Conviction

"For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things...Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all." ~ I Timothy 4:10-11,15
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." ~ Hebrews 11:1

Conviction is a word that is rarely understood in our culture today. We live in a society that bases its choices and beliefs on the feelings and thoughts of the moment. They are fleeting, unstable, and meaningless. So much of America is obsessed with the latest fads and trends. They all jump on the bandwagon of the "new" ideas. We have become so desensitized that nothing bothers us anymore. We are so afraid of being thought of as a fanatical extremist that we just shrug our shoulders at everything we see, whether we disagree or not.
This attitude is plaguing the body of Christ. The church has stopped teaching the importance of conviction. We no longer care. This is the primary source of most of the problems within the church today. Christians are apathetic and lazy. Sin no longer bothers us. We have no drive. We are no longer convicted by the Word.
Thoughts are volatile. Feelings are fleeting. Even beliefs, to a degree, are susceptible to change and alteration. But a conviction is something that is so firm and so founded and so resolute that it demands a response. That foundation has to be in the Word of God. (There is no foundation stronger.) When we let the God-breathed, inspired, Spirit-filled, life-changing Scriptures penetrate into our stubborn minds and let them permeate into our very hearts and are "absorbed in them" we will find the strength and conviction to live a consistent life surrendered to the grace of God. When we fix our hope on the living God, we will begin to live the life that labors and strives to serve without hesitation and without regret (and through that will find true satisfaction and joy).
God is perfectly holy and is incapable of accepting anything less than that. This means that God has a certain standard (perfection) and is unwilling to accept anything less. He has placed the same demand and standard on us. (Now we are only capable of approaching that standard through the gracious blood of Christ). But the question is: If God has this standard why do we not demand the same? God expects the best; so we should all strive for the best and ask the same of our brothers and sisters in the body. That is conviction. When you are willing to say, "Yes God, whatever it takes and nothing less." When you "take pains" to live up to your convictions because no matter how hard, it would be more painful to ignore it. Why should we have conviction? It is in the passage above: "So that your progress will be evident to all." The world will see Christ through your convictions. They will see His greatness and love when they see how far you are willing to go and how boldly you are willing to stand for a faith.