MEMORISE:
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 1 Timothy 1:19
READ: 1 Timothy 1:18-20
18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
MESSAGE
When chastised over sin, some people are fond of saying that their conscience does not condemn them, even when they have been caught in the obvious act of sin. They may be right after all, because it's only a conscience that is alive and active than can condemn or caution an individual engaging in things contrary to the will of God. God gave everyone a conscience to serve as an internal restraining guide regulating each of our actions. However, when a person continuously refuses to yield to its control, its voice will be silenced. In that state, such a person's mind becomes reprobate. Describing this condition, Romans 1:28 says:
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
We are therefore told in today's Bible reading to hold on to our faith in Christ and keep our conscience clear if we do not want to wreak havoc on our salvation. The text also says that we are expected to engage in a good warfare. What is this good warfare? There is an internal battle that occurs in our minds every day. The devil and his agents continually propose to us things that are contrary to the will of God. We have to continually fight them with the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word, just as our Master did (Matthew 4:1-11), in order to ensure that we live with a good conscience before God. Paul held this up as the great testimony of his life in Acts 23:1b, where he said:
"Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
A good conscience is a living conscience. When a person's conscience is dead, he or she sees things from a skewed perspective. For example, a man may go around sleeping with other women, riding on the excuse that his wife has refused to 'cooperate' with him in bed. Such a man would ask, "What do you expect me to do when this woman denied me my right?" When you try to correct some other men who marry a second wife, they may tell you to go and preach to Jacob, David and Solomon first before condemning their action. A Christian sister whose conscience is dead would dress half-naked and tell you what she wears does not matter, inasmuch as she is born again and her conscience does not condemn her. How will her conscience condemn her when she has silenced it repeatedly, to the extent that it is now permanently muted? An example of someone with a dead conscience is Judas Iscariot. Despite the fact that Jesus exposed his betrayal plans and warned him about it, he still went ahead with it. There are many people like him in church today. No matter how hot the sermon is, the reprobate will not heed its warning. That will not be your portion in Jesus' Name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please help me to continually live in good conscience before You, in Jesus' Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 1, Ezekiel 44:15-27
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 12: DEEPER, DEEPER IN THE LOVE OF JESUS
1 Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Chorus:
O deeper yet, I pray,
And higher ev'ry day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
In Thy precious, holy Word.
2 Deeper, deeper! blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
3 Deeper, deeper! tho' it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
4 Deeper, higher, ev'ry day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
5 Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow’r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.
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