WHO CONVICTS OF SIN?
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zech. 3:1, R.S.V.
He sat on the forward edge of his seat, wringing his hands until his knuckles turned white. He had failed to carry a certain responsibility that had been entrusted to him, and the other church members were aware of it. Though we talked about the best way to move forward, he always seemed to come up against a very strong emotional block. "Oh, I just keep feeling guilty!"
Though all of us have at times felt guilty, those who are truly conscientious are particularly prone to the convicting awareness that they have failed to measure up. High personal standards and lofty spiritual ideals can expose one to constant feelings of guilt.
But it is worth noting that both Satan and the Holy Spirit are involved in the activity of convicting of sin. Just as Zechariah reported that Satan stood by Joshua to accuse him, so Jesus also promised that one work of the Holy Spirit would be to convict of sin (see John 16:8, 9). And because the effects are often so similar at the feeling level, many carry a Satan-loaded burden of guilt that they are certain was intended by God.
There are, however, vital clues that distinguish God's methods from those of Satan--methods that reveal His character. For example, it is Satan's desire to crush with condemnation rather than to heal. He longs to overwhelm the sinner with the awareness of his sins, asserting that he is beyond the scope of God's inclination to forgive, for then he will release his hold of faith in the Forgiver and--by that fact--be lost.
By contrast, God is intent on healing the sinner. He never, absolutely never, points out our sin without at the same time uplifting the Saviour. He exalts the surpassing excellence of a better way, rather than pushing the sinner's face into the despairing failure of his own past ways.
Our Father's goal is to heal, not to crush. It is to establish a union by showing how well we can trust Him, not to destroy a union by showing how much we should fear Him. For it is in union with Him that all healing happens. The Spirit's convicting is a nudge toward wholeness; Satan's convicting is a large stone thrown at the already quivering sinner.
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zech. 3:1, R.S.V.
He sat on the forward edge of his seat, wringing his hands until his knuckles turned white. He had failed to carry a certain responsibility that had been entrusted to him, and the other church members were aware of it. Though we talked about the best way to move forward, he always seemed to come up against a very strong emotional block. "Oh, I just keep feeling guilty!"
Though all of us have at times felt guilty, those who are truly conscientious are particularly prone to the convicting awareness that they have failed to measure up. High personal standards and lofty spiritual ideals can expose one to constant feelings of guilt.
But it is worth noting that both Satan and the Holy Spirit are involved in the activity of convicting of sin. Just as Zechariah reported that Satan stood by Joshua to accuse him, so Jesus also promised that one work of the Holy Spirit would be to convict of sin (see John 16:8, 9). And because the effects are often so similar at the feeling level, many carry a Satan-loaded burden of guilt that they are certain was intended by God.
There are, however, vital clues that distinguish God's methods from those of Satan--methods that reveal His character. For example, it is Satan's desire to crush with condemnation rather than to heal. He longs to overwhelm the sinner with the awareness of his sins, asserting that he is beyond the scope of God's inclination to forgive, for then he will release his hold of faith in the Forgiver and--by that fact--be lost.
By contrast, God is intent on healing the sinner. He never, absolutely never, points out our sin without at the same time uplifting the Saviour. He exalts the surpassing excellence of a better way, rather than pushing the sinner's face into the despairing failure of his own past ways.
Our Father's goal is to heal, not to crush. It is to establish a union by showing how well we can trust Him, not to destroy a union by showing how much we should fear Him. For it is in union with Him that all healing happens. The Spirit's convicting is a nudge toward wholeness; Satan's convicting is a large stone thrown at the already quivering sinner.
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