Pastor Ponderings #192: Conviction

I heard a pastor recently speaking about the uneasy feeling many people get when a pastor enters their sphere. I assume he was referring to the sudden urge one gets to do a quick self-assessment of one’s own appearance and hurried review of the company one is keeping. Perhaps a limiter is hastily placed on the laughing volume. Depending on the joke, laughter may be restricted entirely. He went on to suggest that the pastor who joined your group was exerting control over you in these times and you should be free from those who would put you under bondage.

Being a pastor myself, I know firsthand some of the feelings this pastor is referring to. I also know the feeling from both sides of my ordination. I well remember the personal review when the pastor drew near, though I didn’t have a particular sense of dread. I would describe it more as deep respect. After becoming a pastor myself, I have been aware of the awkward silence when approaching a group or at times having discovered that the person I spoke to was entirely different in another setting away from the ever-watchful eye of the peering pastor!

I have wondered about the root of conviction in these cases. Certainly, I as an individual am no different than anyone else. I was guilty of transgressing God’s law and after repenting, was washed by faith in the blood of Jesus. I definitely don’t seek to control those whose presence I enter into. If anything, God forgive me, I may be too casual about my calling. This is where I believe the first pastor and I part ways. It is not a pastor himself that seeks to control – unless he is a tyrant. What we deal with is what the individual represents. If you doubt this, take note of how you look down to check your speed when you see a police cruiser. Why is that? You don’t even know the officer, but you well know the law he represents. You’d be a fool to ignore the reminder and decide rather to punch it!

A pastor represents both the law of God and the grace of God. Some pastors are inexcusably more militant than others. They represent every jot and tittle of the law in their exacting manner. There are also pastors who are frivolous, permissive and ignoble. These would each represent opposite extremes of what God intended. Thankfully, most pastors I know land somewhere in the middle.

John 16:8 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”

This brings us to the main point. How does one know if the conviction being felt is legitimate? We can easily confuse conviction with condemnation. Conviction says what you did is bad. Condemnation says you are bad. Conviction is a gift from the Holy Spirit and a precious prompt to correct course. Condemnation is usually aimed at your identity and is a favorite target of the enemy. How should you respond to each? When convicted, repent and obey. When feeling condemned, remember forgiveness and rejoice in the grace of God.

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.”

Do not become dull to conviction; rather, let your response be sharpened to it. As you grow in maturity you may experience a shift in your convictions. You’ll recognize it as the Holy Spirit’s work in you, not a careless indifference to His promptings. Every Christian is blessed by becoming a person of conviction.