When Conviction Comes

Nehemiah 9:1-38 – After listening to the Word of God, the people were aware of their sins and repented. When conviction comes, we must humbly approach God with a restorative desire.

Nehemiah’s Example

  • Nehemiah led the people to confess their personal and their predecessors’ sins (9:1-5).
  • The leaders helped the people identify their place in the grand narrative of Scripture (9:6-31).
  • Creation – The sole Creator deserves unrivaled worship (9:6).
  • Covenant – God initiated a relationship with Abraham to change the world (9:7-8).
  • Exodus – God powerfully rescued His people from bondage (9:9-12).
  • Commandments – God graciously provided rules after redemption (9:13-15).
  • Wilderness – God supplied everything for a people who rebelled about anything (9:16-21).
  • Canaan – God fought their battles and established their prosperity (9:22-25).
  • Cycle – God provided suffering and saviors to confront their sin (9:26-28).
  • Exile – God disciplined their defiance but refused to abandon them (9:29-31).

The people wanted to learn the lessons of those before them by embracing God’s faithfulness and confessing their sinfulness (9:32-38).

Our Response

  • Christians – stop fighting against God’s good plans for your life by breaking His commandments.
  • Non-Christians – confess your sin and trust in Christ for salvation.

When conviction comes, resist the condemnation trap that seeks to keep you from the One eager to forgive you.