%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%>
• Keeping a Pure Conscience
• The conscience can be a valuable tool for the Christian which gives
personal insight into one's own actions, thoughts and desires.
• Introduction
• While the conscience is not authoritative, binding or infallible it
can be helpful.
• Although your conscience can be mistaken -- no matter the amount of
sincerity shown in any practice -- it can be a good gauge of one's spiritual
status before God and before men.
• Your Conscience
• When one's conscience is alarmed it is because of some area of weakness
or sin which causes one to feel guilty.
• That feeling of guilt is the natural result of a wounded conscience
-- you are supposed to feel that way!
• The trouble is, many people ignore that feeling of guilt and continue
practicing such sin which causes one's conscience to be hardened or seared over
(I Timothy 4:2).
• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The term conscience is defined as co-knowledge with oneself.
• The conscience shares information with yourself by processing your innermost
thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires.
• The conscience is able to provide helpful insight into why you are involved
in certain activities or why you react in certain ways to particular events.
• It serves as a self-witness.
• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The conscience can be a witness defending our actions (Romans 2:15).
• The apostle Paul said that he had served God with a clear conscience
all of his life even while persecuting Christians (Acts 23:1).
• Paul's conscience defended his actions.
• Paul was convinced he was doing what God wanted him to do by killing
Christians.
• Therein lies the key to keeping a pure conscience: performing the will
of God.
• Now we see in Paul's case that his conscience was wrong.
• However, we must teach ourselves what is pleasing to God in order to
keep a pure conscience for we will be judged based on the gospel of Jesus Christ
(Romans 2:16).
• We cannot determine practice just because we like an activity, or we
think it is right.
• We must study God's word and allow that to be the judging factor.
• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The conscience can also testify against us, accusing us of guilt (Romans
2:15).
• When our conscience is telling us we are guilty of some sin we must
eradicate that sin.
• Ignoring a guilt-bearing conscience can cause worry, anxiety, festering,
turmoil, distress, grief and anger -- none of which are profitable emotions.
• Far too often we ignore these feelings, or we turn to encouraging books,
or complain that we don't get enough encouragement from the preacher, etc.
• What people need to do is repent.
• The conscience will be judged before God.
• The terms "heart," "conscience," "thoughts"
and "secrets" are used interchangeably (Romans 2:15-16 NASB) and will
be judged by God who will bring every deed into consideration (Ecclesiastes
12:14).
• The standard that the conscience will be judged is the gospel.
• Thus, it is vitally important to live by that standard in order to keep
a pure conscience.
• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• The term justification is a legal term which means to be free of any
guilt.
• The result of justification is peace with God (Romans 5:1).
• Yet this peace can be disrupted by the piercing weapon that the conscience
is.
• The conscience is unsheathed when we sin against God Almighty!
• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• The target of this weapon is the heart.
• The conscience is used to convict and bring a knowledge of sin.
• That conviction of sin should lead one to repent (Acts 2:37-38).
• When the weapon has been used and cuts at the heart it arouses the feeling
of guilt.
• What is the purpose of the guilt one may feel?
• It is there to make you repent!
• That is the purpose guilt has.
• Do not ignore the guilt-bearing conscience.
• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• Eliphaz described the conscience as "sounds of terror" in
one's ears and destroying the peace that one enjoys (Job 15:21), which results
in distress, anguish and fear (Job 15:24).
• What caused the turmoil and fear?
• Transgressing the commandment of the Lord (Job 15:25).
• The conscience is supposed to feel guilt;
• it is supposed to be harmed when one sins.
• The grief and guilt you feel from a wounded conscience are natural (Psalm
73:21).
• Our society tends to think of guilt as a negative feeling that we should
ignore.
• Do not ignore the guilt you feel -- its purpose is to cause repentance.
• To rid your conscience of guilt you must repent!
• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• The conscience is intended to sound an alarm when it has been harmed.
• The conscience is supposed to be sensitive to sin.
• In order for the conscience to be sensitive to sin it must first know
what sin is.
• We must educate ourselves concerning the law of God.
• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• If we do not read, understand and apply God's law then how can we expect
to know what sin is?
• All sin must be defined and shown to be transgression through the Scriptures.
• We cannot quit preaching against sin to soothe our conscience because
then we will have untrained consciences that will be given over to sin.
• Danger also lies when we become associated with sin, causing one to
become desensitized resulting in indifference (I Timothy 4:1-2).
• Indifference will ultimately lead to approval of sinful activities.
• Paul warned the Gentiles of judgment for approving sinful activities
with no differentiation between slanderers, gossips, haters of God and murderers
(Romans 1:32).
• Thus, the warnings to flee and abhor sin and cleave to what is good
(Romans 12:9).
• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• When we find ourselves in situations that cause us to feel uncomfortable,
then our conscience is telling us to flee!
• However, if we ignore our conscience we run the risk of losing any sensitivity
we may have to sin.
• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• Pharaoh allowed his heart to be hardened because he ignored God's glory
(Exodus 7:1,3), refused to believe in God (Exodus 7:13), and was impenitent
(Exodus 9:27,35).
• There is great danger in ignoring the cries of our guilty conscience.
• The Conscience Can Be Made Whole
• Even though our conscience may be giving us the warning that we have
sinned, we may take steps in order to clear our conscience.
• Our consciences are intended to be pure and whole.
• How can I maintain a pure conscience?
• In order to keep a pure conscience we must follow through with repentance
by doing five steps to clear your conscience.
• The Conscience Can Be Made Whole
• 1. Confess and forsake sin (Psalm 32:5; I John 1:9)
• 2. Ask for forgiveness and be reconciled to those whom you've wronged
(Matthew 5:23,24; 6:14-15)
• 3. Make restitution (Numbers 5:6-7; Luke 19:8)
• 4. Don't procrastinate in clearing your wounded conscience (Acts 24:16;
Titus 1:5)
• 5. Educate your conscience (I Corinthians 8:7,12; Romans 14:23)
• By following these five steps we will strengthen our conscience, our
knowledge and our faith.
• Repentance is necessary to keeping a pure conscience.
• Conclusion
• Knowing that we have maintained a pure conscience, we may be confident
when we appear before the judgment seat of God, knowing that there is laid up
for ourselves a crown of righteousness (II Timothy 4:7,8).
• Going against your conscience is sin (Romans 14:22-23).
• Causing another to violate their conscience is also a sin (1 Corinthians
8:7,10,12).
By Carey Scott from an article by Sean P. Cavender
Return to the Sermon Outlines page
Home / Bible studies / Bible Survey / Special Studies / General Articles / Non-Bible Articles / Sermons / Sermon Outlines / Links / Questions and Answers / What Saith The Scriptures /Daily Devotional / Correspondence Courses / What is the Church of Christ / Book: Christian Growth / Website Policy / E-mail / About Me /