End Time-The Solutions: Conscience

Quote:
Keep your conduct abreast of your conscience and very soon your conscience will be illumined by the radiance of God. -W. M. Taylor

General Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

1 Timothy 1:5, 19 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Proverbs 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

1 John 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

1 John 3:20-21 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Let us take a closer look at the meaning of 1 John 3:19-21 by going to a commentary. Each part of this wordy commentary will be recapped by a listing of its main points.

For if our heart condemn us - We cannot hope for peace from any expectation that our own hearts will never accuse us, or that we ourselves can approve of all that we have done. The reference here is not so much to our past lives, as to our present conduct and deportment. The object is to induce Christians so to live that their hearts will not condemn them for any secret sins, while the outward deportment may be unsullied. The general sentiment is, that if they should so live that their own hearts would condemn them for present insincerity and hypocrisy, they could have no hope of peace, for God knows all that is in the heart. In view of the past - when the heart accuses us of what we have done - we may find peace by such evidences of piety as shall allay the troubles of an agitated soul, 1 John 3:9, but we cannot have such peace if our hearts condemn us for the indulgence of secret sins, now that we profess to be Christians. If our hearts condemn us for present insincerity, and for secret sins, we can never “persuade” or soothe them by any external act of piety. In view of the consciousness of past guilt, we may find peace; we can find none if there is a present purpose to indulge in sin.

Recap of this commentary so far:
1] Do not expect that your own heart will not accuse you.
2] We will never approve of all we have done.
3] These verses are speaking to our present and not our past.
4] If we can see our own sins and chide ourselves because of them, we know that God can clearly see them too.
5] We know from our life in the Salvation Process that our personal relationship with God will result in a heart put at peace, but not if our heart continues to condemn us.
6] If we keep condemning ourselves, this counteracts our piety [devotion and reverence] to God.
7] Clearly we will never find peace if we see a purpose or pay off for continuing to indulge in sin which then feeds the heart condemning us; the cycle never ending.

God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things - We cannot hope to find peace by hiding anything from his view, or by any supposition that he is not acquainted with the sins for which our consciences trouble us. He knows all the sins of which we are conscious, and sees all their guilt and aggravation as clearly as we do. He knows more than this. He knows all the sins which we have forgotten; all those acts which we endeavor to persuade ourselves are not sinful, but which are evil in his sight; and all those aggravations attending our sins which it is impossible for us fully and distinctly to conceive. He is more disposed to condemn sin than we are; he looks on it with less allowance than we do. We cannot hope, then, for a calm mind in any supposition that God does not see our sins as clearly as we do, or in any hope that he will look on them with more favor and indulgence. Peace cannot be found in the indulgence of sin in the hope that God will not perceive or regard it, for we can sooner deceive ourselves than we can him; and while therefore, 1 John 3:19, in reference to the past, we can only “persuade” our hearts, or soothe their agitated feelings by evidence that we are of the truth now, and that our sins are forgiven; in reference to the present and the future, the heart can be kept calm only by such a course of life that our own hearts and our God shall approve the manner in which we live.

Recap of this part of the commentary:
1] God is greater than our heart.
2] We cannot have peace by attempting to hide anything from God's view.
3] We cannot have peace if we think that God is not acquainted with our sins. Especially those that trouble us.
4] If we can clearly see our sin, surely God sees it and better than we can.
5] God knows all the sins we have forgotten.
6] God is aware of the actions we attempt to persuade ourselves are not sinful.
7] God never compromises with sin.
8] God is more disposed to condemn sin than we are.
9] We sometimes give allowance to sin. God never does.
10] We will never have peace if we suppose that God cannot see our sins or gives them the same allowances we do.
11] Verse 19 says that we are not deceived in what we profess to be. We are true Christians...firstfruits with the Holy Spirit in us.
12] Verse 19 says that God or more rightly, Christ will assure us that we are true firstfruits and this will result in peace in our hearts.
13] We must grow, in process, to a level or maturity where we, like God give no allowance to sin and never to compromise with it.
14] If we attain this maturity, our hearts will not condemn us and this will result in total confidence toward God...verse 21.