Condemnation vs Conviction

Pastor Gary was speaking this week end, still on things that will define your life and he spoke a message that was both painful and liberating. He was focusing especially on your relationship with yourself as a defining factor. He also mentioned that there are 2 things that are guaranteed to come your way as a Christian.

• People around you will speak out against you.
• The Accuser will bring accusation against you.
  

In John 18 and 19 we find Jesus standing before Pilate being accused by the religious leaders.

John 18:28
Jesus' trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn't go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn't be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast.

The accusers didn't go in. They stood on the sidelines and threw their slander from a safe distance. In life the same thing happens. You will mainly find that the people who air opinions on everything are the people who never actually participate in the reality of the situation, they simply wish to be heard. The main thing to remember is this: the voices from the sideline will always try and get you out of the game, you have a choice as to whether youlisten to them or not.

John 19:9-10
He took Jesus back into the headquarters again and asked him, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. "You won't talk to me?" Pilate demanded. "Don't you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?"

Jesus knew exactly who he was. His identity was firm and unshakeable. Therefore he had no need to defend himself against false accusations because what people said and thought about him would not change who he was. Knowing who you are will also allow you to choose which voices you listen to.

Secondly- the voice of the Accuser comes against you. The Accuser uses a form of truth to mislead you and bring condemnation. In a manner of speaking he uses equivocation against us.

equivocation

n 1: a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth [syn: evasion] 2: intentionally vague or ambiguous [syn: prevarication, evasiveness] 3: falsification by means of vague or ambiguous language [syn: tergiversation]

Equivocation is to mislead with a half truth. The Accuser is a great equivocator. He will throw condemnation at us and the thing is, he will always use things that we have actually done. This is far more effective than trying to fabricate something. What we don't realise is that he will always leave out the most important part of the truth- because of Jesus, it doesn't matter what we have done, we are forgiven already. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of the things we do that are outside the will of God, but where condemnation drives us away from the purposes of God for our lives, conviction will draw us closer to them.

gary explained this beautifully. He said that the Accuser will shout at us about the things we have done wrong. About how useless we are and how we have no hope. To get away from his shouting we step further away from the source of the voice. With every step the voice dimms, but we do not realise that we are also walking away from the purposes of God. The Holy Spirit speaks to us about what we have done, but about how God uses imperfect people and about how we are made righteous in Christ. When we step toward that voice we step closer to the purposes of God. It doesn't stop the shouting of the Accuser, but we choose to not listen to him and to listen to the voice of God.

See the diagram-





So- which voice are you going to listen to?