Revelation The Reign of Christ Begins
And the twenty-four elders fell, and the four living creatures and they worshipped to the God the one sitting upon the throne saying, “Amen, Hallelujah.”
And a voice from the throne came saying, “You give praise to our God, all His servants and the ones fearing Him, the little and the great.”
And I heard as a voice of a large crowd also as a sound of many waters also as a sound of strong thunders saying, “Hallelujah, because Our Lord God the Almighty has begun to reign
Conviction (ἔλεγχος)
Conviction, the evidence or proof that a belief is based upon. Faith is the substance of that which is hoped for, the conviction of accomplished works not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Since hope is always based upon a promise (Romans 8:24), faith in the one giving the promise is what undergirds the hope we have, even though we cannot at this time look at what was promised. When used in action it still carries the same meaning; therefore, Scripture, which is God-breathed, is profitable towards teaching and conviction, along with correction and child-training (2 Timothy 3:16). Which is why the Pastor is instructed to preach in season and out of season while convicting along with rebuking in all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2).
There is so much great information in these passages and the meaning of the words, like teaching is different from doctrine, and child-training is specific to Christians, along with the fact that the Scripture is actually God-breathed, but we will have to look at these another time. Understanding conviction is important, because it is not about accusing a person, but about why we believe what we believe. The conviction is not judgment but laying out the truth so that our faith is shown to be based upon actual promises from God, not from humans. We see this with the Holy Spirit’s work concerning the unbelievers today. He convicts them of a sin – not believing in Christ’s death for sins and resurrection (John 16:8-11), righteousness – because Christ goes to the Father, and judgment – because the ruler of this world has been judged. He is not making them feel bad about their sins, but convincing them through truth of the facts of the Gospel for Salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
As a result of who we are in Christ, we are not to fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but are to convict them (Ephesians 5:11). A good example of this is when Christians try to live through law rather than out from faith. Their works are unfruitful because these ones are not walking by faith and taking God at His Word; rather, they are using the flesh. They, along with all others who walk in darkness, should be convicted by our lifestyle as a result of walking in the light and the truth we speak. Walking in the darkness means a life that is focused on fulfilling the desires of the flesh and ignoring spiritual things. Light is God’s life in activity. When walking in the light, we are manifesting a quality of the life of God – the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
“Convict” in English can carry a meaning of some offense or crime; however, in Scripture the original language expresses conviction, which is the act of fully persuading someone based upon truth, such as is seen with faith being the conviction of that which is hoped for but not yet seen as we wait to receive it. So when Jude wrote of the judgment to come when the ungodly will be convicted of their ungodly works, this shows that when judgment comes upon them they will be convinced by the facts of their works and truth showing they are fully deserving of what they receive in return for their works. Jude 15 – to do judgment and according to all also to convince every soul concerning their ungodly works … .
It is not our words that will convict others around us of the truth, but our actions. This does not mean we will always get a positive result because there are some that do not want to know the truth and will react very negatively when convinced of it. But there are others that will be convicted of their unbelief or ungodly works and respond by changing their mind. Therefore, let the conviction of our faith be seen through our lifestyle, not just our words, because faith without works is dead.
Framing of the Mind (φρονέω)
In koine Greek the mind is described in several ways giving great detail in the process, result, and even state of the mind. Often translated as “setting the mind”, “Framing the mind” focuses on the boundaries we set within our minds based upon our opinions. It is therefore the opinions we build within our minds concerning everything around us, including ourselves, beliefs that directly affect our attitude and actions.
Peter is rebuked for not having a proper frame of mind concerning the things of God when He says the death of Christ will not happen – And He turned to Peter, “Get behind me, adversary, you are a scandal to me because you do not frame your mind on the things of God but on the things of men (Matthew 16:21). The first time Paul was in Rome, he spoke with the Jews in the area concerning why he was a prisoner. Hearing from him, they sought to learn what his views were on what they consider a sect. That is, what is frame of mind was concerning this sect of The Way. (But we think it proper towards hearing you, that which you frame your mind, for indeed concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against – Acts 28:19).
Because the framing of the mind is based upon the opinion we hold of ourselves and others, it directly affects our actions. A mind that is framed on the flesh produces death, but a mind framed on the Spirit works out life and peace (Romans 8:5). We are not to have a high frame of mind, but are to be of the same frame of mind with other Christians (Romans 12:16). As sons of God, we are not to frame our mind as inarticulate babblers, which we were before learning the truth; rather, we are to put away the things of a child (1 Corinthians 13:11) and act as mature ones. Our frame of mind should be the same as Christ, Who did not consider His outward appearance of Deity something to be grasped, but submitted to the will of the Father and being found in the outward form of a servant died, even a cross type of death (Philippians 2:5-8).
As Christians, our mind is to be set on the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1-3). Therefore, how we perceive ourselves should line up with what God says about us in Christ. This truth should impact our everyday life. Even when doing the laundry, cooking a meal, during work, on the drive home, or whatever else we do during the day, every aspect of our lives is governed by how we frame our mind. Do we take God at His Word and frame our opinion of ourselves based upon what He says, or keep focusing on the things of the flesh and rejecting truth? We have the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. (Philippians 3:14-15 According to the mark I pursue because of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ…). Therefore, because of what we have and who we are in Christ, let us press on with a correct frame of mind, adjusting our opinions of ourselves to what God says, for He does not lie, so that our actions start to line up with who we are in Christ and we express a proper opinion of God in our activities by having an appropriate frame of mind concerning ourselves that is based upon the truth.
2 Corinthians How We Present the Truth
but in all while commending ourselves as ministers of God in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses in wounds, in prisons, in disturbances, in toils, in sleeplessness, in fasting, with purity, with knowledge, with longsuffering, with kindness, by the Holy Spirit, in an unhypocritical love, in a word of truth, by inherent ability of God, through the armor of righteousness of the right and left hands, 2 Corinthians 6:4-7
Pious (ὁσιότητι)
Often translated as holy, it actually is expressing holiness in action. Holiness means to be separated, where being pious happens as we separate ourselves unto God in actions. This naturally results in the rejection in our lives of the things of the flesh, the world, and Satan because they are contrary to who we are in Christ.
As an apostle, Paul determined that men should worship in every place, lifting up pious hands. Hands that work out the holiness we have in Christ (1 Timothy 2:8 – Therefore, I determine while worshiping all men in every place lift up pious hands apart from wrath and dispute). He is not saying lift up your hands during a worship service or in Church while praying. He is saying that our hands are to work out the holiness that we have in Christ while we are giving God credit for Who He is and what He has done (worship).
One of the requirements of a Bishop (Pastor or Elder) is to be pious (Titus 1:8 but fond of strangers, fond of good, a saved frame of mind, just, pious, self-controlled). As one who is responsible for an assembly, there are specific Scriptural requirements to hold the position of a Pastor. These men are not to be self-willed, addicted to wine, fond of money gained through false means (tithing), but hospitable, fond of goodness, having a saved frame of mind, while holding fast the doctrine of the word of faith, which will result in a lifestyle that shows forth their separation unto God. Being pious is accompanied by righteousness and blamelessness (1 Thessalonians 2:10 You and God are my witnesses as pious and just and blameless we became…), as these are characteristics that shows an individual is separated.
Living piously is not about rejecting what everyone else is doing and is certainly has nothing to do with judging or looking down on others. It is holiness in action. We are separated unto God and our actions are to show this, not by separating ourselves from people and bad conduct, but by separating ourselves to God and living out who we are in Christ. We are not involved with the wrong doings of others because we are busy doing the things of God.
We are saints (Romans 1:7). Not sinners saved by grace, but saints. Yes, God did save us by grace, but now that we are saved, we are free from sin and bound to righteousness (Romans 6:18). A saint is one who is set apart, one who is holy. In Christ, we are saints because we are separated unto God. Therefore, let us live out this holiness we have in Christ. And Christ is our example of how we live this out. For God said, I will not allow My Pious One to see corruption (Acts 2:27). He lived out the desirous will of God the Father over His Own (Hebrews 7:26). We live piously by doing the same thing, knowing and doing God’s desirous will (Romans 12:2), for the will of God remains, unlike the desires of the flesh and the world that are constantly changing (1 John 2:17).
We are the children of God. We are the children of the light. We are free from sin and bound to righteousness because we are separated unto God. Today let us live piously because our mind is focused on who we are in Christ, and our actions show we are ones who are separated unto God.