ODJ: clear conscience
December 9, 2011
Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked (v.19).
READ: 1 Timothy 1:1-7, 18-20
A man consulted a doctor, “I’ve been misbehaving, Doctor, and my conscience is troubling me,” he complained. “And you want something that will strengthen your willpower?” asked the doctor. “Well, no”, said the fellow. “I was thinking of something that would weaken my conscience.”
Sometimes we might feel that our conscience is more like a nuisance than a much-needed guide. When we know what’s right and what’s wrong, our conscience insists that we do the right and avoid the wrong. That may not always seem convenient or win the world’s applause.
In 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote to instruct his protégé—who was serving in the great city of Ephesus—to obediently live out his faith. One of the imperatives he gave was for Timothy to keep a clear conscience (1:19).
Why was it so important for him to keep a clear conscience? So that he could cling to his faith in Jesus and not end up with a shipwrecked faith, Paul explained.
One definition of “faith” is: Forsaking All, I Trust Him. When we lose our faith in Jesus, instead of clinging to God we find ourselves grasping for the things of the world. Life is reduced to merely the physical world. So we miss out on opportunities to experience the vitality of a living relationship with God, which comes only by faith (Hebrews 11:6).
When we shipwreck our faith, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, we become instruments of evil rather than righteousness. We undermine God’s teachings and—in the process—defame Him.
When we hear God speaking, we must obey—regardless of what our flesh or feelings say. That’s the way to keep a clear conscience. If you fail, it’s time for you to confess, repent, set it straight, and then continue clinging to God by faith.
—Poh Fang Chia
How are you striving to maintain a good conscience? What do you need to bring to God in repentance today?
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