A man consulted a doctor, “I’ve been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling me,” he complained. “And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?” asked the doctor. “Well, no,” said the fellow. “I was thinking of something that would weaken my conscience.”
Sometimes we might feel that our conscience is more like a nuisance than a much-needed guide. When we know what’s right and what’s wrong, our conscience insists that we do the right and avoid the wrong. And that may not always seem expedient or win the world’s applause.
In 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote to instruct his protégé—who was serving in the great city of Ephesus— to obediently live out his faith. One of the imperatives he gave was for Timothy to keep a clear conscience (1 Timothy 1:19).
Why was it so important for him to keep a clear conscience? So that he could cling to his faith in Jesus and not end up with a shipwrecked faith, Paul explained.
One definition of “faith” is: Forsaking All, I Trust Him. When we lose our faith in Jesus, instead of clinging to God we find ourselves grasping for the things of the world. Life is reduced to merely the physical world. So we miss out on opportunities to experience the vitality of a living relationship with God, which comes only by faith (Hebrews 11:6).
When we shipwreck our faith, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, we become instruments of evil rather than righteousness. We undermine God’s teachings and—in the process—defame Him. When we hear God speaking, we must obey—regardless of what our flesh or feelings say. That’s the way to keep a clear conscience. If you fail, it’s time for you to confess, repent, set it straight, and then continue clinging to God by faith.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
More:
Read 1 Samuel 24:5 to see how your conscience can prevent you from doing the wrong things. Second Samuel 11 reveals the devastation that can take place when your conscience is weakened.
Next:
How are you striving to maintain a good conscience? What do you need to bring to God in repentance today?
danielkclim on December 12, 2011 at 1:57 am
Indeed, “Confess, repent etc…” ought to be central to Christian life as we acknolwedge and come to terms with our fallenness and weakness, and then recognise and take the way to salvation. But ‘ought’ is prescriptive, a statement of hope for improving our current situation – even after almost 2000 years! The problem, as i see it, is that we do not seem to be improving at all in a world which continues to promise better ahead but which continues to disappoint and fail and, i believe, decline inexorably – either inspite of, or perhaps, possibly because of our efforts, even as so-called Christians. It seems more often to be heard these days that ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ as we continue to stumble in darkness, blinded by our pride and age-old arrogance. So it seems too that some of our current brave leaders who believe they are among the special, chosen and anointed are repeating the folly of leaders past in believing and wanting ‘their’ flock to believe that they also have the power to forgive and restore – often without even a passing nod to the unpleasant(and therefore no longer demanded?) pre-requisite for confession and repentance by the sinner himself. In a world which is perhaps now very used to hearing from such ‘modern disciples’ that forgiveness and God’s healing Grace is free to all, they, these brave new leaders, perhaps chasing after or promising exponential church growth by popular means, are once again peddling cheap grace – making cheap, what may indeed be freely available, but which is certainly not without cost – expediently ignoring in their pursuing their lopsided vision the need to make known the immense cost of discipleship to true followers. So consciences are again quickly wiped clean by brave leaders who may even dare to invoke the Lord’s name in their unholy ambition, who make it a virtue to apologise on behalf of others, as if they, like Christ, can assume the responsibility, guilt or punishment for the sins of others. Is it punishment or the praise of fallen men which they seek by their pious gestures? We are called as Christians to share in Christ’s suffering, but do some of our leaders/us believe also, or instead, that we can (of course if empowered by the Spirit!) substitute ourselves.for Christ, if not think that we are God? Cheap grace cannot cleanse a bad conscience, it only serves to feed the ego of false teachers and to nisrepresent and undermine the true calling of the church to be salt and light in a fallen world.