We have a particular faculty that is absolutely
essential to faith, salvation, and the Christian life. It is our conscience.
When we violate it, we become defiled and damage our faith:
- Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-19; NIV)
When we violate our conscience, we feel convicted,
become defensive, and attempt to rationalize our sin away. We, thereby, erect a
barrier between ourselves and God, in effect saying, "I can deal with this in my
own way. I do not need to confess my sin." We turn our back on God, and He turns
His back on us. This is the demise of faith and life.
Consequently, it is only when our conscience is
cleansed that we can approach our Lord and serve Him:
- This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper...How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Hebrews 9:9, 14)
When our conscience is not cleansed, it is hardened
and not responsive to the Holy Spirit. Nor do we want to be
responsive.
When our conscience is defiled, we cannot tolerate
the truth, the light of God, and we flee as did Adam and Eve, as they hid from
God and resorted to fig leaves to cover their sins.
It is only when our conscience has been cleansed that
we can confidently turn to our Savior. Otherwise, He remains a threat, a
consuming fire and not the love of our life:
- ...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. (Hebrews 10:22)
If our conscience isn't cleansed, we flee. When we
are cleansed, we grow in assurance that we are beloved. When we are not, we feel
condemned. When we confess our sins and turn from them, we are assured of His
forgiveness and cleansing (1John 1:9).
When we refuse to come into His light, we remain in
darkness and are self-condemned. How? We cannot tolerate His presence and flee
(John 3:17-20).
This hatred of the light also seems to determine our
final destiny, our condemnation:
- People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. (Isaiah 2:19)
If we condemn ourselves to utter darkness, hiding
from God, as many verses claim, then who can bring charges of injustice against
God, as many do!
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