Feeling Convicted by the Holy Spirit? Is God Convicting Me?

JohnB445 · Feb 12, 2019

Does it feel supernatural or does it feel natural?

Is the conviction the same for the unsaved and saved?

How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

Pethesedzao · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Does it feel supernatural or does it feel natural?

Is the conviction the same for the unsaved and saved?

How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

Look at Romans 8

Presbyterian Continuist · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Does it feel supernatural or does it feel natural?

Is the conviction the same for the unsaved and saved?

How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

Conviction is knowing that you are a hopeless sinner, deserving of condemnation and hell and there is nothing you can do about it in your own strength. It is supernatural in a sense because it comes through the Holy Spirit. If it comes through the flesh, it is little more than just a resolution to be a better person. Conviction is a horror of sin and what it can do to us if left to mature, but at the same time it points us to Christ as our only Saviour from sin.

JohnB445 · Feb 12, 2019

Oscarr said:
Conviction is knowing that you are a hopeless sinner, deserving of condemnation and hell and there is nothing you can do about it in your own strength. It is supernatural in a sense because it comes through the Holy Spirit. If it comes through the flesh, it is little more than just a resolution to be a better person. Conviction is a horror of sin and what it can do to us if left to mature, but at the same time it points us to Christ as our only Saviour from sin.

Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

DennisTate · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

I think that this book has some great ideas on what we should be convicted for...... I think that my pride is a much more serious sin than I imagined years ago......

Presbyterian Continuist · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

The Scripture says, "Come let us reason together; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." This means that what God wants is for you to just come and have a discussion with Him about it. Perhaps He has to attract your attention through a dream because you don't spend enough time in honest and open discussion with Him about the affairs of your life.

I have never had to have any dreams like this, because I am always honest and open with God about every aspect of my life and He knows everything about me, because I am continually telling Him. So all He has to do is to talk to me person to person, because I talk to Him person to person.

Simple.

If you need more freedom from sin and a greater degree of holiness, why not take the simple course of just asking Him for it? Not rocket science, you know...

BobRyan · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Does it feel supernatural or does it feel natural?

Is the conviction the same for the unsaved and saved?

How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

The Holy Spirit calls for repentance and turning to God.

2 Cor 7
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

More Bible -- less drifting with every wind of doctrine -

Eph 4
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head

Jenniferdiana · Feb 12, 2019

Having a feeling of guilt whenyou are about to do something bad and your intuition tell you it's wrong or you know it's wrong then you are being convicted.

Dave G. · Feb 12, 2019

If you don't want to do or on the other hand won't stop something the HS is convicting you on till you change, there can be physical ramifications. Guilt, anxiety, even illness probably derived from the other two if let go long term. Under hard convictions nothing goes right. Sometimes the HS is gentle, sometimes not. A pastor friend of mine says "nobody is more miserable than someone under conviction of the HS and not responding to Him". Basically nothing seems to want to go right as mentioned.

Course things aren't always peachy anyway in this life but the Spirit I think pours on a bit more weight,

Roidecoeur78 · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

I guess if you think you're unable to know then:

do you believe bodily lusts for pleasure would be discouraged by any natural impulse?

do you believe the flesh would make one feel guilty about giving it what it wants?

why do you suppose Paul says to "mortify the flesh", or "I keep under(subjugate) my body, and bring it into subjection"?

I believe if the bodily/animal urges are left uncontested then it is more difficult to discern the voice of the HS, when the body is kept in submission it is easier to hear and obey the HS.

It's also no coincidence that after the apostles could not heal a possessed child Jesus says "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

david tyler · Feb 12, 2019

ALWAYS WITH YOU FOREVER,GOD BLESS AMEN

Hazelelponi · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

If you feel convicted of sin it's important to pay attention.

I was convicted by God to give up smoking. (I smoked for 30 years prior to being saved).

Except I didn't see smoking as a particular sin. It's not listed in the Bible and many Christians smoke so I was confused whether I was being convicted by the Holy Spirit or just imagining things.

In order to clarify the situation, to know whether or not this was of God, I did the only thing we can do. I searched scripture.

I realized in reading scripture and hearing from various Pastors and teachers on the topic, that when we are addicted and in bondage to some thing it's a sin, in that it's something we put before God, plus, Jesus set us free from all bondage..

So if he set us free then we are truly free, and through Christ I was able to quit smoking. (definitely a miracle)

So when there is some confusion about something being a sin or not, then it's good to search scriptures and listen to what various pastors and teachers have to say on the topic, and pray for clear understanding in the matter.

devin553344 · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Does it feel supernatural or does it feel natural?

Is the conviction the same for the unsaved and saved?

How do we know if it's the Holy Spirit and not our flesh convicting us?

I was a bad sinner when I was a youth, and how I describe it is a lack of the Holy Spirit of God, or some people say "Spiritual Bankruptcy" and emptiness, darkness and fear of death because hell is surely after death.

But then I repented and sought God and pleasing God. And after years of serving Him it turned into feeling saved and filled with some measure of the Holy Spirit.

Pethesedzao · Feb 12, 2019

Oscarr said:
Conviction is knowing that you are a hopeless sinner, deserving of condemnation and hell and there is nothing you can do about it in your own strength. It is supernatural in a sense because it comes through the Holy Spirit. If it comes through the flesh, it is little more than just a resolution to be a better person. Conviction is a horror of sin and what it can do to us if left to mature, but at the same time it points us to Christ as our only Saviour from sin.

I was a hopeless sinner but now I am a sanctified saint.

Kenny'sID · Feb 12, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

Sounds like more than your "heart" at work there.

I'm assuming you'd a told us what it was you are being told not to do already had you wanted us to know, so I won't ask, however, if that is not correct then maybe we can help with it.

Dave G. · Feb 13, 2019

Hazelelponi said:
If you feel convicted of sin it's important to pay attention.

I was convicted by God to give up smoking. (I smoked for 30 years prior to being saved).

Except I didn't see smoking as a particular sin. It's not listed in the Bible and many Christians smoke so I was confused whether I was being convicted by the Holy Spirit or just imagining things.

In order to clarify the situation, to know whether or not this was of God, I did the only thing we can do. I searched scripture.

I realized in reading scripture and hearing from various Pastors and teachers on the topic, that when we are addicted and in bondage to some thing it's a sin, in that it's something we put before God, plus, Jesus set us free from all bondage..

So if he set us free then we are truly free, and through Christ I was able to quit smoking. (definitely a miracle)

So when there is some confusion about something being a sin or not, then it's good to search scriptures and listen to what various pastors and teachers have to say on the topic, and pray for clear understanding in the matter.

Awesome testimony Hazel ! He did the same to me over alcohol and I didn't even drink all that much wine, which is all I drank of alcohol. But He wanted it gone and it's gone. And by the way the desire for it is also gone which made it easy to quit..

Dave-W · Feb 19, 2019

Jenniferdiana said:
Having a feeling of guilt when you are about to do something bad and your intuition tell you it's wrong or you know it's wrong then you are being convicted.

I am going to partly disagree.

There is a difference (a BIG difference) between Holy Spirit inspired conviction, and condemnation which comes from the enemy of our souls. Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation for those in the Lord. That does not stop the liar from trying to dump his load of garbage on us; and unfortunately, we often accept it in opposition to Paul's words to us.

That "feeling of guilt" you describe falls into the condemnation category.

Conviction from God is clean, it does not leave you feeling like a slime ball. It is encouraging. It says "Yes that was wrong, but you can do BETTER." It gives us strength to change.

Guilty feelings just tell us how bad we are and that we should just give up trying to do right and be good. That is all from the dude that wants us to disobey God.

What I do agree with is that BEFORE we do something bad, we will get a warning from the Holy Spirit to not do that, to resist that temptation. And He will give strength to do so.

Dave-W · Feb 19, 2019

Oscarr said:
Conviction is knowing that you are a hopeless sinner, deserving of condemnation and hell and there is nothing you can do about it in your own strength. It is supernatural in a sense because it comes through the Holy Spirit.

As I said in the previous post, that is condemnation from the devil, NOT conviction from the Holy Spirit.

Either source (God or devil) is supernatural.

Dave-W · Feb 19, 2019

JohnB445 said:
Is there a way to know?

I think God wants me to get rid of something that I have been doing. Because I had a unreal dream of him condemning me and told me if I don't stop I will mess up my life.

People told me not to listen to my heart, so I ignored the convictions and then my life went down hill.

First off, find out if there is a SPECIFIC command in scripture against what you are doing. Many take great pains to twist scripture into condemning things that are not prohibited in scripture at all. That produces false guilt. It does NOT help us in our walk before God.

Sometimes God will instruct us individually to stop doing one thing or to do something else that has no basis in scripture. In that case you should find other people who are mature believers and are accustomed to hearing and discerning God's voice to verify that what you sense is actually God and not the devil or your own mind tricking you.

Jenniferdiana · Feb 19, 2019

Dave-W said:
I am going to partly disagree.

There is a difference (a BIG difference) between Holy Spirit inspired conviction, and condemnation which comes from the enemy of our souls. Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that there is no condemnation for those in the Lord. That does not stop the liar from trying to dump his load of garbage on us; and unfortunately, we often accept it in opposition to Paul's words to us.

That "feeling of guilt" you describe falls into the condemnation category.

Conviction from God is clean, it does not leave you feeling like a slime ball. It is encouraging. It says "Yes that was wrong, but you can do BETTER." It gives us strength to change.

Guilty feelings just tell us how bad we are and that we should just give up trying to do right and be good. That is all from the dude that wants us to disobey God.

What I do agree with is that BEFORE we do something bad, we will get a warning from the Holy Spirit to not do that, to resist that temptation. And He will give strength to do so.

you are kidding, right? I think I do know... You probably do disagree because maybe guilt wasn't the correct word I should have used. Sorry I'm not good at wording things sometimes. I meant if we are about to do something wrong and your gut tells you it is or you feel some hesistation or rejection in your body, it could very well be the holy spirit convicting you not to do such a thing. I know when I am cooking and I have to pick up some knife..I get a funny feeling in my soul..like my hands can't stand to be on that knife..or sometimes when I see naked photos and foul languages my eyes can't stay on it long cause it makes me feel funny...it's like holy water being thrown on Linda Blair..the girl in the exorcist...instead for me it's usually the other way around like I can't stay in the presence of evil or something...i know those probably wasnt good testimonies of me but whatever it is I know the feeling very well cause it happens to me often....so believe me I do know...

Feeling Convicted by the Holy Spirit? Is God Convicting Me?

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