Convict or convicted?

 

Lately I’ve been watching episodes of an old television series called “Murder She Wrote.” They follow the same pattern: someone is killed, the list of possible suspects grows, the heroine ponders the clues then figures it out but without enough evidence. So she traps the guilty person into admitting their guilt and the story ends with a happy scene and some laughter. This is not like real life crime and detective work but it is a diversion from Covid statistics and politics.

Today’s word about God is CONVICT, which has an interesting twist. It is used in the OT as a noun for a guilty person, defined as someone “characterized by being responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act” with most of the usage referring to guilt offerings made for sin. One verse gives the attitude of those who are guilty and to my mind, describes many of the ‘convicts’ in today’s prisons that have been convicted of a crime:

At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!” (Habakkuk 1:10–11)

Convict is used in the NT as a verb. It means “to prove or show to be guilty” very much like confirming or establishing the validity of something by an example or explanation or proof. The implication is that adequate proof exists for the wrongdoing. However, there are other ways this Greek word is translated. It can mean to rebuke or reproach. When God does this in the human heart, there is little argument for the guilty person because they know that the evidence presented is valid.

Biblical conviction has two purposes. One is to show humanity their need for forgiveness and a changed life. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to do this work of convicting:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me . . .  (John 16:7–9)

An OT prophet, Enoch, is quoted as saying something similar about a coming judgment: “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” (Jude 14–16)

However, conviction is also for God’s people. On the negative side, whenever I sin, I sense the Holy Spirit telling me I’ve done wrong. This conviction can come from reading the Bible:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof (conviction), for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

God’s purpose for me is to be like Jesus. That includes getting rid of anything that is not like Him. If I don’t heed the conviction of Scripture (or listen to what is preached from it) the Holy Spirit will knock at the door of my heart and give me notice that I’ve pushed Him out of my life:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:19–20)

He does this because He loves me. He died for my sin. Ignoring Him is as if I am foolishly trying to take back my guilt that He carried for me. This is true even for a single sin because the Bible says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:9–10) He invites me to confess my sin and receive forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9), rather than take back that load of shame! He does not want me to fall into ‘convict’ status because I am a free person, free to choose a better way to live and free to keep the door open to Him.

Conviction has a strong positive side. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That is, faith is a conviction backed up by evidence. God confirms and establishes the validity of what He puts on my heart by what He says in His Word and by the life, death and resurrection of His Son, an historical fact. I must GAZE ON HIS GLORY and pay attention to His convicting words and thoughts because they are the foundation for my faith in Him!