Part 2 | A Clear Conscience
In this three-part series, we have been looking at one of my favorite verses, one that’s been spoken into my life since I was young. My dad used to remind me of it often, and as I’ve grown older, it’s stuck with me.
“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” – 1 Timothy 1:5 NLT
Today, we will look at “a clear conscience.”
In writing to a young Timothy, Paul continues to echo throughout the letters the importance of a clear conscience. You don’t hear many messages on this topic. Personally, I can’t remember the last time I heard a pastor speak on it, but as a believer, I must tell you that it’s of utmost importance.
I get asked all the time, in various ways, what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s allowed and what isn’t. The Bible is clear on a lot of things, but if we’re honest, there’s also a lot of gray. There are areas it doesn’t speak to directly, and it seems like those are left up to something more personal.
Paul speaks to the importance of the conscience in his letter to Timothy with a stark warning:
“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.” – 1 Timothy 1:19 NLT
Take a moment and really think about that verse. Meditate on it with me. My faith can be shipwrecked by a soiled conscience. That’s a powerful truth. Violating our conscience is a bigger deal than we might think. We would call that willful sin. It’s not sin that just happens, but a choice to do something we know is wrong.
This is where my first thought about right and wrong really came into focus. Sin isn’t just about “don’t smoke, don’t chew and don’t run around with women that do.” And yes, I mean that tongue in cheek. Sin is not defined only by a list in Scripture. It’s also defined by the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. The Holy Spirit never takes away from Scripture, but He does add to it. In other words, He never contradicts Scripture, but He does speak personally and specifically, applying God’s truth to our unique situations.
The Holy Spirit was meant to govern our lives, to give us security in our relationship with God, to empower us, and most importantly, to reset our conscience to align with His will at salvation. But that work continues as we yield to His leading daily. When we don’t, our conscience becomes dull and desensitized.
Have you ever felt God leading you to have a hard conversation with someone, and you put it off? Has He ever touched something in your heart, and you responded by saying you would deal with it later? Has He ever told you to reach out to someone to encourage them and tell them you love them, and you just pushed it aside? Many times that’s the Holy Spirit guiding and leading us.
Like in any relationship, if we don’t respond, eventually the other will stop speaking. Most of the time, when I feel distant from Him, it’s because I’ve stopped listening to Him.
“Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” – Acts of the Apostles 24:16 NLT
Paul didn’t just want a clear conscience before God; he wanted one before people too. Of all the parts of who we are, the conscience is probably the most easily influenced. That’s why part of my daily rhythm is asking the Holy Spirit each morning, “Is there anything I need to repent of? Anything You want to touch in my life?” It’s a simple way to keep my conscience clean and clear before Him.
So, how is your conscience? As much as I wish I could answer that question in my life, there is only One that truly can. His name is Holy Spirit. I want Him to guide me, not religion, not people’s opinions, not even my own ideas of right or wrong. Only He alone can guide me to the pleasant places of God.
A clear conscience isn’t about being perfect; it’s about staying tender, honest, and responsive to His voice. As we choose daily to listen, to repent, and to yield, we invite His presence to shape us from the inside out. May we be people marked by clear consciences, anchored in grace, and led by the Spirit into all that God has for us.
“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” – 1 Timothy 1:5 NLT
Today, we will look at “a clear conscience.”
In writing to a young Timothy, Paul continues to echo throughout the letters the importance of a clear conscience. You don’t hear many messages on this topic. Personally, I can’t remember the last time I heard a pastor speak on it, but as a believer, I must tell you that it’s of utmost importance.
I get asked all the time, in various ways, what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s allowed and what isn’t. The Bible is clear on a lot of things, but if we’re honest, there’s also a lot of gray. There are areas it doesn’t speak to directly, and it seems like those are left up to something more personal.
Paul speaks to the importance of the conscience in his letter to Timothy with a stark warning:
“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.” – 1 Timothy 1:19 NLT
Take a moment and really think about that verse. Meditate on it with me. My faith can be shipwrecked by a soiled conscience. That’s a powerful truth. Violating our conscience is a bigger deal than we might think. We would call that willful sin. It’s not sin that just happens, but a choice to do something we know is wrong.
This is where my first thought about right and wrong really came into focus. Sin isn’t just about “don’t smoke, don’t chew and don’t run around with women that do.” And yes, I mean that tongue in cheek. Sin is not defined only by a list in Scripture. It’s also defined by the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. The Holy Spirit never takes away from Scripture, but He does add to it. In other words, He never contradicts Scripture, but He does speak personally and specifically, applying God’s truth to our unique situations.
The Holy Spirit was meant to govern our lives, to give us security in our relationship with God, to empower us, and most importantly, to reset our conscience to align with His will at salvation. But that work continues as we yield to His leading daily. When we don’t, our conscience becomes dull and desensitized.
Have you ever felt God leading you to have a hard conversation with someone, and you put it off? Has He ever touched something in your heart, and you responded by saying you would deal with it later? Has He ever told you to reach out to someone to encourage them and tell them you love them, and you just pushed it aside? Many times that’s the Holy Spirit guiding and leading us.
Like in any relationship, if we don’t respond, eventually the other will stop speaking. Most of the time, when I feel distant from Him, it’s because I’ve stopped listening to Him.
“Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” – Acts of the Apostles 24:16 NLT
Paul didn’t just want a clear conscience before God; he wanted one before people too. Of all the parts of who we are, the conscience is probably the most easily influenced. That’s why part of my daily rhythm is asking the Holy Spirit each morning, “Is there anything I need to repent of? Anything You want to touch in my life?” It’s a simple way to keep my conscience clean and clear before Him.
So, how is your conscience? As much as I wish I could answer that question in my life, there is only One that truly can. His name is Holy Spirit. I want Him to guide me, not religion, not people’s opinions, not even my own ideas of right or wrong. Only He alone can guide me to the pleasant places of God.
A clear conscience isn’t about being perfect; it’s about staying tender, honest, and responsive to His voice. As we choose daily to listen, to repent, and to yield, we invite His presence to shape us from the inside out. May we be people marked by clear consciences, anchored in grace, and led by the Spirit into all that God has for us.
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