If we walk in the light...

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

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

'As the knowledge of a believer grows, his conscience too increases in its consciousness. The more his knowledge advances the more his conscience judges. One need not worry about what he does not know if he but completely follows what he already does know. “If we walk in the light”—that is, if we are walking in the light which we have already—“as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (though many are still unknown to us)” (1 John 1.7). God has unlimited light. Although our light is limited, we shall have fellowship with God and the blood of His Son shall cleanse us if we walk according to the light we have. Perhaps there are still sins today unremoved from our life, but we are not conscious of them; hence we can continue to have fellowship with God today. Let us keep in mind that, important as conscience is, it nevertheless is not our standard of holiness, because it is closely related to knowledge. Christ Himself is alone our single standard of holiness. But in the matter of fellowship with God, His one condition is whether or not we have maintained a conscience void of offense. Yet, having fully obeyed the dictates of conscience, we must not visualize ourselves as now “perfect” A good conscience merely assures us that so far as our knowledge goes we are perfect, that is, we have arrived at the immediate goal, but not the ultimate one. Such being the case, our standard of conduct rises higher to the degree our knowledge of the Scriptures and spiritual experience increase. Only when our lives become holier as our light progresses can we preserve a conscience without offense. It shall invariably accuse us if we accompany this year’s knowledge and experience with only last year’s conduct. God did not cut off His fellowship with us last year because of our sins unknown to us then; but He certainly shall sever it today if we do not forsake the sins unknown last year but now known this year. Conscience is a God-given current standard of holiness. Whoever violates that standard is assumed to have committed sin. '  The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

By the grace of God we will study this excerpt and most importantly the Word of God, tomorrow. We need light, ever increasing light.  We need truth and we need to walk in that truth, live in that truth through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the grace and mercy of our ever loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

Satan is a great pacifier of guilt.

Heb_5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Gen_2:9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

'In abiding by the spirit and listening to the voice of conscience we should remember one thing, and that is, conscience is limited by knowledge. It is the organ for distinguishing good and evil, which means it gives us the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge varies with different Christians. Some have more while others have less. The degree of knowledge may be determined by individual environment or perhaps by the instruction each has received. Thus we can neither live by the standard of others nor ask other people to live by the light we have. In a Christian’s fellowship with God an unknown sin does not hinder communion.'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

'Conscience is limited by knowledge'  This is truth. Those who are less knowledgeable can't be accountable for the knowledge they don't possess- unless, a person deliberately refuse knowledge when it is being offered to them.  If you know right from wrong and deliberately choose wrong even when your conscience is convicting you, then it can be nothing other than sin. Satan will trap us in a web of conscience and try to convince us that there is absolutely no way out, that we're stuck fast and going to remain so. Then he'll soothe our conscience as he tries to convince us that we have nothing to feel guilty about, nothing at all. Satan is the great pacifier of a guilty conscience while the Holy Spirit is the great convicting force of sin, and Jesus the forgiver, the redeemer.

'We can neither live by the standard of others nor ask other people to live by the light we have.'  Yet we do try to live like others, and we do try to get others to live by our standards, we do it all the time.  I reveal the light I have and want you to live that light, but honestly we can never live in the knowledge of others. Too often we can take the knowledge of others and simply let it slip away as irrelevant to us and how we choose to live. Yet at the same time we do take bits and pieces of knowledge and mold it to our live. Do you do anything today that you were taught to do by another?  The answer for all of us is- yes. We learned a lot when we were children growing up and a lot of that follows us through the rest of our life. Some of what we learn we deliberately change as we grow up, other things gradually change as we merge a lot of knowledge we have with new knowledge.  Suffice it to say that no two people are exactly alike, not even twins. We learn differently, individually.  Our spiritual life grows in the same way- individually.

Truly we CAN never judge another's eternal life, never. We don't know what their conscience is answerable to, what knowledge they possess. God help us to comprehend this truth. We have knowledge of good and evil and to say there is no such thing as good and evil is to deny reality.  Satan has convinced the multitude of evil being good and good being evil and the closer it comes to our Savior's return, the more he will deceive. 

May God protect us from all evil!

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR!  Amen!

Do you allow your conscience to work?

'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 Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

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

It's not a joke- our conscience. It's a very real indicator of us spiritually. If our conscience is NOT clear we are not living in the Spirit.  Allowing the Spirit to convict us is so crucial. If we know something is sinful and it doesn't make our conscience take notice then our spirit is not alive in us. Satan would love for us to be deceived and he'll stop at nothing to do just that. If Satan can get our conscience to be quiet while we sin relentlessly, then he's won us. If our conscience is NOT alive in us revealing any and all things against God's love then we are not God's.

Truly the 'tiniest offense' that isn't repented of can fester within our spirit destroying us.

Every single day we have to live for Christ and all that entails and it isn't ignoring Him and ignoring the Spirit. 

Does your conscience accuse you?

'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?'   The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Day after day inward accusations call for what? Instant prayer, instant  acknowledgement of our need.  We can't condone our sins though you can bet that Satan will encourage us to do so. Rather than deal with a litany of our wrong doings, a list of our constant failures we begin to push the voice of accusation away, we turn the volume down.

We cannot ignore our wretchedness nor can we ignore that our Savior died to save us from the sins that would so easily destroy us.

We are in a WAR!   A very real, spiritual war.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

2Co 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 

2Co 12:8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 

2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

1Co 9:25  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 

1Co 9:26  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 

Do you see? Paul never said that we sit back and do nothing but believe. The fight is real, so very real, only the fight is our spirit against the force of the flesh.

The battle is within us influenced by the evil spirit forces without us.  Christ is our only hope, Christ in us. And we must choose to allow Christ to live in us.

More on this tomorrow, by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever!  Amen.

Conditional Promises.

We don’t like to think of things of God as being conditional. Yet what does Jesus say?

Joh_14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh_14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

If we love- we keep.

That's not a condition you say, but rather a statement of truth. What about this…

Mat_6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If you don't forgive others - you will not be forgiven.  Conditional? Yes.

Joh_15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Truth.

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. '

(My thoughts- How can we debate this in the least? Not a single promise of God's to us can be used for our fleshy lust, not one! Yet so often we ask God for things to do just that, indulge our flesh desire. God knows the difference. Is it any wonder this is truth?

Mat_21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

How many people ASK for things in prayer and never receive them? Do those same people believe then that this promise is a lie? We know God never lies, we know this promise is true. The thing we need to comprehend is that to ask in prayer means asking spiritually, not fleshy. So if we ask for anything of the flesh in a prayer that can only be spiritual, it will not be granted. We are not granted flesh desires for flesh purposes. We may be granted things to our flesh but only if they are for a spiritual end. The conditional promises just that  conditioned on the spiritual.)

May God help us to comprehend all that we need to comprehend in order to be fully and wholly His!

All through Jesus Christ our Lord now and FOREVER!

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.