Conviction Vs Condemnation

Here is an excerpt from TRANSFORMED: 40 Days to Spiritual Breakthrough by Dr. Kristi Lemley

Day 22: Holiness ~ Conviction vs Condemnation

One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin (John 16:8). He gently prods us and says, “Do not do that, stop doing that, or however He informs us. He does not whip us into submission but desires that you and I choose the better way with our free will.

So how do we go from conviction to feeling condemned? First, let me define what it means to be condemned. Condemnation is to be found guilty and deserving of severe punishment or censorship. It is an extraordinarily strong dissatisfaction. How does it look and sound? “I should not have said that. I cannot believe I said that.” We beat ourselves up. We feel not good enough and like a failure. We go from needing to repent to beating ourselves up and thinking there is no hope for us, that somehow we are too horrible for God to love us. The devil is behind condemnation.

Paul says in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We do not have to listen to the enemy or feel horrible about ourselves. We do need to repent for our actions, thoughts, and attitudes but then receive the forgiveness of Christ and move forward. Condemnation results at times when we continue to repeat the behavior we want to change. The Holy Spirit will prompt us to ask for forgiveness and then encourage us to come up higher yet the enemy tempts us and then beats us up when we give into sin.

What is the truth of the matter? We all will fall short. We all sin (Rom 3:23). Even Paul said he does the thing he does not want to do and doesn’t do the thing he wants to do (Rom 7:15-20). Cease listening to the lie of the enemy that says you are too far gone or there is no hope of change, “why try?” There is now no condemnation for those in Christ. Make choices to come up higher in your walk with the Lord.

Worksheet Questions-
1) Do you struggle with condemnation? If yes, how does condemnation reveal itself in your life? (Thoughts, actions, beliefs) If no, how did you get to the point of overcoming condemnation?
2) Are there behaviors or attitudes you continue to do that triggers condemnation?
3) What are two action steps you can take today to avoid feeling condemned? (Read scriptures on forgiveness, ask God to forgive you, ask the Spirit to change and mold you, etc.)