John Bevere - How to Maintain a Clear Conscience
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The most important thing we must do is to protect our conscience. All right, we’re at the end of the fourth week. You’ve just read chapter 28, and I love this chapter because it emphasizes what is important for enduring to the end. Now let me say this: it is wonderful to sear a steak. As a matter of fact, the best steaks I’ve ever had led me to ask the chef, «How in the world did you make this so juicy?» He shared how he seared it on both sides, locking in the juices. Well, let me tell you, a steak may be really good when it’s seared, but it’s not good to sear a conscience, and that’s what I’m talking about.
Now, how do you sear a conscience? Paul made a statement to the Apostle Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:19. He said to cling to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. Now, why does he say to keep your conscience clear? Because the blood of Jesus Christ gives us a clear conscience. There are a lot of people who say, «I can’t trust my heart,» because the heart is deceptively wicked. That is an Old Testament quote from the book of Jeremiah that does not apply to the New Testament. In the New Testament, God said through the prophet Ezekiel, «I’m going to give you a new heart and a tender, clear conscience.» So, the most important thing we must do is protect our conscience.
Have you ever been offered something that looked like it was really going to be beneficial but seemed a little shady or underhanded? Uh-uh! Listen to your conscience; it’s screaming out, «Don’t do it.» Your head might be screaming, «Oh my gosh, this will propel me so much further than what I know I’m supposed to do!» Don’t do it; protect your conscience and keep it clear. When we obey the voice of our conscience, we keep it clear; when we ignore it, we silence it. I gave the example in the book about someone feeling like a knife hits their gut, and they say, «But what I said is right.» They justify their slander, their gossip. The next time they speak against someone, it’s not a knife; it’s a pinch. But they justify it again.
The next time they speak against someone, it’s not a pinch; it’s a little tingle. They justify it yet again. The next time they speak against someone, there’s no feeling at all. They are now past feeling because they’ve seared their conscience. See, when you sear, if I were to take a hot iron and sear my skin, oh, it would hurt, but you know what happens? I lose feeling; I deaden the nerves. We deaden our sensitivity when we don’t obey God. I will never forget when a minister said to me, «John, what do I do to keep from falling as others have fallen?» Out of my mouth came these words: «Protect your conscience.» I didn’t know what I was saying; I was a young minister at the time.
I remember coming home and starting to notice all over the New Testament statements like «keep your conscience clear,» «protect your conscience,» and «do not sear your conscience.» All these different statements made me realize how important our conscience is. It is the connecting point between your mind and the spirit of God. If you plug up that channel, it will be like if you clogged your sink—no water will go down. It will be like when you sear that steak; the juices can’t come out. The juices of the Holy Spirit are refrained from you when you sear your conscience by repeatedly ignoring it. That is how you sear a conscience. Don’t do it! Be tender and sensitive to the voice of the Spirit so you can fulfill what God created you to do.