The Gospel Creates Conviction
I have a notebook in my Evernote account labeled “Ray Ortlund Papers.” It’s a treasure trove of papers Ray wrote during the seven years I was at Immanuel and he was lead pastor. Like old friends, I think of them often and visit them regularly. Each time, I find within their pages a word of hope for my soul. If you know Ray at all, you know his words drip with grace and bleed with Bible.
Recently, I was talking with a few other men about preaching. We came upon the topic of preaching with conviction, which reminded me of an article in my files from November 2012 called “The gospel creates men of conviction.” It was written to men because it was a men’s meeting, but the truths apply to women equally.
Opinion vs. Conviction
The dictionary makes a distinction between an opinion and a conviction.
Opinion: a personal judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce certainty.
Conviction: a fixed or firm belief that rests on an authority completely worthy of trust.
Using those definitions and Hebrews 11:1, Ray explains that most things in life deserve no more than opinion but a few things in life demand conviction. If we look at the way we actually live, we can track our convictions. They might not be what we want, but our actual life will reveal our actual convictions.
The surprising thing about convictions is that they are founded upon unseen things. We can’t see our convictions with our eyes but know them to be real and worthy regardless. How do we know? Because they are the things that keep us living. They are the things we really pursue. Our convictions get us up in the morning, get us going throughout the day, and give us hope for tomorrow as we lay our head down at night. Our convictions push us out the door into a world of opinions. They are the things we stand upon, sure they are true though we can’t see them with our eyes.
We might have an opinion about the music on the radio in the car on the way to work but we are convinced the laws of physics will propel our car down the road. We may have an opinion about home school or public school but we are convinced education is important. We reserve an opinion for things for which there are many options but not one definitive answer. We reserve conviction for things for which there is but one answer. The gospel of Jesus Christ is one such thing.
The Conviction of Things Not Seen
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” One danger the enemy uses as a trap is to keep everything, even the gospel, at the level of opinion. He loves to make Jesus but one option of many to follow. But to treat something as vital as the gospel as a matter of mere opinion dooms us. It causes us to pause. It makes us paralyzed. We never get traction with God because we’re not sure he’s really who he says he is. We never grow in godliness and holiness because we can’t be sure what’s true and what’s not. We never risk anything for the gospel because it isn’t big enough in our minds to warrant it. Instead, we live Christian-lite lives where Jesus is a good guy and a great model but nothing more.
But our heart longs for more than that, and so does God’s.
God wants us to be convinced of his love for us. He wants us to be convinced of the life to come in his presence. He wants us to be convinced that living for him is the only life worth living because he’s the only King worth serving and the only God worth worshiping because he’s the only Savior who can and has done anything about our mess. In the words of Hebrews 11:6, gospel conviction is faith in two things: that God is real and that he is rewarding. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Do you believe in the real and rewarding God?
Who Are You?
Ray says, “Every day this present world gets up in our faces and yells at us that it is the only happiness we’ll ever see. Those of conviction say, ‘Sorry, but I’m convinced that God is real and rewarding.’ The Bible’s point is, that decisiveness is faith. And those of faith will make the real Jesus non-ignorable.”
He goes on to give the following diagnostic.
Are you a person of opinion or of conviction? Here are some ways to check yourself out:
People of opinion can do a lot of good things, but they do not put God first in the practical realities of time, budget, relationships. They do not push themselves. They do not sacrifice. They play it safe, keep a low profile and wait and see how things turn out.
People of conviction already know, from the Bible, how things are going to turn out. Guided by the gospel North Star in their nighttime sky, they go against the flow, because their eyes are lifted all the way to the Prize above, which is Jesus. And they use their influence to help others get there too.
The paper ends with a quote from A.W. Tozer. Read and considered, this quote is a searchlight of the heart.
Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him.”
This world, with its in-your-face-ness, forces us to make opinions about many things. We are judged based on them. But the God of the Bible asks us to be convinced of one thing only—that he is God who saves. Living as those convinced, we will have only God to fall back on. There may come a day when he is all we have. And when he is, he will be all we need. We can be convinced of that.
One Step You Can Take
So what if you fear you’re more a person of opinion rather than of conviction? Ray closes his paper with three practical steps to take. Why not consider taking one today?
Take a fast of something earthly that means too much to you
Hang out regularly with people of conviction
Take a risk that is absolutely crazy, if the gospel is false.
Living by conviction is one way in this crazy world to make a stand for God. And all it takes is knowing he exists and he rewards.
