… and a good conscience …
Summary: Having a good conscience is another way of saying we are protecting our heart from being hurt by our own hand.
Let’s begin by putting today’s passage back into context:
“Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience …” (1 Timothy 1:18-19)
The command?
Tell “certain people” that they are not to teach false doctrine. (1 Timothy 1:3)
Guess what? Paul knows that is not going to be an easy command to follow. Confronting others about “false doctrine” is a kind of “battle.” It is not the kind we see on the news where people are hurting each other physically and blowing things up. Instead, it is a test of wills and convictions.
But there is another layer to this story.
Somebody had prophesied over Timothy in the past. Paul may have even been present to hear it personally.* The prophesy must have had something to do with Timothy’s life work for the Lord and how he would “fight the battle well” while keeping his conscience clear before the Lord.
Think about what that means!
How do you confront someone about false doctrine without making it personal?
The answer has to do with being Christ-like. Jesus taught us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). That makes standing against false doctrine especially challenging. Even if we are not debating theology, but just trying to live a godly life, standing tall in an ungodly world can be challenging.
The temptation is to let our emotions control our words and actions. The risk is that we cross the line in the process and disobey our God. Jesus reframed Old Testament law. Instead of setting the bar for judgement at “murder,” Jesus lowered the bar to simply being “angry.”
Now we realize that it is what God sees in our hearts that is what we are judged on more than what we do with our hands and words. Jesus is simply reminding us of what was written centuries before:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)
As the Lord explained to Samuel many years ago:
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
Application: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)
Food for Thought: We all know what a guilty conscience feels like, but how do we avoid doing things that cause a guilty conscience?
*Obviously, this is speculation on my part.
How do we avoid doing things that cause a guilty conscience?
Act with simplicity and godly sincerity.
Act not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God.
2 Corinthians 1:12
12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
Act with simplicity and godly sincerity:
Seek God’s Will – Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
In humility – Psalm 116:6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
Serve others and not oneself – Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Act not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God:
Trust in the wisdom of God, given to us in His grace – James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Act on the wisdom of God, received in humility, and exercised in obedience – Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Thank you, Chris!
I like your approach. Humility and love that flows from a relationship with our Creator.
I guess the real short answer is: never sin. But 1 John 1: 8 and 10 (and many other verses) shows this is unrealistic. Guilt is there for a reason. It is a metric or a gauge that tells us something is wrong. Guilt can be a sign from God that we need to repent. Shame is a tool of the enemy that tries not to let us receive the forgiveness and peace that we need to move forward. Guilt can be from God as a form of conviction. I do not believe that continued guilt and shame after we confess our sin and repent is from God. So guilt will happen. The cure is repentance and accepting what the Lord provides.
1 John 1: 8 – 2: 2: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 3: 19 – 20: This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Thank you, Rich!
Your point is well made. I would only add that the continuous joy of renewal and redemption in Jesus more than compensates for the guilt. Yet the guilt itself becomes a teaching tool. We learn what to avoid by constant exposure to what we should avoid. We learn what to do by constant exposure to God’s Word.
We all know what a guilty conscience feels like, but how do we avoid doing things that cause a guilty conscience?
Unlike conviction, guilt is from Satan and is the exact opposite of healthy. In fact, it is like a crippling disease. The ultimate goal of guilt is to make one feel as hopeless, worthless, and as loveless as possible, ultimately ineffective as a believer. Guilt will leave out the critical step of turning from sin, and instead seek to confine us into an existence of dwelling in our mistakes.
Conviction is a word used to describe how the Holy Spirit reveals our sins to each person, as He shows us how to turn from them and walk instead in righteousness.
2 Corinthians 5:21, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 6:18, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Galatians 5:16-18, I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Ron,
Thank you for describing the difference between conviction and guilt. Very interesting!!
In general I agree. It depends on what we define as guilt. If it is lingering and condemning, then not from God. If it is sorrow over sin that leads to repentance, then it could be from God. But definitions matter.
2 Corinthians 7: 8 – 13: Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13By all this we are encouraged.