The writer to the Hebrews says
in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 18, pray for us. For we trust. We believe. That we have a good conscience. And coming out of that good conscience
in all things We're willing to live honestly. To conduct ourselves
in a good, honest, and honorable way. That's what we want. Now pray for us. For we trust
that we do have this good conscience. What I want us to consider tonight
is what is a good conscience. Do I know anything about a good
conscience? A good conscience, I know this,
is a conscience that is in all things willing to live honestly. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter
1. Paul said this about himself. Verse 12. For our rejoicing is this, the
testimony of our conscience. Our conscience is agreeing with
this, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly
wisdom, but by the grace of God, we've had our conversation in
this world. Now, Paul, or whoever wrote Hebrews,
I don't know who wrote it, or Apollos wrote it, but I don't
know. But the writer says, we trust we have a good conscience
in all things willing to live honestly. That doesn't mean you
feel like you attain your desires. In Romans chapter 7, verse 18,
Paul said, to will is present with me. Remember, the writer
said, we're willing in all things to live honestly. Paul said,
to will is present with me. But how to perform? that which is good. He didn't
say sometimes I mess up there. He didn't say sometimes I don't
do it. He said how to perform that which is good, I find not. Can you identify with that? Hat
to will is present. I want to be without sin. I want
to never do any displeasing thing to my Lord. I want to live in
a way that honors Him. That's my will. Now, as far as
the doing of it. That I find not. But the writer does say, in all
things we are willing to live honestly. You see, we've been
made willing, haven't we? Psalm 110.3 says, thy people
should be willing in the day of thy power. Now, if I'm not
willing to in all things, I don't care what it is, if I'm not willing
to in all things live honestly, I can't have this good conscience
he's speaking of. Now, what is a good conscience? Well, I guess what we've got
to first deal with is what is the conscience? What is the conscience? God created man in his own image. He created the physical part
of man from the dust of the earth, and then he breathed in him the
breath of life, and he became a living soul. And because God
is, there are moral absolutes, there are non-negotiables, there
is sin, there is righteousness. Because God is. There is right,
there is wrong. Now, if there is no God, or if
the evolutionary view of man is true, there are no moral absolutes,
but all there is is survival of the fittest. If evolution
is true, There's not a right and wrong. Might wins. Survival of the fittest. If you're
strong enough, you win. But in that view, there's really
no meaning of life, is there? No true meaning. But God is. We know that's not so. And man
was created a moral being in the image of God. Now, I said this this morning,
when Adam was created, He was not created holy, because if
he was holy, he would have never fallen. He was created innocent. Innocent, but not holy, because
holiness cannot sin. God can't sin. God is holy. He cannot sin. Adam was not created
holy because he's fallible. He's mutable. Holiness is immutable. It can't be changed. He was created
innocent. In the image of God, he was created
upright. Now, the conscience is the part
of man that discerns right and wrong. We're born with a conscience. We're born in the image of God.
We have a discernment of right and wrong. We're moral creatures
created in the image of God. Now, Webster defined a conscience
as the moral sense which determines right from wrong. Webster was
wrong there. The conscience doesn't determine
right from wrong. God does. But the conscience
does tell you whether or not you are in the right or you are
in the wrong. We all have this thing called
the conscience, and I believe we all know what it is to have
a guilty conscience, or an accusing conscience, or a seared even
conscience, a conscience that doesn't work quite as well. Now, we have a fallen conscience. And the conscience, like every
other faculty of man, was affected by the fall so that it cannot
aid in saving a man. Nobody has ever obeyed their
conscience perfectly, have they? It hasn't happened. That is why
everybody at some time or another has felt a guilty conscience. And it's also true that by sin,
repeated sin, the conscience can be silenced. And that's a
scary thing, isn't it? You can become so hardened in
the repetition of sin that your conscience doesn't work anymore.
It doesn't feel bad anymore. You can go ahead and do it because
it's been quieted and silenced. But we are born with a conscience
with the law of God written in our hearts. Turn to Romans chapter
2. Let me show you this. Verse 14. For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
they, in other words, they never had thou shalt not kill, or thou
shalt not steal, or thou shalt not bear false witness, and all
the, they didn't have those laws, but In their conscience, they
didn't. They knew it was wrong to kill.
They knew it was wrong to steal. They knew breaking. They're born with this. For when
the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things
contained in the law, these having not the law or the written law,
are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written
in their hearts. And here's what their conscience
does. It bears witness, their thoughts that meanwhile do one
of these two things. It'll excuse or it'll try to
make an excuse. It'll accuse and make you feel
guilty and feel bad or to try to come up with an excuse where
you can justify yourself and what you've done. That's what
everybody's conscience does. It either accuses or it excuses. And I know a whole lot about
this conscience that I'm speaking of. One that's either accusing
or trying to come up with an excuse where it's really not
my fault. It's somebody else's fault. Now,
what is the good conscience? The writer speaks of. Turn to
First Timothy, Chapter one, this is repeated throughout the scripture.
First Timothy, Chapter one. Verse five. Now the end, now
the goal, now the purpose of the commandment is charity out
of a pure heart and of a good conscience. That's the goal of
the commandment, that you and I have a good conscience and
a faith unthanked. Now what is this good conscience
that he's speaking of? A good conscience is not a conscience
that feels no guilt. Somebody says, well, I don't
feel guilty. Well, your conscience is no good
then. Because if your conscience was any good at all, you'd feel
guilty. You'd feel guilty about everything you did if your conscience
was any good. I'll assure you that. If you can look at something
and say, well, I did okay there. I didn't sin there. Your conscience
is no good. Now, is it true that the Scripture
teaches that we're sinful human beings and that if we do it,
if I do it, there's sin in it, there's self in it. I don't care
what I do. There's something wrong with it if I did it. Somehow
I was trying to make myself look better. I was serving myself
in some way. That's the way it is. So regarding
everything that we do, there's always an element of guiltiness
about it. I have never, ever, ever not
felt guilty about something. I always have a cloud of guilt
over my head. A guilty conscience. Somebody
says, why am I not like that? Well, I'm not so sure that that's
good. You ought to be. If you knew
what you were, you would be. So a good conscience is not necessarily
a conscience that doesn't feel guilt, because if you're a sinful
person, you're going to feel a measure of guilt all the time. So what is a good conscience,
if it's not a guilty conscience. You know, really, a conscience
that feels no guilt is a seared conscience. It's not working
right. It's seared. Well, what about
that person who agonizes over scruples, whether I ought to
eat, whether I ought to not eat meat, and just agonizing over
these scruples in the New Testament about whether I should eat meat,
sacrifice to an idol, whether or not this is okay, all that
agonizing over there. Paul calls that a weak conscience.
That's not a good conscience, that's a weak conscience. Well, what is a good conscience?
Quite simply, a good conscience is a conscience that has nothing
to feel guilty about. Now that's what a good conscience
is. It's a conscience that has absolutely nothing to feel guilty
about. And the only time your conscience
is going to be satisfied is when you see that you have nothing
to feel guilty about. That is a good conscience. Don't you want a conscience like
that? It's not accusing. It's not condemning. It's not
weak. It actually has nothing to feel guilty Would you turn
with me to 1 Peter 3. Verse 21. The like figure, 1 Peter 3.21, the like figure wherein to even
baptism. does also now save us. Now he's talking about the act
of baptism. Baptism by immersion. Going under
the water and coming back up. He says the like figure, notice
the word figure, the act of baptism doesn't save anybody, but what
it figures does, what it teaches us does. The like figure where
into even baptism does also now save us, not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, not going underwater and becoming
cleansed, but the answer of a good conscience toward God. by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. And here's the only way you and
I are ever going to have a good conscience. First, let's talk
about this act of baptism. Baptism, baptism by immersion. The Lord said, who so believeth
and is baptized, the same should be saved, he that believeth not
shall be damned. Now, the act of baptism doesn't
save you. But if someone refuses to be
baptized, I have no confidence in them at all. Baptism is the
believer's public confession of Christ. When I'm confessing
in baptism, I'm confessing that here is why God would accept
me. Because when Christ lived, I
lived. That's my life before God. When he died, I died with
him. That's my sin payment. When he
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead, and I confess
in Believer's Baptism, this is all my hope. And you will not
have a clear conscience until you confess Christ in Believer's
Baptism. It's disobedience not to. If
you believe the Gospel, all it is is disobedience, and you're
going to always be struggling with that. But baptism is not
what gives this good conscience. You can get baptized a million
times, and it's not going to give you a conscience that's
clear. Now, you ought to be baptized,
but here's what gives this clear conscience. The like figure wherein
to even now baptism does also now save us, not the putting
away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God by the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Now, here's the only thing that
satisfies my conscience. This is what gives me a good
conscience. This is what makes me, this takes all the pressure
off. Turn to Romans chapter 4. Romans
chapter 4. Verse 23. Now, it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but for us also, to whom
it shall be imputed if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead. And look at this verse, who was
delivered for our offenses. and was raised again for our
justification. Now, here's the only thing that
gives me a good conscience. Christ was delivered for our
offenses. All the things that make me guilty,
my sin was placed upon Christ. Now, did the sin that literally
became His make Him personally guilty? Was he guilty? Did God treat him as if he was
guilty? Or was he guilty? Now you answer that question.
If all God did was treat him as if he were guilty, where's
the justice there? That's not right if he wasn't
guilty. If God punished him when he wasn't guilty, that's not
right. Now why did Christ die? Because he's guilty. Because
my sin became His sin. And He was guilty of it. And
when God's wrath came upon Him, He was getting what He deserved. Won't we believe that? Just as truly, when He died, my sin was put
away. And look what the next phrase
says. He was delivered for our offenses and was raised again
for our justification. Now understand, this happened
2,000 years ago. Actually, it happened a whole
lot before then. It happened before the foundation of the
world, because Christ is called the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Now, here's what satisfies my conscience. When
Christ was raised from the dead, I was justified before God. As a matter of fact, in Christ,
I was justified before the foundation of the world. I was justified
eternally in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
And the reason God looks on me in favor is because I really
am justified, just as Christ really was guilty on Calvary's
tree, and that's why the Father killed Him, just as He was really
guilty. I'm really justified, and this justification took place
outside of my experience. As a matter of fact, I wasn't
even born yet when it took place. Now, I know people say, well,
does that mean you don't have to believe? No, it doesn't mean
you don't have to believe. You must believe the gospel. And
the evidence that you're justified is by believing the gospel. And
if you refuse to believe the gospel, no, you're not justified.
I wouldn't give anybody any hope of salvation that doesn't believe.
But it's not your faith that justifies you. It's the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was delivered for your offenses
and raised again for your justification. By his death, he paid my penalty. Now, if my sin was placed upon
him, it ain't on me anymore. And you know what? That satisfies
my conscience. That's the only thing that gives
me a good conscience, a clear conscience, is knowing that before
God, I really am just, righteous, holy, pure. That's the answer
of a good conscience toward God. Justification satisfies my conscience
and nothing else really does. So when I talk about having a
good conscience, that conscience I have, I mean, as far as my
experience goes, I always feel guilty about something. I mean,
just always, always. I don't know how much that has
to do with my raising. I don't know how much it has
to do with... I don't know what it has to do with, but that's
just the way I feel all the time. That being said, in Christ, I know that all God requires
of me, I possess right now. And that God looks at me and
He's well pleased. He says He's perfect. He's never
disobeyed. He's always done what's right.
Perfect in Christ Jesus. Now that satisfies my conscience. My sin really became Christ's. And He was guilty of it. And
His Father punished Him. And His righteousness really
is mine. So I stand before God's holy
law without guilt. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification. I don't have anything to feel
guilty about. I really don't. Even when I say
that, I think, really? You really believe that? Yes,
I do. Yes, I do. Perfect in Christ
Jesus. Now, that's the answer of a good
conscience toward God. I love the way Peter put it.
Let's read that again. First Peter chapter three, verse 21. Some people use this passage
of scripture to teach that you can't be saved apart from baptism.
Well, you can't be saved apart from what baptism represents.
You can't. First Peter three, 21. The like
figure wherein to even baptism doth also now save us, not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, not the act of going
under water and coming back up, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There's where
we get that good conscience. Now, this good conscience that
the scripture speaks of is also called a pure conscience. Turn to Hebrews chapter 9. Paul spoke of holding the mystery
of the faith in a pure conscience. And what is this pure conscience? Hebrews chapter 9, verse 9. Now, he's talking about the things
that took place in the old covenant, the sacrifices and so on, the
tabernacle. And he says, which was a figure
for the time then present in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices. that could not make him that
did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. You could offer a million rams
and a million lambs and you could give all kinds of free will gift
offerings and you could do all those things, but it never satisfied
your conscience. It didn't make you perfect. It
didn't make it complete concerning your conscience, because the
blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. No religious
ritual, no religious action you do can never take away sin. And you're aware of that. You
know that. So these people, when they offered
up all these animal sacrifices, they never had a clear conscience
about it. They never thought, well, this
takes care of my sin. They, those who believed knew what it represented
did, but just that act did not give them a clear conscience
regarding sin. Verse 10, which stood only in
meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances
imposed upon them until the time of reformation. But Christ being
come and high priest of good things to come. by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean
sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God. Now, you purge your conscience
from dead works. Would to God that somebody do
that right now. You purge your conscience from
dead works. Now, Christ offered himself without
spot to God. He went into the very presence
of God and gave himself and put away sin, having obtained eternal
redemption. Now, you purge your conscience
from dead works. Now, what are dead works? That's
a very important question. What are dead works? They're
good works. And a believer is to be rich
in good works. The more the may God give us
grace to be rich and good works. But what are dead works? Dead
works are any works. Any works. That a man believes
contributes to his salvation in any way, under any circumstance,
in any degree. For instance, let's say I believe
in free will. And I believe that the reason
God saves me is because I decided to accept Jesus Christ as my
personal Savior. And of my free will, I accepted
him, and therefore, I must be saved. That's a dead work in
the beginning of salvation. Somebody else says, well, through
my works of obedience, I've become more and more holy and more and
more pleasing to God by the things that I do. I'm giving myself
to this, and I'm becoming I'm becoming more saved, I'm becoming
more sanctified, I'm becoming more holy. That's a dead work
is all it is. If you think you become more
holy by the things you do, that's dead works. It may be a work
at the end where you think, well, by my works, I earned a high
reward in heaven because of the good I've done here on earth.
That's a dead work if you think you're adding your work to the
work of Christ. Now, purge your conscience from dead works. The
only way you're going to have this good conscience is if your
conscience is completely purged from dead works and you trust
Christ alone. That when He entered into the
holy place, I love thinking about that, Him ascending back into
heaven with His own blood representing His people. And you purge your
conscience of anything contrary to Him being everything in salvation. A good conscience, a pure conscience,
is not a guilty conscience, although that can be a good thing. It's
not a tender conscience, although that can be a good thing. It's
not a conscience that feels no guilt. It's a conscience that
has absolutely, positively nothing to feel guilty about and you're
called upon and I'm called upon continually to purge my conscience
from dead works thinking something that I do has anything to do
with my acceptance before God and trust Christ alone. Now let
me tell you how this conscience responds. Turn to Acts chapter
24. When an unbeliever, here's grace, what I'm preaching
right now. What I'm preaching right now
is grace. My salvation is holy outside
of me. It's what Christ accomplished
for me. That's what I'm resting in. That's
who I'm resting in. Now when an unbeliever hears
this, an unbeliever will respond, well, my conduct doesn't matter
then. My actions don't matter then.
It doesn't matter how I live. I mean that, you know, if it
doesn't have anything to do with my works, good, good, I can,
I'll live any way I want. That's the way an unbeliever
will respond to the gospel. You know, I don't know how many
times I've had people say to me, if I believe that, I'd live
any way I want to. I know you would. I know you
would. I understand that. I understand
you don't have a new nature. You don't have a holy nature.
A believer is given a new nature. Now look here in Acts chapter
24. He says in verse 14, But this I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they call heresy, salvation altogether
in Christ, altogether by grace, the way which they call heresy,
so worship I, the God of my fathers, believing all things which are
written in the law and the prophets, and have hope toward God. which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. And herein do
I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense
toward God and toward men." Now that's a believer's response.
When I hear that all that God requires of
me, I've already been given in Christ. And God can ask no more. He cannot be any more pleased
with me than He is. I'm perfectly accepted in Christ. And I can't change that standing. I'm complete in Him. I can't
get any more saved, any more loved, any more accepted, any
more justified, any more sanctified than I am. It can't get any better. You know what I say? Love so
amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. And I give myself to have a conscience
void of offense toward God and toward man. You see, When you're
completely set free, you become a debtor. Not until you're completely set
free. But when you're completely set free, you become a debtor
to God and a debtor to men. Now, the writer says in Hebrews
chapter 13, pray for us. But we trust we have this good
conscience. And that's what justification is, isn't it? A good conscience.
And here is the end of this good conscience in all things, not
most things, not 99% of the things, but in all things willing to
live honestly. And if I'm not in all things
willing to live honestly, I don't know anything about this good
conscience. May God enable us to say the same thing. Pray for us. Pray for me. I pray
for you. And we trust that we have a good
conscience in all things, all things, willing to live honestly. Let's pray together.