• Keeping a Pure Conscience
• The conscience can be a valuable tool for the Christian which gives personal insight into one's own actions, thoughts and desires.

• Introduction
• While the conscience is not authoritative, binding or infallible it can be helpful.
• Although your conscience can be mistaken -- no matter the amount of sincerity shown in any practice -- it can be a good gauge of one's spiritual status before God and before men.

• Your Conscience
• When one's conscience is alarmed it is because of some area of weakness or sin which causes one to feel guilty.
• That feeling of guilt is the natural result of a wounded conscience -- you are supposed to feel that way!
• The trouble is, many people ignore that feeling of guilt and continue practicing such sin which causes one's conscience to be hardened or seared over (I Timothy 4:2).

• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The term conscience is defined as co-knowledge with oneself.
• The conscience shares information with yourself by processing your innermost thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires.
• The conscience is able to provide helpful insight into why you are involved in certain activities or why you react in certain ways to particular events.
• It serves as a self-witness.

• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The conscience can be a witness defending our actions (Romans 2:15).
• The apostle Paul said that he had served God with a clear conscience all of his life even while persecuting Christians (Acts 23:1).
• Paul's conscience defended his actions.
• Paul was convinced he was doing what God wanted him to do by killing Christians.
• Therein lies the key to keeping a pure conscience: performing the will of God.
• Now we see in Paul's case that his conscience was wrong.
• However, we must teach ourselves what is pleasing to God in order to keep a pure conscience for we will be judged based on the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16).
• We cannot determine practice just because we like an activity, or we think it is right.
• We must study God's word and allow that to be the judging factor.

• The Conscience Is a Witness
• The conscience can also testify against us, accusing us of guilt (Romans 2:15).
• When our conscience is telling us we are guilty of some sin we must eradicate that sin.
• Ignoring a guilt-bearing conscience can cause worry, anxiety, festering, turmoil, distress, grief and anger -- none of which are profitable emotions.
• Far too often we ignore these feelings, or we turn to encouraging books, or complain that we don't get enough encouragement from the preacher, etc.
• What people need to do is repent.
• The conscience will be judged before God.
• The terms "heart," "conscience," "thoughts" and "secrets" are used interchangeably (Romans 2:15-16 NASB) and will be judged by God who will bring every deed into consideration (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
• The standard that the conscience will be judged is the gospel.
• Thus, it is vitally important to live by that standard in order to keep a pure conscience.

• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• The term justification is a legal term which means to be free of any guilt.
• The result of justification is peace with God (Romans 5:1).
• Yet this peace can be disrupted by the piercing weapon that the conscience is.
• The conscience is unsheathed when we sin against God Almighty!

• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• The target of this weapon is the heart.
• The conscience is used to convict and bring a knowledge of sin.
• That conviction of sin should lead one to repent (Acts 2:37-38).
• When the weapon has been used and cuts at the heart it arouses the feeling of guilt.
• What is the purpose of the guilt one may feel?
• It is there to make you repent!
• That is the purpose guilt has.
• Do not ignore the guilt-bearing conscience.

• The Conscience Is a Weapon
• Eliphaz described the conscience as "sounds of terror" in one's ears and destroying the peace that one enjoys (Job 15:21), which results in distress, anguish and fear (Job 15:24).
• What caused the turmoil and fear?
• Transgressing the commandment of the Lord (Job 15:25).
• The conscience is supposed to feel guilt;
• it is supposed to be harmed when one sins.
• The grief and guilt you feel from a wounded conscience are natural (Psalm 73:21).
• Our society tends to think of guilt as a negative feeling that we should ignore.
• Do not ignore the guilt you feel -- its purpose is to cause repentance.
• To rid your conscience of guilt you must repent!

• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• The conscience is intended to sound an alarm when it has been harmed.
• The conscience is supposed to be sensitive to sin.
• In order for the conscience to be sensitive to sin it must first know what sin is.
• We must educate ourselves concerning the law of God.

• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• If we do not read, understand and apply God's law then how can we expect to know what sin is?
• All sin must be defined and shown to be transgression through the Scriptures.
• We cannot quit preaching against sin to soothe our conscience because then we will have untrained consciences that will be given over to sin.
• Danger also lies when we become associated with sin, causing one to become desensitized resulting in indifference (I Timothy 4:1-2).
• Indifference will ultimately lead to approval of sinful activities.
• Paul warned the Gentiles of judgment for approving sinful activities with no differentiation between slanderers, gossips, haters of God and murderers (Romans 1:32).
• Thus, the warnings to flee and abhor sin and cleave to what is good (Romans 12:9).

• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• When we find ourselves in situations that cause us to feel uncomfortable, then our conscience is telling us to flee!
• However, if we ignore our conscience we run the risk of losing any sensitivity we may have to sin.
• The Conscience Is a Warning System
• Pharaoh allowed his heart to be hardened because he ignored God's glory (Exodus 7:1,3), refused to believe in God (Exodus 7:13), and was impenitent (Exodus 9:27,35).
• There is great danger in ignoring the cries of our guilty conscience.

• The Conscience Can Be Made Whole
• Even though our conscience may be giving us the warning that we have sinned, we may take steps in order to clear our conscience.
• Our consciences are intended to be pure and whole.
• How can I maintain a pure conscience?
• In order to keep a pure conscience we must follow through with repentance by doing five steps to clear your conscience.

• The Conscience Can Be Made Whole
• 1. Confess and forsake sin (Psalm 32:5; I John 1:9)
• 2. Ask for forgiveness and be reconciled to those whom you've wronged (Matthew 5:23,24; 6:14-15)
• 3. Make restitution (Numbers 5:6-7; Luke 19:8)
• 4. Don't procrastinate in clearing your wounded conscience (Acts 24:16; Titus 1:5)
• 5. Educate your conscience (I Corinthians 8:7,12; Romans 14:23)
• By following these five steps we will strengthen our conscience, our knowledge and our faith.
• Repentance is necessary to keeping a pure conscience.

• Conclusion
• Knowing that we have maintained a pure conscience, we may be confident when we appear before the judgment seat of God, knowing that there is laid up for ourselves a crown of righteousness (II Timothy 4:7,8).
• Going against your conscience is sin (Romans 14:22-23).
• Causing another to violate their conscience is also a sin (1 Corinthians 8:7,10,12).

By Carey Scott from an article by Sean P. Cavender

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