THE THREE C’S OF SALVATION
PART I – CONVICTION
JOHN 16:7-14
INTRODUCTION: In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s a shift in preaching and evangelism took place that has caused a crisis in Christianity. What has been termed as "easy believism" permeated our churches. We moved away from talking about three C’s of salvation and in an attempt to avoid any negativity presented a gospel that I believe has given many a false sense of security. I believe that many sitting in our churches today have never experienced genuine biblical salvation. Many of those who are saved are living weak, anemic, and defeated lives because they have chosen to ignore these three C’s, which are crucial not only to our salvation but also our sanctification. The formula for biblical salvation is conviction plus confession plus conversion equals salvation. Many have experienced conviction without confession or conversion. Some have made confession without conviction or conversion. Others have sought conversion without conviction or confession. All three elements are necessary for true biblical salvation. Likewise, the formula for biblical sanctification also is conviction plus confession plus conversion equals sanctification. Today, I want to consider the first of the C’s – CONVICTION.
I. BEFORE A PERSON CAN BE SAVED THERE MUST BE AN AWARENESS OF SIN.
A. Before a person can come to Christ he must have an awareness of his sinfulness and his lost condition.
B. The World has little concept of sin. The Platonic conception of sin is that sin is nothing more than intellectual error.
C. Furthermore we have made calling sin "sin" politically incorrect. We use "sexual preference" or "alternative lifestyle" to refer to what God calls vile affections, "sexually active" for fornication, "chemical dependency" for drunkenness. We no longer lie; we embellish or stretch the truth. Children are no longer unruly or disobedient; they have either Oppositional Defiant Disorder Syndrome or Antisocial Personality Disorder Syndrome. We spell sin "syn".
D. The top ten politically correct term ways to label sin and sinfulness in reverse order are: 10 - Mostly righteous on a good day; 9 - Ethically non-enlightened; 8 - Morally Dyslexic; 7 - Good (if marked on a curve); 6 - Bearing a strong family resemblance (to Adam); 5 - Microsoft Perfection v. 1.0; 4 - Gravitationally influenced (fallen); 3 - Motown Motivated ("Supremes"ly affected by all the "Temptations"); 2 - Living by trial and error; 1 - Beta holiness. [copied]
E. John 15:22 "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin."
F. At a southern Church, an older lady was listening to the sermon, in which the pastor was preaching fervently against all the common sins, from gambling, to Murder, and everything in between. The lady swayed in her seat, and murmured “Amen, Amen” from time to time. But when the parson hit on the subject of Snuff-taking, the lady sat bolt-upright and said, "Now he’s left preaching and taken to meddling"
G. The natural response when someone confronts us is to deny the sin and to be angry at the accuser. - Donald Njaa in Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 2.
H. As long as we are ignorant of our sin, excuse our sin, call our sin a disorder, weakness, or syndrome we will never find resolution or deliverance.
I. Do we recognize sin as sin in our lives?
J. Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication (sexual impurity), uncleanness (immorality), lasciviousness (lustfulness), idolatry, witchcraft (pharmakeia), hatred (feuds), variance (quarrels), emulation (jealous rivalries), wrath (bursts of anger), strife (rivalries and factions), seditions (divisiveness), heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings (carousing), and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
K. Do you harbor unforgiveness, pride, ingratitude, rebelliousness, complaining, gossip, lying, bitterness, greed, or faithlessness?
L. We need to recognize our sin. But mere consciousness of one’s sin is not conviction.
M. A guilty conscience is not conviction.
N. Conscience - Internal or self-knowledge, or judgment of right and wrong; or the faculty, power or principle within us, which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our own actions and affections, and instantly approves or condemns them.
O. John 8:9 "And they which heard [it], being convicted by [their own] conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, [even] unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."
P. 2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."
Q. Two biblical examples are Judas and Peter –
• In Matthew 27:3 when Judas saw Christ taken, bound, tried, and condemned, he was overwhelmed with disappointment, sorrow, and remorse. He felt guilt and sorrow but not godly conviction. Overwhelmed with remorse and the vast guilt, he commits suicide.
• In Matthew 26:74-75 when Peter denies the Lord for the third time great guilt overwhelmed him with the remembrance of Christ’s words, and it pierced his heart through with many sorrows. Peter’s remorse brought bitter tears of sorrow and repentance leading to restoration.
II. WHAT IS CONVICTION?
A. John 16:8 "When He has come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment."
B. The word "convince" is used seven times in NT. This word (convince) is key to understanding conviction. One who is convicted is convinced of sin or error. In its simplest meaning, a conviction is something about which we are convinced. In most of the cases where convince is used in the Bible, it is used as synonym of the word convict and deals with those who are convinced of sin.
C. Oswald Chambers: "Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God."
D. Conviction is a work of the Holy Spirit & comes only through the power of the Holy Spirit.
E. Conviction comes through the proclamation of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to reveal sin in a person’s life, which will bring conviction. When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, they that heard God’s Word were pricked (convicted) in their heart: (Acts 2:37)
F. Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
G. The Holy Spirit shows us in our mind and hearts, that we lack true righteousness, the quality and condition of life necessary to live in God’s presence. God convicts us we have nothing inherently within, to commend ourselves to the holy God of eternity. This conviction comes upon us in the form of a sense of guilt, remorse, uncleanness, unworthiness, and ungodliness.
H. Conviction is not sorrow for personal hardship brought on by sin, but rather remorse over the hurt he has caused a loving, forgiving God.
I. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."
J. Too often we try to do the work of the Holy Spirit. Conviction is not the persuasive work of an eloquent preacher or personal worker.
K. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (An prime example is the preaching of Jonah – emotionless and matter-of-factual – yet God’s spirit brought conviction and repentance.)
III. CONVICTION PRECEDES SALVATION AND/OR REVIVAL.
A. It is conviction that causes one to realize that he or she is separated from being in a right relationship with God.
B. Unless a sinner repents, he will stand condemned before God and lost forever. Luke 13:5 "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
D. Before there can be true repentance, a sinner must have an understanding and acknowledgement that he is guilty of sin accompanied by a godly sorrow.
E. Conviction of sin brings a man to an awareness of this hopeless, helpless condition.
F. There are two types of biblical conviction. The conviction of the lost and the conviction of the redeemed. In the conviction of the lost the Lord draws them to the foot of Calvary.
G. The difference is that the lost benefits, when he responds, by receiving salvation, while the believer regains fellowship with the Lord.
H. The Conviction of the Redeemed draws the believer back to Calvary.
I. Revival always includes conviction of sin. In a true revival, Christians are always brought under conviction seeing their sinfulness and separation from God.
J. Isaiah 6:5 "Then said I, Woe [is] me! I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
CONCLUSION: Conviction is an awareness of your sinfulness, of God’s righteousness and the great gulf that spans between the two. Conviction cries out as those who listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost were pierced through to the heart with conviction, "What shall we do?" implying an apprehension of one’s peril and a sense of guilt but also a readiness to yield completely to the claims of God. To which Peter’s reply is repent and come to Christ! Respond to God working in your heart today!
