conscience – The Words Of David C. Frampton

Following a Bad Example

Genesis 26:7-11

The Lord provides his followers or learners with much instruction in his word. All of us need the teaching of God’s word in our daily walk with the Lord. The Spirit of God uses the teaching of the word to develop Christ-likeness in us. At times he uses the commands and exhortations of the word. At others he uses wisdom teaching (like in the Proverbs). He also uses the “big picture story” to provide clarity to our thinking and to help us understand life. The Holy Spirit directs us with good and bad examples that provide patterns that we should follow or avoid.

Isaac did not have the Scriptures, and so he lacked these forms of instruction. He had the traditions of what God had revealed to Adam, Enoch, Noah, and his own father Abraham. He also had the clear instruction that we considered in our previous article. However, that is the sum of what he had from God to direct his way of life. (The conscience is not a guide. It merely accuses or excuses according to what a person thinks is right or wrong. Compare Romans 2:15.)

We need to remember these things as we consider the reading for today. What did Isaac know? He knew God’s promise that the Lord would be with him and would bless the nations of the world through his offspring. This was a tremendous promise to Isaac. God intended that Isaac build his world and life view in conformity with this word from God. He had every reason to be very confident in every situation of his life. He could expect God to act for his good (cf. Romans 8:28). Yet Isaac was human and sinful like all of us. He did not trust God to protect Rebekah, his children, and himself, in what appeared to be a dangerous situation.

Isaac became afraid when the men of the area, ruled by the Philistines, asked about Rebekah. He knew that she was beautiful; in fact, she was very beautiful (24:16). Let us pause the story for a moment. God had given marriage between one man and one woman as a gift to all people. This was long before the teachings of the Bible about sexual morality and marriage. People across the world have honored marriage throughout human history, and have respected in some manner the relationship that a husband and wife have to each other; namely, that it is wrong to violate the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. Certainly, people have committed adultery through ages, and that is always sinful. Although people commit adultery, they know it is wrong, even if they might be unable to give a biblical explanation for its sinfulness. For this reason, Isaac’s thoughts went in another direction: “If they know that this beautiful woman Rebekah is married to me, they will kill me so that they can take her.” Violence as well as sexual immorality is part of mankind’s sinful story. Now, let’s resume the account.

Isaac came up with a plan, which was the same plan that his father Abraham had twice used when he and Sarah went to Egypt and when they returned to Canaan (cf. Genesis 12:1-20; 20:1-20). It was a wrong plan. Regardless of the fact that the Lord had twice rescued Abraham and Sarah from evil consequences, Isaac had no right to follow his father’s poor example. We all need to act godly and boldly to break “generational sin patterns”. Isaac told people that Rebekah was his sister, instead of his wife. This was a sin against God, his wife, and the Philistines. He lied before God and to the Philistines, he disrespected his wife and failed to protect her chastity, and acted in fear rather than in faith.

At first, Isaac’s plan seemed to “work”. Sinful plans can seem to work. Wicked people can prosper in their ungodly ways. But God’s word warns us that they do not “work” forever (Psalm 73:15-20). Isaac thought he could pull of his deception while having secret getaways with his wife. But one night the Philistine king discovered Isaac and Rebekah having a rather amorous rendezvous. He came to the quick and correct conclusion that they were married.

The Philistine ruler confronted Isaac with the deception and demanded an explanation. Isaac did the right thing and told him. To his surprise, Abimelech protected Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac discovered he had nothing to fear, and that his deception of the Philistines was needless.

Let us learn from Isaac’s mistake of following bad examples, including those we have “inherited” from our parents. Our Lord expects us to follow him, and not be blind followers of parents, or friends for that matter. The word of God is the standard for the Christian’s behavior and not what others appear to get away with doing. If others have set you an evil example of anger or lying or gossip, by God’s grace in Christ, you can walk in new ways of righteousness. May the Lord help all of us to avoid bad examples!

Grace and peace, David

Draw Near in Faith

Hebrews 10:22

God invites us to draw near in full assurance of faith. We see here the total necessity of approaching God by faith. God is only pleased when we come in faith in what he has done for us in Christ. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6 ESV). The Lord wants us to rely totally on him. Faith “holds on to truth and reasons from what it knows to be fact” (Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, p. 144). So then, as the old hymn “Jesus Paid It All” expressed God’s invitation to us, “Child of weakness, watch and pray; find in me your all in all.” Faith relies on God as our all in all.

God has been pleased to bless us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3ff), but he only allows us to enjoy these blessings as we live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20). One of the greatest blessings is that we have a place in the Father’s family through the grace of adoption (adult sonship). We are sons through faith in Christ, and so if we are to enjoy our position as sons, we must do so by that same faith. I call this the Colossians 2:6 principle: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him (NIV). God allows no reason for self-confidence, even for the believer. Without Christ we can do nothing! Remember John 15:5. But as we believe in Christ, an inexpressible and glorious joy is ours! Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory… (1 Peter 1:8 ESV).

We see the degree of confidence in Christ that we ought to show; namely, full assurance of faith. This kind of assurance flows out from a believing knowledge of Jesus, our great high priest. “Though Jesus Christ is so highly exalted in glory, yet he is not forgetful of us on earth. Some, when raised to places of honor, forget their friends; as the chief butler, when restored to his place at court, forgot poor Joseph in prison; but it is not so with Christ; though exalted to such glory in heaven, he is not unmindful of his saints on earth” (Watson, A Body of Divinity, p. 207). Jesus deeply cares for you, regardless of your struggles with guilt feelings. Faith confidently lays hold of the greatness of Jesus, the great high priest, and his one-time, finished sacrifice for sin. The mark of true spirituality is not doubt, but the freedom and joy of full assurance.

Is this full assurance yours? You must first believe in Christ and then live by faith on him. As you follow him, the Holy Spirit will bring about bold assurance. The walk of faith experiences the unchangeable character and grace of the Lord Jesus and develops fresh dependence on him while the Spirit testifies to his greatness. Well did Isaac Watts write the following words: “Jesus, my great High Priest, offered His blood and died; my guilty conscience seeks no sacrifice beside. His powerful blood did once atone and now it pleads before the throne.” Amen! Praise the Lord!

Hearing this is one matter; doing this is another. We must actually draw near to God with the confidence that our consciences are cleansed through the finished work of Christ. Right now, boldly approach God the Father through his dearly loved Son. Enjoy the welcome he offers to you!

Grace and peace, David

Sorting Out Guilt and Guilt Feelings

Hebrews 10:22

The Holy God has provided a way that people can approach him and have their guilt and guilt feelings cured. First, we must understand the cure for guilt. God offers the cleansing of the conscience. Let’s briefly review the problem that had to be dealt with.

There is a three-part true guilt because of sin: just condemnation because of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:18), righteous judgment due to personal disobedience (Ephesians 5:6), and a holy verdict of wrath because of not believing in Christ (John 3:18). Linked to this true guilt is a conscience that produced acts that lead to death: because the sinner is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), because death cannot produce life that God accepts (Romans 6:21), and because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

During the time of the law or old covenant, there was an incomplete solution to the problem of guilt. The true believers before Christ came were truly saved. Their sins were forgiven and they were right with God, because they believed that God would provide a perfect offering for sin. They were right with God (Romans 4:1-8). But their consciences were not cleared (they still felt guilty for their sins), because Christ’s better sacrifice had not yet been offered (Hebrews 9:9-10; 10:1-4).

Now we have the better blessing of the new covenant (10:22). The blood of Christ has been sprinkled on our hearts to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. Our sins are forgiven and God and his law are satisfied. “What Christ has done in liberating us… is… to set our conscience free from the guilt of sin… [The Christian has] freedom of conscience, freedom from the tyranny of the law, the dreadful struggle to keep the law, with a view to winning the favour of God. It is the freedom of acceptance with God and of access to God through Christ” (Stott, Galatians, p. 132). We have this actual cleansing as a reality in our lives. We are not guilty, but right with God. We are free people.

However, many encounter difficulties in applying this to their lives: “But I still have a sense of guilt!” This is a common affliction that afflicts many. This should caution us against giving quick, simplistic answers that pertain to all. In different people the problem may spring from one or multiple sources. Having given that caution let us think about some of these in the form of questions.

Are you really right with God? Perhaps you feel guilt because you are guilty. Your problem might be that you have never trusted in Christ to have your sins forgiven and to have his righteousness credited to your account.
Do you understand the gospel of Christ? You might be truly saved, but either you have been poorly taught or have been taught much error with the truth. When such afflicted people learn the truth and grab hold of it, it can be like “getting saved all over again!” Of course you are not, but the resulting liberation as you lay hold of Christ with a clearer understanding can make it feel that way.
Is there unconfessed sin in your life? I mean sin that you know about, sin that you indulge in, though you know it is inconsistent with whom you are in Jesus Christ. Have you sinned against God the Father in heaven (1 John 1:9)? Sin is not trivial and should not be played with. As you confess your sins, you will discover his faithfulness in Christ.
Is law in your conscience? By law I mean the ten commandments of the law covenant, human religious standards or rituals that function like law, or a wrong view of law during this new covenant age. Do you have the idea that “God will accept me or sanctify me if I keep the law?” Some imagine that God doesn’t really like them unless they are perfect. I realize that many would vehemently deny that this is true about them, yet they still feel this way inside “when other Christians aren’t looking.” The doctrinal paths into this swamp of depression are numerous, and we cannot deal with them now. But listen to the words of John Bunyan: “I may not, will not, cannot, dare not, make it [the law] my saviour and judge, nor suffer [allow] it to set up its government in my conscience; for by so doing I fall from grace, and Christ Jesus doth profit me nothing” (Treasury of Bunyan, p. 924).
Are you living by faith in Christ? We plan to talk about this in our next article. But for now, I want to say this: You cannot strip faith out of the Christian way of life and still call it Christian. True Christianity asserts that the supernatural is a necessary part of how we live. Faith in God through Christ by the power of the Spirit of God is essential. True confidence before God comes by his action in us. Our faith is part of this relationship.

Grace and peace, David

The Cure for a Guilty Conscience

Hebrews 10:22

The letter to the Hebrews is a powerful presentation of the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is better than angels and Moses; he is better than Aaron and his priesthood and the sacrifices offered by them in conformity with the old covenant. Christ has a better covenant built on better promises. The writer is teaching the same thing as the apostle Paul in Colossians 1:18. In everything Christ must have the supremacy. Since this is so, Christ’s followers must live in a new way. The truth of his superiority must control all that we are: our worship, our attitudes, our lifestyles, and who we are inside. We see this in this section of this great letter.

In the inner person of the heart of everybody, there is a capacity for self-judgment, which the Bible calls the “conscience”. As Paul writes in Romans 2:15, the conscience functions inside us to either accuse or defend us in reference to guilt. Since mankind’s fall into sin (the Bible doesn’t discuss the human conscience prior to the fall, so we will avoid speculation), the human conscience has had a problem with guilt.

By guilt we mean “the fact of having performed a wrong act”. According to the Bible, all of us are guilty. We all have done what it worthy of blame, whether by failing to live for God’s glory, or not seeking God, or by transgressing the Two Greatest Commandments, or by numerous transgressions of other of God’s commands, or by opposing the good news of salvation in Christ alone.
Everyone is guilty because everyone has disobeyed God’s law (Romans 3:9-20). So then, we are law-breakers, guilty, and under condemnation.
Since we are guilty, the conscience produces bad feelings—a sense of guilt. The emotional pain produced is a warning signal of our guilt.

Think of the red engine lights on your car’s dashboard. They come on to warn you that your car has a problem. The lights are for your benefit.

The human problem is, “How can a person be rid of guilt and so the sense of guilt? Humankind has proposed various “solutions”.

“Let’s make our own religion and seek to pacify God or whatever gods we want to imagine by religious rituals and/or good works.” This is like putting electrical tape over the red light on the dashboard.
“Let’s deny that there is such a thing as guilt and perhaps also deny that there is a God.” This is like looking the other way when the warning light comes on.
“Let’s treat the guilt feelings by whatever means is available—medication, meditation, pop therapies, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.” The list of proposed remedies goes on and on. This is like smashing the warning light with a hammer!

The problem with all human solutions is that they deal only with the sense of guilt and not with guilt itself that produces the guilt feelings. They don’t reach the root of the problem.

God has designed the nerve endings in your fingertips to warn by pain if something dangerously hot is touched. The answer to the pain is to stop touching the hot object and not to wish that you couldn’t feel the pain or to pop painkillers in the hope that you can keep your hand on the hot object! God has the only solution or cure for a guilty conscience. However, people prefer their inadequate and dangerous remedies to God’s way to cleanse a conscience from guilt. This way is in Jesus Christ and his saving work. Next time, we’ll look at this way closely. But for the present, look to Jesus, our great high priest. He is able to help you today.

Grace and peace, David