Conviction: The Grace of God

Text: 2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

Amazing, Wondrous Grace! As we think upon the grace of God we have a tendency to think of those experiences in the spiritual realm that lift us up and make us feel good. Or we think of the good things of life that He bestows upon us. But does the grace and goodness of God always make us feel good?

In the fourth chapter of John, we read the account of Jesus going to a well outside a Samaritan city as he waited for his disciples. Striking up a conversation with a woman who came to draw water, Jesus asked of her a drink. She was not a virtuous woman by any standards. The fact that she had already had five different husbands and was even then living in adultery was sin and she knew it! But no one had told her about it before. Never before had anyone pointed out her responsibility to God in the matter.

Hear her now as she runs into the city to report on the wonderful experience that she has just had. She tells not about the promise of living water, nor of the fact that the one she has met is the famous miracle worker from Galilee, but her story is a simple one of being brought face to face with her own life for the first time. "Come see a man which told me all things I ever did; is not this the Christ?" We still need to realize that it is the grace of God that can bring man face to face with what he is and what he needs to do about it.

The question is often asked, "How can the preacher know so many intimate details about the people?" The answer, of course, is that he doesn't! It is the word of God that is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and cuts like a two edged sword to the very heart of the individual to convict of sin. Amazing, wondrous Grace! It is not God's way, to placate the individual so that he is lulled into insensibility of sin, but rather, that we should hear the truth and be made to realize by the working of the Holy Spirit that we have sinned and need to do something about it. This, we call conviction.

Believe me, it is a real experience, though many react to it in different ways. Herodias (John 14:3 – 11) was guilty of the same sin as this woman, but when John the Baptist preached against it, her conviction caused her only to rebel. She demanded his life, as if the silencing of the truth might remove its weight from her, but as she gazed upon that bloody head, it could only remind her that she was a murderer as well.

It was conviction that caused the crowd to slink away like a bunch of jackals when Jesus charged them, (John 8:3 – 11) "let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone."

Someone might ask, why didn't he say something to convict the woman who lay in the dust at his feet? After all, she too was guilty of the same sin as the Samaritan woman and Herodias? The answer is, he didn't need to. She knew she had sinned. She knew that she deserved whatever punishment she received. The grace of conviction was already hers. What she needed now was the grace of merciful forgiveness to her repenting heart!

It was conviction, according to the word of the Lord, that caused Saul to persecute the Church with such determination. (John 9 ) As Saul lay in the dust of the Damascus Road, the Lord spoke from heaven, "Saul, Saul, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." This `kicking against the pricks' was none other than the rebellion of Saul's will under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Such conviction was probably the result of the message and testimony of Stephen, as Saul held the coats of those stoning that saint of God.

Notice: one woman sought the life of the preacher; some took the cowardly way out and just simply disappeared; one lay in subjection at his feet; and Saul increased his fury until God brought him to his knees.

Men today still react differently to the convicting of the Holy Spirit upon hearing the word. Some still rebel and plunge even deeper into sin; Some begin to search for excuses that they might justify themselves and so ease the burden on their conscience; Some harden their hearts against it and so, grieve the Holy Spirit; but thanks be to God there are those who have done as the publican. When he felt the weight of sin, he cried out to the Lord, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." (Luke 18:10 - 14) These, like the woman of our lesson, are they who `go on their way rejoicing.'

Just what is this conviction? It is the grace of God at work condemning unrighteousness. It is grace because man commits sin willingly and therefore deserves all its consequences. God however, is not willing that any should perish, therefore he not only warns of the danger but even stirs the heart of the sinner to feel the guilt. It is this goodness or grace of God that Paul said leads us to repentance.

We hear much of the sovereign grace of God. It is here in the grace of conviction at the hearing of the Word that it is manifested. You might choose any of the ways mentioned to handle the conviction you feel when you hear of your responsibilities to God, but you CANNOT ESCAPE THE FACT THAT CONVICTION IS PRESENT.

If you are willing, you may repent of your sins and be saved. If you so desire, you may harden your heart or take any number of ways out, but you have no say at all about whether or not you will be convicted of your sins!

To the disobedient child of God, it is the grace of God that convicts of sin. David had blinded his own eyes to the fact that he was out of fellowship with God until Nathan the prophet pointed the finger of indictment at him and said "Thou art the man!" (II Sam 12:1 – 7) Only when by the word of God he was made to feel and know his condition did he humble himself to repent of his evil deed so that he might once again enjoy sweet fellowship with God.

It was because of this truth that Paul wrote the words to the Corinthian Church recorded in
2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

GUIDE ME
When I, like the foolish prodigal
Turn from Thee to roam,
Then humble me Father, whate’er the cost
And gently lead me home.

If I neglect to follow Thee,
Then stop me Lord, and then,
Point me just like Jacob
To Bethel, once again!

If I begin to wander,
Then, lest I suffer loss,
Make me see again my Saviour
And His suffering on the cross.

Remind me, Lord, from day to day
That I am ever Thine,
And make me know each moment
That Christ is truly mine!
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When we allow the grace of conviction to work God's will in us it will always bring about humility on our part and a great outpouring of blessings on God's part. If we would have great blessings, we must be convicted of this one great, timeless truth as expressed in
Isaiah 59:2. "Your sins and your iniquities have separated between you and your God!"
Sometimes, we who are saved, are guilty of just not staying close enough to God, or perhaps we don't manifest the love of God in our lives by bearing one another's burdens. Sometimes we are not burdened for the lost as we should be, or we begin winking at worldliness and sin.

Whatever the guilt, why not let conviction move you to the feet of Jesus in repentance that the joy of your salvation might be restored.

If you have never accepted Christ and his free pardon for sins, why not see yourself now as God sees you. Remember the woman went her way rejoicing when she met one who told her all things she ever did. Not that she was happy to hear what a sinner she had been, but because once she had faced that fact, she was in a position to reach out for the everlasting life that Jesus was offering to her.

Without Christ as your savior, you are a lost sinner. You have heard the gospel thus far in vain. You have sins hidden about which even your closest companion doesn't know. You have worldly desires and pleasures you don't want to give up. You have friends whose opinions you have valued more highly than God’s. He knows all about it and simply asks you now to repent and receive. "Ask of me" he said, "and I will give you the living water!"
She repented, she asked, she received, and she went on her way rejoicing!