Attrition
Attrition: the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure.
In Christian theology, it is the sorrow, but not feeling of remorse, towards sin.
Conviction can become so watered down to you through sustained attacks & pressure from your flesh that you can subsequently diminish its power and have a reprobate mind.
Romans 1:28 talks about those that the Lord left to their own devices since they were unwilling to soften their hearts and follow in His ways. Let’s look at a few examples where, through sustained, non-interupted acts of flesh, individuals were not able to adhere to The Lord’s will.
The Parable of the Two Sons
Matthew 21:28-32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
The Pharisees
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” 45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.
The Rich Young Ruler
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
In each of these examples, whether it be the son who did not repent and do what he was supposed to, or the Pharisees not being moved by the words Jesus was speaking to them, or the rich young ruler not adhering to conviction, letting it be enough to detach from worldly possessions, in each example, they all made a choice. A choice that made it easier to walk on the wide path that leads to destruction and not the path that leads to life.
Saints, when you don’t interrupt the cycle of your flesh taking the front seat, you will be in the fast lane to a reprobate mind that God will acknowledge. The Lord, by His nature, will always give us the opportunity to know Him, but if you are continually disobeying Him, you eventually land on the path of where you will become desensitized to Him. It is not that He relented, but the fact that you allowed yourself to get to the point where His will no longer is of interest to you.
However, the great news is that at any point we can allow conviction to work in us to produce repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), and we find a great example in Paul, who tells us how to allow grace to be with effect in us (1 Corinthians 15:10). Allow the words of Jesus, The Word to penetrate your heart and perceive it for what it is: the way to Life (1 Thessalonians 2:13).