Conviction versus Condemnation!!!

There seems to be some confusion about what the word CONVICTION means and how CONVICTION is different from CONDEMNATION.  



To get a better idea of what CONVICTION means, I looked it up!!!  And I found that over the years the meaning of this word has changed!!!



Today, the word conviction has these meanings:

1:  the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially 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

In our society the word conviction means something different than it meant 2000 years ago when The New Testament was written!!!  



Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek and to better understand what the word CONVICTION meant at that time, I looked it up using BibleStudyTools.com



So, here is a detailed, but edited version of what “to convict” means in the Greek as it is used in the New Testament:   to bring to the light, to expose, correct by word, chide, admonish, reprove, to call to account, show one his fault, to chasten



I also looked up the word condemnation or “to condemn” in a couple of different dictionaries!!!


The Free Dictionary says that “to condemn” means: 

1. To express strong disapproval of 
2. To pronounce judgment against



And Dictionary.com says that “to condemn” means:

1. to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of; censure.

2. to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment.

3. to give grounds or reason for convicting or censuring.

4. to judge

So, why am I making such a big deal out of this??? 



And why do I want to make sure that you know that these words have different meanings??? 



Well, that is because these 2 words - CONVICTION and CONDEMNATION - have different meanings, especially when they are used in GOD’S WORD!!! 



It is important that we know and understand the difference in CONVICTION and CONDEMNATION when we are reading GOD’s WORD!!!




Do you know that God says that HE didn’t send Jesus to the world to condemn it?  Jesus didn’t come to condemn us!!!  He came to save us!!!



John 3:16-21 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

And do you know that The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world???



John 16:7-11 (NKJV)

⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

⁸ And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;

¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.