Psalms 8:1 and 31:1-3
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and found me struggling with a bad mood. He reminded me to “lay aside,” “put off,” “put on,” and “reckon.” Almost immediately, I began to rejoice in the LORD. That’s a good indication that my will is surrendered to His.
I read about Jesus’ contest with the Pharisees about His willingness to speak with publicans and sinners, and His unwillingness to ignore the bleating of the lost sheep, or dismiss the lost coin, the prodigal and his envious brother (Luke 15). But my thoughts kept going back to the operations of the conscience.
I have noticed that, as I age, memories present themselves randomly. Most are pleasant and evoke a smile, a chuckle, a laugh; these are pleasant. But some evoke grief, disappointment, and others sting the conscience. I thought about these today. I opened my Bible to Romans 2 and read verses 14-15:
Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Along the still waters, as I pondered the Gentiles use of conscience, I realized it was very much like how the Pharisees used the Law of Moses: to accuse or excuse. They misused the Law, accusing Jesus by the Law He gave them, and twisted the same Law to excuse themselves (Matthew 23:13-19; see Mark 7:9-13).
Christ, our Creator, inscribed in our conscience natural law, and with this law we condemn and excuse. Used rightly, this is a good thing; but it is often, yea, regularly abused.
Gentiles do with the conscience what the Pharisees and scribes did with Moses’ Law: they accuse others by theirs, and excuse in themselves what they condemn in others.
I saw that neither the Law of God nor the natural law inscribed into our soul is safe from the deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9).
Here is advice from an elder saint: prove your heart first, is your will surrendered to His, really? Only when it is can you be guided by His Spirit away from the seducing spirits of Satan to truth. When confronted with the Truth, submit your will and receive it.
Then check the law of your conscience by the Word of GOD, that is, “try the spirits” (1 John 4:1; see 1 Timothy 4:1-4).
Men wrestle their conscience into submission to their will, or deny it, or attempt to hide from it. My advice is be ready always to accept the accusation of your conscience, confess your sin (1 John 1:7-9), this will turn you into the way of the Spirit of God that leads to honesty about yourself, and about the holiness of Christ (Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water”). Then, like Paul, you may also receive the approval of your conscience: “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 9:1; see 2 Corinthians 1:12 and Hebrews 13:18).
In the valley, shadowed by His Cross, where the blood was shed that washes our conscience, I knelt at the “fountain” and received His refreshing, removing the sting from a wounded conscience. Praise Him Who died upon the Cross to bear the burden of our sins; let us bear our cross with a purified conscience: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
At the table, He graciously anointed my head with His holy oil, and filled my cup with His daily portion intermingled with His sufficient grace. Goodness and mercy attended as we went together into His harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
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