My Father in law recently sent us this powerful article that I have pasted below.
It was so compelling that I've read through it a few times.
I wanted to share it with you.
“So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” --Acts 24:16
The soul is the most important part of the human being. Yes, it is an immaterial – a spiritual – member of the human body, but it is just as real as our hands, eyes, or feet, and even more important.
The soul consists of the heart, which governs the affections, and the mind, which processes information by means of various intellectual functions. In addition to these, the soul contains the conscience, the function of which is to unite affections and thoughts into convictions, values, priorities, and settled opinions.
The conscience is the repository, not necessarily of the best of the soul, but of its preferences. The conscience functions to arbitrate the impulses of the heart and the thoughts of the mind, so that affections and thinking are assigned particular values, which then come to expression in actions. The conscience is not a neutral player in the soul. A conscience can be darkened and polluted by sin and unbelief, or it can be clear, good, and healthy, like the Apostle Paul sought always to have.
The conscience is the repository, not necessarily of the best of the soul, but of its preferences. The conscience functions to arbitrate the impulses of the heart and the thoughts of the mind, so that affections and thinking are assigned particular values, which then come to expression in actions. The conscience is not a neutral player in the soul. A conscience can be darkened and polluted by sin and unbelief, or it can be clear, good, and healthy, like the Apostle Paul sought always to have.
In its natural state, apart from the grace of God, the conscience prefers wicked values, dead works, and priorities that are at odds with the Kingdom purposes of Christ (Heb. 9:14). Its default convictions tend toreinforce self-centered thoughts and feelings, leading to self-centered actions.
Left in this condition, without the curative powers of grace and truth, the conscience grows weak, becomes encrusted with wicked works, and can become seared against the Truth of God (1 Cor. 8:7; 1 Tim. 4:2). Thus corrupted, the seared conscience will always process affections and thoughts in a manner inimical to the purposes of God and determined to advance the lusts of the flesh.
Left in this condition, without the curative powers of grace and truth, the conscience grows weak, becomes encrusted with wicked works, and can become seared against the Truth of God (1 Cor. 8:7; 1 Tim. 4:2). Thus corrupted, the seared conscience will always process affections and thoughts in a manner inimical to the purposes of God and determined to advance the lusts of the flesh.
This perhaps explains why the world is always awash in competing values, priorities, and convictions that can lead to confusion and uncertainty, hindering the work of the Kingdom. Apart from the grace and truth of God, the unredeemed conscience knows only to serve the interests of the flesh, which can be ever so many and diverse.
Thus, the believer must, like the Apostle Paul, be always diligent to ensure that his conscience is clear toward God and men – anchored in truth, focused on the Kingdom, and cast in a mold for love. A clear conscience, or as Paul elsewhere says, a “good” conscience, will strengthen both the heart and the mind; these, in turn reinforce the strongest features of a good conscience and allow it to function even more powerfully.
The heart, mind, and conscience are continually engaged in a kind of spiritual dialog, expressing and assessing affections and thoughts over any situation, opportunity, or concern, according to the convictions and values embedded in the conscience. This dialog among the components of the redeemed soul, when the conscience is maintained clear and good, issues in choices, decisions, and actions appropriate to the Kingdom of God.
We must understand the workings of the conscience and make sure that, in our own consciences, only those values characteristic of the Kingdom of God are allowed to give direction to our souls. Clearly, there is nothing more important for the Christian to attend to than the nurture of heart, mind, and conscience unto a soul reflective of the character of Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment