by Emily Wooten
Conviction vs Condemnation
Conviction is a specific, loving prompt from the Holy Spirit to correct an action. Condemnation is a general, hopeless attack on your identity as a child of God.
Conviction comes from God as loving discipline.
Condemnation comes from the enemy or self-blame.
Conviction targets a specific behavior or choice.
Condemnation targets your overall worth and identity.
Conviction draws you closer to God with hope and grace.
Condemnation pushes you away from God with fear and shame.
Conviction leads to healing, change, and peace.
Condemnation leads to despair, paralysis, and destruction.
Remorse vs Repentance
Remorse is a painful emotional feeling of regret or guilt for doing something wrong.
Repentance is a deep, intentional decision to change your mind and behavior to stop doing it.
Remorse is a feeling of sorrow, pain, or regret over an action or its bad results.
Repentance is a firm, conscious choice of the will rather than just an emotional display or tears.
Remorse centers on not getting caught, feeling exposed, or dealing with punishment.
Repentance focuses on turning completely around to walk in the opposite direction.
Remorse leaves a person unchanged: A person feels bad about what they did, but they keep the same behavior even tho they know it is wrong.
Repentance changes behavior: It results in active efforts to correct behavior, and a permanent shift in actions.
Remorse covers up the sin by ignoring feelings of regret until our conscience is numbed and we no longer feel regret.
Repentance recognizes the wrong behavior as against God and immediately stops allowing thoughts or even actions of the wrong behavior to have place in them.
In order to keep our conscience sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s correction we have to be quick to repent and choose to obey the quiet tender leading.
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Proverbs 28:13: Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 3:23-24 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (we are) justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.