¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

We have talked about a lot of heavy stuff in this letter by John so far about how we should walk as Christians. We talked about how we are called to walk in the light, how we are to walk in obedience, how we are to walk in love for the brothers especially, how we are to walk in the world by not loving the world that is perishing, how we are to abide in Christ and practice righteousness so that we might become righteous as Christ is which is our hope. Last week we turned back to the subject of loving our brothers again and added more detail of what it looks like to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and what it doesn’t look like. We emphasized that love is not just an emotion that we feel but is demonstrated and brought to completion through our actions.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” – 1 John 3:16-18

It is to a life of love, love for God our Father and love for others that Christ calls us to. A life of love that does not seek its own life at the expense of others but seeks the benefit and the life of others at the expense of itself. It continually denies itself, dies to itself, exhausts itself, pours itself out and gives its own life away so that others might live and so that it might know more of the life of Christ, who lived and died in such a manner, by sharing in his suffering and enjoying his fellowship.

There is so much that is so absolutely convicting in the book of John when you use it as a tool to examine your life and walk with God. Every time I read it I am convicted about walking in the light, walking in obedience, walking in the world without loving the world and more than anything walking in love. All of these, especially walking in love, reminds us just how far we fall short. I don’t know about you but I often wonder if there is any hope for me. I often feel like a hopeless case and I am often praying over Psa. 138:8:

….do not abandon the works of your hands. – Psa. 138:8

We study the word of God to know God more so that we can see where we fall short of obeying his commands and begin putting them into practice and put off sin in our lives. I know you all are here to tonight because you share my heart and you want to become more like Christ too. So we continue to come here and open the bible and allow it to examine us in our studies.

It doesn’t take long for the word of God to convict me whenever I open the bible. Even as I read through the Psalms I just want to sigh,

He who walks blamelessly and

does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

he who does these things shall never be moved. (Psa. 15:2-5)

 I find such verses so convicting that I can’t help but respond with prayer. “Lord, make worthy of your calling. Apart from you Lord, I have no hope of ever becoming righteous. ”

Last week’s passage I found to be very convicting also.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. – 1 John 3:16-18

When we are looking at and studying perfect love, all we can see is how far short we fall continually. We can have different responses to this conviction, some hide and avoid the truth by not opening the bible at all. Like Adam and Eve they would hide from God and run from his light. Some shrug it off and look at the world around them and begin comparing and measuring themselves against others using a different standard then God’s perfect righteousness. Some would deny their sin and call God a liar or deny his existence before confessing their guilt before him. This too would be a form of hiding and avoiding the truth. Then there are those who belong to the truth. The truth possesses them. The truth owns their heart. It is not so much that they grasped the truth as it is that the truth has grasped them and has held them captive to its authority, to obey it and live according to it. Such are God’s children that they are of the truth.

 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

As we struggle with our own failings, John wants us to have complete assurance of our salvation, by this you shall know. John wants us to know with a deep internal knowledge that we are of the truth. We are not of those who went out and did not remain with the body. We are of those who he writes to and say, “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” (1 John 2:21)

John is saying you know the truth. You belong to the truth and are of the truth. The spirit of truth lives in your hearts. He has found a permanent dwelling place there and has taken up residence.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

It is God’s truth that sanctifies us as we stand before it.

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17

Standing before truth, facing the truth and acknowledging its authority over us isn’t always easy. Yet this how God sanctifies us, leads us and our obedience to it shows whether we are we are of the truth. We look for it intentionally so that we can follow its direction wherever it may lead us.

“Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!” Psalm 86:11

Truth has an authority of its own, regardless of if we obey it or not. A lie has not authority except the authority we give it when we obey it and allow it to rule over us. Apart from our obeying a lie, it is absolutely powerless.

By what shall we know we are of the truth

This passage ties into the verse before, when we love others in deed and in truth not with just talk we will know we are of the truth because we obey the truth, we obey Christ by loving others and fulfilling his command to love one another.

When we love others not with just word or talk but through our actions, we are loving them in deed and in truth and our hearts are reassured that we are of the truth because we are obeying it.

To be reassured means our hearts have their confidence restored and are freed from anxiety. Loving others builds assurance in us that we are truly of the truth and not deceiving ourselves. When we don’t love others our hearts begin to feel anxious, we begin to worry and doubt and we lose our confidence, our assurance of our salvation because we are not obeying the truth.

The word heart in this text here actually refers to our conscience. When the bible speaks of our hearts, it is often speaking of our soul, center of being, minds or our conscience. In this particular instance it is speaking of our conscience as we can see from the next vs. 21. This could read:

            “Whenever our conscience condemns us, God is greater than our conscience, and he knows everything.”

 We reassure our conscience before God.

This is a picture of us reassuring and persuading our consciences before God, in his light, according to his truth that our faith is real, we are of the truth, we are in the truth and following his truth by our actions of love. This reassurance and persuasion is absolutely critical in times of conflict. When we have had a disagreement, a falling out with a brother or sister and are broken by it and unable to come to a resolution. Our consciences tend to replay the events over and over and over again in our minds to see if we did anything wrong, if we were unloving, and harmful in our actions. We find peace, when we examine our actions before God’s light or we find disturbance if something isn’t right. If we did something wrong and our hearts, our conscience convicts us that we were in the wrong and were unloving in some way towards a brother

What happens to your assurance when you fail to love others as you should? Your conscience convicts or condemns you. Your conscience begins to accuse you, “How can the love of God abide in you, when you saw your brother in need and had the ability and resources to help but refused to?” “How can you be a Christian? How can you act like that? How could you have said that? How could you have done that?” On and on and on it goes…your conscience can drive you nuts when it is not clean and has driven many people nuts and into mental institutions because of guilty consciences.

What is the difference between conscious and conscience? Being conscious is to be aware of something, having a conscience is being aware of something you wish you weren’t aware of. Our conscience is like our soul’s internal monitor or flight recorder. It witnesses and records everything and one day we will have to give an account for everything it has witnessed.

There is no escape from a guilty conscience. It follows you everywhere. Keeps you awake at night. Steals your peace. Haunts you. Time can never bury it. It causes an over heightened senses and imagination like a Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

            “Conscience is God’s deputy, God’s spy, God’s notary and God’s viceroy.” – Thomas Brooks

A disciplined conscience is a man’s best friend. It may not be his most amiable, but it is his most faithful monitor.” – Austin Phelps

“Conscience is that candle of the Lord which was not quite put out.” – Matthew Henry

“It is neither safe nor prudent to do anything against the conscience.” – Martin Luther

Conscience is that small inner voice that tells you the IRS might check your return. – Anonymous

The bible has much to say about our conscience. What do we learn about the role and function of our conscience from the following verses?

And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” – Acts 23:1

So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. – Acts 24:16

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. – Heb 13:18

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them. – Romans 2:15

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— Romans 9:1

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. Rom.13:5

But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 1 Cor. 10:28-29

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled…..For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 1 Cor. 8:7, 10

Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. – 1 Cor. 8:12

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Tim 1:5

⁹holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, – 1 Tim 1:19

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves t deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ²through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 1 Tim 4:1-2

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. Titus 1:15

Spurgeon once said,

“O Believers, guilt upon the conscience is worse than the body on the rack. Even the flames on a stake may be cheerfully endured but the burning of the conscience is beyond all measure unendurable. This side of hell what could be worse than the tortures of an awakened conscience.”

            “I would bear any affliction rather than be burdened with a guilty conscience.”

Our conscience is that worm that will not die. It will accuse you and cry out against you forever.

            “A guilty conscience needs no accuser.” – Anonymous

The greatest need of man is to have our consciences cleansed and silenced. How do you get rid of a nagging conscience? You have to make it right. You confess, ask for forgiveness. It is often our conscience that leads us to confession and restitution demanding that we make it right through some sort of sacrifice or offering or payback for our guilt.

However, there are many things we can never make amends for. Our sin against God is one. The law could never clear our conscience. The old Jewish sacrifice of animals could never clear their guilty conscience. How do we make it right with God for our numerous offenses?

¹³For 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, ¹⁴how 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. – Heb 9:13-14

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb. 10:22

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Ptr 3:21

It is the blood of Christ that purifies our conscience. Jesus Christ is the only way to get a peaceful, quiet and unaccusing conscience. Because Jesus died for our sins and paid our penalty, we now enjoy peace with God. Our consciences are silenced and cleansed by his blood.

A clear conscience involves two things:

1. Repentance towards God.
2. Reconciliation towards man.

Your conscience is not clear until you have done both.

 Negative effects of not having a clear conscience with God and man.

1. No power in witnessing
2. Active in church but neglecting other spiritual matters of the inner man and relationship with God and others.
3. Going through the role of religion and all that is expected of you but having lost your first love.  Your desire your motivation that you once had.
4. Nervousness – because of a lack of a clear conscience
5. Always on the defensive. It doesn’t take much to get you to argue or put your walls up.
6. Anxiety, Tension, Guilt, Frustration.
7. Inability to make wise decisions, especially on the spur of the moment.
8. All kinds of fears. Afraid of everything. Afraid of getting caught or being found out. Paranoia
9. Unable to concentrate. Esp. on spiritual things.
10. Small circle of friends. You cannot get too close to others.
11. Depression and fatigue.
12. Judgmental attitudes. Always criticizing, picking at others.
13. Self-Condemnation. “I can’t do anything right.”
14. No joy.

Benefits of a clear conscience

1. Power in witnessing, our life matches our testimony
2. Genuine relationships.
3. Passion
4. Peace
5. Openness, Transparency
6. Peace
7. Ability to make wise decisions and to make them quickly.
8. Courage, Confidence
9. Focus, Our Attention in Spiritual Matters is not easily sidetracked because we are not avoiding God.
10. Larger circle of close friendships, deeper, long lasting relationships
11. Optimism, Energy, Cheerful Countenance
12. Encouraging, Building others up.
13. Humility, Aware of weaknesses but aware of God’s strength
14. Much joy
15. Answered Prayer

                                                                                                         –     Del Fehsenfeld – Navigators

 

20. for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

Our conscience however is flawed along with the rest of our fallen nature. Just because it proclaims we are guilty does not always mean that we are guilty. And having a clear conscience is not always a sign of being free from guilt. As someone once said,

            “Many people have a bad memory to thank for a clear conscience.” – Anonymous

Our consciences are like a mini judge within us. It both condones and convicts us of right and wrong doing. It is our internal eye that sees all. However if our conscience sees all, how much so does God who is above our conscience and knows everything?

I love this verse and this truth after I have confessed my sin and done all I know to do to make things right, or if I am just feeling unworthy, or experiencing a general overall feeling of my guilty nature or confused about if I am guilty or not, it is this truth that encourages me to pray when I feel most discouraged. God is greater than my heart and he knows everything. He knows everything and he still says come. He would not have me hide from him but run to him as a child runs to their father when in danger or pursued. He will sort it all out. He is greater and he knows everything. I don’t have to explain, I can just give it all to him and ask him, “Lord if there is anything I need to make right, please make it clear.”

21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

A clear conscience enables us to receive answered prayer. A clear conscience enables us to come before God with boldness, without distraction and know that he hears us because we make it our goal to obey him and to please him.

What is a clear conscience?

The ability to honestly say there is not one person in this entire world that I have hurt or offended and not gone back and made it right. Del Fehsenfeld – Navigators

What are some practical ways we can obtain and maintain a clear conscience?

• Read God’s Word, Retrain your conscience to God’s ways
• Don’t Sin.
• If you do sin, deal with it immediately. Confess as revealed and make it right! Be blameless!
• Right Relationships. If a brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go make it right…..
• Do not lie.
• Transparency – Walk in the Light. Don’t do or say anything that you don’t want other to hear or find out about. Pretend your life is a billboard.
• Love Others– Always seek to do what is in others best interest esp. if it means laying your life down.

 23And this is his commandment,  that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another,  just as he has commanded us.

What is Christ’s commandment? Faith & Love

² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2-3)

“Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” – John 6:28-29

The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. John 3:18

 Love is the fulfillment of the law. Love for God and others will keep us from sinning or sinning will keep us from loving.

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 5:8-10

 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Keeping God’s commandments gives us confidence that we belong to God, we share the same Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth and Love which guides us and consoles us.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” – Gal. 4:6

            For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, – Romans 8:14-16

             Once again we are reminded that there is no abiding in God, no knowledge of God, without obedience. We cannot just read the word, we must do what it says and seek to practice righteousness by putting into action what we learn.