The Conscience: the Activities of the Spirit
An intellectual acknowledgement of God's existence, a mystical faith based on emotional experience, and/or a determination to believe through strength of will, don't resolve the inner conflicts and problems deep
within man. Attempts at faith such as these are a clear indication that the
individual hasn't yet met with God and therefore hasn't yet found the
fundamental solution. It's through the conscience that we can know that we have
spiritual contact with God.
The conscience is different from the personality or the heart. When I try to do something wrong, my conscience acts as a prosecutor that criticizes, judges, and condemns my action. Such activities of the
conscience are the work of the spirit within man. Therefore, even though you
may have faith such as mentioned above, based on intellectual knowledge,
emotions, or volition, you still won't be able to enjoy true peace in your
heart. In order to be able to worship God who is spirit, the spirit of the
individual needs to receive, and be liberated by, the light of God's truth. The
problem is that man's spirit has become contaminated by sin and, as a result,
is dead. This is the greatest and most lamentable problem facing mankind. In
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 it says,
And you ... were dead in trespasses and sins.
This is a reference to the state of the spirit, which is dead, having become contaminated by sin. When the conscience of the individual is troubled because of his defiled spirit, it's an indication of the contention
between that person and God.
The moment Adam ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his spirit died. Adam's conscience began to trouble him as shame, conflict, and uneasiness arose within him. It was to conceal
their troubled consciences that Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves coverings. This action symbolizes religion. When Adam heard God's
voice, however, he confessed that he was naked even though he was wearing the
covering (see: Genesis 3:8-10).
Religion is man's efforts to conceal his troubled conscience, but these efforts are of no avail when exposed before the voice of God and they can't cover man's naked shame.
If man is to serve God, his spirit must be made alive, and he must be rid of the anguish in his conscience. In First Peter chapter 1 verse 22 it says,
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren...
and in verse 23 it says,
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
In other words, our spirits need to be washed clean through obedience to the truth. This is what it means to be born anew through the word of God. In John's Gospel chapter 17 verse 17 it says,
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
The spirit is sanctified, or cleansed, through the word of truth. This is what is meant by being born again. It's only by being born again in this way that our conscience can have a taste of freedom. Pangs of
conscience are an indication of a defiled spirit. When the conscience is
troubled, it's because the spirit is fettered by the chains of sin.
Nevertheless, when the light of the truth shines through, the chains of sin are
broken, and the filth of the spirit is cleansed. Salvation, or being born
again, is none other than the conscience being set free from the chains of sin.
That...is what baptism pictures for us: in baptism we show that we have been saved from death and doom by the resurrection of Christ1; not a putting away of the filth of the flesh2, but a good conscience's quest toward
God.3 (1 Peter 3:21)
Only a good conscience will go in search of God and wish to approach Him. It's only with a clear conscience that we can meet with God.
The flood at the time of Noah is a foreshadowing of salvation. Let's consider the waters of that flood. Noah's ark floated on the surface of the waters, and thus the eight members of Noah's family were saved.
The significance of baptism by full emersion is also revealed here. Baptism
doesn't signify the removal of dirt from the flesh; it represents the cleansing
process that has taken place in the spirit. It signifies that the conscience
has been made clean: baptism not of the flesh but of the spirit. True baptism
takes place when the spirit is cleansed and the conscience is clear, having
been freed from sin. It's in such a state that the spirit is able to worship
and serve God.
Magnificent ceremonies and sanctuaries, pious attitudes and postures, unnatural gestures, and grandiose religious rites may present a certain physical purity, but such purity of the flesh doesn't make it possible
for us to approach God. It's only with an undefiled spirit and a clear
conscience that we can come close to God. No matter how pure a person's actions
may be, if he hasn't been saved, his spirit, that is to say his conscience,
remains defiled. This is because man isn't able to behave in such a way that
everything he does is perfect. Since man is unable to purify his conscience
through his actions, God gave the gospel to the world, the gospel which
purifies through the truth. This truth isn't a law of actions, but the law of
grace. Such is the gospel of the truth.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord
endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto
you. (1 Peter 1:23-25)
When the words of the gospel penetrate the spirit, that is the conscience, of the individual, and he or she comes to realize the truth, then he or she is able to serve God. In Hebrews chapter 9 verse 9 it says that
the Mosaic arrangement of temple worship is symbolic for the present age, and
the gifts and sacrifices offered according to that arrangement can't perfect
the conscience of the worshiper. In other words, the offering of a goat or a
sheep in the temple according to the sacrificial laws of Old Testament times is
but a metaphor and can't perfect the conscience. Therefore the true sacrifice
must be offered. Jesus Christ is this true sacrifice which is able to perfect
the conscience. When a person comes to believe in Him, his or her conscience is
made perfect.
Dear reader, can you claim with confidence that your conscience is completely clean with not the slightest speck of dirt or spot of cloud defiling it? Isn't your conscience at conflict with God? Is your
conscience not troubling you in the slightest? You can't stand before God until
your conscience is totally clear. If your conscience isn't clear, it means that
sin is forming a barrier between your spirit and God who is spirit. This means
that there's no light in your spirit. Your spirit is lost, wandering in the
darkness on this side of death. It hasn't yet tasted the resurrection on the
other side. That is to say, you haven't yet been born anew.
The liberation of the conscience is what is meant by being born anew, or born again. This is the salvation of the spirit. In First Peter chapter 1 verse 9 it says,
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
The salvation of the soul, or more precisely the spirit, is the liberation of the conscience. This is accomplished the moment a person comes to realize the truth. Therefore Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 32,
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Have you found peace in your conscience, having come to a realization of the truth? Has your conscience been liberated from the pangs caused by disobedience to the truth? In John's Gospel we read,
In him was life; and the life was the light of men... That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:4,9)
The truth isn't something that enlightens a person's reasoning; it's a revelation that enlightens the spirit and sets the conscience free. The truth is revealed to man, thus releasing the spirit from its chains.
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
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