Conviction of sin is best described in the words:
My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.
How sad on Thee they fall.
Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever
happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God.
Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people
of sin (see John 16:8).
And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him
into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with
others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You
only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight . . .” (Psalm 51:4).
The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so
interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He
proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously,
by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of
saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life
is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for
having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.
The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden
pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then
the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of
the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19).
This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by
unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of
Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent
when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to
pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value
of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to
see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.
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