June 29, 2022 A GOOD CONSCIENCE
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
Acts 24:16 “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before man.”
Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us, we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”
Colossians 3:17 “whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
There is great value in having a good conscience. It’s very simple: a good conscience is the result of doing the right things, thinking the right thoughts and having pure motives. A bad or guilty conscience continually nags at us and robs us of peace and joy. The good news is that we can gain a good conscience even though we have done wrong and have sinned against God and others. When our conscience is bad, when we have that feeling of ‘I was wrong,’ the way to regain a clear conscience is to confess we were wrong, and if we wronged another person, ask their forgiveness. (If we wronged someone years ago and we no longer have contact with them, we do not necessarily need to try locate them and ask their forgiveness-but if we cross paths with them, then be willing to deal with it; how you deal with the wrongs you may have committed way in the past is a personal issue between you and the Lord.) Often, a bad conscience is a result of thoughts and internal desires that do not involve others. If and when a believer neglects the Lord and turns to their own way, they will experience a bad conscience. It is a blessing to have a conscience; suppose people had no sense of right and wrong and could do evil with no remorse. God placed within man a conscience to serve as a guide-its part of our human make-up. However, in addition to a conscience, God gives believers the Holy Spirit to guide and equip us. I cannot give a clear definition of the difference of how the conscience works and how the Holy Spirit works, except that the Spirit of God reveals to us the ways of God and enables us to walk in His ways. (1 Timothy 4:2 gives a sobering warning concerning the conscience, saying that the conscience can be seared.) One may debate the difference between the conscience and the work of the Holy Spirit, but the critical point is that we live and conduct ourselves in such a way that we have a good conscience before God and before man. A worthy goal to set each morning is to live the day in such a way that we can go to sleep that night with a clear conscience. It’s all about making right choices and doing what is right moment by moment. Let us thank God that He has placed within us a conscience and has also given us the Holy Spirit; even the weight of a bad conscience is a blessing-it is God’s way of calling us back to Him.
1 Peter 3:15-16 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing to which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
Blessings, Buddy
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