Stages of Christian Growth - Conviction
Notes
Transcript
Handout
In carrying through with the theme of discipleship - growth, development, and sustenance, this week I was impressed to look at another stage of Christian growth. One might say the first stage of Christian growth is conviction. If we look at the Concise Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of conviction it is “an instance of formally being found guilty of a criminal offence in a court of law”. I think this definition accurately describes the spiritual understanding of conviction also - it is a time in our life when we realize we are formally guilty of transgression against and disobedience of God’s law. Now, if we think about our legal system, what happens (at least theoretically) when we are found guilty of a crime? Punishment. We know that there are consequences for disobedience. Yes, there are consequences for sin also.
Romans 6:23a (ESV)
23 For the wages (consequences) of sin is death,
Our reaction and action to conviction is then where free will comes in. We can choose to act upon the conviction of sin and accept or reject the free gift of salvation offered to us. You see, this is where the consequences for sin differs from our courts of law - God gives us the option to not suffer the consequences of sin - spiritual death and separation from Him - but offers us the free pardon of sin through believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior - the one who paid the price for our sin.
So, how is it God convicts us of our sins? I think it is through the hearing of and meditation on the Word of God. God uses the preaching of His Word to appeal to our conscience, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit, and brings us to an understanding of the depraved state in which we live. But as stated before, it is our response to that conviction that leads us to rejection of the Gospel OR the transformation through conversion (faith and repentance) through saving faith. Wayne Grudem in his book “Systematic Theology” defines saving grace as:
“Trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God”.
What is “Saving Grace”?
If we truly look at our walk with Christ, it begins with conviction of our sin followed by confession and repentance from those sins - or what we call “conversion” - a turning from sin and to Christ. So then turning from sin is called repentance and the turning to Christ is called faith. Once that transformation, that conversion, takes place it is THEN that our Christian walk begins.
What is your definition of “Christian Walk”?
If I could define the term “Christian Walk” I think it would be the development of our relationship (after conversion) with Christ. But each of us has a specific, unique, and individual way in which we are convicted, respond to God, and start our Christian walk. Scripture records subtle events, and radical events. Some of us will experience the still small voice and will respond, others may take a radical event for conviction and conversion to take place. Let’s look at both types of examples recorded in the book of Acts.
Subtle Event
Subtle Event
11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
The beginning of chapter 16 shows Timothy joining Paul and Silas as they begin the missionary journey after Paul and Barnabas decided to go separate ways. These three start in Derbe and Lystra, going through Phrygia and Galatia. But, during this missionary journey it interestingly notes they were FORBIDDEN - the word can also mean prevented, hindered, or withheld - whatever way we choose to define this, something kept them from Asia. As we further read, the Spirit would not allow them to go into Bithynia, so they diverted to Troas. While there, Paul received a vision urging them to go to Macedonia. All three concluded God was calling them to go there. Notice if it were not for the obedience of those called by God, this conversion could not be recorded.
Now, what this tells me is for us to be successful in seeing sinners convicted and converted, we (the church, believers) must be obedient to the urging of the Holy Spirit. It makes it a little more personal when we recognize OUR obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit may be the reason someone hears the Gospel and is saved.
This wasn’t a short trip, just from Troas to Philippi was 150 miles so it took dedicated determination to go this route - they had a PURPOSE - (go, baptize, teach, make disciples). Because they followed the urging of the Holy Spirit, we see the first recorded person converted from Europe, a businesswoman named Lydia. Philippi was a Roman colony, and when these disciples searched for a "place of prayer” on the Sabbath the found none. There wasn’t enough Jewish men present to form a tabernacle, but instead they found a group of women who had come together. Notice it does not give description of why they had come together, but custom dictated when there were too few Jews the believers usually met by a river for prayer. No tabernacle being present did not stop these men from sitting with the gathered women and speaking to them. What was the context of their conversation? No doubt they shared their own testimonies of what Jesus had done for them! What happened next was the conviction of Lydia. While she was gathered together to pray and worship God… she realized she had never been converted after hearing the testimony of these men, especially Paul’s description of the Gospel.
What this tells us is this - no one is ever converted who does not listen to and hear the Gospel. Not everyone who sits in a church and hears the Gospel has responded appropriately to the conviction and had a true conversion. You see, it is only God who can open the heart of a person - just as He did with Lydia - and cause a conviction that leads to conversion. Once saved, Lydia was immediately baptized. But notice the influence she had - after her own conversion, she was persistent in having these apostles come and stay in her house. She wasn’t satisfied with her own salvation, but this conversion led to her household being saved and baptized that day also. You see, she desired salvation for her whole family! Now, notice in this example there was nothing radical that happened, but simply a response to hearing the Gospel being preached through the testimony of these men. However, we find just a few verses later as Paul and Silas were in prison, that it took a radical event to change the life of the Roman jailer.
Radical Event
Radical Event
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.
27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
After the conversion of Lydia, they came in contact with a slave girl possessed by a “spirit of divination”. Scripture says she kept crying out “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation”. Now, was anything she said wrong? Of course not, the spirit which occupied her recognized who they were, who they represented, and what message they were proclaiming. We see other examples where demons recognize the divine power of Jesus, in Matthew 8 the two men in the tombs possessed had the demons recognize Jesus.
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Also, we find in Mark 1:23-24
23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
Being representatives of Jesus, this spirit recognized the power in these apostles. But, hearing her crying out - whether it was ridicule or just the constant clamor, Paul became annoyed and commanded the spirit to come out of her. Then the owners of this slave girl saw that she no longer had the spirit who gave her divination - fortune telling - realized they would lose out financially and grabbed hold of Paul and Silas and accused them of causing a disturbance. They were stripped, beaten, and thrown into the innermost part of the prison.
But there was to be a radical event that would cause the conversion of the Roman jailer and his whole family. About midnight - in the middle of a cold, damp prison, in shackles and chains, Paul and Silas was praying and singing hymns to God. They had not let their location nor their predicament change their purpose! They were still praising God, with everything in them and then God sent a great earthquake that opened the cell doors and unfastened their shackles. Notice God did not just open the door of Paul and Silas but EVERYONE who was being held. Just goes to show that God can move with such power to break the chains of bondage for EVERYONE!
No doubt this jarred the jailer from sleep - something that would not be tolerated by the Romans.
Since all the doors were open, he assumed the prisoners had escaped and knew the Romans would hold him accountable for the escape. Instead of enduring the torture and ultimately death because of his action, he preferred to commit suicide. Talk about a radical event! God literally took him from hopeless despair and delivered him! Paul shouted to him to not do it, that all the inmates were there and accounted for. As the jailer brought lights so he could see for himself, he ran into the cell where Paul and Silas were and wanted to know what he had to do to be saved! A radical event shook him to the core, but it was his response that led him to salvation.
When it seems like we are hopeless and helpless, turning to God makes the impossible possible! We can choose to either turn to God, or drift further away from Him. The jailer chose to turn to God.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household”. Notice again, this radical event caused him to cry out to God, and God answered.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The jailer had fallen under conviction, and by faith (believing) was converted! Also, recognize the impact of his salvation - his whole family was saved also. “He took them the same hour, washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, he and all his family”. To me this shows the impact the head of the household, the father, can have on the salvation of his family - like Lydia and her family, they had a life changing event!
Life Changing Event
Life Changing Event
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Notice, once conversion has occurred - we are no longer the same! If anyone is IN Christ, he is a new creation. It is being “IN CHRIST” that is the life changing event Lydia, the Roman guard, and their families experienced, and you know what is so awesome about it? We can experience this same life changing event when we, too, become like Christ by being “IN CHRIST”.
The first act of their belief and repentance was to be IMMEDIATELY baptized. You see, they saw the need to be baptized as an act of obedience for what had just happened in their lives.
Have you ever come in from working outside and you just feel nasty? What is one of the first things you want to do? Take a shower, and many times I have said or have heard “I feel like a new person”. Isn’t it amazing how being cleansed makes us feel! You see, when we too are cleansed from our sins, we want to tell others, and what better way that the public faith act of baptism!
But, then the true work begins - you see, to be in Christ means that a believer remains in Christ every day. If we truly have been changed, then we must change. For us to be more like Christ, then we must spend more time WITH Christ. It truly becomes a relationship of learning from and about Jesus.
The start of our Christian Walk truly begins, and our future growth is dependent upon the dedication we put forth. We read the Word, mediate on the Word, pray over the Word, grow in our understanding of the Word, and follow the teachings of the Word. You see, our relationship we build on our christian walk with Jesus will only be as strong as we want it to be.
The Christian Walk
The Christian Walk
Too often, we let things of this world hinder that relationship after conversion. Christian counselor Tim Clinton uses these examples of hindrances to our Christian walk:
• Often legalism creates a gap between knowing who God is and experiencing a relationship with God. Legalism is a superficial and mechanical (going through the motions) way of displaying one’s faith. Usually it entails rules, guidelines, and ideas of how one should look and act as a Christian.
• Numerous research studies by Gallup reveal a growing dissatisfaction with the state of religion in America. Only about half of Americans view religion as being very important, while nearly three-fourths of our nation see religion as a waning influence in American culture. In fact, three out of ten Americans view religion as old-fashioned and out-of-date, and that number appears to be growing.1
• Many people in today’s world have been jaded by religion or hurt by the church, and now want something real, something fresh. Abstract theology, wooden benches, and dusty hymnbooks are out. But the Holy Spirit is still at work in their hearts, drawing them into relationship with Him.
• Spiritual growth is not just about an emotional experience or praying a prayer. It is about being rooted and grounded in the life-transforming truths of Scripture—not just on a head level, but on a heart level. It is about knowing Jesus. There are three elements that factor into our spiritual growth: experiences, disciplines, and relationships.
• Experiencing God leads to growth in an intimate relationship with Him. Often God uses hardships, disappointments, and trials to draw us closer (see Rom. 5:3–5).
• A relationship with Christ is not based on works, rules, regulations, or appearances. A relationship with Christ is about spending time getting to know Him, just as we do with friends—making and spending time with one another. Through conversations with Christ in prayer and getting into His Word, transformation will begin in the life of the person who is wholeheartedly seeking Him.
• A relationship with Christ is also not about a checklist or a change list. Once the relationship with Christ begins to form through time in His Word and prayer, we begin to think differently about the old ways and the sins in our life, and we begin to change because of our renewed mind and spirit—not because of a checklist we have made. Change comes through Christ, and through change in Christ we can have a relationship with Him that surpasses all others.
• Our own effort is a key in growing our relationship with Christ. A relationship always requires two who are committed to it.
Today, I ask you - have you ever been convicted of your sin? More importantly, have you responded to that conviction and been CONVERTED? A conversion of asking forgiveness, repenting of sins, believing in Jesus as your PERSONAL Savior, and forming a true relationship with Him?
