A
Good Clear Conscience
One of the greatest blessings for the born again Christian
is the deep sense of peace with God (Phil. 4:7, 9; Col. 3:15; John 14:27).
The apostle Paul wrote, “I am telling the truth in Christ,
I am not lying, my conscience bearing joint-testimony with me in the Holy Spirit
. . .” (Romans 9:1).
Paul takes a triple oath here because of deep convictions
regarding the salvation of the Jewish people. He makes a strong, positive
affirmation in Christ, a negative statement that he is not lying, and the appeal
to his conscience as a co-witness “in the Holy Spirit.” Paul looked to Christ
and rejoiced; he looked at the Jewish people lost in sin and wept. Paul was
willing to go to hell for the sake of his lost Jewish friends.
The conscience is that faculty of man that evaluates our
actions, along with our thoughts that either accuse or excuse us of sin. Our
conscience is an important part of human nature the world over. It is not an
absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right and wrong. We can have a
“good” conscience (Acts 23:1); 1 Tim. 1:5, 19), a “clear” conscience (Acts
24:16; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18), or a “guilty” conscience (Heb.
10:22), a “corrupted” conscience (Titus 1:15), a “weak” conscience (1 Cor. 8:7,
10, 12), or a “seared” conscience (1 Tim. 4:2).
The marvelous thing about the gospel is that “the blood of
Christ” cleanses the conscience. The writer of Hebrews says, “how much more will
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without
blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God?” (Heb. 9:14).
The conscience is the remains of God’s image in man after
the fall of Adam. The universal fact of this inner voice is important. It is a
divine law. Because we are sinners obedience to the voice of conscience must
always be tested with an acceptance of the revealed will of God in the
Scriptures (John 8:7-9; Rom. 2:15-16; 9:1; Titus 1:13-15).
The apostle Paul warned, “Nothing is wholesome to those who
are themselves unwholesome and who have no faith in God—their very minds and
consciences are diseased” (Tit. 1:15, Phillips). The conscience is defiled
because the light from both it and the Holy Spirit are refused.
The conscience in the born again believer is restored to
its high position as the Christian studies and meditates on God’s revealed will
in the Bible. For the mature Christian the witness of the conscience will be met
by the witness of the Holy Spirit as to what pleases God (Rom. 9:1). We should
seek to continually have “a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward
men” (Acts 24:16).
May the Holy Spirit cleanse the deepest recesses of our
hearts by the infinite purification that God alone can accomplish by means of
the blood of Jesus Christ. May He make us sensitive to the slightest whisper of
His Holy Spirit. His Spirit gives us a sense of disquiet when we are tempted. He
makes us hate anything that will separate us from abiding fellowship with God.
To maintain a good, clear conscience that is sensitive to
the Spirit of God we must confess every sin that we are conscious of and walk in
the light of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit always uses God’s Word to reveal sin to
us. When the conscience reproves listen to it, and confess the sin to God, claim
His forgiveness based on the atoning death of Christ. The blood of Jesus
cleanses us of all sin. Pray that the witness of your conscience and the witness
of the Holy Spirit and the abiding presence of being “in Christ” becomes one.
Hold “to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9).
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Click for printer friendly page
SELAH INDEX
CLICK to E-mail SELAH! to a friend.
|
![[Valid RSS]](../gra/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
