─ Enough! You must repent of that sin.
─ Well, God forgives me, said the Christian.
─ Yes, but I’m talking about true repentance. I mean that it is urgent that you get away once and for all from that practice.
─ I can handle it. In addition, I am a productive Christian and of great value to my church…
─ You are playing with fire and that will cost you your life — replied his awareness.
Have you heard that voice in your head?
When you are about to sin and suddenly something stops you for a few seconds… It is as if you were fighting with yourself before acting… Unfortunately, many Christians are unaware and even refuse to live with a clear conscience. The fall of Christian leaders in recent years is a living example of this painful situation.
Conscience is defined as the “knowledge of good and evil that allows a person to morally judge reality and actions, especially their own” (). But we believers also believe that it is a faculty that God granted to human beings to judge themselves. For Christians it is not the voice of the Holy Spirit (although He can use it). Rather, as a human faculty, conscience defends or accuses a person. It can be informed to be more sensitive morally speaking or it can be ignored, even reaching its total insensitization.
A conscience is clear when the warning it makes is complied with by the will, when judging us and acquitting us; that is, not only by acting as custodian, but by taking effect of its protection. This occurs when the person pays attention to the conscience and executes what is correct. In this way, the conscience remains clean when it does not allow itself to be dirty by the sin of a decision contrary to morality.
Knowing this concept, I would like to show you three reasons why it is important for a Christian to seek a clean conscience before God.
1) A clear conscience belongs to the life of love that God expects
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had a perfect loving relationship and communion with God and with each other. There were no ulterior motives, injuries, or deceit. Neither lies or something to hide. The conscience of the man and the woman was free of blame. However, after the fall everything collapsed. As a consequence, in each of our decisions, we too experience a constant battle with our consciences.
A clear conscience is raw material for the life of sacrificial love that God expects us to live.
Long after the fall, the apostle Paul reminded Timothy that the purpose of the ministry he had received from God—which involved proclaiming the Word—was “love born of a pure heart, of a good conscience, and of a faith sincere” (1 Tim 1:5).
Paul knew the love of God (Rom 5:8). He had been transformed and was controlled by the manifestation of that love in his life (2 Cor 5:14). That is why he loved the church in Ephesus, where Timothy was. The effect of a vertical love relationship prompted him to replicate that same experience horizontally. The love of which he speaks to Timothy is of the type that was modeled by Christ: sacrificial and self-denial. The Lord harmed himself to benefit sinners like us. Now he requires us to practice the love of him in our daily life (Eph 5: 1).
According to Paul, one of the keys to practicing that love is to have a good conscience, one that is clear, which we have as a consequence of exposing the mind to the sound teaching of Scripture. A clear conscience is raw material for the life of sacrificial love that God expects us to live. To embody that love, foster through obedience to the Word a conscience free of accusations.
2) A clear conscience helps us to finish the race well
The call of conscience is to the soul what pain is to the body. Pain indicates that something could be harmful to the body. In the same way, the guilt felt in the conscience warns that something threatens the well-being of the soul.
The false teachers in Ephesus disregarded maintaining a clear conscience and therefore made shipwrecks of faith. That is, they fell into a state of lack of truth. That is why Paul exhorts Timothy to fight the good fight of faith “keeping faith and a good conscience” (1 Tim 1:19).
When temptation comes into your life, conscience will give its alert signal. If you listen to him according to the Word, you will make the right decision. Your conscience will be clear and strengthened. Then the next time she is activated, her response will be clearer and more assertive. However, if your conscience remains tied to unconfessed sinful habits, damaged and unrestored relationships, unaddressed cracks in character, or other practices not left behind, then guilt and fear will dominate you.
Years ago, a friend advised me: “Don’t allow yourself to have outstanding accounts.” He wanted to say don’t forget to ask for forgiveness when you offend someone; seek integrity and a life of purity in the eyes of our Lord; that he does not ignore the internal plea of guilt and pain; may I not silence my conscience, but be diligent in taking care of my inner being (Pr 4:23).
Committing ourselves to a clear conscience before God helps us run the race of faith consistently to finish it well. If the conscience is free of guilt, it will remain firm in the sea of faith, far from the dangers of spiritual shipwreck.
3) A clear conscience brings us security, peace and joy
Committing ourselves to a clear conscience before God helps us run the race of faith consistently to finish it well
There is nothing worse in life than living full of insecurities, restlessness and sadness as a result of ignoring our internal witness. This was not the case with Paul.
Despite the fact that his enemies in Corinth tried to stain his testimony and question his credentials, their accusations could not sway or silence the clear testimony of his conscience: “For this is our satisfaction: the testimony of our conscience that in holiness and in sincerity that comes from God, not in carnal wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially towards you” (2 Cor 1:12).
Every Christian should aspire to declare such satisfaction freely. Only by living the truth of a clear conscience can we enjoy true security, peace, and joy in Christ. God has given us conscience as a moral guardian. In the Christian, this faculty is relevant because it safeguards his life of holiness.
Seek a clear conscience
To guarantee a clear conscience, there will be actions to execute and decisions to make that may not make you look good in front of some people, but they will make you feel good in front of yourself and the Lord. Some examples are: confronting your superior at a certain time due to irregularities that you have verified; not enter a queue illegitimately; refusing the offer of a job as a result of political cronyism, among other situations that go against your conscience informed by the Word of God. But as we have seen, it is a blessing to be able to enjoy a peaceful and clear conscience before God.
On the other hand, perhaps you are living with an accusing conscience due to unresolved issues in your life. The good news is that in Christ we find the forgiveness and restoration necessary to move on. Run to Him! Ask for forgiveness, make a commitment to live with a clear conscience, and enjoy its benefits.