by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2026
(Mar. 11, 2026) — We come now to the heart of this study: faith.
The discussion usually begins here, but we have seen that faith is the third step on this pathway. To have faith, God must speak, and we must hear.
One of literature’s most famous lines comes from the mouth of Shakespeare’s tragic character, Hamlet.
To be, or not to be.
Faith raises a dilemma of greater significance.
To do, or not to do.
When God’s word comes, what do I do with it?
I have expanded the graphic (Figure 1) to include conviction as the crucible where questions and doubt grind against God’s word.
The Bible and experience show that faith and obedience are not our automatic response to God’s voice, although the writer of Hebrews confirms they are the preference:
Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion (Hebrews 3:15).
Faith has room to evaluate what God has said, to come to understand its meaning, and to decide what to do. You may have heard the phrase that someone is “under conviction.”
It is a time for
- Clarifying. God, is that really you?
- Evaluating. Did I hear what I think I heard?
- Questioning. What do you want me to do?
Conviction may last a moment, days, or even longer. Regardless of how long, conviction inevitably resolves in either obedience or disobedience.
The framework of conviction
Before we watch examples of conviction in the Old and New Testaments, this insight by M. R. Vincent provides a framework. His commentary presumes that conviction confronts wrong beliefs and misconceptions about God.
Conviction is the result of examination, testing, and argument.
The test exposes and demonstrates the error and refutes it, thus convincing, convicting, and rebuking the one who holds it.
This conviction issues in chastening, by which the error is corrected and the erring one purified.
If the conviction is rejected, it carries with it condemnation and punishment. The individual is thus convicted of sin, of right, and of judgment.1
Read the rest here.