Well, it’s been QUITE a while since I’ve written anything on here and I almost let the month of November get away from me without getting the word out on another Churchy Word. Long story, but work has been absolute nutso with one of my FAVORITE clients Divergent Dental coming out of the gate with some massive web projects to do. That, some terrible (record-book level) sickness in the family, and general slowness of recovery from said sickness made November rather dicey on putting out content that has to be considered “extra.”
So with my lame excuses made, let me take a look at the Churchy Word of the Month. It’s conviction, if you haven’t guessed.
Conviction defined
Simply put, convictions are the things that Christians turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance on whether to do or abstain from doing. These are things that are not addressed in the Bible specifically. Look at it this way… if we look at Scripture as “the rule book” (which it is, and MUCH much more!) then there are a lot of activities, situations, etc that are not covered in black and white within the guiding framework of the Bible. Such things, while they may be important, are not “tip of the spear” issues that either put our salvation at stake or define us as Christians.
This can lead to some confusion and controversy in Christian circles since what might be a sin for YOU might not be a sin for someone else, and vice versa. It is important to keep in mind when we are dealing with other believers in addressing their (and your) convictions… it would be a good idea to keep the judgements regarding them to a minimum! It’s embarrassing to find out that the person you’re condemning because they don’t live their life by one of your personal convictions actually has a stronger relationship with the Lord than you do. Always ALWAYS let spiritual discernment be your guide in both defining your convictions and talking to people about theirs.
Paul addressed this at length in 1 Corinthians 8:1–13 with the example of eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. It was not a personal conviction for him – he saw no issue with eating this meat, but he fully realized that there were other Christians that did. This is a pretty good description of living by a conviction. Keep this in mind, I’ll circle back to that in a minute.
Conviction can bind you
An important thing to understand is that if you have a Spirit-given conviction and you don’t abide by that, you’re sinning. You’re doing wrong in the sight of God, and you need to fix that and repent of it. Convictions can come in a few flavors. It might be something that you indulge in that you shouldn’t – eating certain foods or drinking alcohol come to mind. It may be NOT doing something that you SHOULD be doing – perhaps you feel driven to contribute more monetarily to your church or know that you should be in a ministry that feeds the hungry but you’re failing to do so. The bottom line here is that if you are convicted by the Holy Spirit then you are bound to live by that conviction.
Conviction can also mean FREEDOM
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
That being said matters of conviction aren’t always “restrictive” – they can also empower. There is a TON of leeway that we have as Christians to live our lives both in accordance with God’s word, and yet still navigate this world effectively. I believe this is by design and it’s a beautiful thing. I mentioned this in a previous article on discipleship.
This aspect of conviction is one that gives a lot of Christians some trouble… this is just a personal observation, but I’ve seen this a lot in those that were saved at a young age and grew up in a particular denominational tradition. There is a real temptation there to turn matters of conviction into denominational dogma, and that can lead to some real “judginess” in some Christian communities. his is a dangerous thing as I mentioned above, but JUST as dangerous is the temptation to abuse the concept of conviction. It’s an easy thing to do, and we must refrain from it.
Not a free pass
This concept of “freedom in Christ” can be alluring… it means we can have fun – even with the world in most cases – and not fear judgement or experience guilt for doing so… and yet this freedom is not a carte blanche pass to do any and all things our sinful selves want to do. Here are some things to keep in mind before declaring that you personal convictions give you freedom to do a particular thing:
Don’t contradict the Bible
While we definitely have this “freedom in Christ” there are some limits to what we can claim as personal conviction. Let me get the most obvious one out of the way first. Personal conviction CANNOT contradict or trump specific Biblical edicts! You can’t, for example, say “my personal conviction is that it’s OK to commit adultery as long as nobody finds out – after all, nobody is hurt by it.” That’s pretty much out-of-bounds as it violates one of the “Big Ten.” Don’t go against the rulebook! The Bible must be the final authority here, so if you have a “conviction” that contradicts the Bible it’s …well, it’s not.
No cop-outs
Another thing we have to be wary of is using the concept of personal conviction to “cop out” and do things that we know we should not while using the veil of “personal conviction” to justify it. There are definitely Biblical admonishments against harming ourselves and others, and as said above convictions can’t trump Biblical commands. An alcoholic is not likely to have a sincere personal conviction that it’s “OK to consume alcohol” as – in their case – it causes harm to themself and others around them – both of which ARE forbidden. If living your “conviction” causes you to outright sin against God’s word then… well, it’s not.
Your convictions don’t trump your duty to your brothers and sisters in Christ
Aaaand now I am about to aggravate some people. Heck, this one aggravates ME but it is what it is.
The last thing I want to mention is not so much a limitation on what can or can’t define a conviction, but a limitation on how we are to live by them. Here’s that circle back I promised regarding Paul and his talk on the conviction of eating meats sacrificed to idols.
Paul specifically states that it is NOT a sin for him to eat this “tainted” meat. He had no problem doing so – but there were times that he would not do it. Here’s what he says:
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
1 Corinthians 8:9-12 (NIV)
This one is a hard pill for many (myself included) to swallow. What Paul is saying here is that – while living by your conviction is not a sin for YOU, if a newer or weaker believer sees you doing this and it’s a conviction for THEM then it might cause them to violate a conviction that they have. The see a more mature (in Christ) Christian doing something that they consider to be “forbidden” by their conviction and they sin by emulating said activity. You have caused them to violate their conviction and they are now acting in sin. We are NOT to do this!
I know that this one flies directly in the face of modern “you do you” culture. It asks us to suck it up – to sacrifice some pleasures that we know are not wrong for us – to aid someone in the exercise of their own personal convictions. It tells us to not be selfish in our exercise of our freedom in Christ and to think of the needs of our “weaker Brothers and Sisters” before our own… but isn’t that a common thread throughout the Bible? This is definitely a hard test in the practice of our discipleship! So we are to only exercise our freedom when it will not cause others to stumble. This might mean abstaining from certain things that you normally would not if there are people that might be led astray present. As I write this I suddenly realize there is a ton to say on this subject, but it’s already gotten lengthy so I’ll table it. Maybe if someone starts the conversation in the comments I’ll get into the weeds here, but not now.
Go live your convictions!
I think that’s a wrap on my take on the “Conviction” churchy word. I hope all of you through prayer and searching find out how the Holy Spirit wants you to live, and that you then go and live the way He directs!
Till next time.