Many people struggle discerning the voices in their head. What do they mean? Where are they coming from? Why am I hearing them? All are valid questions. However, WHO is speaking is perhaps the greatest question we must answer, because discerning the messenger far outweighs unlocking the message. From a spiritual perspective as a follower of Christ, distinguishing the Holy Spirit's voice from Satan's is absolutely critical because their motivations and intentions are polar opposite. For example, the Spirit seeks to build up; Satan aims to tear down. The Spirit exhorts reconciliation; Satan promotes dissension and division. The Spirit speaks absolute truth; Satan tempts with twisted lies and relative half-truths. How then do we discern who's voice we hear speaking to our hearts and minds at any given moment? The answer hinges upon CONVICTION vs. CONDEMNATION, because it draws a line in the spiritual sand and reveals the true motivation of the messenger. Without distinguishing between the two, we are bound to remain confused and frustrated as we navigate the highs and lows of our thought life devoid of a compass. However, with its wisdom we are empowered with the tools necessary to invoke positive change and healthy decision-making in our lives, without being tempted to abandon God's provision in favor of a false gospel. The key we must remember is that the battleground of our faith exists in a spiritual realm we cannot see nor fully comprehend. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, it is imperative we grasp the enormity of this distinction that we may be well equipped to guard our hearts from the schemes of the devil, just as Simon Peter was once tested before us. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I (Jesus) have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31–32).
In order to gain better understanding, we must define how conviction differs from condemnation. For a born-again Christian, conviction is the voice of the Holy Spirit reminding us of our true identity in Christ and guiding us to obey and apply God's Word unto righteousness for our ultimate benefit. In contrast, condemnation is an indirect tool Satan uses to break us down when we are most vulnerable, masked by confusion and doubt. Condemnation lures the mind to obey our flesh and question God's Word when temptation consumes us, to give up when trials arise, and to believe we will never measure up to God's standard nor be worthy enough to receive His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. In other words, condemnation views life from an outwardly and hopeless, human perspective, whereas conviction shifts our attention from the heart directly towards heaven and God's perspective. "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7b). The easiest way for many of us to distinguish Satan from the Holy Spirit is in the whimsical caricature of a miniature, red devil on one shoulder tempting us to obey our fleshly cravings, while a white angel on the other shoulder provokes our conscience to consider the impending dangers of yielding to our flesh. What we must comprehend in the moment is that conviction exists at the forefront of our minds BEFORE we choose to sin and immediately AFTER we have committed the act, whereas condemnation is a byproduct fueled by the act of sin itself which inevitably leads to impending destruction. Scripture reminds us, "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14–15). Let us be clear: Sin is NOT the moment where eternal death comes to fruition. Rather, death comes when we abandon God's promise that He can and will forgive us when we own our sin, repent of our disobedience to His Word, and seek reconciliation with Him and those we have sinned against. Condemnation is simply the result of seeds of doubt, regret, shame and blame-shifting that fester in the mind, establish roots in our heart, and tempt us to believe there is no hope we can be forgiven, that we will never change for the good, and that we have no value or identity with God. Keep in mind, guilt can be a tool of conviction the Spirit uses to shift our attention to fully recognize our sin from God's righteous vantage point, but the end result differs from condemnation in that the Spirit seeks to reconcile us to God, not sentence us to eternal death as Satan desires.
The Bible is clear regarding Satan's identity and motivation. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). From the beginning of time, Satan has always sought to tempt mankind to obey fleshly desires in order to break our fellowship with God. It was the tactic he used to tempt Eve in the garden of Eden, and it has been his most successful tactic in promoting condemnation in the hearts of every man, woman and child since creation. In other words, isolation leaves us vulnerable to attack, and we are no different than Eve because free will allows us ample opportunity to choose which path we will take in life at any given moment. Satan isolated Eve and tempted her to question God's authority and character by twisting her into thinking God's motivation was self-serving and not loving, and he uses the same strategy on us today. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”" (Genesis 3:1). Yet in the midst of this discussion, Eve affirmed to Satan what she remembered God saying as if convicted by the Holy Spirit to not abandon the security of God's command. "And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die’”" (Genesis 3:2–3). What is most interesting is that Satan's response did not refute the validity of what Eve remembered. Rather, he tempted her to question the intent of God's command from a fleshly perspective. "But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”" (Genesis 3:4–5). What happened next is simply when opportunity meets fleshly desire, because once the seed of doubt had taken root in Eve's heart, acting upon her natural inclinations was only a matter of time because she had made her choice to believe Satan's condemning lie over the absolute truth of God's Word. "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths" (Genesis 3:6–7).
We would be foolish to ignore where the Bible does indeed speak of God condemning man, however that form of condemnation is manifested in the eternal judgment of unbelievers. "The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned" (Psalm 34:15–22). Scripture warns us that a slippery slope exists from the protection of God's care manifested by the Holy Spirit's conviction, to abandonment of salvation when we pridefully dismiss His Word and its validity altogether. Case in point, many self-proclaimed Christians today minimize salvation to an empty "repeat after me" salvation prayer which inevitably produces no genuine heart transformation because faith never took root. In other words, no bud nor fruit blossomed from the seed that was planted because it fell on barren soil (Matthew 13:1–9). Conviction fell on deaf ears and recognition of sin never took root, therefore condemnation is stored up for the day of judgment because of unbelief. "But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (Romans 2:5). What we must remember is that timing is crucial, and continually ignoring the conviction of the Spirit in our lives is a recipe for disaster when we lose perspective of who God is and His desire for all mankind. "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed" (2 Peter 3:9–10).
Bottom-line, discerning between the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit and the condemning whispers of Satan hinges upon how deeply rooted God's Word is planted in our hearts. For when discernment is most needed, how can we know who's voice is speaking if we do not sift or filter the message through the colander of God's Word? And how can we know what God's Word says if it is not planted firmly in our hearts, replenished daily through quality time reading it? And how can we understand the Bible's meaning if our hearts are not right with God? And how can we reconcile our hearts with Him if we're not faithfully in prayer, humbly asking Him to forgive our sins and illuminate the truth of His Word? Keep in mind, the apostle Paul warns us that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), in order to confuse conviction as condemnation. Therefore, the only wise and discerning solution at our disposal is a complete surrender of our will for God's—that we would not only accept His Word as absolute truth, but believe in its power to discern who is speaking to us. "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3–4). In the end, our spiritual survival depends upon our relationship to God THROUGH His Word. It has taken far too many years for my stubborn and prideful heart to recognize that truth, but the scars of past sins in my life testifies that my success or failure in discerning conviction vs. condemnation is 100% dependent on the position and prominence of God's Word in my life. Does that necessarily make it easier for me to pick up my Bible and read it? It should, but regrettably I struggle like most people getting into God's Word daily and spending quality time with Him in prayer. If I peel back the layers of self-protection around my heart, I confess that in many ways reading the Bible has become more of a chore than a privilege, a "have" to do rather than a "want" or "get" to do, which is truthfully pathetic considering how many Christians worldwide are being martyred for their faith in Jesus while I risk nothing in the comforts of my home. Therefore, I believe an attitude adjustment is in order, and that begins with a daily dose of Psalm 119 which affirms the role God's Word must play in my life for survival, and the corresponding perspective and attitude I desire in order to intimately know my Creator and discern the convicting voice of His Spirit—that I may live for righteousness and destroy the condemning words of the enemy with "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17b).
(Psalm 119:9–16)
"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word."
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