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The Bible teaches
that a Christian must hold their faith with a pure conscience.
What does a good, pure conscience have to do with saving faith?
Doesn't faith have to be "alone" to be saving? Doesn't
adding a "good conscience" to faith turn faith into a work?
Perhaps so according to modern false teaching, but not so
according to the Holy Scriptures.
Let's look at what
the Bible says about faith and conscience:
1Ti 1:5 Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good
conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having
put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 3:9 Holding the
mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
Hbr 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.
Before we look at
the verses, let's see how Webster's 1828 Unabridged Dictionary
defines conscience:
CONSCIENCE, n. [L., to know, to be privy to.]
1. Internal or
self-knowledge, or judgment of right and wrong; or the faculty,
power or principle within us, which decides on the lawfulness or
unlawfulness of our own actions and affections, and instantly
approves or condemns them. Conscience is called by some writers
the moral
sense, and considered as an original faculty of our nature. Others
question the propriety of considering conscience as a distinct
faculty or principle. The consider it rather as the general
principle of moral approbation or disapprobation, applied to ones
own conduct and affections; alleging that our notions of right and
wrong are not to be deduced from a single principle or faculty,
but from various powers of the understanding and will.
Being convicted by
their own conscience, they went out one by one. John 8.
The conscience
manifests itself in the feeling of obligation we experience, which
precedes, attends and follows our actions.
Wow! When I read the definition of conscience, I knew why Paul
spent so much time writing exhortations, instructions,
admonitions, and commands to the churches. Believers needed to
have their consciences trained to discern right from wrong in the
Christian life. They were learning their duty as believers from
Paul's writings and then proceeded to action based upon what they
were taught was right to do. Whether or not their actions were in
accordance with his teachings was the way the believers held their
faith in a good, pure conscience or whether their faith was held
in an evil conscience, and was finally shipwrecked. Because they
had a standard to go by to judge themselves, they were able to
hold the faith in a good conscience, because they knew what a good
conscience WAS by Paul's writings.
No wonder Paul told
the believers to: "Examine yourselves, whether ye
be in the faith; prove your own selves."-2 Corinthians 13:5
This examining and proving of themselves to see whether
they were in the faith was really a checking to see if they held
the "mystery of the faith in a good conscience"(1 Tim.
3:9), and "holding faith and a good conscience; which some
having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: (1 Tim.
1:9). Paul warned the believers to EXAMINE and PROVE themselves to
see whether they be in the faith because he did not want their
faith to become SHIPWRECKED!
I used to wonder about the "examine yourselves" verse. I
used to wonder why believers would have to do this. Either you
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for your soul's salvation or
not, I reasoned. What is this "examine yourselves"
teaching all about. But once I could see that
"believing" or having faith MUST be present with a good
conscience, it all tied together and made sense.
I used to wonder why
Paul wrote so many, many commands and teachings for believers to
follow. If faith, NOT works is the way we are justified, then
what's the reason for all these commands? Aren't they rather
superfluous? NO! Every word of God is pure and is there for a
reason: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."-2 Tim. 3:16
This verse was
written to Timothy but is not just for men of God: pastors. It is
for us all. Why do we need to be "thoroughly furnished unto
all good works" if we are saved by faith and NOT works of
righteousness? Because believers' hearts have been "sprinkled
from an evil conscience" and they must hold the "mystery
of the faith in a pure conscience" which can only be done by
knowing and obeying the scriptures that are profitable for
doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
What does a
"pure conscience" concerning faith consist of? It
consists of judging as right or wrong the lawfulness or
unlawfulness of our own actions and affections according to the
Holy Scriptures and instantly approving or condemning them. It is
by the Scriptures that we hold the faith in a good conscience or a
bad conscience.
It matters GREATLY
whether we hold the most holy faith in a GOOD conscience (obeying
the doctrines, reproofs, corrections, and instructions in
righteousness in the Holy Scriptures) or in a BAD conscience
(disobeying the doctrines, reproofs, corrections, and instructions
in righteousness) which leads to our faith being shipwrecked.
Sadly, many hold the faith in a bad conscience and commit
adultery, fornication, are covetous, fierce, traitors, heady,
highminded, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
Tragically, many believers have a form of godliness but deny the
POWER thereof. What power are they denying? The power to live
godly in Christ Jesus. This power is being denied in their lives
because they are under censored teaching that leaves out this
truth. Thank the dear Lord God this truth has not been censored
from the Holy Scriptures, the King James Bible, and we can know
EVERYTHING God says about salvation in His Holy Word.
Gary and Lisa Ruby
True Gospel Vs False Gospel
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