1 Timothy 1:18-19 - Now,
Timothy, my son, here is my command to you: Fight well in the Lord’s battles,
just as the Lord told us through his prophets that you would. Cling
tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing
what you know is right. For some people have disobeyed their consciences and
have deliberately done what they knew was wrong. It isn’t surprising that soon
they lost their faith in Christ after defying God like that.
Paul wrote this letter to his great student Timothy…but it
is a great letter for all students of Christ to read and learn from. Timothy was raised in God’s word from birth…and
had a strong faith and conscious from the teachings of his mother and grandmother.
Paul saw the potential Timothy had to be a great preacher…to continue the great
work God had called Paul to do when it was his time to leave the earth.
We are all given this curious thing called a conscious when
we come to know Christ. It isn’t a
visible floatation on our shoulders as some commercials and television shows
depict...it is as Paul calls it…an inner tugging of our hearts…when we begin to
involve ourselves in something not of the scriptures. In essence….it is the
embodiment of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
If it is contrary to God’s will…the Holy Spirit brings that conscious to
the forefront of our minds to warn us we are about to go into dangerous
activities.
My conscious is very active in my life. He warns me of possible dangers in things
like … spending too much money on things….watching too much TV…. spending too
many hours alone with no fellowship. The
Holy Spirit reminds me to pick up my Bible each night and read so I can learn
of some new sin that needs to be refined out of my life. The Holy Spirit wakes me in the night and prompts
me to pray for a need or person on my mind.
The complete list of things I have felt prompted to do would take days
to put down on paper.
I will testify that the times I have ignored any of these
promptings…or completely rebelled in the spirit of Jonah…things have not gone
well for me….or the people I hurt deeply because of my sin. I could write a book on just those decisions. It
has taken a confession of sorts to the other people my decision has hurt to
wash that feeling of guilt out of my heart.
I have thanked God multiple times for the opportunity to set my mistakes
aright…and give Him the glory for the good that has come of my confessions in
the end.
My Life Application Bible made one other point that I think
is very good. Constantly ignoring or
rebelling against that conscious without letting it convict you of righting
that wrong decision will eventually harden you heart. I will make a strong statement here … not worrying
about anyone I might offend…. The hardened heart of one who ignores their conscious
is the root of all convictions that accept homosexuality…..abortion… adultery …
indebtedness … or any other action that is explicitly listed in the Bible as
sin. I admit that it is hard to separate the sin from the sinner …. but continuing
to show these sinners love and grace is the only way to help God cleanse the
false teaching from their hardened heart.
Father…thank you for the reminder that you gave us the Holy
Spirit to act as our conscious. Forgive
me for the times that I have ignored it…or completely rebelled against it. Bless
the people that I have hurt with my bad decisions…and help me to right the
wrong I did to them and to myself by not following the promptings of the right
heart you put inside me when I was saved.
Give me added strength and faith to listen and do all that the Spirit
prompts me in the days that I have left on the earth. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment