This series entitled, 'Conscience Matters' will be no mere theological treatise but an extremely practical and vital matter to address if we are to truly live, love and serve God and one another.
In the first of six messages in this series we will see how, from the Fall onwards, a guilty conscience will attempt to do everything in its power to cover up, correct, manipulate and justify, and even try to atone for one's own sin. These attempts are in fact futile, and what's more, they can never restore the relationship broken by that sin. Something far greater needs to take place for that to occur. A guilty conscience is the cause of much fear, and considers the law and authorities, including God, as a tyrant and judge to be avoided at all costs. It knows, rightly, that judgment is deserved and will not rest until that judgment has taken place.
God is the Judge of all the earth, but he is not a tyrant! He is holy and righteous, and ensures that all sin is judged accordingly, but he is also merciful and gracious. He is just, and he is also the one who justifies. In his grace and mercy, God, our Judge, has not merely carried out a transaction which enables him to declare us as righteous. God, our Father, the one and same God, has reconciled us to himself in Christ, covered our sin, restored our broken relationship with him and, by the blood of his Son, he has cleansed our consciences so that we might serve him without fear of judgment. |
