Tony Clark's Page

What is conviction?

Conviction occurs when the Holy Spirit of God lets a person know they are lost and sinful. Are there any scriptures that support the conviction of the Holy Spirit? Yes.

John 16:7-8:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

The word reprove comes from the root Greek word, “elegcho” which also means “convince” or “convict.”

John 6:44:

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Psalm 34:18:

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Acts 2:37

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Acts 7:51

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Acts 7:54:

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Acts 16:29:

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

Luke 7:37-38

And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Also, we are told not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit!

Mark 3:29:

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

God’s drawing power is necessary for salvation. We can see this in John 6:44. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.”

 

A very predominant view in “Christendom” today is that salvation does not require the drawing power of God. All you have to do walk down the aisle, repeat a prayer, shake the preacher's hand, be baptized, take communion, or be confirmed. One of the reasons that there are so few devout Christians is because they were never born-again in the first place. Many times, heretical churches will lead a lost person through the “Romans Road.” The lost person is merely led through a ritual; they never show any signs of contrition or conviction. No one can truly tell a lost person when they are saved. When God truly saves someone, he will know he has been born again. Someone can preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, but only the power of the Holy Spirit can convict the heart of the lost person. A preacher can preach about sin every Sunday, but it is only effectual when God works his reproof in the sinner’s heart.

Ultimately, I do not have the ability to tell whether or not someone else has been saved. I cannot know the heart of any other person. However, I do know that the Bible teaches, “godly sorrow worketh repentance” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Too many times, people are deceived into thinking they are saved when they are not.