August 7, 2015 A CLEAR CONSCIENCE
Hebrews 10:21-22: “and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
I think that we all would agree that a clear, undefiled conscience is priceless. Man, apart from God cannot truly experience a clear conscience because he was born in sin, separated from God. It is also true that believers can find themselves plagued with an evil or unclean conscience. Many believers live defeated lives because of a bad conscience, even though a clean conscience is theirs “for the taking.” The wonderful truth of the gospel is that no matter what evil deeds or thoughts we have had in the past, or even in the present, we can have our conscience cleansed immediately. Jesus Himself is the great high priest over the house of God-and that includes us. The birth, the sinless life, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus qualified Him to be the “great high priest.” Jesus has cleansed us and washed away all of our sin and has made it possible for us to draw near to Him in “full assurance.” Having a clear conscience is not automatic-there is a required response from us. Our response is not based on our work, but on our drawing near to Him and receiving from Him. Drawing near to Him involves confessing and turning from any sin that the Holy Spirit may have pointed out, and it involves a desire to be close to Him just because of who He is. Throughout scripture, God invites us to draw near to Him and we can draw near because we have been cleansed and are now our hearts are clean. In Hebrews we are exhorted to draw near to Him, but we are also made aware of the danger and the consequence of not drawing near and ignoring the grace of God as we see in Hebrews 10:29: “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” As believers we must always be conscience of the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf and realize that if it was not for the grace of God, we would be lost and forever separated from God. When we choose to live contrary to the plain teachings of the scriptures and we do not live according to the Spirit, then we actually insult the Spirit of Grace and we incur the consequences. In verses 10:22-25, the believers were given some commands; such as “draw near”, “not forsaking our own assembling together”, “stimulate one another to good deeds”, and “encouraging one another.” By not obeying what God has said, then we are guilty of insulting the Spirit of Grace who was given that we might share the life of God. Our high priest has made the supreme sacrifice for us, He is faithful, He intercedes for us before the Father, and He has cleansed us so that we can now draw near to Him. Every command, every instruction that God gives is for our good and it is His desire that we stay on the path that leads to life. Because we have been made clean, may we accept His invitation to draw near to Him.
1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Hebrews 10:21-22: “and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
I think that we all would agree that a clear, undefiled conscience is priceless. Man, apart from God cannot truly experience a clear conscience because he was born in sin, separated from God. It is also true that believers can find themselves plagued with an evil or unclean conscience. Many believers live defeated lives because of a bad conscience, even though a clean conscience is theirs “for the taking.” The wonderful truth of the gospel is that no matter what evil deeds or thoughts we have had in the past, or even in the present, we can have our conscience cleansed immediately. Jesus Himself is the great high priest over the house of God-and that includes us. The birth, the sinless life, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus qualified Him to be the “great high priest.” Jesus has cleansed us and washed away all of our sin and has made it possible for us to draw near to Him in “full assurance.” Having a clear conscience is not automatic-there is a required response from us. Our response is not based on our work, but on our drawing near to Him and receiving from Him. Drawing near to Him involves confessing and turning from any sin that the Holy Spirit may have pointed out, and it involves a desire to be close to Him just because of who He is. Throughout scripture, God invites us to draw near to Him and we can draw near because we have been cleansed and are now our hearts are clean. In Hebrews we are exhorted to draw near to Him, but we are also made aware of the danger and the consequence of not drawing near and ignoring the grace of God as we see in Hebrews 10:29: “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” As believers we must always be conscience of the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf and realize that if it was not for the grace of God, we would be lost and forever separated from God. When we choose to live contrary to the plain teachings of the scriptures and we do not live according to the Spirit, then we actually insult the Spirit of Grace and we incur the consequences. In verses 10:22-25, the believers were given some commands; such as “draw near”, “not forsaking our own assembling together”, “stimulate one another to good deeds”, and “encouraging one another.” By not obeying what God has said, then we are guilty of insulting the Spirit of Grace who was given that we might share the life of God. Our high priest has made the supreme sacrifice for us, He is faithful, He intercedes for us before the Father, and He has cleansed us so that we can now draw near to Him. Every command, every instruction that God gives is for our good and it is His desire that we stay on the path that leads to life. Because we have been made clean, may we accept His invitation to draw near to Him.
1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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