conviction and condemnation? \u00a0First, conviction is from the Lord. \u00a0Condemnation is from the enemy of our souls. \u00a0Second, conviction moves us to action and repentance. \u00a0Condemnation paralyzes us into rigid, unmovable statues who cannot change.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0When condemnation speaks, it says, “You are a sinner. \u00a0No good. \u00a0You will never change. \u00a0Look what you have done. \u00a0You will never be any different.”<\/p>\n

Yet, when the Holy Spirit’s conviction speaks, He says, “You are a sinner but God will forgive you. \u00a0He will wash you clean and you will be white as snow. \u00a0Everything will be forgiven if you repent and turn away from the bad things you have done. Jesus died to forgive you and change your heart and life. \u00a0You can’t do it alone but God will help you.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Learning that I don’t have to live in condemnation changed me as a Christian. \u00a0Learning the difference between conviction and condemnation allowed me to better understand and follow the Lord and hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

We serve a great God. \u00a0Because of His love, we can be assured that our sins cannot and will not keep us from his presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a tricky thing. We desire to follow God but we stumble over our own good works. It’s a s0litary venture. \u00a0Yet, the cry of our hearts is to be understood not only by God but by another skin-faced person. Too often in my walk with the Lord, I find myself fumbling around to hear…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,40,287,186,49,8,212],"tags":[21,688,254,341,7,699,726,715,701,6],"class_list":["post-2354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-faith","category-faiths","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-repentance","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-condemnation","tag-conviction","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-faiths","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nConviction vs condemnation - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/conviction-vs-condemnation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conviction vs condemnation - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s a tricky thing. We desire to follow God but we stumble over our own good works. It’s a s0litary venture. \u00a0Yet, the cry of our hearts is to be understood not only by God but by another skin-faced person. Too often in my walk with the Lord, I find myself fumbling around to hear…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/01\/conviction-vs-condemnation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-04T06:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-01-04T14:57:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/01\/slight-of-hand-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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