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Keeping a Clear Conscience
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The conscience is
like a monitor or an alarm that God uses to remind us when something is
wrong. Everybody has a conscience,but when it comes to registering what
is right and wrong, different consciences may come up with different readings.
Sometimes the alarm does not ring when it should; at other times there
is a false alarm.
God made us with a conscience, an inborn sense of
right and wrong. Remember, Adam and Eve felt guilty and hid from God after
they sinned. The conscience is like a law written in the human heart,
an inner voice that accuses us if it thinks we are wrong; or defends us
if it thinks we are right (Rom. 2:15). If we heed these promptings we
have a clear conscience; if we disregard them we should have a guilty
conscience (1 Tim.1:5; Heb.10:22).
However, the conscience is linked with the mind.
What is fed into the mind concerning right and wrong will eventually influence
how the conscience works. It is like a computer in that it only comes
up with the right answers if it is fed the right information. If our conscience
is working right we will be aware of our sinfulness as Adam and Eve were.
Since the conscience can fail to operate when it should
and can give a false alarm, it is not a perfect guide of right and wrong.
We need to allow for the fact that our conscience can be wrong and we
need to recognize that God is the ultimate judge of what is right and
wrong (1Cor. 4:4). The Bible refers to three kinds of conscience: guilty,
corrupt and clear.
A Guilty Conscience:
Since we have all sinned and fall short of God's standard,
we all should experience a guilty conscience from time to time (Rom.3:23).
When we consider three examples from the Bible-from the story of the woman
caught in adultery (Jn.8:7), Peter's denial (Mk.14:72) and Judas betrayal
of Jesus (Mt.27:3-5), in each of these cases the alarm sounded when it
should, showing us that people can respond to a guilty conscience in a
positive or negative way. They either deal correctly with the alarm or
try to escape it.
A Corrupt Conscience:
If we set our alarm at night but ignore it in the morning,
the time will come when we will sleep right through it. In the same way,
if we keep ignoring our conscience, it will become ineffective. Because
of this, many people have little sense of sin.Their consciences are described
as being either "seared as with a hot iron" or "corrupted"
(1Tim.4:2; Tit.1:15).
A Clear Conscience:
The Bible says that Christ's death can change a guilty conscience
to a clear one (Heb.9:14). This kind of conscience is also called a good
or clean conscience.
The Holy Spirit can use our consciences to make us feel
guilty of sin (Jn.16:8). The truth of the gospel enlightens our conscience
and brings about conviction of sin, which is the first stage of repentance.
Salvation sets us free from condemnation (Rom.8:1). But
if we do not keep our conscience clear, this will show in our daily life
by affecting our fellowhip with God and our prayer life.We won't enjoy
God's presence if we have a guilty conscience. A guilty conscience will
also affect our faith and love.
One thing we must do to keep our conscience empowered and
calibrated is confess sin (1Jn.1:9). We must also change our behaviour
and stop doing what we should not do. We must train our conscience to
be strong. A conscience marred by a sinful nature needs to be transformed
(Rom.12:2). Maintaining a clear conscience in our marriage, family and
local Church, and with neighbors, friends and business associates is important.
Apostle Paul said: "I strive always to keep my conscience
clear before God and mankind" (Acts 24: 16). Be encouraged.
**************************Letter # 34 (9.9.2000).*******************
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