Daily seeking a good conscience.

Read the following excerpt from ' The Spiritual Man' - by Watchman Nee

'All the promises which God grants us in the Bible may be considered conditional. None are bestowed to gratify one’s fleshly lust. No one shall experience the Holy Spirit, communion with God, and answered prayer if he does not deal away with his sin and flesh. How can we claim the promise of God with boldness if our voice within is accusing us? How can anyone, whose conscience does not bear him witness that he has lived on earth in holiness and godly sincerity, be a man of prayer who is able to ask God for unlimited rewards? What is the use of praying if our inward monitor reproves us when we lift up our hands to God? Sin first must be forsaken and cleansed before we can pray with faith. We need to possess a conscience void of offense, not in the sense that it is better than before or that much evil has been done away but that it is without offense and confident before God. This ought to be the normal condition of our conscience. If we prostrate ourselves before it and allow it to reprove us: if we offer ourselves entirely to the Lord and are willing to perform all His purposes: then our confidence shall increase until it is possible for us to regard our conscience as void of offense. We dare to tell God that now we have nothing left which is concealed from Him. So far as we are concerned we know of nothing between us and Him. In walking by the spirit we should never permit the tiniest offense to stir up our conscience. Whatever it condemns must be confessed immediately, cleansed by the precious blood and forsaken, so that no trace be left behind. Each day we should seek to have a good conscience, because no matter how short a time conscience may be offended it renders great harm to the spirit. The Apostle Paul has set us a good example in always having a good conscience. Therein alone shall we maintain uninterrupted fellowship with God. '

We will study this tomorrow by the grace of God. 

In truth we MUST seek to have a good conscience towards God always.

There is this excerpt we must consider as well-

'Moreover, because our sinful nature is still within us, we will not be able to recognize many hidden works of the flesh until we have matured spiritually. What we formerly considered harmless may now become sinful to us.'

Please, Lord.

Is sinning acceptable?

1Jn 3:7  Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 

If you do righteousness you are righteous, as Jesus is righteous.

If you sin you are of the devil.

We've conditioned ourselves to believe sinning is acceptable and not something to be abhorred. Sinning is our lot in life, we might as well embrace it… wrong. Sin in all its many, many forms is to be despised. Sinning is ANYTHING that separates us from God.  Eve sinned when she separated herself from God. God wanted to protect Eve and Adam, humanity overall, from knowing evil. That one tree- that one test of faith- contained the fruit of sin. One bite of that fruit was all it took to unleash all the evil in the world.  One bite was all it took to disobey the Creator's command. One bite was all it took to remove instantaneously the light of righteousness clothing the couple. Why, so many ask. Why even have a tree, why put anything at all whatsoever around the created pair that could lead to such devastation? Why give them the opportunity to be tempted, why give them the possibility of sinning?  The tree represented freewill.  The couple was not set in the middle of an orchard full of evil trees so that everywhere they turned they were forced to face the tree. They were not starved of food so that the only food available to them was the evil food. They were not tied to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They were made aware of its existence- a tree in the middle of a garden. Anyone who has ever been in a huge garden knows for a fact you don't see simply the middle of it, but so much more. The tree was symbolic of trust.  The trust was broken and evil was known. And all that evil that is known is sin and that sin separates us from God. You can call evil good all you want to, but it won't make it so. You can get a whole lot of people calling evil good, but still, it won't make it reality. Evil dwells in all sin, in all separation from God. We need to know that the separation has been repaired through Jesus Christ, but that repair isn't made up of a bridge of acceptable sins. That bridge is made of our Savior's innocent, sinless blood.

'What is the testimony of Paul’s conscience? It testifies that he has “behaved in the world . . . not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:12

Conscience in fact can testify to nothing else. What it contends for and insists upon in the believer is solely for that life to be lived by the grace of God and not by earthly wisdom.

Earthly wisdom is totally nil in God’s will and work. It equally amounts to nothing in a believer’s spiritual life. Man’s mind is altogether useless in his communion with God; even in his communication with the material world the mind occupies but a subordinate position. A child of God lives on earth exclusively by the grace of God, and grace implies something entirely done by Him, with men having no part in it (Rom. 11.6).

Rom 11:6  And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 

Except as one lives exclusively by God—not permitting himself to take any initiative nor allowing his mind to have control over him—can conscience testify that he lives in the world in holiness and godly sincerity.

In other words, it operates together with intuition. Conscience bears witness to everything done according to revelation in intuition, but it resists every action which is contrary to intuition, no matter how compatible it is with human wisdom.

To sum up, conscience approves only the revelation of intuition. Intuition leads believers, while conscience constrains them to follow their intuition.

A good conscience which attests God’s good pleasure in the believer (since there is nothing between him and God) is absolutely essential to a life walked after the spirit. That attestation ought to be the believer’s goal: he should be satisfied with nothing less. This indicates what should be a normal Christian’s life: as it was the testimony of the Apostle Paul, so must it be with us today.'   Excerpt from - The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee.

Conscience objecting, conscience permitting.

Paul said- "I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23.1)

'Never does he do anything that his conscience objects to, nor does he ever permit one item to remain in his life which it condemns.'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Can we say the same? I know I can't and it fills me with sadness.  As I sit here writing this I know how often my conscience condemns me and my actions, and it's way too often.  I also know that I'm on a spiritual journey and this journey is something that isn't done in a day but a lifetime, an entire lifetime.

Satan would have us despair of salvation, barring that he would have us not believe in salvation at all. One of the many ways our adversary gets us to despair is by making us believe there is no hope for us, that we will never attain salvation through our Savior. Satan will turn our eyes upon ourselves and tell us that we are just too awful to be saved, that our hearts are forever filthy. What He's trying to convince us of really- is that Jesus doesn't have the power to save the filthy like us. We know that's a lie. The lie is so tempting to latch hold of in the light of our fallen, carnal, flesh nature rising up in us over and over again. Is it any wonder that we are to pick up a DAILY cross?

Maybe we are hearing our conscience through the Holy Spirit convicting us of many things- those we should do and those we shouldn't. Or maybe we've ignore it so long we have trouble hearing. We need to listen and act upon what we hear but how? By submitting to our Savior and letting Him work in us and never giving up, never. Our hope must be in Christ not in ourselves, not in the least bit and if the Lord needs to refine us over and over to get us to comprehend this truth, may He please, please do that in us, for us, for His will all through HIS love.

We continue our spiritual journey and by the grace of our Lord may we never ever cease to walk the path of His choosing!

For Conscience Sake

Our conscience. We joke about our consciences. We 'old' people think about Jiminy Cricket the conscience of Pinocchio. We also think about the little cartoonish red devil on one shoulder and a little angel on the other shoulder speaking to us, each trying to sway us their way to bad or good.  We know our conscience exists. Those who don't believe in God can still believe in their conscience because there is a voice in most people that will nudge them when they are about to do something wrong. There is also a voice that will nudge to do something good. To deny most people are guided internally is to deny reality. Very few will try to insist that there is no such thing as a conscience. You may have noticed I wrote- 'most people' a few times and I did that purposely because there are a very few people in a world filled with them that are considered abnormal for not having a conscience in the sense they feel nothing when very wrong things happen, and when very good things happen. They fake emotions, they fake a lot of what society considers normal for a human being.

If you are reading this and insisting that we don't have a conscience then I certainly will not be able to convince you that you do have one, it's not for me to convince anyone on that.

Biblically we've already seen that having a conscience is a very real thing. Hearing Paul say this--

I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23.1)  

--how can we deny this truth? 

Joh_8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Act_24:16  And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

Rom_2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Rom_9:1  I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost

Rom_13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

1Co_8:7  Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

2Co_1:12  For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

2Co_4:2  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

1Ti_1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck

1Ti_3:9  Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

1Ti_4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron

2Ti_1:3  I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day

Clearly these Bible verses and still others show that our conscience is a real thing, an important thing.

May God help us learn more, to understand clearly the role our conscience needs to play in our lives so we may be His and only His, by His will, by His grace and mercy now and always!!!!

In Jesus Christ, our Savior!

*******

'A Good Conscience

“I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23.1). This is the secret of Paul’s life. The conscience he refers to is not that of an unregenerated person but of a Holy Spirit-filled conscience. Bold in approaching God and perfect in his communion with Him, the Apostle’s regenerated conscience gives him no reproach. He does everything according to it.

Never does he do anything that his conscience objects to, nor does he ever permit one item to remain in his life which it condemns.

He is therefore bold before God and man. We lose our confidence when our conscience is murky. The Apostle “always (took) pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men” (Acts 24.16), for “if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3.21-22).

Believers simply do not realize how very significant their conscience is.

 Many have the idea that as long as they walk after the spirit all is well. They do not know that an unclear conscience means loss of confidence in approaching God and that this loss in turn means disruption of one’s communion with Him. In fact, a muddied conscience can hinder our intuitive communion with God more than anything else. If we fail to keep His commandments and to do what pleases Him our monitor within shall naturally reprove us, rendering us fearful before God and hence keeping us from receiving what we seek. We can serve God only with a clear conscience (2 Tim. 1.3). An opaque one shall surely cause us to shrink back intuitively from God. “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God” (2 Cor. 1.12). This passage speaks of the testimony of conscience. Only a conscience without offense will testify for a believer. It is good to have the testimony of others, but how much better to have the testimony of our own conscience.'

Excerpt from 'The Spiritual Man' By Watchman Nee

Do you live with a clear conscience in all things?

'A Good Conscience

“I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23.1). This is the secret of Paul’s life. The conscience he refers to is not that of an unregenerated person but of a Holy Spirit-filled conscience. Bold in approaching God and perfect in his communion with Him, the Apostle’s regenerated conscience gives him no reproach. He does everything according to it.

Never does he do anything that his conscience objects to, nor does he ever permit one item to remain in his life which it condemns.

He is therefore bold before God and man. We lose our confidence when our conscience is murky. The Apostle “always (took) pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men” (Acts 24.16), for “if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3.21-22).

Believers simply do not realize how very significant their conscience is.

 Many have the idea that as long as they walk after the spirit all is well. They do not know that an unclear conscience means loss of confidence in approaching God and that this loss in turn means disruption of one’s communion with Him. In fact, a muddied conscience can hinder our intuitive communion with God more than anything else. If we fail to keep His commandments and to do what pleases Him our monitor within shall naturally reprove us, rendering us fearful before God and hence keeping us from receiving what we seek. We can serve God only with a clear conscience (2 Tim. 1.3). An opaque one shall surely cause us to shrink back intuitively from God. “Our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God” (2 Cor. 1.12). This passage speaks of the testimony of conscience. Only a conscience without offense will testify for a believer. It is good to have the testimony of others, but how much better to have the testimony of our own conscience.'

Excerpt from 'The Spiritual Man' By Watchman Nee

More study on this tomorrow by the GRACE and WILL of GOD all through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever!!!!!!! AMEN.

Is Your Conscience Working?

'No Christian can be so spiritual as to have no further necessity to confess his sin. He must be fallen spiritually if his conscience is dull and insensitive. Excellent knowledge, hard labor, excited feeling and strong will cannot substitute for a sensitive conscience. He who does not heed it but seeks mental and sensational progress is retrogressing spiritually. The sensitivity of the conscience can be increased as well as decreased. Should anyone give ground to his conscience to operate, his spirit’s window will let in more light next time; but should he disregard it or answer it with reason or works other than what it demands, then his conscience will speak more and more softly each time it is rejected until ultimately it ceases to speak. Every time a believer does not listen to conscience he damages his spiritual walk. If this self-inflicted wounding of his spiritual life continues unabated, he shall sink into the state of being fleshly. He will lose all his former distaste for sin and former admiration of victory. Until we learn to face squarely the reproach which arises from conscience, we do not actually appreciate how meaningful to our walk in the spirit this heeding of the voice of conscience is. '   The Spiritual Man - By Watchman Nee

 Psa_32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

Jas_5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1Jn 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Joh_1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 

Rom 6:2  God forbid.

Rom_6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Rom_6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom_6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Rom_6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 

Rom 6:2  God forbid.

He chose death for us over life without us.

We spend a lot of time trying not to feel guilty about various things in our lives. Did you just read that sentence and say to yourself that you don't spend any time feeling guilty, that there is no sense in feeling guilty about anything? To say we shouldn't feel guilty is to say we shouldn't recognize our guilt. If we spend a lot of time not feeling guilty about anything then we are spending a lot of time condoning sin in ourselves. If we don't have a sense of guilt as we contemplate the purity, the sinlessness of our Savior, then are we recognizing our need of Him? You might say you are relishing the forgiveness our Savior has extended to you, but is the forgiveness extended without first recognizing the guilt, without recognition of needing forgiveness because of our sins? The recognition of need is something we can never lose. The recognition of need is knowing we are sinners. That recognition is realizing when we sin, or are about to sin.

We are to take up our cross daily- just knowing that brings the realization we need to recognize that daily we are to be reminded of the cross of our Savior and what took place upon that cross. Our Savior died upon that cross, and He died because of our sins- your sins, my sins, all of our sins. Asking forgiveness for our sins is recognizing the innocence of our Savior and the magnitude of His sacrifice. He died for us when He did not have to die at all. He chose death for us over life without us. And yes, there is an enormous sense of gratitude for His sacrifice within us, because we know He died for our guilt.

Our feeling guilty is truly recognizing our wrongs, recognizing all those wrongs, each of those wrongs killed the Innocent One.

When, by the grace of God and through the Holy Spirit our conscience is awakened to our guilt in all its many forms, we need to thank God for the sense of guilt. We are given a chance to repent and seek forgiveness as we are convicted of the sins in our life.  Yes, we are to take up the cross daily, not try to bury the cross, not try to hide the cross, not shroud the cross in false purity when we have no white robes of righteousness to cover it in- all our righteousness are filthy rags, only Christ's righteousness can bring purity.  We must take up our cross willingly, knowingly understanding what we are taking up.

Please Lord, please don't let us ever lose our knowing need of You and Your sacrifice, never, please.

All in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our LORD now and forever!

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

1Jn_1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Isa_64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Gal_5:5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

Rev_19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.