I am trying to figure out how to put to words my understanding of conviction..,,
I think we need discernment. Sometimes the Enemy tries and condemns us of sins we have already repented of and sometimes the Enemy condemns of things we aren't guilty of.
For example you are looking out the window to see if it's raining and a man comes and picked a fight with you that you looked at his wife.
Satan does things like that and makes us question ourselves and if we are awful people.
However God tells us He loves us and has forgiven us. We need to focus on His love and doing His will.
If we feel condemned or convicted we need to pray and ask God which it is.
You know the difference because God's convictions comes with instruction of how to OVeRCOME our sins.
Satan's condemnation says we are sinners and will never change.
Don't listen to Satan's lies. He wants to steal your joy and peace of you let him.
Just remember God is stronger.
I think if we look at word convict as it's used in the NT and where Jesus says that "Holy Spirit must come to convict the world of its sin and that sin is unbelief in him"
AV (17) - reprove 6, rebuke 5, convince 4, tell (one's) fault 1, convict 1;
Conviction today carries a very heavy connotation. Guilty as charged.
Yes we are all guilty as charged before God.
I do believe however when the Holy Spirit convicts in the first instance it's to convince us that Jesus is who he says he is.
After we place our faith in Jesus then he reproves and rebukes us but never in a condemning manner.
A simple example from my experience is when he says to me "Hey Bill you didn't quite get that right did you, wanna talk about it, deal with it?
That actually melts my heart.
I walked for so long like this.
When I got it wrong these were my thoughts "Call yourself a Christian, your pitiful, God don't love you (that's the polite version)
Thats condemnation and it is not how God would speak to us. It took me a long time to realise I wasn't a twat (polite version) when I got it wrong.
It was only when I went through the process of renewing my mind that I am actually a child of God who loves me and wants the best for me and trusting in that then things started to change in me.