CONVICTED OR CONDEMNED?

Someone once brought up the discussion of how to know if a sense of guilt is from God or from Satan. If you don’t remember anything else from this study, please remember this – God convicts, Satan condemns. 

Guilt can be a healthy thing.  When we are in a state of un-confessed sin, a sense of guilt troubles our hearts so that we have no peace. The Spirit testifies to our conscience convicting us of our sin to bring us to the point of repentance.  God has promised that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us.  Once true repentance has taken place, God’s word assures us that our sins are blotted out. 

Read Romans 5

If we have truly repented and still feel guilty, it is not conviction, it is condemnation and comes from Satan. Remember, throughout scripture Satan is called the accuser. In Revelation 12:10 we read that he accuses the brothers day and night!

Points to Ponder

• A truly repentant heart is one that is broken, sorrowful for the sin we have committed and for the pain we have caused the Father’s heart.
• The act of true repentance means we have turned from the sin.
• True repentance means that we must stop sinning!

Something to Think About

We must fully examine our hearts and ask ourselves if we have truly repented? We must also remember that there are consequences to our sin. Even though true repentance assures full forgivenesses, there may still be damage that our sin has caused that we have to deal with. Caution! This is an area where Satan will try to sneak in with his accusations and condemnation!

©2012 Sandra Bivens Smith