Hymns 408
Scripture Reading:
Heb. 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Every saved one has to deal with his conscience. If he does not deal with his conscience, he will not have peace within. If he does not deal with his conscience, he will not be able to pray properly. If he does not deal with his conscience, his Bible reading will be tasteless and his gospel preaching will be powerless. If he does not deal with his conscience, he will not be able to walk the pathway ahead of him. All the saved ones have to pass through this stage of dealing with their conscience if they want to go further on the way. (The Pure in Heart, p. 67)
THE BASIS OF DEALING WITH THE CONSCIENCE—
THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
The blood of Christ purifies our conscience to serve the living God. To serve the living God requires a blood-purified conscience. (The New Testament Recovery Version, Heb. 9:14, footnote 3)
THE OBJECT OF DEALING WITH THE CONSCIENCE
It is not the conscience itself, but rather the feeling of the conscience that is the object of our dealings. Besides the premature feelings, over-sensitive feelings, and the feelings of Satan’s accusations and attacks, all normal feelings of the conscience are the object of our dealings. (The Experience of Life, pp. 120-121)
DEALING WITH THE THREE CATEGORIES OF
FEELINGS OF THE CONSCIENCE
Firstly, feeling toward sin: …if we sin before God or before man, the conscience will immediately have the feeling of condemnation. Secondly, feeling toward the world: …if we love other matters or are occupied with anything outside of God, the conscience will also give us a feeling of condemnation. Lastly, the uneasy feelings concerning anything apart from sin and the world. If our character has certain shortcomings or peculiarities, if our behavior toward others is unbecoming as a Christian, or if before God we have certain undesirable or unsuitable attitudes, though they are neither sinful nor worldly, our conscience is bothered. (pp. 104-105)
THE EXTENT OF OUR DEALING WITH THE CONSCIENCE
We must deal to such an extent that we sense not only peace within, but also life. Not only do we need to feel restful, secure, and assured, but we must also feel strengthened, enlightened, and satisfied. Anything short of life and peace means that our dealings are not thorough enough. (p. 122)
THE RESULT OF DEALING WITH THE CONSCIENCE
In Acts 24:16 Paul said, “Because of this I also exercise myself to always have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” A conscience without offense is one that is without holes or leakage. If we want to serve and touch God, we must always have the presence of God within us, and we must be full of light and have faith all the time. In this way, light, revelation, life, and power will become our constant experiences. As long as we thoroughly deal with our conscience, we will be able to walk on this path in a straight and proper way. (The Pure in Heart, pp. 69-70)
Further Reading: The Experience of Life, msg. 6; The Pure in Heart, msg. 6; CWWL, 1963, vol. 3, “Basic Principles of the Experience of Life,” ch. 13
