PSALM 19:7-10

INTRODUCTION:

Who are Christians? Christians are convicted then converted sinners.
They are convicted of their life being in a sinful state, being contrary to God, but that a
savior has provided them a way to be redeemed from that guilt and sin.
The sinner must accept the requirements to proceed their convictions with a conversion
from a sinful state of guilt, into a saved state of faith in God. it is God's Word that does the convicting, and it is also the powerful agent that completes the conversion, as David teaches in Psalms 19. There is also an actual event proving so in Acts 8. Psalms 19:7-10; Acts 8:35-40

What is Conviction?
Submission to judgement (voluntarily or forcibly applied) pertaining to the current state of
one’s status and reality. An informed awareness that the current status is acceptable, or
unacceptable; Consequently, actions must be taken to impact that current status and
reality.

What is Conversion?
Completing the actions necessary to change a current state or reality into another state
and reality (in this case, initialized because of conviction).
It is possible to proceed to pass the initial event of conviction - but not fully process the
secondary action of conversion.
Why is Conviction important?
Conviction is important because one must gain proper understanding of both reason and
purpose for being (existence). You need to know your purpose and reason for existing.
Why is Conversion important?
Conversion is important because the current state of something may be incorrect, in
danger, and/or with flaws. Changing to a better state is imperative for purpose and reason.
It is potentially dangerous to recognize a need to change but reject the process to do so.
Mutually, and exclusively, conviction and conversion drive the thoughts to consider a need
for both, one, or neither. To fully comprehend this consideration, one would need to
understand their experience and expectation for existence. The bible tells us that our
existence had a reason and a purpose. ECCL 12:13-14

So, is humankind the same as it was in the beginning?
The Answer is No. We are not as we were in our beginning. We have changed.

Have we changed for the better or for worse?
Humankind changes for the worse. Therefore, applying judgement to our state of being was
needed. Needed because the change we regressed into sin, needed to be converted back
to sinless. The Judgement was applied from the beginning. Ephesians 1:3-14

What was being judged?
The state of humankind and the realization of its future, not having a positive outcome,
unless there is a conversion.

The State of Mankind being Judged
• Matthew 1:21 – It was decided that a Savior will be sent to save people from their
sins.
• Ephesians 3:13 – God intended for man to be holy for His glory. Something changed
the holiness of man.
• Revelations 12:7-17 – This holiness of man was put in danger by an event before our
creation.

God Is divinely proactive and responsive.
A. God did not let this event, prevent Himself from his intent to create a being to
worship Him and show His glory (Colossians 1:3-14)
B. God intended to convert his creation back to the original state of holiness
(Colossians 1:19-20)
God Makes His Concern Known and Implements His Vision for Change.
1. The Judgment applied was that humankind stood a guilty distance from God in sin
(Romans 3:23-26). So, Man needed to learn the truth about his distance from God
(Luke 1:70-79; John 1:1-10).
2. Upon learning this truth, he is given the power of accepting his conviction to be
converted back to the holiness that he was designed to be (1Peter1:10-22).

Psalms 19:7-10
Keys to Conviction
• Desire for learning God
• Be convinced of current reality and status
• Acceptance of Truth
• Willingness to act on Truth

1 John 3:21-24
Keys to Conversion
• Trust the Truth
• Possess the Truth
• Implement the Truth
• Reinforce the conviction

“The Bigger Picture”

What did it take for you to be convicted of submitting to God?
This is a fundamental question that reveals information about how you view yourself.
When we got to that moment, there was likely a fracture of reality which led to either a
greater understanding or a fear of uselessness.

Life doesn’t always have immediate answers for questions that manifest about our reality.
There may be times we need to wait a very long time to see all the parts of the image. We
tend to pick up small portions of the bigger picture along the way and if we are paying
attention – we can incrementally see the picture coming together. It could be realized early
on in life, or it may take half a lifetime. Generally, people are not putting together all aspects
of our existence in their elder age, unless there is damage to the mental processes
somewhere along the way.
The Bigger Picture, is, God decided to create a being that would prove how
great and glorious God is. He did create the being, and the being does prove how great and
glorious God is. The interesting fact is that in perfection when creation was completed, the
glory was never eradicated by the failure of the creation to remain as created: perfect. The
creation having regressed into fault, by those faults, still continues to prove the glory of
God. This very fact is written into God’s word in Ephesians 2:4:10. The complete
understanding of this truth is shared by Paul in Ephesians chapters 1 and 2.
Eph 1 – Teaches us that our creation was not a failure, despite sin coming into the world
through our creation. God made us perfect and a trip up did not change the purpose or
reason. God amended our timeline before it was compromised, by placing Christ into the
timeline to be consistent with our existence.
Eph 2 – Paul reminds us that the way we once lived can be just a hitch in our step if we
reposition ourselves to be linear with God’s vision. We can realign ourselves if we accept
Christ and we are fully converted to the original purpose for being perfect. Perfect for the
very reason of glory God seeks (Eph 2:11-12).
Not knowing our purpose and not understanding the reason for our existence leaves all
humans predisposed to improvise and find our own path, without any considerations or
consultations from a “Source” or “Voice” greater than ourselves.
You, Christian you have the advantage now, you have been convicted and you became
converted. Now you heart begs you to share this newness and completeness with others.
The question is how do we talk to them and how do we proceed to show others the way?
The first step is easy, and it can become equally less difficult with confidence in your personal
conversion.

Every human is a prospect for salvation. Many just haven’t come to learning that as of yet.
This learning can take time and many different and variable experiences before
understanding begins to take shape. This is lapse of time to discovery – is the advantage
you have to begin evangelizing. You have God’s word which means you have answers, they
have not God’s word which means they have questions. The people with the questions are
the perfect prospects for those who have the answers. Getting the questions to reveal
themselves is even easier because the questions will be related to how the person is as you
meet them. How do we begin?

Beginning the Process to Convict: Evangelizing
Talking with Prospective Believers
1) Understanding the personality (with intentions to learn)
2) Acquire knowledge of their story (first)
3) Learn what their self-view is from their perspective
4) Engage in genuine conversations and interactions
5) Acknowledge any similarities between you and them
6) Introduce your discovery of truth and how it helps you
7) Re-enforce your conviction in daily living