I was invited to attend a revival meeting in a local church. The speaker spoke clear and about sin and many of the sins church people commit and are entangled in. However, I was disappointed when at the end of his preaching he apologized if he had offended anyone. The problem such preachers have is they are not in charge of conviction. I have taught on topics, such as The History of Christianity, and made no mention of sin or sinning, and yet people were convicted.
The fact is, we have no control over conviction. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts and also anoints preaching and teaching. So that preacher was just trying to appear strong against sin, but he did not want conviction to occur. His apology was for the purpose of softening the effect of conviction. What a waste of pulpit time and my time as well!
It is true that most people do not like conviction and many reject it. To the deceived, all truth that is conveyed via anointed preaching, and that pierces their minds with conviction, is considered “hateful, judgmental, pharisaical, unloving, condemning, et cetera.” They want a soft and benign gospel that could not penetrate a rotten apple. The piercing of God’s word disturbs them and they lash out in anger. Striking out with angry accusative verbiage at one who speaks the clear Gospel truth is indicative of one who does not know Christ.
The only “gospel” available that fits their standard is as a cart rope tied to Satan’s minions. It is the “gospel” of “Christ on our terms and according to our way.” It does not include becoming a new creation because it does not insist on death to the fleshly nature. One cannot be raised in newness of life that has not been crucified with Christ.
The truth is that if God had wanted to please the ears and warm the hearts of sinners, He would have sent a Gospel palatable to their sin-deadened souls. However, that’s not the way salvation works. People need their sin exposed so that they realize that they need a savior. But they have become hardened through the “deceitfulness of sins.” (Hebrews 3:13) There is a reason the word of God is identified as a sword. Its sharp tip is conviction and it did not come to make peace with sinners. When Christ said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3), perhaps it was because the anointed word attacks sin with conviction. Sincere repentance is as taking a spiritual bath in the cleansing Blood of Christ.
No one can be saved who has not been convicted of sin. If an individual is lost, the Holy Spirit will convict him or her because their sin and unbelief condemns them. To be set free he or she must turn from darkness and run to the Light.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
However, heretics and hirelings preach the “gospel” of a “covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:18-20), which pleases the flesh. Sinners have no trouble listening to it or believing it. However, they are not truly converted but are being led down a path to deception.
The anointed word of God leaves no room for fence-straddling Christianity. Millions will reject it and enter hell. The False Christian and flesh-placating preacher will enter eternal hell. People who reject conviction are setting their course for hell. We must love God’s word when it convicts us as much as we love it when it blesses, comforts, encourages, and strengthens us. Conviction is not the enemy of a sinner. It can introduce him or her to a true friend—Jesus Christ.
Yes, we are supposed to be convicted! How could anyone apologize for that? That’s what is supposed to happen if anything good at all is ever going to happen. There’s not a revival in church history that began without conviction leading to repentance! I think of a literal leper, this disease causes one to not feel pain so that they can walk on broken glass and not feel anything and thus not be aware of the danger. Then they can bleed to death. It is the same, when we sin and don’t feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, our souls are in danger spiritually and even eternally if not addressed. I also think of the loving care of a parent. Sometimes it is just comments about loving us, we get hugs, blessings, and birthday surprises. Sometimes we get warned not to play outside after dark for our own safety. We get stern warnings about driver safety and other warnings for our own good. Sometimes we even receive discipline and harsh correction if needed. If we are about to walk off a cliff, we want our parents to warn us of the danger. Parents do all of these things out of love! If they ceased to warn us, now that would be ‘unloving.’ This is the kind of guidance that we want and should be seeking!
So true.
Glad to hear you are safe over there Cedric,
God bless!
Hello..tjhe referrnce is Isaiah 20 18 20..cptr 20 only goes to vs 6..
Yep, thanks. It was a typo. The correct reference is Isaiah 28:18-20.
I would like to get on your email list as I see the truth in your articles. We are changing churches as the one we are going to is getting into New age. Where is the Discerning Spirit in these Pastors of Born Again churches that are allowing contemplative prayer and practices into our churches.