A Follow-Up

I received this message from someone concerning my last post, and thought it might be helpful to share it, along with my response.

The original message (edited for anonymity):
just read part of your blog and was struck by something the Lord taught me a few years ago.................He taught me that his conviction is always a gentle reminder or prodding that I have done wrong and that what you have described as "A sledgehammer of conviction" is really Satan talking. God taught me that he does not resort to 2x4s to get his message across but instead his message is always delivered with a gentle reminder sent with love.
God taught me that the devil loves to condemn us but that God just wants to help us. In other words, condemnation and conviction are 2 very different things. The first is Satan screwing with our heads, the second is God's loving guidance.

My response:
I think that's a good point actually. Like my RA told me a few years ago, "Satan is the first one to tempt us to sin, and the first one to turn around and point the finger." Or, in the lyrics of a good worship song
"When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin."

So I definitely think that there is a inordinate amount of guilt that Satan can make one feel, to the point of despair (although there is guilt we should feel - remorse over sin).

But I still think there are 2x4's in God's arsenal. And I am driven to think this based on what I've read in the Bible.
For instance, Psalm 51 is David's psalm of repentance concerning his adultery with Bathsheba. David is definitely aware of his sin, and definitely feeling convicted (as well as convictions intended end, which is repentance)
v. 1 - "have mercy on me...blot out my transgressions."
v. 2 - "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity"
v. 3 - "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

So David is definitely convicted, and he describes how God convicted him in verse 8. David is addressing God with a prayer, and asking that he might "hear joy and gladness" and then
"let the bones that you have broken rejoice."

God convicted David so heavily that he described it as his bones being broken. A sledgehammer, if you will.

I see the same thing in Psalm 32, where David again describes God's conviction of his sin as
"when I kept silent [that is about not confessing], my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me"

God's conviction with David was heavy. It made his bones rot and then broke them.

What you have pointed out about Satan's accusations are true, yet what I have shown about conviction being heavy is also true. So what's the balance? I think it can be found in 2 Cor. 7:5-12. There Paul is speaking about a severe letter that he wrote to the Corinthians, confronting them on their sin, and their response in chapter 7 is grief. But they have "godly grief" (v. 10, i.e. right conviction) which "produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret." He then lists the attributes of godly grief, including "eagerness to clear yourselves," "indignation," and "longing."

So then, right conviction (which can be a sledgehammer) is characterized by repentance from the sin, as well as eagerness to not sin in that same way again. Wrong conviction (Satan's accusations) would be feelings of regret over consequences of sin, or despair over sin that focuses on self and not on forgiveness offered by God if you repent and stop sinning (1 John 3:6).

So I think that's at least part of the difference between the two, and I thank you for bringing up that point.