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Topic: Our Conscience
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Found in Him
Advanced Member
Member # 7596
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posted
![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
quote:
Means that God can change our very nature
Yes, that's sanctification. Christians are sanctified "positionally" (instantaneous) meaning that God views Christians as being perfectly holy because of Christ. Christians are sanctified "progressively" meaning that God transforms a Christian's life to produce less and less of the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21) and more and more of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Christians will one day be sanctified "ultimately" meaning that Christians will one day be absolutely free from the power and presence of sin.
Every person has a master—either God or sin. A Christian is still able to sin, but he or she is no longer a slave to sin. This person belongs to God. Believers are set free from the control of their evil desires and their selfish habits, free to become enslaved to righteous living. We serve the righteous God who is in the process of transforming us to become more like Him so that we can one day share in glorious resurrection to eternal life.
The most important part of any Christian’s private life is to be simple concerning evil. Christians should not mix themselves up with things that are evil; they should not commit evil, and they should not have to worry about committing sin as a result of a knowledge of evil. Christians should be wise concerning good, and simple concerning evil.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
So basically, Carol.
This post: quote:
Amen!
Romans 6:18 (NLT)
Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
Means that God can change our very nature ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
AMEN!
May the Holy Spirit cleanse the deepest recesses of our hearts by the infinite purification that God alone can accomplish by means of the blood of Jesus Christ. May He make us sensitive to the slightest whisper of His Holy Spirit.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Found in Him
Advanced Member
Member # 7596
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posted
I agree Carol...grace is NOT a license to sin and then just confess it and be forgiven...The heart of the child of God will put sin away from them BECAUSE of The Lord Jesus Christ living within AND gratitude and a surrendered life is their new anthem...
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
Genesis 3:5
...and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Carol Swenson wrote quote:
The conscience in the born again believer is restored to its high position as the Christian studies and meditates on God’s revealed will in the Bible. For the mature Christian the witness of the conscience will be met by the witness of the Holy Spirit as to what pleases God (Rom. 9:1). We should seek to continually have “a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16).
May the Holy Spirit cleanse the deepest recesses of our hearts by the infinite purification that God alone can accomplish by means of the blood of Jesus Christ. May He make us sensitive to the slightest whisper of His Holy Spirit. His Spirit gives us a sense of disquiet when we are tempted. He makes us hate anything that will separate us from abiding fellowship with God.
While I agree with that, this matter of us sinning does not need to be represented as if it's a "cleansing of the deepest recesses of our hearts.
It seems to me that when I sin, it is pretty obvious to me right away and to all others around me. It's mostly NOT some heavy "Holy Spirit talking to my conscience type of thing" each time I sin, it is much more simple than that in that I myself know already what is sin and what is not.
If I got upset and took the name of God in vain, I know I just sinned and I tell the Lord rightaway "I'm sorry, Lord". But before I became a Christian, I did not care that I had just taken the name of God in vain.
So it's not as complicated as "be sensitive to the Holy Spirit revealing to your conscience what is sin", and phrases like that; we alreadyknow right now what is sin and what is not. And when we commit that sin, as when I cursed when I was startled or upset, I confess it now as sin ... but it is not a complicated mystery; we already know what is sin and what is not. The issue is primarily, whether we confess it, or not, now that we are Christians.
love, Eden
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
A Good Clear Conscience
One of the greatest blessings for the born again Christian is the deep sense of peace with God (Phil. 4:7, 9; Col. 3:15; John 14:27).
The apostle Paul wrote, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing joint-testimony with me in the Holy Spirit . . .” (Romans 9:1).
Paul takes a triple oath here because of deep convictions regarding the salvation of the Jewish people. He makes a strong, positive affirmation in Christ, a negative statement that he is not lying, and the appeal to his conscience as a co-witness “in the Holy Spirit.” Paul looked to Christ and rejoiced; he looked at the Jewish people lost in sin and wept. Paul was willing to go to hell for the sake of his lost Jewish friends.
The conscience is that faculty of man that evaluates our actions, along with our thoughts that either accuse or excuse us of sin. Our conscience is an important part of human nature the world over. It is not an absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right and wrong. We can have a “good” conscience (Acts 23:1); 1 Tim. 1:5, 19), a “clear” conscience (Acts 24:16; 1 Tim. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 13:18), or a “guilty” conscience (Heb. 10:22), a “corrupted” conscience (Titus 1:15), a “weak” conscience (1 Cor. 8:7, 10, 12), or a “seared” conscience (1 Tim. 4:2).
The marvelous thing about the gospel is that “the blood of Christ” cleanses the conscience . The writer of Hebrews says, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14).
The conscience is the remains of God’s image in man after the fall of Adam. The universal fact of this inner voice is important. It is a divine law. Because we are sinners obedience to the voice of conscience must always be tested with an acceptance of the revealed will of God in the Scriptures (John 8:7-9; Rom. 2:15-16; 9:1; Titus 1:13-15).
The apostle Paul warned, “Nothing is wholesome to those who are themselves unwholesome and who have no faith in God—their very minds and consciences are diseased” (Tit. 1:15, Phillips).
The conscience is defiled because the light from both it and the Holy Spirit are refused.
The conscience in the born again believer is restored to its high position as the Christian studies and meditates on God’s revealed will in the Bible. For the mature Christian the witness of the conscience will be met by the witness of the Holy Spirit as to what pleases God (Rom. 9:1). We should seek to continually have “a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16).
May the Holy Spirit cleanse the deepest recesses of our hearts by the infinite purification that God alone can accomplish by means of the blood of Jesus Christ. May He make us sensitive to the slightest whisper of His Holy Spirit. His Spirit gives us a sense of disquiet when we are tempted. He makes us hate anything that will separate us from abiding fellowship with God.
To maintain a good, clear conscience that is sensitive to the Spirit of God we must confess every sin that we are conscious of and walk in the light of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit always uses God’s Word to reveal sin to us . When the conscience reproves listen to it, and confess the sin to God, claim His forgiveness based on the atoning death of Christ. The blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin. Pray that the witness of your conscience and the witness of the Holy Spirit and the abiding presence of being “in Christ” becomes one. Hold “to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim. 3:9).
http://www.abideinchrist.com/selah/oct9.html
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
Well, if you want to really break it down like that it doesn't have the same meaning, lol.
But people understand the point.
You can either be good or evil... the choice is up to you.
I don't think we can ever be slaves of Jesus Christ/God, because we are free to leave when ever we feel like it...
However it isn't so easy to be free from sin, lol
The only way to be held clean is through Jesus Christ.
So, in essence, Christ is our liberator from the slave master that is sin. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Another post pointed out that a servant can have two masters - that is, a person can have two jobs with two different bosses.
But a slave can have only one master. We are a slave to sin, or a slave to Christ.
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MentorsRiddle
Advanced Member
Member # 2108
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posted
A man can not have two masters -- for he will love one and hate the other...
So you can not let evil be your master and still love God, nor can you love God and accept evil..
Good Post
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With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.
Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Our Conscience: “Simple Concerning Evil”
Romans 16:17-19
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
Introductory Statements:
Young Christians struggle with the idea of being “left out” of the crowd, of not experiencing some of the “fun” that comes with doing their own thing. As the world around them forgets about God and proceeds to satisfy every one of their whims, Christians who are trying to live right start asking themselves questions. “Why am I going to church when I can be doing something more exciting with my time?” “Why do I let myself get slammed all the time? If I can do the things they do and not get caught by my Christian friends, why shouldn’t I do it?” “That looks so exciting, why can’t I do it, too?” Then they, too, do whatever they want, not giving God a second thought, and not giving thought to the consequences of their evil actions. Paul exhorted the Roman church to be “wise concerning good, and simple concerning evil.” What does this mean for modern Christians?
I. Simple means UNMIXED
A. When the mind is cluttered, with unnecessary thoughts (especially evil ones) lying around, scattered randomly, it is hard to sort through the evil to find the good thoughts, and the evil thoughts dominate our free thinking time.
1. “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22) (*Note: “sottish” means “like a drunkard; stupid or foolish as from too much drinking).
2. “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3).
B. When Christians lose their savor, they become useless to the Lord, and are used much as salt is in the Holy Land – it is mixed with gypsum, and spread like tar on the roof of a house to seal it up, making that roof suitable for others to use.
1. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
2. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).
3. “The less we know about evil, the more free we are to know about what is good.”
II. Simple means INNOCENT
A. We are told to “be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (1 Corinthians 14:20).
B. Innocence is treated like a novelty by some, something that’s not often seen in adults, and if it is seen, it means that person is naive, stupid or self-punishing; this is as far from the truth as it gets; the innocent Christian is the Christian who knows God’s will most perfectly and obeys it most accurately.
C. “The less we know about evil, the more free we are from temptation.”
III. Simple means GUILTLESS
A. The Bible is not lax on this point at all:
1. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Mat 10:16)
2. “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.” (2 Corinthians 1:12)
3. “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1 Timothy 1:5).
4. “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck” (1 Timothy 1:19).
5. “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre” (1 Tim 3:8).
6. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1).
7. “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled” (Titus 1:15)
8. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).
9. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
B. “The less we know about evil, the more free we are from guilt.”
Concluding Remarks:
The most important part of any Christian’s private life is to be simple concerning evil. Christians should not mix themselves up with things that are evil; they should not commit evil, and they should not have to worry about committing sin as a result of a knowledge of evil. Christians should be wise concerning good, and simple concerning evil.
http://duanewallenstein.com/2009/05/22/our-conscience-simple-concerning-evil/
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