Better than the Conscience
“Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”” (Genesis 3:22 WEB)
The ability to discern between good and evil is not a bad thing. God has this ability.
In a person, this ability is called the conscience. Man that has been tainted by sin cannot use the conscience properly because apart from Christ, they seek to build their own way to Heaven.
“They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”” (Genesis 11:4 WEB)
Mankind tried to build a high tower that reaches into Heaven, not submitting to the truth that faith in Yahweh is the only way into Heaven.
“For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:3-4 WEB)
The conscience causes mankind to invent all sorts of philosophies in fleshly attempts to do good and earn their way into Heaven.
The conscience is the “law for righteousness” (the Ten Commandments) written in every man’s heart ever since Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
This law tells us that whoever sins must pay for it with the penalty of death. It is a law that bringing consciousness of sin.
At the cross, Jesus’ allowed His blood to be shed, and He laid down His life, fully satisfying the demands of the Old Covenant of the Law. His divine blood paid for all of the sins of the world, and His death established the New Covenant of Grace.
Whoever places his faith in Jesus is set free from the Ten Commandments, and instead comes under Grace.
Instead of a law that brings consciousness of sin, God has written a new type of law in our hearts and minds.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 WEB)
It is called the law of Christ, and it is not the same as the law of Moses.
The law of Moses was the knowledge of sin, whereas the law of Christ is the knowledge of righteousness. The law of Moses is the consciousness of sin which produces the fear of death, whereas the law of Christ is the consciousness of God’s love which produces the desire to obey and follow the Holy Spirit.
““This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;’” then he says, “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.” Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:16-23 WEB)
Dear believer, God writes a new set of laws in your heart and mind. God said that He would remember your sins and iniquities no more, so the new laws cannot be the consciousness of sin like the Ten Commandments. The Old Covenant is different from the New Covenant.
Under Grace, the Holy Spirit writes in your heart and mind, producing the desire and ability to do good works that please God, not out of fear of punishment, but as a worshipful response to His love.
The law of Christ can be summarized in the apostle John’s words:
“This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.” (1 John 3:23 WEB)
It is the law of loving God and fellow Christians, as a response to the love that Jesus showed in His life. Nothing about sin. Meditate on the way Jesus loved His disciples and loved the world by dying on the cross, and His love will rise up in you to produce good works of love.
Our hearts must be sprinkled from an evil conscience that is still trying to earn and establish its own righteousness. The conscience in your flesh never got the memo! It still thinks that the sin debt is not paid, and that someone has to pay.
To sprinkle your conscience means to fill your heart with the truth that the blood of Christ is the final payment for sins. We have boldness when we approach God because of the blood of Christ and not because we have paid for the sin debt on our own.
We have something better than the conscience. We have the Holy Spirit inside us and He leads us by the law of Christ. Instead of fear, we are motivated by love. Follow after love!!
Keep studying God’s word and growing in your understanding of His ways. Our Patreon community is currently on a Bible study series called “My Faith Declarations” which looks at the Spirit-inspired utterances of the authors of the Psalms. They wrote about the trials and tribulations they experienced, so the book of Psalms is very relatable.
By turning their faith declarations into our own, we can learn how to overcome similar circumstances in life through faith in the Lord! Become a “God Every Morning” tier or above patron on Patreon to receive this reward, daily devotionals by email, and also all my eBooks. Thanks for being a blessing to this ministry: http://Patreon.com/miltongohblog
