STRIVE TO HAVE A CLEAR CONSCIENCE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 08, 2024.

SUBJECT : STRIVE TO HAVE A CLEAR CONSCIENCE!

Memory verse: "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live."  (Job 27 vs 6.)

READ: First Samuel 12 vs 1 - 5;

12:1: Now Samuel said to all Israel: “indeed, I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.

12:2: And now here the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

12:3: Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD, and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I cheated? whom have I oppressed or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”

12:4: And they said, “You have not cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand.”

12:5: Then he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”

INTIMATION:

Conscience can simply be defined as one’s moral sensitivity or scruples. It is a co-knowledge with oneself, the witness borne to one’s conduct by one’s moral sensitivity. It is the faculty by which we apprehend the Will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives; hence it prompts the sense of guiltiness before God, and the process of thought which distinguishes what it considers morally good or bad, commending the good, condemning the bad, and prompting to do the former, and avoid the latter. 

Having a clear conscience means there is no obstruction in our fellowship with God or anyone else. It means we are careful to avoid sinning against God or others with our words, actions, or attitudes. It also means that when we do sin, we quickly repent, admit our failure to all offended parties, ask for their forgiveness, and make whatever restitution is necessary. To have a clear conscience toward others means we have taken whatever steps are necessary to deal with every sin we may have committed against every other person. It means we can look everyone we know in the eyes without shame and know that we are right with them, insofar as it depends on us.

When your conscience is clear, it is free from all question of guilt, and is absolved from all blame. In our memory verse, Job, in the midst of all accusations, was able to declare that his conscience was clear. Only God’s forgiveness and the determination to live right before God can bring a clear conscience. How important Job’s record became as he was being accused. Like Job, we can’t claim sinless lives, but we can claim forgiven lives. When we confess our sins to God, He forgives us. Then we can live with clear conscience.

In the passage we read today, prophet Samuel was a hero in Israel. He had been a faithful spiritual counselor for many years. His life was stable, and his leadership had always been reliable, even during times of national chaos. When he was old, the entire nation gathered to listen to him, and his reputation was well known among all the people. He asked the people an astonishing question and received an equally remarkable response: “Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and before His anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” They said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand” 

Often considered the last of the judges and the first of the prophets, Samuel was called by God when just a child. His life beautifully illustrates what it means to have a clear conscience. He could stand before these people who knew him and had observed his life, ask them what wrong he had done to any of them, and had not one accuser. Not one!

Think about how Samuel might have worded his speech if he had been speaking to a modern-day audience, perhaps in the context of a family gathering, a workplace, or a church. 

If you were to stand before every person you know and ask the questions Samuel asked of those who knew him best, would you get the same response? Like Samuel, we should be able to stand before everyone we know and have no one accuse us of doing wrong to them and failing to make it right. Any child of God who is serious about seeking the Lord and experiencing personal revival must be committed to maintain a clear conscience toward others. This is where the rubber meets the road—this is the context in which genuine repentance, humility, and holiness are demonstrated practically. 

How can you keep your conscience clear? Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish. As you walk with God, He will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong. Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right—then your conscience will remain clear. 

We try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, of course, but sometimes Scripture is silent. Then we should follow our consciences. To go against a conviction will leave a person with a guilty or uneasy conscience. When God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. But we should not look down on other Christians who exercise their freedom in those areas. 

Sometimes our consciences can be blank, and we don’t feel any guilt. In the case of Jonah in the Bible, Jonah 1 vs 4 - 5, while the ship raged, Jonah was sound asleep below deck. Even as he ran from God, Jonah’s actions apparently didn’t bother his conscience. But the absence of guilt isn’t always a barometer of whether we are doing right. Because we can deny reality, we cannot measure obedience by our feelings. Instead, we must compare what we do with God’s standards for living.

This is one of the most powerful and practical principles of personal revival. It can also be one of the most difficult. If you desire to obey God by obtaining and maintaining a clear conscience, take a moment to pray this prayer of commitment to the Lord from your heart:

Prayer: Abba Father, I want to have a conscience that is clear toward every person I know. Please reveal to me any issues I need to resolve with others and, by Your grace, I will do whatever You show me I need to do to make these matters right. Give me the grace to keep my conscience good and clear; doing the right things at all times, and following the inner tugs of the Holy Spirit in my relationship with You and others, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!