Bro Kenneth Yoder
Acts 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.
Were it not for the fact that humans have a conscience, no one would be saved. As sinners we are so perverted and self-loving that without a conscience there would be nothing to convict us of sin and reveal our need of forgiveness. A guilty or bad conscience is one that distresses our heart.
I Samuel 24:10 David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people.
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.
Peter charged the people with having crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. They were pricked in their heart, and asked, Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? It is the conscience that arrests and convicts a person of moral evil. The conscience is sometimes considered a faculty of our moral nature but experimentally we know it more as a mental and emotional function. I repeat, if it were not for the conscience, we would not be saved. It is a guilty conscience that causes us to ask the question, “What must I do to be saved?”. An enlightened guilty conscience (that is one enlightened by the Holy Spirit) is really a foretaste of Hell. Holy Spirit conviction occurs when God arrests you by His Spirit and convicts you of your sins. You then see yourself as unclean, sinful, perverted and ungodly. To know yourself as a lost sinner without hope is to begin to sample what Hell will be like. The separation from God which you sense, and the guilt that is involved in conviction, can be terrifying. I remember when the Holy Spirit brought me under conviction. Before that I was doing pretty good; but when my spiritual awakening came, I could not rest in my sins. I was afraid to die. I was afraid to meet an angry God. It was my guilty conscience that produced the turmoil and fear.
If it were not for a guilty conscience no one would give God a second thought No one would turn to God. The first step of the process that brings us to God is painful and tormenting. Conviction of personal guilt is something no one likes, nor enjoys. When you experience the guilt of your sins it makes you feel miserable and wretched. That is the discomforting facet of conscience, but it has another aspect.
I want to talk to you about the blessings of a clear conscience. Paul wrote, Herein do I exercise myself, that means he was laboring or striving for something. That something was to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward man. We would probably put it a little differently. We would probably say, I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Christians should strive to keep their consciences clear before God and man. Christians must continue to deal with their conscience after they are converted. Our conscience not only awakens us to our need of forgiveness through conviction, but it also instructs us in the ways of God after we are converted. We actually become far more aware of our conscience after we are saved than before. Conscience is a tremendous helper, who enables us to more perfectly live for God. One of the major concerns of a godly person is keeping a clear conscience. As a Christian you and I must maintain a clear conscience because without a clear conscience we cannot pray with liberty, we cannot rejoice in the Lord, we cannot worship God freely and we cannot enjoy fellowship with God. A clear conscience not only opens the door to a relationship with God, but a clear conscience keeps that door open.
Our conscience becomes defiled when we have done something which we know is wrong. If we say something that is untruthful, read something that is impure or view something that is lewd, we will wound our conscience. It does not have to be a gross sin to wound one's conscience. For example, young people who are dating can go too far in their courting activities. They do not have to engage in premarital sex. If they go too far in pursuing each others affections and wound their conscience, they will feel guilty about it.
A guilty conscience has a way of spoiling even the best times of sinful pleasure. The sweetness of sinful pleasure turns bitter. Also a guilty conscience can sour many otherwise enjoyable activities. You may enjoy reading but if you indulge in reading what wounds your conscience then much of the pleasure is lost. Whatever we do, if we wound our conscience in the process, it will lessen the joy of that activity.
Further, a guilty conscience places a barrier between us and God. A person with a wounded conscience cannot serve God satisfactorily. You cannot get much out of prayer or reading the Bible. You will get very little out of preaching. The reason for this is that you have a guilty conscience, which has placed a barrier between you and God. A clear conscience is important in one's relationship with God.
Like Paul, I strive to keep my conscience clear. I do not want one thing on my conscience. I do not want to wound my conscience in any business dealing nor in any relationship. I do not want to wound my conscience in any endeavor, whether I am at home, at work, at church or at play. I exercise caution to keep a clean conscience. I want to be able to pray at any time, any place and have immediate access to God. I want to preach with the anointing of God's Spirit. Now, to be able to enjoy these blessings, I must live with a good conscience.
You can wound your conscience at home by allowing your anger to get the best of you. Anger expressed in the way you speak to or treat your wife, husband or children can wound your conscience. If you go too far in expressing your displeasure and wound your conscience, then you feel guilty. Such will hinder your prayers, (see I Peter 3:7).
A supreme concern of ours should be to keep our conscience clear. Do you want to be able to approach God in prayer and feel a perceived welcome? Do you want to hear God say, “Come to me my child! What is your request or need? How may I help you?” If so, then you must maintain a clear conscience. Remember, if your conscience is violated, there will be a barrier between you and God so that you cannot approach God with liberty.
I repeat, a supreme concern of a godly person is keeping his conscience clear. A godly person is one who desires and aims at knowing God genuinely. He is not satisfied in merely knowing about God. He is not satisfied in obtaining his information second-handed. He wants to truly know the Lord for himself. He wants to know God genuinely and to serve God rightly. He does not want to do anything which he ought not. He wants to glorify God constantly. He wants to enjoy unbroken fellowship of God forever. Now to be able to know God truly, to serve Him rightly, to glorify Him constantly and to enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him, you must have a clear conscience.
Let me read a few passages concerning a good conscience.
Acts 23:1 And Pauf, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. Here once again, Paul was testifying. He said, I have lived in good conscience before God. That meant that he had aimed at perfectly doing everything that God wanted him to do and refraining from everything that God did not want him to do. Thus he maintained a good conscience before God.
II Corinthians 1:12 For our rejoicing is this, (it is a joyful thing to have a clear conscience) our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation (or manner of life) In the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
Paul said his own conscience testified for him. By the way, our conscience serves as both a prosecuting attorney and a defense lawyer. It accuses us of wrong doing as a prosecuting attorney or it justifies us of right doing as our defense lawyer. Our conscience testifies to what we honestly believe is true about our self. You can talk other people out of their opinion about you, but you cannot talk your own conscience out of it. Our conscience will take God's part against our self. Paul's conscience testified that he had conducted himself in this world and more especially toward the church with a single purpose of holiness and god-like honesty. Paul was completely transparent in how he lived. His conscience testified that he had lived and conducted himself in the world, (to those unsaved) and in the church (those who are saved) in holiness and sincerity.
I Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. The word "unfeigned” means a sincere faith. In the phrase "the end of the commandment", Paul was referring to the instructions which he had written to Timothy. Paul said the end or goal of those instructions or commandments was charity or love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. That was Paul's goal. That ought to be the goal of every Christian. Timothy was to teach the people to have heart full of love, a faith that is sincere and to maintain a clear conscience.
I Timothy 1:19 Holding faith, (means holding on to faith) Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. Christians must hold on to faith and maintain a good conscience. If they do not, then they will make shipwreck of their faith. Friend, if you are not conscientious or earnestly concerned about having a good conscience in all that you do, all that you say, and in all your relationships, then you will certainly make a wreck of your Christian experience. You simply cannot be in a relationship with God if you do not listen to keep your conscience.
Hebrews 13:18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, In all things willing to live honestly. The word "honestly is used in its old sense of honorably. Paul was sure he had a good conscience because he was attempting to live honestly or honorably in every way. The only way we can have a good conscience is to live in a way that commands respect. You must be willing to live with an open and honest heart and life before God and men. You must be willing for every word, every action and every attitude of your life to be placed under the scrutiny of God. You are not only willing to live that way, but in fact you desire to live that way. In all things you are willing to live honestly or honorably.
It is important to KEEP your conscience clean. When you are saved, God cleanses your conscience. In Hebrews 9:14, we are told that the purging or cleansing of our conscience is by the blood of Jesus Christ The purging that comes through Christ cannot be found anywhere else. We are informed in the preceding verses that the Old Testament believers through their ceremonies could not find peace of conscience because the blood of calves and goats was not sufficient to bring about a cleansed conscience. The blood of Christ purged our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. In the initial experience of conversion or the new birth, when you pledge your love to Christ and become a Christian, God cleanses your conscience.
When I was saved the peace of God came into my heart. It was the efficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ that caused me to feel and know that all was now clear between me and God. I was forgiven of every sin, that is, every ungodly activity I had gotten into. God forgave me of all of it. God cleansed my conscience. I felt so light-heated that I told my brother, I feel like I can fly. I felt light! What had happened? The burden of a condemning conscience was gone.
God purges our conscience when we become a Christian, but we must endeavor to maintain a clean conscience. It is not only important to have a cleansed conscience but it is also important to keep it clean. Let us suppose that you have a cleansed conscience. What must you do to keep it clean? The answer is very obvious. It involves two things. First, you must do what your conscience indicates is morally right. Second, you must refrain from what is contrary to your standard of righteousness contained in your conscience. You cannot say anything, possess anything, entertain any attitude nor indulge in any activity that is contrary to the standard of your conscience. That means everything which you know or understand concerning the will of God, both negative and positive must be obeyed. Everything you should do and everything you should not do is implied.
Most people do not have peace of mind because they live with a condemning conscience. Many of our physical problems actually originate from emotional problems suffered because of a guilty conscience. Many cannot find healing for their physical or emotional disorders because they do not realize that the source of their suffering is a guilty conscience.
A Christian cannot do anything contrary to his own conscience and maintain peace with God. In fact every time a Christian wounds his conscience, he sins against God.
Romans 14:22,23 Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Happy or blessed is the person that does not condemn himself in the things he allows in his life. You do not need crystal clear light to wound your conscience, all you need is enough light to doubt it. If you doubt it is right and go ahead and do it, you will wound your conscience. If your conscience is enlightened enough to doubt, it is wrong for you to do it.
Again, What does it mean to have a wounded conscience? Your conscience troubles you because you are allowing things you know or doubt are not right. Many put up with things in their life that they know are not right and then wonder why you cannot feel accepted in prayer anymore. If you live in this manner and some tragic thing happens suddenly and you need to get hold of God in prayer immediately, you will discover you cannot do so.
Happy or blest is the one who does not condemn himself in the things that he allows. That means that if you are going to allow yourself to engage in any activity, you ought to make sure your conscience approves of it. If you allow yourself to do things that your conscience condemns, then you will not be a blessed person. The blessed person is the one who does not condemn himself in what he allows. Never allow yourself what your conscience does not approve of. Better do without it forever, than to live with a condemning conscience. Blessed is a person who has a good conscience. He is happy in the Lord. There is a liberty or freedom that comes with a good conscience that cannot be obtained anywhere else. Someone may ask, what do you mean by a good conscience? There are several things I could say but I am only going to mention one. A good conscience is a conscience that is at peace with itself and God.
I have a few things I want say about The Blessings of a Good Conscience. You can have no better friend than a good conscience. A good conscience is what makes spiritual and heavenly things sweet to the soul. Without a good conscience, spiritual and heavenly things are tasteless. A good conscience makes the Word of God sweeter than honey, See Psalm 119:103.
It is a good conscience that makes your seasons of prayer precious experiences.
I John 3:20-23 if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
We cannot pray with confidence and assurance without a good conscience. It is a clear conscience that makes prayer a pleasant experience.
It is a clear conscience that makes the Lord's Day the dearest day of the week. If you come into the house of God to worship without a clear conscience, you are going to be miserable. You are not going to enjoy worship. A clear conscience makes praising the Lord a pleasant experience.
It also makes listening to preaching an encouragement instead of a condemnation. If you have a guilty conscience it will seem like nearly everything is directed at you (no matter what the preacher says). It is not, of course, but your guilty conscience makes you feel that he is preaching about you or at you. A good conscience actually makes earthly things more pleasant and enjoyable. A guilty conscience has a way of spoiling everything. Thank God for good times without a hangover or bad feelings from a guilty conscience. You can lie down and go to sleep at night. Sweet is the sleep of a man that has a good conscience, but the man with a troubled and guilty conscience cannot rest if he stays in bed for ten to twelve hours. He is not rested. He cannot find rest because there is something eating at him.
A good conscience also sweetens one's trial or trouble. A good conscience can help take us through adversity. If you do not have a good conscience you cannot get through your trials very well. A person with a good conscience, one who enjoys peace of mind and peace with God, has a very good comforter in trials. I have suffered from being rejected by churches and fellowships. Often, in the midst of a fiery trial, I have been tempted to be dishonest to avoid the suffering, but have always decided to be true and genuine. I have come out of these tribulations a rejected man, but with peace of conscience. A clear conscience gives you strength and courage. It seemed like something was inside of me holding me up both mentally and emotionally. It was a wonderful state of mind created by the assurance of a good conscience.
At times the cost may be very great to be true to your conscience but God's blessing is a reality. A good conscience is the best comforter you can have! If you wound your conscience, you cannot have the comfort and the peace of a good conscience. On top of all your other problems and difficulties you have a troubling conscience. It is not the outside turmoil that breaks people down but the turmoil inside! It is the civil war between the will and the conscience that breaks people down. When a man is at peace with himself and God, when he has a clear conscience because he has lived honorable and honestly then he can face any adversity. When turmoil and trouble attempt to disquiet and vex you, thank God, you can still have peace within if you have a good conscience.
Last but not least, only a man with a good conscience can face death with calmness and peace. Listen to me for a moment; you are going to die someday. For some of you it may be sooner than you think. If when you die, you do not have a good conscience, death will be terrifying. Woe to one who has a guilty and troubling conscience. There is something about death that has a tendency to awaken a man's conscience. I have seen some die with a guilty conscience and it was not a pretty sight. What a blessing it is to have a good conscience! You are able to walk through the valley of death with God by your side and to hold your hand. You can face death with peace and calmness. These are some of the blessings of a good conscience.
The last point I want to make is that a good conscience is a tender conscience. Some have a calloused conscience, one that is seared and they are scarcely aware of it. A godly person has a tender conscience. A godly person is one who is constantly listening to his conscience. When a moral decision must be made, he harkens to his conscience. He is constantly seeking to discover God's will in everything. What is God telling you to do? Listen to your conscience! Listen to that voice that speaks within. Those who have a good conscience have a tender conscience. In fact, the degree of tenderness toward God in your conscience is a good indicator of how well you love God. It is a good indicator of how close you are walking to God. It is also a good indicator of the depth of your spiritual life. All godly people are conscientious. The first principle of a conscientious person is that he is conscious of God's presence. He thinks, talks and chooses as if in the very presence of God.
Consider this question: Who has a tender conscience? I have listed below a few things that describe one who has a tender conscience. First, as I wrote above, a person who has a tender conscience is one who is deeply sensitive of the presence of God. Second, one who trembles at the Word of God. One who has a tender conscience is one who tests everything in the light of God's Word and one who conforms in his life to God's Word. One who assesses his spiritual conditions in the light of God's Word. One who is intent upon discovering how he appears in God's sight. He wants to know, “How does this thought, word or action appear to the Lord? What does God think about it?”. It is through meditation on, studying and living one's daily life in the light of God's Word that one begins to discover how he appears in God's sight. There can be no genuine holiness except as you are willing to expose and to submit your conscience to God's Word. You do not possess any genuine holiness if you are not willing to submit your conscience to the Word of God. To expose your conscience to God's Word, to what God has said, and to what God has taught in his Word is foundational to holy living.
To live your life in good conscience is the most joyous life that is possible. Some think that living conscientiously is a life of drudgery. That being precise in what you do and being careful in what you think is kind of a morbid existence. Many believe the conscientious person is bound by his restricted mindset. It is just the opposite of that, it frees the soul. A good conscience liberates you! It frees you to live your life the way God wants you to live it.
The following question is for you to answer personally: How much exercise of conscience goes into your daily living? We live in a time when our society is experiencing a decay of conscience. Most people are not conscientious. A conscientious person will stand out in our society like a white rose in a coal mine. Some believe hardly anything is wrong, not even gross ungodly sins like abortion, adultery, and fornication. Abortion is legal and protected by law! For far too many, these things are expected conduct. Pre-marital sex among young people is almost a given in our society. Many expect their children to be immoral. When you for conscience sake stand for what God has spoken on these matters, you are going to appear psychologically unbalanced.
Drinking alcohol beverage is both legal and socially acceptable. If you are a teetotaler, one who abstains from alcoholic beverages, often you are looked upon as a crackpot or screwball. Conscientious conduct is neither encouraged nor being formed by the vast majority in our society. I repeat we are in a time of decaying conscience.
Again, there can be no genuine holiness unless you expose and submit yourself to God's Word. What does it mean to expose your conscience to God's Word? It means you honestly and sincerely can say, "God, take the principles of your Word and impress them upon my conscience. God's way is how I want to live, no matter what the world does. In fact, this is how I am going to live! I do not care what is legal nor what is allowed, but what God says. God's way is how I am going to live." If you will say that, you have a good conscience. You will reap all the above blessings.
Do you strive to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man? Remember this is not only for an elite few but this is the way every Christian should live. Every genuine Christian lives this way. If you do not live this way then you are not a true Christian. Let us maintain a good conscience; on the job, in the home, at school, and in every activity.
May God help those who have become callous in their conscience to see what a terrible foolish thing it is. Questions concerning moral standards do not bother them any more. They believe they have won a great victory, but it is actually the worst defeat that can occur in the human heart.
I also pray for those who have become slothful, neglectful, lukewarm and indifferent in conscience matters. They no longer pay close attention to their conscience and have allowed doubtful things. May God awaken you and bring you to repentance.
I pray especially for those who serve as leaders in the church. The only way to maintain God's anointing and be useful to God is to keep a clear conscience. As a church leader you may go through the outward forms of worship or service, teaching Sunday School, singing or preaching but if you do not have a good conscience you cannot serve with the anointing of God. To those in places of leadership, I earnestly plea with you to keep your conscience clear not only for your own sake but also for the sake of the church.
To the men in our congregations (to fathers, husbands and single men) let me say, may God help you to realize that true manhood and being strong is not defined in terms of physical strength, but in terms of moral fortitude. Men, be strong in the Lord! Be a man of conviction and a man of conscience! Be a man who for conscience sake will suffer wrongfully, will allow himself to be defrauded, will allow himself to be wronged and will not retaliate in any way to wound his own conscience.
I also pray for our ladies (our mothers, wives and single women). May God help you to be morally strong. Never follow the ways of the world, never seek to display your sexual appeal by how you dress, never surrender to the standards of our culture. Be one who for conscience sake is willing endure the scorn of the world. Ladies, never wound your conscience. Always conduct yourselves in a modest way. Always dress, speak and act in a manner and with attitudes that are becoming to women who are examples of holiness.
The real battle is won or lost internally with one's conscience. I will give you an example. You can wound your conscience by the degree of anger that you feel toward somebody and yet never say a word. God speaks to you and says, “It was not right for you to feel that way toward that person”. You may object, "But Lord, I did not say or do anything.” That is not the issue; it is a matter of conscience.
A condemning conscience is a terrible thing. You do not have to live with a condemning conscience. If you are living with a guilty conscience and wondering why you are having trouble serving God, you can quit wondering. You have discovered your problem. Please lay this article down and take care of clearing your conscience right now.