Are You Convicted?
Jesus was a fully convicted person. He lived only to please the Father, by being a servant of others in love. Jesus Christ, as well as many of the apostles, gladly laid down their lives for the brethren because He was fully convicted (John 10:11, 15).
As we look into the meaning of conviction, we will begin to see that it is conversion. To be in a fully converted state one must be in a fully convicted state of mind—one that is not "carried away by every wind of doctrine," as God’s word puts it (Eph. 4:14).
Study to show yourself approved to God—be a person who needs not be ashamed and who handles the word of God accurately (2 Tim. 2:15). The reason for ℹ️studying your Bible is so that you become fully convicted by it, and thus become fully converted in the process. If you are continually in God’s word, you are continually being convicted by its words, which are true (Heb. 6:18).
Have you ever wondered why there are no collection plates spoken of in the Bible? There is no mention of weekly collections made by the apostles for the support of the apostles or for a building fund. However, there is mention of a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem, which consisted of money, food, and clothing (1 Cor. 16:1-4). It shouldn’t even need to be said that every last cent collected went to the needy in Jerusalem and not to the apostles for salaries.
Then how were the apostles supported? How, for that matter, was Jesus supported? Jesus had responsibilities. He had to teach the twelve apostles how to live. He also taught them all the words He heard from the Father. All this took over three years. He was constantly helping others, showing His disciples the “Way.” He also had to support His mother and His four brothers and His sisters, because He was the eldest. “Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Aren't His sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3). He had a home, and with every home comes expenses (Mark 2:1).
How, then, was Jesus supported? Simple: He was supported by those who were fully convicted. He was supported by people such as Joanna, the wife of Chuza, King Herod’s right hand man. Susanna and many others were contributing to the support of Jesus and the twelve disciples out of their own private funds (Luke 8:3). These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
When you are convicted, you simply continually act on your conviction. This, then, is the only Scripture in the New Testament that reveals how Jesus and the apostles were supported. Notice the “many others” mentioned in that Scripture. That was many hundreds of others. How would one know that? First of all, the only people mentioned here by name are women. So it looks like women could have taken the lead in their support.
Now consider this. If you were to train twelve men, and feed, clothe and lodge them over a three year period, how much would you need? If you were to take care of your very own mother and your four brothers and two or more sisters over a three year period, how much would you need? One thing is for sure, it wouldn’t be a little. So Jesus and the apostles were simply supported by those people who were convicted, right?
Surely there were many who never began to live the new life, called the Way of righteousness. Also, many did not take the message of the truth to heart. Some probably were zealous at first, but when they began to be persecuted by others for living this Way, they fell away as it is mentioned in Matthew 13:20-21. Also, there had to be those who wouldn’t prove all that they heard, by looking it up in the Scriptures like the Bereans did (Acts 17:11). So they remained hearers of the word and were never convicted, and they never became converted to God (James 1:22).
One definition of faith is “that which is believed.” But how can you believe unless your Spirit has been convicted? Now to strengthen the Spirit, we all need to be continually fed from God’s word, to prove all things and hold fast with conviction those things which we know and have proven to be true. That is solid faith! That is unwavering faith!
Many are going to fall away from the faith because of lack of conviction. Their faith, as a result, will be weakened and continue to be weakened by their continued lack of conviction. Studying God’s word daily and continuing to do acts of kindness and charity daily will keep your conviction strong. The answered prayers you will continue to receive, along with healings and miracles, will keep your conviction strong.
If you cannot convince another of the truth from God’s word, you are still not convicted yourself. The message is quite simple, so you can see many are simply not convicted yet.
When a person hears a vacuum cleaner salesman give his convicting story, many are convicted enough to buy the vacuum immediately. Their conviction in the product automatically gave them faith in the salesperson. They were sold! This is exactly what happens when Jesus preached the truth from God’s word. People believed Him and, as a result of that belief or faith, many were healed (Luke 8:48). Many, however, did not continue in that truth by putting Jesus’ words into daily practice. They forgot His words. As a result, they lost their belief, their faith and their conviction.
Those, however, who immediately put their hands to the plow and didn’t look back, continued to feed their conviction and fortified it with ℹ️daily Bible study, good works and prayer. They kept learning, so they kept growing. As they were continually convicted by their reading, they automatically began to bring these convictions forward into their daily walk with God. When these new convictions were put into practice and thoroughly tested, they became fully convicted because they proved God’s word was right after all.
One area where God wants you to test Him is in giving. Notice what the Lord says in Malachi 3:10: “...test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” The people who were convicted by the truth and began to live it gave money to the poor or needy (Acts 10:2; 9:36). They also supported Jesus Christ. Jesus took that support money and at times gave to the poor. “For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him 'Buy the things we have need of for the feast,' or else, that he should give something to the poor" (John 13:29).
Conviction, then, is not only faith but faithfulness. What would have happened if people were not faithful to Jesus Christ in supporting the truth and getting it out to others who were being called into the faith to be saved? Well that didn’t happen because they stayed convicted, and as a result, they remained faithful to God’s harvest.