Read Verses: Hebrews 10:19-25
Key Verse: Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
You know the feeling, you've dome something and now your conscience is bothering you. You come to God and ask forgiveness, but guess what...it doesn't feel like you are forgiven. The guilt remains and you are driven by this conscience that won't give up. We've all been there. We read in the Bible that if we confess our sins...He cleanses us. But deep inside we still feel the pain of knowing we let ourselves and others down.
Remember this...Satan is a thief. He will steal anything he can because its his nature. If he can, he'll steal the grace from underneath our feet. And that's what he tries to do. He condemns, and when you respond with grace...he tries to steal that as well. And your conscience isn't clear. It nags and nags at you, telling you something MUST be wrong. It pokes, and prods and says to you "Do you really think God is going to forgive you this time?" He comes back as the accuser "You're guilty and even though you know you are not under condemnation it doesn't matter because YOU ARE GUILTY. What kind of Christian do you really think you are...God can see the truth"
Many times we are taught to "let our conscience be your guide." As soon as it squeaks we listen. In fact, many people treat the conscience like the Holy Spirit. If it says something, it must be right. I mean isn't our conscience divinely inspired? How can you not listen to it. When it clicks into high gear, how can you ignore it. Surely it knows better than you do!
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. Titus 1:15
Here's a though worth thinking about...the conscience is just another broken part of us. It doesn't hold the key to a deep walk with God. It doesn't hold the keys to holiness and life. It is NOT the Holy Spirit, nor does it necessarily speak on His behalf. In fact, your conscience needs healing and it needs to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Rather than let your conscience be your guide, how about this...let the Word of God be your guide. Let the truth in the Word of God transform your conscience. Your conscience, for all the good that it can do, sometimes works against you. It is under the curse of sin just like your feelings, and your emotions, and your thinking. It really can't be trusted too far. And it needs to be re-trained once you become a disciple.
Your conscience is part of common grace, it's part of being human that helps us relate to the law. Our parents teach us right and wrong, and the conscience tries to hold those teachings in place. Here is the problem, for many of us, the conscience knows nothing about grace, and forgiveness, and mercy, and redemption, and new life in Christ. It only understands "you broke it - you bought it." It needs to be retrained and taught that in Christ, you have been fully accepted by God. It has to be taught that our worth doesn't lie in our adherence to its code, but rather lies in the face that we have been fully accepted by God in Christ. It can be part of the condemning system that Satan uses.
We all have thought it "If I were a good Christian, I wouldn't have done this for that." Or "God won't forgive me this time, I just keep on doing the same thing." Or "I can't be free from this sin, its too much for me...I must not have the Holy Spirit...I must be out of God's grace." Or "Maybe I am not a Christian at all." We've all heard satan working through our conscience. It can be discouraging, it can get us down. And since our conscience teams up with our feelings and emotions as well as things we have believed our whole life...it can be quite believable. What eventually happens? We give up on prayer because why would God want to hear from me?
Our conscience needs to be retrained. It needs to be introduced to a new way of thinking, it needs to be introduced to grace. Once it begins operating the way it was intended it can be a great force in our lives. But until then, it can be destructive in our relationship with God. So, how to bring our purity to our conscience. Begin in prayer. Prayer is a great place to work out our questions and problems with God. Break through to God...walk past the accuser....pour out the lies even your conscience is telling about you...and let the grace of God speak and heal. Come to his throne of grace with promises and pray...pray that His truth become REAL in your life. Don't leave yourself in the place where guilt is king. Keep coming back and bringing all of your turmoil to His shelter. Only when the conscience can experience the grace of God in Christ, and it become for you a tool that can develop Christ's character. Don't let go until he has finished his work in your heart.
Lord Jesus, sometimes I feel so burdened by guilt and pain that I shy away from being with you. I sometimes feel even you reject me. I bring my conscience to you, and ask that your healing grace transform it into a conscience like Yours. I want it to be prodded by what is truly wrong in the world, not by my false beliefs. Guide me into Your truth, cleanse me with Your Word. Open my eyes that I might see myself, and everyone, in light of your grace and truth. Transform my conscience and bring me to the peace of purity. AMEN
Key Verse: Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
You know the feeling, you've dome something and now your conscience is bothering you. You come to God and ask forgiveness, but guess what...it doesn't feel like you are forgiven. The guilt remains and you are driven by this conscience that won't give up. We've all been there. We read in the Bible that if we confess our sins...He cleanses us. But deep inside we still feel the pain of knowing we let ourselves and others down.
Remember this...Satan is a thief. He will steal anything he can because its his nature. If he can, he'll steal the grace from underneath our feet. And that's what he tries to do. He condemns, and when you respond with grace...he tries to steal that as well. And your conscience isn't clear. It nags and nags at you, telling you something MUST be wrong. It pokes, and prods and says to you "Do you really think God is going to forgive you this time?" He comes back as the accuser "You're guilty and even though you know you are not under condemnation it doesn't matter because YOU ARE GUILTY. What kind of Christian do you really think you are...God can see the truth"
Many times we are taught to "let our conscience be your guide." As soon as it squeaks we listen. In fact, many people treat the conscience like the Holy Spirit. If it says something, it must be right. I mean isn't our conscience divinely inspired? How can you not listen to it. When it clicks into high gear, how can you ignore it. Surely it knows better than you do!
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. Titus 1:15
Here's a though worth thinking about...the conscience is just another broken part of us. It doesn't hold the key to a deep walk with God. It doesn't hold the keys to holiness and life. It is NOT the Holy Spirit, nor does it necessarily speak on His behalf. In fact, your conscience needs healing and it needs to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Rather than let your conscience be your guide, how about this...let the Word of God be your guide. Let the truth in the Word of God transform your conscience. Your conscience, for all the good that it can do, sometimes works against you. It is under the curse of sin just like your feelings, and your emotions, and your thinking. It really can't be trusted too far. And it needs to be re-trained once you become a disciple.
Your conscience is part of common grace, it's part of being human that helps us relate to the law. Our parents teach us right and wrong, and the conscience tries to hold those teachings in place. Here is the problem, for many of us, the conscience knows nothing about grace, and forgiveness, and mercy, and redemption, and new life in Christ. It only understands "you broke it - you bought it." It needs to be retrained and taught that in Christ, you have been fully accepted by God. It has to be taught that our worth doesn't lie in our adherence to its code, but rather lies in the face that we have been fully accepted by God in Christ. It can be part of the condemning system that Satan uses.
We all have thought it "If I were a good Christian, I wouldn't have done this for that." Or "God won't forgive me this time, I just keep on doing the same thing." Or "I can't be free from this sin, its too much for me...I must not have the Holy Spirit...I must be out of God's grace." Or "Maybe I am not a Christian at all." We've all heard satan working through our conscience. It can be discouraging, it can get us down. And since our conscience teams up with our feelings and emotions as well as things we have believed our whole life...it can be quite believable. What eventually happens? We give up on prayer because why would God want to hear from me?
Our conscience needs to be retrained. It needs to be introduced to a new way of thinking, it needs to be introduced to grace. Once it begins operating the way it was intended it can be a great force in our lives. But until then, it can be destructive in our relationship with God. So, how to bring our purity to our conscience. Begin in prayer. Prayer is a great place to work out our questions and problems with God. Break through to God...walk past the accuser....pour out the lies even your conscience is telling about you...and let the grace of God speak and heal. Come to his throne of grace with promises and pray...pray that His truth become REAL in your life. Don't leave yourself in the place where guilt is king. Keep coming back and bringing all of your turmoil to His shelter. Only when the conscience can experience the grace of God in Christ, and it become for you a tool that can develop Christ's character. Don't let go until he has finished his work in your heart.
Lord Jesus, sometimes I feel so burdened by guilt and pain that I shy away from being with you. I sometimes feel even you reject me. I bring my conscience to you, and ask that your healing grace transform it into a conscience like Yours. I want it to be prodded by what is truly wrong in the world, not by my false beliefs. Guide me into Your truth, cleanse me with Your Word. Open my eyes that I might see myself, and everyone, in light of your grace and truth. Transform my conscience and bring me to the peace of purity. AMEN
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