In what way? How does the conscience be cleansed?

[Zaatar71]

YLT
how much more shall the blood of the Christ (who through the age-during Spirit did offer himself unblemished to God) purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Barclay: how much more will the blood of Christ who, through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, cleanse your conscience so that you will be able to leave the deeds that make for death in order to become the servants of the living God? (Westminster Press)

cleanse your conscience from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the ever living God?

WEB
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

What are the dead works........ that are in your conscience....that need to be cleansed?

Cleanse (2511) (katharizo from katharos = pure, clean, without stain or spot; English words - catharsis = emotional or physical purging, cathartic = substance used to induce a purging, Cathar = member of a medieval sect which sought the purging of evil from its members) means to make clean by taking away an undesirable part. To cleanse from filth or impurity. Click here (and here) for more background on the important Biblical concept of clean and cleansing.

 

[Zaatar71]

A recent SS class asked these questions;

Conscience is a part of our understanding. It's a part of our mind. It's a part of the faculty of our mind. It makes use of reason to determine whether or not our thoughts and our desires and our actions are true or false, right or wrong, good or evil.

If our conscience is not well-trained, it might excuse us of sins, that it ought to be accusing us of.

So, it's important to have a well-trained conscience. If not well-trained, like any unbeliever, we will excuse our sin and blame others, comfort ourselves and withhold comfort from others.

Do you know if the conscience is to aid in bringing you comfort, and if your conscience is not bringing you comfort by acquitting you of your sins but accusing you, that's the cause of your fears.

Could you compel another person to receive gospel comforts when you're not?

 

[Zaatar71]

Thomas Watson says something I thought was worth considering too about the conscience.

He says that the unbelieving person does everything he or she can to dethrone their conscience and put it out of office.

Well, that's not only true of the unbeliever, but it's also true of the person who cherishes sin, isn't it?

if I treasure some sin of mine, I'm going to do everything to put my conscience out of stop bugging me, conscience.

Watson adds, conscience is God's echo, and sometimes it is so shrill, so clamorous. that we cannot endure the noise, so we silence our conscience by sinning often. That will make it stop. Then conscience begins to be dull and sleepy. You're sleepy this morning, dull towards God, dull in your soul.
How could it be that you're dull in the presence of God Almighty?
How could it be that you're dull and sleepy in the presence of majesty, transcended majesty?
How is that possible?
Because of your unbelief?
Because of your self-will?
Because of your self-love?
Because of your self-interest?
How could it be that you would go to sleep in the presence of God?

Finally, Paul says in 1 Timothy 4.2 that we sear our conscience after we've sinned often enough as with a hot iron, conscience is seared.

Do you think this is what takes place? Is it only for unbelievers or believers also?

 

[Zaatar71]

If I quoted Hebrews 9.14, can you do it in your head just like that now?
The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works that we might serve the living God.

So, if it is defined in that verse as what a clear conscience does, what does a guilty conscience, what does an uncleansed conscience do?

What are the dead works itself self-serving works?
What are the good works that are commended except those works that are serving the living God?

Do you see the difference? And you can't do, You can't serve the living God with a conscience that's not cleansed of sin.

When our sin goes unconfessed, our conscience loses its capacity to judge whether our works are bad in self-serving or good in serving God and serving one another.

 

[Zaatar71]

Our conscience is given to us to bear witness of the truthfulness of Christ. And if not cleansed of sin, there's no possible way that we could have any confident trust in anything that Christ is for us, or in anything that He's done for us, or in anything the Spirit says to us through the Word.

We won't put confidence in the Scriptures.
We won't put confidence in the Spirit's work through the Scriptures.
We'll put our confidence in ourselves when our conscience goes uncleansed.
Do you live in that confidence?
Do you live in the confidence that Christ has cleansed you from your sin, and now you enjoy the gospel's comforts of your cleansing?
Or do you live in your own legal fears? You must ask that question.