Most of you can remember moments when a parent has said, “I need to speak to you about something.” A few of you can probably think of times when the boss or the principal has said, “Come to my office, we need to talk about something.” Your heart feels the pressure of a guilty conscience, and you begin to wrack your mind to work out what you have done wrong this time. A guilty conscience is a terror to the heart. As Solomon would say, “The wicked flee when no one pursues…”¹ Alas, the conscience ridden with guilt causes him to run assuming people are pursuing him.

Yet, there is another side to this story. As much as the guilty conscience is a terror to the heart, there is nothing more powerful in the human heart than a clear conscience. So Solomon would follow up with, “…but the righteous are bold as a lion.”¹ Having a clear conscience enables one to stand strong when the winds and turmoul of life come raging. Whether its the false accusations of an enemy, the betrayal of a friend, or the persecution of the saints; we can stand boldly with a pure heart.

The Apostle Paul knew this. Consider his words on the matter. When he was on trial before Felix, he said, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”³ Why would he always take pains to have a clear conscience? Because he knew that with a clear conscience he could face any man with great confidence. He knew that if he acted rightly before God the opinion of man mattered for nothing. It is this that enabled him to write to the Corinthian church and say, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”⁴

A clear conscience is powerful because it enables us to walk before God and not be swayed by the opinions and thoughts of man. Yet it also enables us to receive slander and hatred without fear, so Peter says, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”⁵ Living a godly life in a godless world will always bring opposition and hatred. When this happens, a clear conscience enables you to hold your head high and look to the Lord by faith.

Labour in life to have a clear conscience before God. Do what’s right before your Lord, the one to whom you must give an account for all things. In doing so, you will find peace in a tumultuous world. Yet how does one ultimately have, keep, and live with a clear conscience? Ultimately, a clear conscience comes by laying all down at the foot of the cross. Even in our best attempts our actions will be tainted by sin, but in Christ our consciences are purified. “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 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.”⁶

1. Proverbs 28:1 ↩︎
2. Proverbs 28:1 ↩︎
3. Acts 24:16 ↩︎
4. 1 Corinthians 4:1–5 ↩︎
5. 1 Peter 3:15-16 ↩︎
6. Hebrews 9:13–14 ↩︎