A Good Conscience

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

- 1 Timothy 1:5

This morning's Sunday School had us discussing 'conscience' - that inner knowledge, that little voice that God gave us all to know right from wrong.

We can sear our conscience and then the lines between right and wrong become very blurry. Or we can cultivate our conscience by staying saturated with the Word and confessing our sins regularly. Thinking on good things helps us in purity of heart and cultivating a good conscience.

Along with a steady diet of Bible study and the habit of confession, reading good Christian books helps us in this endeavor. Consider the following paragraphs that I quote from a book called 'A Sure Guide to Heaven', written by Puritan author Joseph Alleine. Reading things like this help us in our self-examination, making us think through issues like sin, salvation, purity, cleanliness and conscience.

When a man is converted, he is forever at enmity with sin; yes with all sin, but most of all his own sins. Sin is now the object of his indignation. His sin swells his sorrows. It is sin that pierces him and wounds him; he feels it like a thorn in his side, like a prick in his eyes. He groans and struggles under it… he cries out ‘O wretched man!’ He is not impatient of any burden so much as of his sin. If God should give him his choice, he would choose any affliction so he might be rid of sin; he feels it like the cutting gravel in his shoes, pricking and paining him as he goes.

Before conversion he had light thoughts of sin. He cherished it in his bosom. But when God opens his eyes by conversion, he throws it away with abhorrence. When a man is savingly changed, he is deeply convinced not only of the dangers but the defilement of sin; and O, how earnest is he with God to be purified! He loathes himself for his sins. He runs to Christ and casts himself into the fountain set open for him and for uncleanness. If he fall, what a stir is there to get all clean again! He has no rest until he flees to the Word, and washes and rubs and rinses in the infinite fountain.

The sound convert is heartily engaged against sin. He struggles with it, he wars against it; he is too often foiled, but he will never yield the cause, nor lay down his weapons, while he has breath in his body. He will rather throw his gain down the gutter, see his credit fail, or the flower of his pleasure wither in his hand, than he will allow himself in any known way of sin. He will grant no indulgence, he will give no toleration.

Reader, has conscience been at work while you have been looking over these lines? Have you pondered these things in your heart? Have you searched the book within? Make your conscience speak, whether or not it is thus with you.