Conviction

One of my favorite books is called the pilgrims progress, which is an allegory of the christian life. It was written in 1678 by the pen of a man I deeply admire that went by the name John Bunyan. John Bunyan was a terrible and infamous young man till he became a christian while in the army because of a near death experience at the age of 20. He soon became known as a street preacher, which was widely illegal at the time in England because it was feared that revolutions would start in the country. Bunyan was careful not to promote any political faction in his preaching but was entirely focused on preaching the Gospel and promoting the Kingdom of God. He was warned that he would be arrested if he held church at a friends house. Because of his conviction for setting an example of boldness to the saints, he went anyways and was arrested. Without a hearing or witnesses, he was sentenced to 3 months in a prison that was overcrowded, and rife with, “prison fever” or Typhus. The worst thing for him though was being separated from his family. His first wife died and was remarried at the time to another woman, with whom he had a daughter whose name was Mary. His daughter Mary was blind but he loved her so dearly. When his 3 months were up, the jailer came to him and said Bunyan could have freedom if he refused to preach. His famous reply was, “If i was out of prison today, I would preach the Gospel again tomorrow by the help of God.” For that, months turned into 12 years for Bunyan, separated from his family. In his time in prison, out of the 60 books he wrote in his lifetime, he wrote Grace Abounding to The Chief of Sinners and The Pilgrims Progress.

Its easy to crumble under the weight and pressures of the worlds threats. Christians have been facing threats from governments, societies, and individuals for centuries. Yet the legacy of their reply to the persecutions, tortures, and deaths that has been shotgunned at them can be summed up into one word, “Conviction.” Conviction of the truth, of righteousness, and the standards of God. Conviction of a future of hope, a gospel of freedom, and a God who seeks to save.

Convictions are the root on which the tree of vital Christianity grows.

Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield

but what is that word, “Conviction?” Webster:

a: the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth

b: the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth

a strong persuasion or belief

I thought it appropriate this morning to look at the quality of conviction that has presented itself through different individuals in the Bible and draw inspiration from them. We must always maintain our convictions on the truth, no matter what the world does to us

Even If They Resit (Elijah)

1 Kings 18:20-40, Four Things

Conviction in Challenging King Ahab

its one thing to show conviction before a normal person, is quite another to have that before a king

would i soften the truth before a world or national leader?

Martin Luther, Emperor Charles V, Pope Leo X

Conviction opposing 450 prophets of baal, 1 Kings 18:20-24

This is Conviction before a mass of people

truth is not dependent on numbers

it doesn't matter how many are against us, God is with us

resisting the truth but you keep your feet firm

Conviction in mocking the opposition, 1 Kings 18:25-29

Calling people fools can be done in two categories: Insult and Moral

a moral fool is someone who goes to great length to harden themselves against the most basic and easily understandable truths. and we have many fools in our day

What his mocking is saying

cry aloud - he cant hear well

musing - distracted and cant multitask

relieving himself (sig -Bowel movement, elimination of fecal waste, defecating) - he needs to expel waste, which means he needs food (a dependent god)

journeying - not omnipresent

asleep - needs rest

Conviction of Gods Power, 1 Kings 18:30-40

Conviction in Gods power is shown here by Elijah making the altar and sacrifice wet

How is it that Elijah could have such confidence in his convictions? It is because Elijah served a living God who could act in space and time. not like the god of the prophets of baal. Elijah's God wasn't limited to a certain space or a simple element of the earth. He had seen this God work and so it mattered very little to him that he was the only one showing allegiance to Him. We can have this confidence in our conviction of Gods truth and sovereignty as well, no matter how much people resist His rule or claim He doesn't exist.

Even If They Wont Listen (Ezekiel)

Ezekiel 3:1-11

Conviction When those familiar to you need to be called out

sometimes things are accepted in the church that shouldn't be accepted

Female Elders and preachers

acceptance of homosexuality

universalism

Sometimes your very family will believe things that are not true

Conviction to truth as stubborn as their unrighteousness, Ezek. 3:8-9

The world doesn't give up easily and takes no prisoners. They want to do something and not only do they want you to respect it, they want you to applaud it. The world doesn't want tolerance for their sin, they want compliance and celebration. They dig their heals deep into their prized sins, vowing not only that they wont give them up but that they are not sinning at all. when the world digs their heals in, that is not the time to back away that its the time for us to dig our heals in deeper as well. God makes Ezekiel just as stubborn as they are, only toward righteousness.

we need to be hard headed toward adversaries of the truth

we think hardening is a bad thing. have you ever asked God to harden you to have conviction of the truth?

Conviction even when they wont listen

single-mindedness a bad thing?

Even If They Punish (Jeremiah)

Jeremiah 38:1-6

Conviction to speak the truth when threatened with death

terrible things happened to Christians in gulags

In 1976 Alexander Ogorodnikov was jailed and sent to a gulag nicknamed the “hospital” for the criminally insane. His religious convictions were deemed to be a mental disorder. “My health, unfortunately, is none too good. I have already lost nine teeth and it looks as though I will shortly lose four more. No dentist is available. My eyesight is deteriorating. The eyeglasses I got in May 1981 are no longer strong enough. This torture by darkness is really refined, for in the semidarkness of the cell, reading is impossible without strain.… I have spent 176 days and nights in punishment and isolation cells. In the Kalinin prison, the concrete floor was deliberately covered with water. In Komsomolsk, the sewage system was deliberately blocked off; therefore, excrement would flow into the cell. The only way to avoid it was to sit on a short concrete post. In winter, the temperature in the cell never rose above 14 to 15 degrees centigrade. You were on the concrete floor without any underclothing. Daily rations are minimal. One day you get 350 grams of bread with water and the next day you get ‘hot’ rations but on ‘reduced’ norm, i.e., practically water.… Your letters are withheld from me because you, Mother, include prayers in them. The censor has demanded that I forbid you to quote prayers. How could I possibly do such a thing?”

A conviction is not truly a conviction unless it includes a commitment to live by what we claim to believe.

Jerry Bridges

2. The presence of God is with you wherever you go. His Holy Spirit Strengthens you when you need Him most