Survival Gear 4

Survival Gear

Part 4

“A Clear Conscience”

1 Timothy 1:18-19 “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a clear conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck” (NKJV).

I want to finish our Survival Gear series with a message on the importance of a clear conscience.

DEFINE: A clear conscience is the state of being guilt free through the forgiveness made available by the blood of Jesus.

Many times we fail to understand the direct link between being right with God and winning spiritual battles.

We’re going to see today that the Bible directly links having a clear conscience with boldness before God, and victory in spiritual warfare.

So first, let’s begin by seeing how:

I. A clear conscience is vital to spiritual victory

Paul advised Keeping your conscience clear so that you can “wage the good warfare.”

And this is the way Paul lived out his own life: “I also do my best and strive always to have a clear conscience before God and before men” (Acts 24:16 Amp).

The reason a clear conscience was so important to Paul, and is to our own successful spiritual warfare, is because...

When your fellowship with God has been broken through sin, you experience two things—alienation and condemnation.

When a Christian sins he doesn’t lose his salvation, he loses his fellowship.

The Bible reveals that the first thing Adam’s sin caused in the Garden of Eden was alienation from God—broken fellowship.

It says Adam and Eve “Heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen. 3:8a NKJV).

Normally this would have brought excitement and joy to the first couple...God was coming to fellowship with them, to spend time with them!

But that wasn’t the effect His visit had at all!

It says, “Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8b NKJV).

Never before had they tried to hide from God...but this was the effect of sin.

The vital fellowship between them and their Maker was broken.

SIN RUINS EVERYTHING!

___________

And they also experienced condemnation, which radically altered their perception of God.

Adam said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid...” (3:10 NKJV)

Whereas once Adam had known only love and adoration for God, now his sense of condemnation broke all that.

Things haven’t changed.

We all sin often enough...James told the truth when he said, “For we all stumble in many things” (James 3:2 NKJV).

So unless we repent and seek His forgiveness, we will experience alienation FROM Him and fear OF Him.

___________

ILLUS: Now, let’s look at it this way.

If you’re in a real, physical war as a soldier, the most important connection you have is with your commanding officer.

It is crucial to keep the communication lines open, to stay in contact with the voice of the one who is guiding and instructing you.

You have to be confident that when you call, he will answer.

If you lose communication with him, you are alone and at the mercy of the enemy.

You HAVE TO KNOW that he is with you, and that he has your back!

___________

It’s the same with spiritual warfare—we must keep the communication lines open at all times, which guilt through sin hinders.

Listen to the Apostle John, “Dear friends, if we don't feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence; and we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him” (1 John 3:21-22 NLT).

If we DON’T feel guilty, we have BOLD CONFIDENCE in His presence.

If we FLIP that verse it would say, “If we feel guilty, we can’t come to God with bold confidence.”

Guilt-free and boldness in God’s presence go hand in hand!

___________

And so, in light of the importance of keeping things clear with heaven, the Bible teaches us to SECONDLY:

II. Keep short accounts with God

ILLUS: Now....We all know not to leave milk out or it will spoil, or bread on the shelf or it will grow stale...

We call the time that it takes for something GOOD to go BAD its “shelf life.”

The Bible teaches that Unconfessed sin should have a very brief shelf-life when we mess up!

Since a clear conscience is needed for spiritual victory, then the sooner we clear things with God the better!

Because here’s the deal: unconfessed sin can dull your conscience and harden our heart.

—Without confessing sin quickly, what bothers you today will hardly phase you tomorrow!

____________

Jesus talked about this very thing. He said to the people of His day:

”For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed...” (Matt 13:15)

Jesus saw a direct connection between unconfessed sin and a spiritual deafening to God’s voice.

___________

Jeremiah the Prophet noted that the entire nation of Israel had grown deaf to God’s voice:

“Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge...” (10:14).

Isaiah noted the same thing:

“For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing...” (6:9,10)

_____________

We’ve all noticed when we travel that, the further we get from the radio tower of our favorite station, the weaker the signal gets. 

And when we return home, the signal becomes stronger and we can hear it clearly again. 

In the same way, we daily drift further away from the signal of God’s voice when we don’t keep our conscience clear by getting right with Him sooner than later. 

The closer we get back to “home” (fellowship with God), the better we hear His voice!

I’ve noticed that when I repent, I hear His voice again.

We’re talking about Survival Gear—the tools God has given us to survive and even thrive in a fallen world.

______________

We’ve seen so far that 1.) a clear conscience is vital to spiritual victory, 2.) to keep short accounts with God, and finally,

The THIRD key to keeping a clear conscience is to:

III. Have confidence in a forgiving God!

Would you believe me if I told you that God wants to forgive you more than you want Him to?

He constantly calls us to experience His forgiveness throughout Scripture!

The Bible says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

I’ve noticed through the years that some people BREAK AWAY from God when they mess up, while others BREAK TOWARD Him.

The Bible encourages us to break TOWARD Him, in confidence that He wants to forgive us, even more than we want Him to!

When we sin, the devil invades our thoughts and whispers, “God is done with you. He doesn’t love you anymore.”

But God says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)

Listen to the heart of our loving Heavenly Father there!

Daniel 9:9 “But the Lord our God is merciful and pardons even those who have rebelled against him” (LB).

Micah boasted about our forgiving God: “Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of...his people? You cannot stay angry with your people, for you love to be merciful. 19...You will tread our sins beneath your feet; you will throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (7:18-19 LB)

John informs us we have an attorney in heaven when we sin:

“...if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely” (LB).

Oh church, God is IN us, WITH us, and FOR us...He is quick to forgive when we take it to Him!

___________

SUMMARY: A clear conscience is vital to spiritual survival!

LET’S PRAY