May 23, 2017 A CLEAR CONSCIENCE
1 Corinthians 4:4: “I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.”
There is nothing better than a clear, or good conscience, and there’s nothing worse than a guilty or defiled conscience. We all at some point have known the heaviness that a guilty conscience produces, and if not dealt with, it takes its toll on us in many ways. A guilty conscience can deprive us of a good night’s sleep, can lead to depression, can cause us to be distracted, and can lead to physical sickness. God has put a conscience in man that serves as a guide or point of reference in life, or even as an alarm that sounds when we are in the wrong. It is horrifying to think what the world would be like if man had no conscience. Very simply, our conscience becomes ‘guilty’ when we do or think what is wrong. (It is possible for a man to sear his conscience by continually ignoring his conscience and insisting on doing what is wrong-that’s not the subject in this article.) As believers, we know that God’s word is the truth and it is to serve as our frame work for how we are to live our lives. For those who believe, the scriptures are the source of all wisdom and instruction for life; God has spoken in great detail through His word and has made the way of life abundantly clear. There is no other place outside of God’s plans and purposes where man can find the sense of completeness that he longs for. When we yield to all that God has spoken, and when we walk according to His ways, we enjoy the blessing of a pure and undefiled conscience. Should we ignore or turn from His word, the Holy Spirit points that out to us so that we might confess and return to a place of fellowship with our Father. It is a worthy goal to live in such a way that our conscience is clear, where we can say just as Paul did: “I am conscience of nothing against myself.” We should not over-analyze ourselves, but we do need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit who lives within us for the purpose of directing us in the ways of the Lord and to convict us when we are in error. Even though we do not like having a guilty conscience, we must remember that it is because God loves us and desires that we experience life to the fullest that He gave us the Holy Spirit to make us aware of when our actions or our thoughts are wrong. The remedy for a guilty conscience is simple-we confess our wrong and turn from it. If our actions or responses have hurt others, we are to confess our wrong and then ask for their forgiveness. Let us be sure not to live under the burden of a guilty conscience, but let us live in the freedom that God has made possible for every believer.
Hebrews 10:22: “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.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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