What Does it Mean to be Saved: Conviction and Confession of Sin

John 16:7-13 "...I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come."

This is the second in a series on What Does it Mean to be Saved. Other sermons in this series to follow are repentance, faith and justification.

What does it mean to be saved?  What makes a true Christian? It means to be born again, to be made spiritually alive from the dead; suddenly they now have a consciousness of spiritual things that they did not have before.  They have a consciousness of God's law and his standard, and of their own sin, their transgression.  What happens next is this:  conviction and confession of sin.  The very things that modern Christianity is downplaying, conviction of sin and confession of sin.

What is that? what is conviction and confession of sin.   Sometimes the bible says "reprove" sometimes "convince" but it means to expose suggesting shame.  Another word used is  "guilty," to feel under judgment.  Conviction is a feeling or burden of guilt, the weight of  your  sin, feeling that you are a sinner and you stand guilty before a holy God.  That person realizes that they need help.  Confession is you confess your sin, you admit "I have sinned I am a sinner"  When you are convicted you don't feel good, you have a burden about your sin.

Broad Easy Conversion

In this day of compromise, multiple bible versions and "praise" songs in today's churches,  it is important for me to share this message

Broad Easy Conversion

Matthew 7:13-29

What has led to so many false professing Christians?  Shallow evangelism, followed by a man-made unbiblical tradition called the "altar call" is replacing biblical signs of conversion with man-made physical actions that anyone can perform.  This has led to many false conversions, and therefore many false professing Christians.  "Raise your hand, come to the front, repeat these words after me"  you can do all these things and go to hell just as quickly as the person you are sitting beside because these things do not save.  They have no saving merit at all.  They are unbiblical. 

To be truly saved, you need to be convicted of your sin by the Holy Spirit, repent of your sin, that means turn from it, and trust in Jesus as your Saviour.  Then afterwards you have a life of gospel holiness as a natural consequence of your conversion.  Philippians 3:17-20 "Brethren be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:  whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)  For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ."

The false Christian's slip is always showing.  They are hostile to a holy life and governed by self-will or they are proud of their sin.  They are consumed with a worldly mind-set.  These are signs of a mere profession.

What is Christ's teaching concerning the symptoms of the false professing Christian?  Matthew 7, the sermon on the mount.  It is right here that the Lord gives very plain teaching on the subject.  This sermon is about the kingdom of heaven and the citizens of that kingdom.  It is not a moral code for everybody to follow, that is impossible, it is not that.  The sermon on the mount is a description of the citizens of God's kingdom, true Christians and what they characterize in their life.  He describes the blessedness of the citizens of the kingdom of God, what they are to be - salt and light, he describes their lifestyle, what God demands of them, the spiritual depths of the ten commandments.  Christ tells us of the drastic sanctification or holiness of the citizens of the kingdom.  The sermon tells us how they are to pray and give, their other worldliness in their character, they are not materialistic.  Christians have respect for other people.