When does a personal conviction cross the line into a public conviction?
When does conviction of a sinful area of my life become a public thing?
Merriam Webster defines conviction as
1 : the act or process of convicting of a crime esp. in a court of law
2 a : the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
3 a : a strong persuasion or belief
b : the state of being convinced
For the purposed my post we will focus on definition 2 and 3.
Should personal conviction be public?
Just to get something straight, a personal conviction is something different from a command. If God gives us a commandment in His Word, then it doesn't matter if we feel convicted about it or not as to whether we should obey it. These commandments usually don't bring too much controversy into the body of Christ, but when it comes to areas that are not clearly spelled out in the Bible, things can get ugly.
What do you do with something that you feel is wrong, but is not clearly spelled out in Scripture? Do you put together a bunch of Scripture to prove your point? I think that you can to support your conviction. I think that we most often feel personal convictions when we are reading and studying Scripture. Personal conviction is good. It is a major part of sanctification. This is where God reveals our sin to us so that we can repent of it and turn our lives more toward Him.
But what happens when other does feel that same conviction, even when you present the same passages of Scripture to them? Should we take the time to point it out to them? What if they don't feel the same way about the issue? Do we label them a sinner, a false convert, a "bad" Christian?
I think that the answer lies in Scripture. Let the Bible and the Holy Spirit do the convicting of the person. If it really an area of sin in their life that God wants to reveal to them, then He will do it through His Word.
Does the Bible talk of personal convictions defined in this way?
I think that Paul speaks to this matter in Romans chapter 14
Paul gives us examples different things that people had different feelings on in his time. In verses 2 and 15 it is food. In verse 5 it is holy days. Please take a minute to read these 23 verses. Paul is telling us that everything is clean, verse 14 and verse 20, but if someone is convinced (convicted) that it is unclean, then "it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean." (v.14) So, a person in their freedom should not press the issue with this person that it really isn't a sin the eat the meat. If that person feels that it is a sin to eat the meat, then it is a sin to him. He is not responsible to you for his actions, but to God. V.4 "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? (we are all servants of God) It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." v.10 "Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." (ESV)
Instead of holy days and food, what are some of the issues that cause us to judge one another today?
Do we look at a brother or sister in Christ and judge their life based on our convictions? I'm not talking about pointing out clear sin in their life like murder, sexual sin, lying, stealing, etc. I'm talking about the parts that aren't clearly spelled out in the Bible.
What about serving in the church? I know that has been one where I have stumbled in the past. "Look at this guy or this gal. They don't do anything inside the church. They must not be very Christ like." Sound familiar? Let's look at this example for a second. Does the Bible tell us to serve in the Body of Christ? Yes. Out of love we are to love others. Christ died not only for me, but for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Out of my love and devotion for Him, I should love and serve them. Does this mean that a person who does not serve in the church doesn't love Christ? No. They may be at a point in their life where God, through His Spirit, has convinced them that they need to focus on their family life, and for them to take time away from their children or their spouse to serve in the church would be a sin.
