Conviction vs. Condemnation

On today's episode of Trustworthy, we talk about conviction and condemnation and how sometimes they're confused but they really do mean two different things. Mary Beth and Sarah share examples from their own lives. 

Chart for comparing condemnation and conviction

Olan Stubbs on conviction

@thisistrustworthy

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Transcript

0.000000 7.600000 On today's episode of Trustworthy, we talk about conviction and condemnation and how sometimes
7.600000 14.180000 they're confused but they really do mean two different things. Mary Beth and I share examples
14.180000 23.040000 from her own lives. Stay with us for the laughter and the tears on this episode of Trustworthy.
23.040000 31.180000 Is God Trustworthy? I am Sarah. And I am Mary Beth. Join us as we seek to answer this
31.180000 37.080000 question through whole-hearted conversation. Discover the wit and wisdom that comes
37.080000 57.420000 for being anchored in Christ and connected to one another. This is Trustworthy.
57.420000 65.760000 Well, hello there, Mary Beth. Good morning, Sarah. Good morning. We are not in the same
65.760000 74.020000 room. This feels very different. It does feel very different. Does it sound very different
74.020000 81.160000 to be determined? To be determined. Well, we are joining each other today via Zoom because
81.160000 89.040000 of illness. The flu. The good ol' influenza. Bad old influenza, right? Trying to stay positive.
89.040000 99.140000 Yes. Absolutely. Well, I had an interesting experience this past week. I organized my
99.140000 104.340000 co-closet in my laundry room, a mud room, like the one we use all the time, using our Trustworthy
104.340000 113.480000 tidy method. Yay! How did it go? Pretty well. My husband and I did it together and we
113.480000 118.920000 prayed before we started, and I did mess one step up, though. I forgot to make the
118.920000 125.120000 fast first pass, but it was okay, because it was a pretty small project. But it went really
125.120000 132.760000 well. I had no idea how many shopping bags that I had. I'll bet there were over a hundred
132.760000 138.760000 in that closet. Wow. I know that feeling, though. You're like, "This is a good bag."
138.760000 143.800000 Yeah. We might need it. It's a good bag. Well, I found a consignment shop that raises money
143.800000 148.820000 for one of the local communities, and I am going to be taking them some things. I was shopping
148.820000 153.080000 there Saturday. I know right. We're just beginning right at things. But I noticed that they
153.080000 157.560000 had a lot of paper shopping bags that they were giving to us to take our belongings home
157.560000 164.840000 in, and I thought, "Oh, I'll take them my bags." Yeah, it's great idea. I, too, pat on the
164.840000 172.120000 back, cleaned something out last week after our tidy episode. Mine was a kitchen cabinet
172.120000 178.520000 that goes up pretty high, so we don't usually use the top two shelves. I have been sticking
178.520000 185.080000 random things up there. We do not have a china cabinet or anything like that in our house.
185.080000 191.000000 I just use our kitchen cabinets, and so I needed some more space for dishes to be properly
191.000000 195.880000 stored, and I cleaned that one out, and it went really well. Found some things we'd been looking
195.880000 202.360000 for for a while. That's awesome. That happened to me, too. My husband found a jacket and a shirt
202.360000 208.840000 that he didn't even know he had. I was like, "Well, there you go." Yeah. My only challenge now is
208.840000 216.920000 the cabinets are not deep enough to fit one of my dishes. It's not going to be with its friends.
216.920000 222.120000 It's going to have to be somewhere else. It's going to be somewhere else. I dislike that it makes me
222.120000 227.880000 confused. Yeah. Maybe you could put a little note with the other ones and say where it is if that
227.880000 234.120000 helps. That's a great idea. Put it on the inside of the door. Yeah. The serving platter is in a box
234.120000 238.280000 on the third shelf, from the right, in the basement, or something like that. Love that idea. Thank you,
238.280000 243.400000 Sarah. You're welcome. So, see, folks, we're getting tidy right along with you.
244.040000 249.080000 Listeners, we hope you're enjoying your tidy journey as much as we are.
249.080000 256.200000 And when I say enjoy, I use that word loosely. There's different levels of enjoyment, right?
256.200000 261.480000 Exactly. You don't have to feel badly if you're not enjoying your decluttering.
261.480000 269.480000 There's no condemnation, which leads us to a topic. I was going to say, speaking of feeling badly,
270.360000 278.360000 not related to the flu, we're going to talk today about condemnation versus conviction.
278.360000 288.120000 This is a topic that I have only recently in my adult life come to understand.
288.120000 296.360000 I've always heard those words used. And I think for most of my life, I use them interchangeably.
296.920000 301.960000 I never really thought about the difference between the two of them. And so, we're excited to talk
301.960000 310.760000 this through with you guys. We've all seen and experienced some condemnation happening out there
310.760000 317.560000 in culture and maybe to ourselves directly. Our culture seems to kind of thrive on this today,
317.560000 325.240000 that we're propping ourselves up in relation to others and cancel culture as huge and one wrong
325.240000 331.880000 mistake in your doomed for life kind of as a public eye. And you're always in the public eye now.
331.880000 337.480000 That's not what it used to be. There's nothing as private. Of course, be sure your sin will find you
337.480000 344.760000 out. That's always been true. However, there are things that are not sins, but in someone else's eyes,
344.760000 350.040000 they could be reasons to condemn you. We're pretty good at otherizing people in today's world.
350.040000 356.920000 We do so from behind our computer screens, so it's a different experience than we try to say something
356.920000 362.760000 to someone's face. Anyway, I think back to the public shaming and the colonial times, the
362.760000 368.600000 pillory and stocks in the town square. Have you ever stuck your head in those at Williamsburg?
368.600000 375.240000 Absolutely. Yeah, there's pictures. And I'm glad that that can now be a lighthearted thing to do.
375.880000 383.160000 Yes, but I think that it does raise the question, whose voice is allowed to condemn us?
383.160000 387.960000 Is it the spirit of the age? Is it the voice of the world? Or is it the spirit of God?
387.960000 394.760000 That's our first clue on maybe what the difference is. So let's first just say, as we mentioned,
394.760000 400.360000 that there's definitely some confusion between the two words. What are some similarities and what
400.360000 407.000000 are some differences between conviction and condemnation, Mary Beth? They're definitely legal terms.
407.000000 415.720000 And as our listeners know by now, we love words and definitions. But they're not to be used
415.720000 421.720000 interchangeably, especially when we think about how they are used biblically. Yes, I think we should
421.720000 428.280000 focus on the biblical definition of these. If we start with conviction, we looked up in the good
428.280000 436.440000 all-home and Bible dictionary. Conviction is a sense of guilt and shame that leads to repentance,
436.440000 443.800000 that letter part being key. It comes from a Hebrew word that I'm probably not pronouncing correctly,
443.800000 450.600000 but I'm going to try it. Yaka. That means to argue with or to prove or to correct.
452.120000 458.680000 And then Sarah, what is condemnation? Condemnation is the act of pronouncing someone guilty
458.680000 468.200000 after weighing the evidence. In layman's terms, with a spiritually focused biblical application,
468.200000 474.840000 we could say that condemnation says that you're a bad person and you always will be, there's no
474.840000 485.000000 chance for change and no hope. Conviction says, I am a sinner in need of a Savior, but, or I should say,
485.000000 493.160000 and I can be righteous in God's eyes through the blood of Jesus. There is hope. For I know the plans
493.160000 498.920000 I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope
498.920000 505.400000 and a future, Jeremiah 29:11. Let's get into that then a little bit more. Let's start with the
505.400000 512.840000 condemnation since we were just talking about that. We can experience the feeling of condemnation,
512.840000 519.240000 a lot, and it's confusing sometimes to know, is this conviction or is this condemnation? Where does
519.240000 527.080000 condemnation come from? What's the purpose of it? Does it come from God? Let's unpack those
527.080000 532.120000 questions to the best of our abilities. And again, to the best of our abilities. I think it's
532.120000 539.160000 very important to make a distinction right here, Mary Beth. The type of condemnation that we are
539.160000 548.680000 going to be discussing today can come from the world, the flesh, or the devil. And it is true
548.680000 554.920000 that God does condemn those who do not trust in Him for salvation. I'm just going to read John 3,
554.920000 561.320000 17 and 18. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the
561.320000 569.960000 world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
569.960000 577.640000 is condemned already because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And continuing,
577.640000 583.720000 John 336, he who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not
583.720000 590.760000 see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. So very simply, if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus
590.760000 597.560000 Christ as your Savior, you will be condemned by God. Scripture is very clear about it. We're not
597.560000 603.880000 here to disagree with Scripture. We're here to agree with it. Right. And that distinction is important
603.880000 609.400000 for a lot of reasons, but in this particular conversation, to distinguish between
610.520000 618.280000 eternal condemnation versus what is that experience of condemnation that we have in the world today.
618.280000 627.720000 A worldly example would be, you need to do better. You're a failure. There's certain preferred
627.720000 637.880000 morays or morality that people should abide by when they are part of a community. And if you don't,
637.880000 644.520000 there's a harsh condemnation we live in the Philadelphia suburbs. If you were not a Philadelphia
644.520000 652.680000 Eagles fan, there is harsh condemnation for you. My boys and my husband have to experience this
652.680000 659.640000 because we are giants fans. And it's a tough position to be in. So a lighthearted example. Yes,
659.640000 666.360000 exactly. All the flack that my husband especially gets for being a giants fan in Eagles country.
667.000000 673.160000 You are joked around about. You're put down. You're seen as other than you're seen as less than.
673.160000 680.360000 You're often called a loser. And this is lighthearted, but well, I don't want to go too far down
680.360000 687.880000 that rabbit trail. But that's right. If you take that lighthearted example of sports allegiances,
687.880000 694.200000 you can easily see how it translates into other things in our life. If any group of people
695.480000 703.400000 subscribe to a particular preference belief, whatever it is, we've all seen how they judge condemn.
703.400000 707.560000 I've done this myself. I can't believe you don't like this thing. I can't believe you don't agree
707.560000 712.760000 on this issue, whatever it might be. It's very tempting for us to get sucked in and also get
712.760000 720.760000 negative thought patterns going in our own life when we continue to hear do better. Do it
720.760000 727.000000 differently. You're not right. You're not good enough. All those things. And I think we are
727.000000 737.240000 own worst critics sometimes. And there is a condemnation that our enemy uses to prevent us from
737.240000 743.960000 having the life that God has planned for us. For example, when I was a young woman,
745.080000 754.600000 my missteps in the area of biblical sexual purity led to a lot of condemnation. I felt
754.600000 763.560000 really bad and did not make very good decisions based on what I believed about myself at the time.
763.560000 771.960000 And of course, enemy use those things to make the situation even worse. I wish I would have known
771.960000 781.320000 back then that those things, God have forgotten about when I asked Him for forgiveness.
781.320000 786.600000 There really is no condemnation for them who are in Christ Jesus.
786.600000 794.760000 But I'll tell you what Marybeth, it was a real head and heart journey to get through that.
797.000000 804.280000 Thank you for being vulnerable about that. And for those females who grew up in the church in the
804.280000 810.920000 era that we did, there are probably a lot of people who share your feelings of condemnation around
810.920000 819.080000 relationships, sexual purity, all of those kind of topics. And so thank you for being willing
819.080000 824.920000 to share about that. You're welcome. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I did, but
826.760000 834.520000 for God's glory. That's right. I think the other idea that came to my mind and this idea of
834.520000 842.120000 self condemnation is my thought life around motherhood. We talked about in our episode about how
842.120000 850.040000 words matter, what we're feeding into our brain and what we're putting in there. And I had children
850.040000 856.280000 in an era where I could Google any question I had about, do I need to take my child to the doctor?
856.280000 861.640000 Is this normal behavior? What should I be doing? How should I be swaddling my baby? All of these
861.640000 867.640000 things, anything's available in my hand for a million opinions to start weighing in. And so
867.640000 873.160000 for me, that led to a lot of self condemnation of comparing myself to others,
873.160000 879.960000 feeling completely not able to live up to these standards at the internet.
881.160000 889.400000 Motherhood realm was setting for me and continually day by day, it's, am I doing this right? Am I
889.400000 894.920000 enough? Are my children behaving? That's a reflection on me. All these lies and the self condemnation
894.920000 903.880000 of being a mother, we can get into that trap. And this is why I wanted to have this conversation
903.880000 910.840000 so that I don't have to feel that way anymore, right? Agreed. But really to let the truth
910.840000 917.160000 speak to us instead of this condemnation. It's important to bring things from the dark into
917.160000 925.240000 the light and then we can examine them. These are two examples in our own lives that I know we've
925.240000 934.920000 each wrestled with in the dark. So here's to the light. That's right. And to turn the page, let's start
934.920000 942.920000 talking about conviction. What is the purpose of conviction? And does it come from God or elsewhere?
942.920000 946.840000 These are some good questions. Mary Beth, what are the answers to these questions?
946.840000 952.680000 Yeah. Here's all the theological answers you need to know. This is what we've kind of surmised.
952.680000 958.280000 A lot of these are going to remain some just questions, not necessarily answers. But we read
959.160000 966.680000 some passages from scripture earlier in our conversation about condemnation. So the flip side,
966.680000 971.480000 or it's not the flip side of that, but the alternative for those who are in Christ Jesus is conviction.
971.480000 978.840000 And scripture continually points that that comes from the Holy Spirit. He was given to us as our helper.
980.200000 991.240000 And that the purpose of conviction is change, it's repentance, it's turning from whatever sin it
991.240000 999.960000 might be in our lives and moving toward righteousness. Mark 11, 25, Jesus said, and when you stand praying,
999.960000 1005.640000 if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your Father in heaven may forgive you of
1005.640000 1012.760000 your sins. It's a great example of if there's something the Holy Spirit is convicting us about.
1012.760000 1020.920000 Jesus doesn't say, you're wrong. Apologize and go on your way. It's forgive them. There's
1020.920000 1027.000000 forward action there. Your Father's forgiving you. You forgive others. He doesn't leave us in the sin.
1027.000000 1033.880000 He moves us through it. One of my favorite examples is David. I just love David because
1034.760000 1042.360000 he was a hot mess, but God still called him a man after his own heart. In the Psalms, there are so many
1042.360000 1053.320000 examples of David being convicted of his sins. And that conviction was able to be used to turn
1053.320000 1063.000000 back towards God to surrender, again, his will and his life to the Lord. And to receive that forgiveness
1063.000000 1069.160000 in grace and that close relationship with God, David is probably one of the best examples
1069.160000 1077.480000 in the Bible of someone who was convicted. And God was able to continually meet with him because
1077.480000 1083.880000 David acted on his conviction. I like that point. You made about relationship. We talked about
1083.880000 1089.400000 what's the purpose of conviction. I think it's because God desires relationship with us. And
1090.360000 1097.480000 there's the CS Lewis concept of severe mercy. And these other ideas that conviction is not a pleasant
1097.480000 1104.920000 experience, but it is a gift that the Lord gives us to bring us back to himself and to restore
1104.920000 1111.240000 that relationship with him, which is a beautiful thing. I think it was the time when David was
1111.240000 1117.960000 repenting of his sin, his adultery with Bathsheba. And he says the words, "Against you God,
1117.960000 1124.600000 against only you have I sinned." I mean, yeah, he sinned against Uriah, he sinned in other ways,
1124.600000 1134.600000 but he recognized that the broken relationship that he had with God at that point was the most
1134.600000 1144.520000 egregious of the sins. And I often think about that, am I confessing my sin to the Lord? If I wrong
1144.520000 1152.440000 someone, I go and I apologize, but I have to remember that conviction is a gift. So I also need to
1152.440000 1158.760000 be confessing the sin to God. Here's a question that we thought of when we were doing this.
1158.760000 1165.560000 Is there a worldly example, Mary Beth of conviction? I don't even know if worldly conviction
1165.560000 1171.560000 is a thing in this context because if conviction is coming from the Holy Spirit. That was my initial
1172.600000 1178.600000 gut reaction was, if it only comes from the Holy Spirit, can there be conviction outside of the
1178.600000 1184.200000 Holy Spirit? And then the next question is, so then those who aren't in Christ Jesus,
1184.200000 1191.960000 are they only experiencing condemnation and never conviction? I don't know. That's an interesting
1191.960000 1199.880000 question because we go back to, there is wisdom in conviction. There's wisdom in recognizing your
1199.880000 1206.360000 faults and then changing your life based on that. And people that don't know the Lord do that,
1206.360000 1211.160000 so that they don't have the Holy Spirit. But are they feeling, yeah, wow, that's a whole,
1211.160000 1216.440000 that's a whole other rabbit. Where's you let that hang there? That's right. Yeah. We'll let other
1216.440000 1221.960000 people answer that question. Exactly. Well, I think of conviction as far as a real life example.
1221.960000 1229.000000 In 2015, I made the decision to quit Facebook called Turkey and haven't gone back since.
1229.000000 1239.480000 That came after a period of really difficult times, had some loss in my life, loss of a loved one.
1239.480000 1248.040000 There was a lot of negative and toxic things swirling around that. And I had spent a lot of time
1248.040000 1256.520000 as an escape on Facebook. And I realized it was robbing me of not only my joy, but my positive mental
1256.520000 1262.200000 health. And I didn't want to give up those connections. There were some people as connected to,
1262.200000 1266.760000 that was the only way I was connected to. And those are very important to me. But at that point in my
1266.760000 1275.640000 life, Marybeth, I had a three and a half year old child that I had to care for. And my ability to
1275.640000 1284.440000 care for myself and him was so much more important than those connections and that time on Facebook.
1285.080000 1293.080000 So what seemed like a super difficult decision at the time became very easy. And this actually
1293.080000 1299.160000 harkens back to the decluttering episode. We just briefly mentioned the family mission statement.
1299.160000 1306.040000 Again, very helpful for making all kinds of decisions, taking care of yourself and your family.
1306.040000 1311.240000 Very important. If there are things that are keeping you from doing that with God's grace,
1312.200000 1320.680000 tear them out of your life. That leads to, okay, how then do we do this? How do we know
1320.680000 1329.320000 what is conviction versus condemnation? If we're basing it all on feelings,
1329.320000 1335.000000 right, that's not always the best indicator. So how do we determine what is from the Holy Spirit?
1335.000000 1341.000000 And what is not? How do we know the difference between conviction and condemnation?
1341.560000 1346.360000 What do we use to determine whether these thoughts and feelings and
1346.360000 1354.920000 urges? That sounds so basic. But these thoughts, feelings and inclinations, sounds a little more
1354.920000 1363.080000 erudite. Are the correct ones and things that we should work towards, as opposed to just put out of
1363.080000 1371.320000 our minds. I found a very helpful chart on the worldwide web that another believer put together
1372.280000 1377.560000 the kind of contrast. What is conviction by the Holy Spirit versus condemnation?
1377.560000 1383.160000 And just to share a couple of these with you, if you're thinking about something in your life that
1383.160000 1390.760000 you might feel bad about, let's run it through kind of these scenarios. Okay, how about you read
1390.760000 1396.840000 the conviction by the Spirit and I'll read the opposite the condemnation by the enemy. That way our
1396.840000 1408.520000 listeners can kind of get a better idea of the flip side. Great idea. So is it true guilt or false guilt?
1408.520000 1421.240000 Does it lead to contrition being sorry that you send repentance or does it lead to feeling worthless
1421.880000 1435.400000 in an apt? Does it target our sin, something that was wrong? Or does it attack our person saying
1435.400000 1446.840000 you are bad? Does it explain our behavior or our circumstance? Or does it accuse?
1449.960000 1458.920000 And this next one I think is key. Does it illuminate our path? Or does it darken our understanding?
1458.920000 1471.160000 Is there a specific wrong that is clarified? Or with condemnation? Is there a fog of general
1471.160000 1482.040000 wrongness that sinks into your being? Does it bring repentance? Or does it spread confusion?
1482.040000 1492.920000 And not to discard feelings? Does it feel light and right? Or does it feel heavy and raw?
1496.200000 1503.080000 And we may not have that initial desire to repent, but we do agree with the truth of the conviction.
1503.080000 1513.400000 And then with condemnation, you may be willing to confess to anything, but you still can get no freedom.
1513.400000 1524.680000 Those are really helpful. Just reading that out loud. I think so to really see the contrast.
1524.680000 1531.640000 Very much so. Now that we've thought through the contrast of those, the conviction and the condemnation,
1531.640000 1540.840000 what's our response? How do we break free from condemnation and live a life that does respond
1540.840000 1549.960000 accurately to true conviction? That's a great question. I think the first thing we can do is to
1550.520000 1559.240000 read a scripture. I have one prepared, Romans 8, 31 to 35 A. What then? Shall we say in response to
1559.240000 1566.680000 these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave
1566.680000 1574.520000 him up for us all? How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
1575.720000 1582.600000 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
1582.600000 1591.000000 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to
1591.000000 1599.880000 life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of
1599.880000 1611.240000 Christ? Sometimes simply preaching scripture to ourselves is going to be the fuel that we need
1611.240000 1618.200000 to help let that light in and remind us of what is true. We don't have to have all the answers on
1618.200000 1624.120000 our own because we don't answer yourself now. We really don't do it. You found a really interesting
1624.680000 1633.320000 quote from a blog on the DesiringGod.org website. Yeah, I found this to be helpful about how we think
1633.320000 1641.880000 about conviction. So here's what it says, self-conviction and the conviction of the enemy is wide-ranging,
1641.880000 1649.800000 condemning, and defeatist. It leads back to self. Try harder and do better. I can make lists of
1649.800000 1655.240000 action points, right sticky notes to remind myself of those action points and vow to change myself,
1655.240000 1661.560000 but I'll only end up right back where I started a wash and guilt and condemnation.
1661.560000 1672.040000 Wow. That rings true in my life. Yeah. And that doesn't discount the fact that there are going to be
1672.040000 1678.120000 recurring sins that we struggle with, but there's a difference in how we deal with them, which I think
1678.120000 1687.720000 is the point that this mustering, this trying harder to do better is not what the Holy Spirit offers us.
1687.720000 1696.600000 Yeah. And again, like the conviction is targeting that sin just like we read in the chart as opposed to
1696.600000 1704.040000 the condemnation attacks our person and just makes us feel like we're bad. Yes. I am a sinner
1704.040000 1711.480000 in need of a Savior. Well, there is a Savior. I mean, there's hope there. So that was an explanation
1711.480000 1718.520000 of condemnation and its negative effects in our life. I think that we can kind of move out of that
1718.520000 1725.560000 and listen and respond to the Holy Spirit. When we're feeling something, we can test it. We can
1725.560000 1732.120000 hold it up to the light. We read God's Word. He'll never contradict himself. So if we're feeling
1732.120000 1737.160000 condemnation about something, if it does not hold up to the truth of God, even perhaps the scripture
1737.160000 1744.440000 we just shared, then we know that it's not from God, that it's condemnation. We can ask a trusted
1744.440000 1749.320000 Christian friends, people that we know are filled with Holy Spirit and have discernment and that
1749.320000 1755.800000 love us dearly. And then we can also just kind of look around it. What's going on in our life is this
1756.760000 1764.920000 continual cycle of feeling bad about this, causing positive change in my life. If it's not, then well,
1764.920000 1772.200000 it's probably condemnation either from the world, the flesh of the devil. And I think one of my greatest
1772.200000 1780.040000 litmus tests that I like to use is James 317, but the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all
1780.040000 1790.440000 pure and then peace loving. Consider it submissive, full of mercy and good fruit impartial and sincere.
1790.440000 1799.800000 So if what is going on in your life in this particular area is going to follow this road of being
1799.800000 1808.280000 pure, if it's going to bring peace to your heart and mind, if it has consideration, if the change in
1808.280000 1813.000000 your actions or your circumstances, consideration for your loved ones, if you haven't around you,
1813.000000 1819.320000 if you're submitting to the will of God, all these things, then you know it's conviction. Don't need
1819.320000 1827.640000 to wallow in it. You can just deal with it and move on. There are a number of books out there on this
1827.640000 1832.040000 topic and kind of lessons about spiritual disciplines, but I was thinking about
1834.360000 1841.640000 my campus minister in college told us one time, write down the top five sins that you struggle with.
1841.640000 1845.480000 Here's how your life's going to look for the next 20 years.
1845.480000 1851.160000 You're going to work with God in the Holy Spirit on number one, and it'll bump down to number five.
1851.160000 1856.280000 The number two will move up. Then you're going to deal with that one. Then it'll bump down to number five.
1856.280000 1862.040000 Then it's like, it's going to be a continual pattern of conviction. And yes, God does give us freedom
1862.040000 1873.320000 from some sins. But you also have to remember that this is going to be a lifelong experience for us.
1873.320000 1878.600000 And we have to be open to hearing the Holy Spirit's prompting in our life.
1878.600000 1884.440000 And so that constant going back to scripture, holding it up to the light, all of those things,
1885.080000 1893.800000 it's not a one and done. It's a continual process. In closing, there are two scriptures that
1893.800000 1903.800000 I would like to share. The first one is from our David, the Psalmist, Psalms 1912.
1903.800000 1912.440000 "But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from
1912.440000 1919.000000 willful sins that they may not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression."
1919.000000 1929.720000 And there's the classic Romans 8.1. There's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
1929.720000 1944.840000 Christ Jesus. Amen.
1944.840000 1950.600000 Hey y'all, Mary Beth here. Sarah and I are so glad that you chose to listen to our podcast.
1950.600000 1956.200000 And while we think that we're awesome friends to have, we just wanted to clarify that we are not
1956.200000 1960.600000 mental health professionals and want you to know that this podcast should not take the place
1960.600000 1962.600000 of any paid professional advice.