Keeping Our Conscience Clean and Strong

Ephesians 5: 3But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. NKJV

3Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. 4Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. NLT

As disciples of Jesus, following His example of life, obedience and purity, what should keep us in His Truth? Certainly our conscience is a determining factor to our walk.  The conscience has been a subject of much debate through the ages.  Let’s just say it is a major part of our relationship with God and His indwelling Holy Spirit.  The conscience is like an alarm system that should be our first warning of trouble.  During my wayward years I learned that I could resist that inner voice warning me to be careful or even run!  I could battle my conscience until it’s voice grew quieter and quieter.  Through a decision I could simply overpower my conscience.  Paul writes to Timothy and says in I Tim. 1: 19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.  What a powerful and frightening possibility!  Well, what is proper for a disciple of Jesus?  Whatever would be proper for Jesus. As only one example, I have had many fellow believers recommending movies to me that they said, “You really need to see."  I have been stunned!  I buy my ticket, settle in with my coke and I am sickened soon by the language and sinful practices I see being acted out on the screens.  The Wolf of Wall Street for example uses the F Bomb over 400 times!  How is that possible?  American Sniper over 100 times.  Why do I sit there and am grieved by sex, violence and language when my Brothers and Sisters in Christ say they don’t even notice it?  Am I weaker than they?  Many years ago Teresa and I decided we would not watch movies rated worse that PG-13.  We avoid R rated movies unless they come on TV in a cleaned up version (somewhat).  I think some have made the decision that they are just going to open their lives to things that the Scripture says, “let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints”.  They allow Roger Ebert to tell them what to watch rather than Jesus. 

In all areas of life, not just movies, guard you conscience.  Listen carefully to it.  Don’t judge others but make sure you are keeping your personal guidance system sensitive and alert!

What Would God Do?
Part 2

In our last blog we discussed the challenge and the debate of spending time with non-Christian people.  I can remember as a young disciple my only human contact was pretty much Christian.  At that time it probably was for the best.  I had just left the world and the kingdom of the world for a new Kingdom and didn't need to be enticed.  I needed, like bootcamp, to be trained and channeled in the right direction.  However, even the more mature were still taking that posture and preaching it as the right way to live.  We were told to not even enter a restaurant if they served alcohol and we didn't. Our only contact with the outside world was mostly if they came to church. On the other hand I have known some in the ministry who have gone to bars, drank until drunk and danced provocatively.  They said it was for evangelistic purposes.  In the end, they were the ones we seemed converted.  So what is the balance here?  What Would God Do?  It seems that the key is in the heart motivation. If a person is truly trying to love all and fellowship all while maintaining a heart of imitation the Lord, they should be fine.  However, if within the heart of the Christian there is this hidden appetite for "worldly things like lust, gold, greed and a need to be thought cool", that can be a trap.   Heart motivation is always the central thing with the Lord.  The problem is that most of the time the participant is the only one who knows his own heart.

A friend of mine is a missionary and works in different parts of the world.  He went to this one Nation where drinking "shots" of local whiskey was a normal part of their culture.  At first he was not embraced by the community because he was known as a Christian missionary and they were a Moslem country.  After a while and after he was observed closely he was invited to social functions like weddings.  There he was offered "shots" and he took them.  He kept himself in check and did this within that that would be considered very limited participation.  He graciously declined to smoke with them.  After a while in a group at a social event one of the men asked my friend, "why don't you get drunk with us?  We see you will take a shot but you don't get drunk and you don't smoke.  Why?"
This is an "AHA!" moment.  He was not preaching he was answering a question they had asked.  He had been living a life that he felt Jesus would live among them.  Now they have seen him not as aloof and judgmental of them but one who is among them but living a disciplined life.  A different but not alienated life.  He was "in the world but not of the world."  Here was his answer.  He said, as Christian we believe our body is the temple of God.  God lives in us and not in temples or buildings.  Therefore I am taught to honor my body as the temple of God.  It made sense to them an after that the village opened their hearts to the Gospel and Jesus.

Certainly this subject makes a lot of people nervous.  Even as I try to walk this walk that is much different than my original walk, I try to be very careful.  In every conversation I have to be careful what I say and even when I laugh.  You see, I'm not primarily living like me, I'm living like and representing Jesus.  If you are a new believer then I would suggest that before you venture too far out in these waters that you talk with your pastor or a mature leader to make sure you are not putting yourself in harms way too soon.  What I am talking about is really a realm of warfare. We must be careful, but to win souls we must be wise while willing to get involved in the lives of men.

What Would God Do?

Eph. 5:1(AMP) THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].

2 And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance. [Ezek. 20:41.]

3 But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity [of lustful, rich, wasteful living] or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among saints (God's consecrated people).

4 Let there be no filthiness (obscenity, indecency) nor foolish and sinful (silly and corrupt) talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness [to God].

5For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]–for he [in effect] is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

After knowing the Lord for half a century and spending most of my life pursuing Him and His Word, I must confess that I still struggle with the most elementary of thoughts:  “How should I behave as a Christian?”

Oh, before everyone starts emailing me with helpful ideas please allow me to explain.  How far do I venture toward the world in an effort to associate with and hopefully win unbelievers?  The Christian bracelet asks the question, “what would Jesus do?”  That is really a great question to ask yourself on a daily and moment by moment basis.  Certainly we know that Jesus went into homes and spent time with sinners such as thieves and prostitutes.  He ate their food and drank their wine.  For that reason the Pharisees called him a glutton and “wine bibber”. A bibber is a regular drinker or one who drinks too much wine.  Of course you have to consider the source and understand that it wasn’t that Jesus was doing this in excess but the Pharisees hated that he was even with these kinds of people.  That brings us to believe that it is proper to socialize with non-Christian people.  Not only so but it is truly necessary that we are comfortable(to a point) in these environments.  To refuse to be involved in the lives of the non-Christian is to withdraw salt and light from their lives.  Yet, how far do we go?  Back to our bracelet.  What would Jesus do?  If Jesus had a bracelet it would say, “What would the Father do?”  That is the real key here.  The opening words of this passage tell us to “be imitators of God.”  Behave like God would in the same circumstances.  That would mean the line would be drawn at drunkenness, filthy talk, crude jokes and impure thinking.  It also means we can’t become entangled in the worlds fascination with property, riches, “wasteful living” or greed.  In our next blog we will look at a real life example of someone being won to the Lord in this manner.

John 15 

3. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

Words are such powerful tools.  When we speak we can speak life or death because we are not yet perfect.  When Jesus speaks He speaks purity and power personified!  He tells us here that His word cleanses us.  Later in John 17:17 Jesus prays, “sanctify them through your Truth, your word is Truth.”  Sanctification is an ongoing process of pruning.  Sanctification is not so much an effort on our part (that would be dead religion). It is a remaining close to Jesus and his truth so that we are continually changed and conformed into His image.  That ongoing process is sanctification.  If our response to his pruning is current and up to date then we are clean and even perfect in his eyes.  Yet, while we need to see ourselves perfect because of what Jesus did and not our works, we must remain wholly dependent upon ongoing sanctification.  This is a delicate place.  Boldly and confidently walking in His righteousness while remaining humbly aware of ongoing adjustment by the Holy Spirit.  There is a snare that entangles some who come to believe they have arrived and have no more need of adjustment.  That may be the most dangerous place of all.  But what joy there is in total confidence in His keeping power and righteous and a healthy respect for our constant need and dependency upon his moment-by-moment alignment. 

John 1

2. … every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Does the pain of pruning get less painful through time and experience?  Not to my knowledge.  However, the willingness to endure pruning can come to a greater appreciation for, and even joy in the pruning.  There are medical treatments that make you seem worse before you are better.  Patients must weigh the options and choose for themselves.  Once they experience the discomfort of the treatment followed by a better quality of life because of the treatment, the treatment is appreciated.  Hardly a day goes by that I don’t experience the pruning hand of the Lord in some manner.  Maybe I just need more pruning than others!  Any unkind word or silent judgment in my heart brings the loving pruning shears to my thought life and conscience.  I am always disappointed that I need the pruning.  Disappointed in me and not the vinedresser.  I have usually allowed a branch to grow in the wrong direction.  Maybe I allowed my thought life to ramble into restricted areas declared by the Word as off limits.  “Snip, snip!”  Thank you Lord!  Maybe I drifted into the rancid waters of gossip.  It can become a lifestyle that leads to terrible things.  Gossip can even produce disease in the Body of Christ.  Conviction will always come when we yield to soulish and sinful behavior!  Always!  To choose to go ahead and indulge anyway is a dangerous practice.  It weakens the conscience and pushes away the Holy Spirit.  That resistance to pruning will also limit our being used as an instrument of the Holy Spirit in the days ahead.  In those cases, if we are used, we are diminished in our capacity and level of anointing. 

Come Holy Spirit and have your way in every area of my life!