A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

 

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

I John 3:21-24 Dear friends, if our conscience is clear, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive whatever we request because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us. NLT

God gave us a conscience. It is that part of us that urges us to do what is right and when we fail to do it feel guilty about it. It is the working of the Spirit in us to help us become godly people. When we are doing right before God, we can come before Him with bold confidence. There is nothing to fear, even though we know God is holy and no sin can be near Him. It is Jesus alone who can keep our conscience clear.

God promises us that when we come before Him with a clear conscience, we will receive whatever we ask of Him. He does that because we obey Him and desire only that which pleases Him. He knows that we won't ask for anything outside of His will for us. And, God's will for us includes only that which is good for us.

God commands us to first believe from the heart in Jesus, His Son. Jesus is God's absolute provision for our salvation and means into His presence. There is no other way we can approach God. None.

Jesus forgives our sins and instills within us God's love. We cannot love God or one another apart from Christ in us. When we live in Christ we will live with each other in a loving way. We will have fellowship with Christ and each other.

The way we will know whether or not these things are going on in us is by the presence and working of the Spirit in us. It is the Spirit of Christ who confirms our standing with God and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

When the Holy Spirit is working in us, we are going to change from our old sinful selves into godliness. We are going to start exuding the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. We are going to have power to resist sin and be witnesses for Christ. We are going to understand better the Scriptures as we read them. We are going to have greater assurance that we are right with God.

If there is any doubt at all in your mind today about your standing with God, I urge you to flee to Jesus now and get things right with Him. Linger at His feet until you know for sure all is well with your soul. Only Jesus can give you peace and bold confidence to approach God.