A Good, Clear Conscience – Part Two
Sunday, May 13, 2007
And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also
save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of
outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of
a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God
[because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:21 AMP
There is nothing finer than living with a clear conscience! It is a
stress-free, totally peace-filled life. No money in the world can buy a
clear conscience, but through the power of God and the blood of Jesus,
we can be blessed with inward cleanness and peace. Through our faith in
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and our obedience to go
through the waters of baptism, something actually happens in our soul.
Baptism saves us from inward questionings and fears—it is as if our
head has a resurrection—washing away every thought and desire that are
contrary to the word and will of the Father.
Therefore,
brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the
[Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus, 20 By
this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and
opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of
Holies), that is, through His flesh, 21 And since we have [such] a
great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,
22 Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere)
hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by
faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in
absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness),
having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil)
conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22
AMP
Thank God for the blood of Jesus! It enables us to have
full freedom and confidence to enter into God's very presence. This is
a fresh, new, and living way! Jesus is our High Priest and through Him,
our hearts are purified from an evil and guilty conscience. There is no
way you can come into God's presence with sin in your heart and with a
guilty conscience. The Lord has made a way for us to come into His
presence by washing our heart and conscience clean.
Keep
praying for us, for we are convinced that we have a good (clear)
conscience, that we want to walk uprightly and live a noble life,
acting honorably and in complete honesty in all things. Hebrews 13:18
AMP
If you want to live an honest, noble life—walking
uprightly and acting honorably—you can only do it if you protect your
conscience. Honesty in all things begins with, and is dependant on, a
good, clear conscience before God.
[And see to it that]
your conscience is entirely clear (unimpaired), so that, when you are
falsely accused as evildoers, those who threaten you abusively and
revile your right behavior in Christ may come to be ashamed [of
slandering your good lives]. 17 For [it is] better to suffer [unjustly]
for doing right, if that should be God's will, than to suffer [justly]
for doing wrong. 1 Peter 3:16-17 AMP
Keep your heart right
and your conscience clear and then even though you may experience
persecution, through the evidence of your good life, your critics will
be put to shame. If you have done wrong then your punishment is
justified. If you have not done wrong, no matter what you go through,
the Lord will vindicate you; He will reward you for your righteous,
uncompromising stand.
I thank God Whom I worship with a
pure conscience, in the spirit of my fathers, when without ceasing I
remember you night and day in my prayers. 2 Timothy 1:3 AMP
Worship God with a clear conscience. Your faith in Him—your unqualified
assurance and absolute conviction in the truth of His word—will give
you the confidence to come boldly into His presence and ask Him for the
things you need. The faith and confidence you walk in as a result of
your clear conscience will provide an answer to your prayers.
Recent:
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the
Faith & Praise
[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb. 20 No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, 21 Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised. Romans 4:18-21 AMP
Faith is defined as: confidence or trust in a person or thing; a belief that is not based on observed proof or evidence. Abraham had no proof – other than God’s promise to him – that he would have a son. According to his and Sarah’s advanced age and her barrenness, it was physically an