The Confident Conscience

I used to convince myself that I was constantly seeking the will of God.

But it was actually just a hit and miss activity that suited me well as long as what He desired somehow fell in line with what I wanted. And when I’d hit a brick wall, I’d gratefully acknowledge that He was in charge, yet continue to seek what was important to me.

At some point, however, I came to understand that the first step in accomplishing His will was to develop a God-honoring conscience.

So how does that happen?

After all, I actually do want to do God’s will, but my selfish human nature often gets in the way. [Jer. 17:9] The human conscience is extremely vulnerable to manipulation. That must be why the author of the Hebrews Letter encouraged the reader to constantly have his cleansed and renewed:

“…and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” [Heb. 10:21-22]

[συνείδησις: (soo-nā-dā-sîs) conscience, awareness, consciousness]

I would concede that, ultimately, developing a God-honoring conscience is the work of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus Christ’s disciple enhances that process by making confident free will decisions. And confident disciples never consider anything other than what is good and right in the sight of God.

But it’s not just a gut feeling.

They trust that the consequences of those decisions align with the will of God because of their knowledge of His Written Word. They don’t act on their emotions. They know sound Biblical decisions can never be made without actually applying sound Biblical principles to their lives. And they are absolutely convinced that His will is what’s best for them. [Rom. 8:28-30]

Confident disciples clothe themselves in the Word of God so that they won’t be deceived into putting their fleshly lusts above what the Lord Himself has prepared for them:

“The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God lives in the age.” [1Jn. 2:17]

[What does it mean to “live in the age?” see: Let’s Engage the Coming Age!]

Confidence is precious. Don’t lose it.

“Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you might receive what was promised.” [Heb. 10:35-36]