Listening to Chas. Stanley yesterday...

... his sermon on "Conscience."

Here is an amazing thing -- it sorta jibes with my assertion that 1) the conscience is the soul; 2) that we are "justified," given the righteousness of God, in our soul; and 3) that it is this "justification" of our soul that is our assurance of eternal life.

Think about it -- we all have a conscience, consciousness of right and wrong. Our soul recognizes the difference between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man.

And you know what salvation is then? It is choosing death of our self-righteousness and acceptation of God's righteousness as the standard for our lives.

If you think about it, 1) we covenant in Christ (in the OT, it was in God Himself) to seek His righteousness and 2) thereafter, Christ is the standard that our spirits -- our mind, emotins, and wills -- will live by in making all our decisions.

Notice too that if we keep rejecting God or His word regarding salvation or sanctification, He will harden our consciences (Stanley said our consciences will become "seared" or "hardened"). Isn't that the case? In hardening, our consciences no longer lead us into Christ but into error.

Let me know your thoughts on this. I think it is a very helpful paradigm for our soul life vs. our spirit life (or distinction between soul and spirit) to consider the soul as the standard by which our spirits are oriented to good/God or evil/self.

skypair

 

Allan -- you are correct. My observations were an extension of C.S.'s teaching/sermon.

And you make just the proper distinction between the eternal (we die to self on the throne of our soul and are thereby saved eternally) and the temporal (we die daily in our spirit, in our "new man," and are resurrected daily, 1Cor 15:33). What you have put your finger on is another distinction that can be made between soul and spirit.

Here's another I have been contemplating in light of my new understanding -- it is the soul that is "raised to heavenly places in Christ Jesus," Eph 2:5. This is the way in which we are in Christ and He is in us. Does that sound right?

skypair