Last time we talked about godly sincerity in 2Corinthians 1:1-14 and specifically about Paul’s life and how he conducted himself. Today we will look at the same scripture but focus on “the testimony of our conscience”.
2 Corinthians 1: 12-14 “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the World in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Imagine Paul’s religious peers around the time of the early church, prior to Paul’s conversion. They were loyal to the cause and to their faith. The early church could have been looked threatening to their power base. They would have probably had conversations about the people of “The Way”, who were stirring things up and causing confusion and division in the hearts and minds of their Jewish brothers and sisters. They might have expressed their concern for the people who they felt were being deceived by lies. Paul and his companions, as the educated, elite and knowledgeable ones, may have felt responsible to protect the Jews from these anti-establishment, wicked, & demon-processed people!! We know Paul defines himself as the persecutor of the church prior to meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus.
The truth of the matter is that the church as a whole throughout its history has also participated in injustice and atrocities, in this nation as well as around the world. So when we look at Paul and his life, we should think about our own lives and how we conduct ourselves.
Know your associations/group well and be watchful if things change- Whenever a group of people gather together with similar vision and passion, things happen. Sometimes great things happen because the cause and the method used are good and produce good fruit in people’s lives. Organizations who rally together to feed the poor around the world, build wells for clean water, build homes for the homeless, or missionaries reaching the lost around the world are all great examples of people coming together to help and support a good cause. Many churches have the passion to do similar things in a smaller geographical area. However, there can also be danger in people coming together if they are following a wrong cause, wrong leader, or a wrong method to reach their goals. Sometimes any of those factors change over a period of time, and we need to stay sensitive to be discerning of that. This is why it is so important as people of God to keep a clear conscience, so we can discern change.
Guard your conscience deliberately- God has given each of us a conscience. This conscience needs to be protected from any man touching it, defining it, or redefining it. Our conscience is cleansed with the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:14 & 10:22), and we develop a strong conscience by reading the Word of God and allowing Him to create a great sensitivity to what is right and wrong. This is so important, because each of us can be faced with situations in life where the majority, or those in power, defines a situation a certain way.
We need to examine issues before the Lord with clear conscience, away from any man’s input, pressure, acceptance, or rejection to determine if each situation is assessed appropriately. If we follow anyone to do assess it for us, get lazy in our evaluation of the situation, or get fearful to go against those we respect, we will cause great damage to our conscience. In turn, we will cause damage to others. Guarding our conscience also applies to the laws established by our government. Just because something is legal, it doesn’t make it moral!! The Lord defines what is moral.
Assess your associations/group objectively from God’s point of view –When Jesus spoke to the seven churches in Revelation, he had some good things to say, but most of them had major issues. Jesus even warned some of them to repent!! The question is how did those churches perceive themselves? Did they think they were doing pretty well and didn’t really have big problems? Were they comfortable because everybody else in their church valued the same things and had unity?
Take responsibility for your own actions apart from your group- Social scientists tell us that when a group of people gather together, there is less accountability to each person’s behavior because they are part of a group. This is called “herd mentality”. This should not be in Christian circles. Foundationally we are building on the work of Christ and Him crucified. We as believers are connected to the Lord first, before we are connected to one another. Anything we do, or say has to be filtered through the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We cannot give this responsibility over to anyone regardless of how much we trust or respect them.
Be humble to admit God doesn’t show you everything-The church is made up of imperfect people who are growing in Christ. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:9, “for we know in part and we prophesy in part”. This scripture applies to every believer regardless of their maturity in the Lord, their position in the church, or their knowledge of the Bible. It doesn’t matter if they call you a prophet or a prophetess. We all should take heed that the most talented, gifted, or prophetic person still only knows in part and prophesies in part. That should keep us slow to speak and slow to anger. Hopefully it will make us less judgmental of others knowing that we don’t know everything, and we can’t see clearly what God is doing. This can eliminate a lot of unnecessary pain or hurt in the hearts of people by not overstepping our boundaries. It will also keep our conscience clear because we have conducted ourselves well before God and before people.
If we do all of the above, it will help our conscience to stay intact by not being forced or pressured to do or say something that is unjustified. If we really respected our conscience and guarded it to keep it sensitive, it will not only allow us to live a more righteous life, but we will also gain a greater respect in the eyes of those who are watching us as believers or unbelievers.