Clear Conscience

 I love this text in Acts 23:1. The apostle Paul is making his defense before the Jewish religious leaders: “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”

I love the text because of the promise God makes to me and to all who want a blameless conscience.

Do you have a BLAMELESS conscience before God? If you are even remotely unsure, you CAN be sure. Here’s how in three steps:

1) Admit you have sinned against Him. Of course, you first have to know what He calls sin –which, nowadays, is usually the polar opposite of what our culture calls sin. Read what Jesus said to the clergy of His day: “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”(Luke 16:15)

So, admit you have sinned against Him. Multiple times. Probably multiple times today, in thought, in word, and in action.

2) More than simply admit to Him your sins, repent of those sins. That means to tell Him you are sorry AND that it is your intention to not do it again.

3) Trust God to be serious about His total forgiveness of your confessed sins because of your faith in Christ. And please know this, also: God's forgiveness goes far, far deeper than what we are able to do when we forgive someone who’s offended us. God's forgiveness includes the complete ERASURE of our confessed sins from His memory.

That’s what the word, ‘Justification’ means. You’ll find that word throughout the New Testament as it relates to forgiven sins. Justification means God treats those sins ‘just as if you never did them.”

Zachariah prophesied over his newly born son (John the Baptizer): “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.” (Luke 1:76-78a)

“Because of the tender mercy of our God.”

Mercy toward YOU. Forgiveness offered to YOU. The complete, total, all-inclusive removal of every trace of your sins – removed even His memory.

Forever.

Christian -- do you have a clear conscience before God? You can if you take those three simple steps every time you sin.

And if you are not-yet a Christian, you ALSO can have a clear conscience before God – if you take those same three steps every time you sin.

A clear conscience. What a great way to enter the Advent season this December. What a great way to live through the rest of your life.