A Good Conscience and a Pure Conscience

A good conscience and a pure conscience is essential to a person's happiness and sense of well-being.
One can never depend on his/her conscience as an infallible guide for that it is not the function of the
conscience, not its role, but nevertheless violate your conscience and the end result is a sense of guilt,
sorrow, and unhappiness.

The conscience is that which is within us all that pricks us, perhaps troubles us would be a better way of
putting it, when we do that which we consider to be wrong. Generally speaking we knew the deed was
wrong before we committed it but went ahead, violated our conscience, and did it anyway. We then feel
guilt and shame. Also it is not always just what we do that condemns us in our conscience but often
things we know we should of done in helping others out but which we let slide and failed to do when we
knew we should stepped in and acted.

Of course we have to remember that having a good conscience by itself does not mean we are right with
God. If so in ages past those who worshipped idols, offered human sacrifice, and even cannibals in the
distant jungles of Africa and Southeast Asia were justified. Their cultures said these things were right
and thus their conscience did not bother them by participating in such acts.

Paul while persecuting Christians even to the death had a good conscience at the time he was doing so.
He said, in reference to that time, "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name
of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having
received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them."
(Acts 26:9-10 NKJV)

The conscience then to be of value to us must be trained in righteousness, trained in God's word for it is
truth (John 17:17). No one following strictly God's word would ever do anything to another but what was
beneficial and good for that person. God is love (1 John 4:16) and his word is based on that love. Thus
the conscience to be what it ought to be must be trained based on correct teaching – the word of God.

That said the Bible teaches we must act in good conscience and to do otherwise is sin. "But he who
doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."
(Rom. 14:23 NKJV) Why is man condemned if he eats? Because he doubts whether he ought to be
doing it or not and thus cannot do it with a clean, good, and pure conscience. If he goes ahead and eats
thinking it might be wrong what does he do? He violates his conscience.

There is a lesson in that passage we must all learn and live by. What is it? "Whatever is not from faith is
sin." The passage is thus not just about eating meats that were condemned at one time under the Law of
Moses, now made clean under the Law of Christ, but about all of our life and actions for the word is
"whatever" - whatever is not from faith, whatever is not from a good conscience and a pure conscience.

Is there any difference between a good conscience and a pure conscience? If there is it is hard for me to
see the distinction. If my conscience is good it is also pure and vice versa. Paul is admirable in that he
could and did say, "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." (Acts 23:1 NKJV) Not
many can in all truthfulness say that. Was he saying he had not sinned and did not need Christ? No, he
was only saying he had always done what he thought was right at the time which at one time included
persecuting Christians.
The goal for all of us is to so live as Paul did in the matter of conscience. Our goal ought to be as he said
his was when he said, "I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men."
(Acts 24:16 NKJV) However, we should not despair if we fail to live up to such a high standard.

Peter denied Christ and I think we would all agree he knew at the time he should not do such a thing and
had previously declared he would not. He at a later date withdrew from eating with the Gentile Christians
at Antioch fearing the Jews who had come up from Jerusalem for a visit (Gal. 2:11-12). It is hard to see
how Peter did either of these sins without violating his conscience.

We can be forgiven of sins committed in violation of conscience. Yes, there is danger of searing our
conscience by continually violating our conscience but that is another article. The point here is don't give
up because you have fallen short in the matter of maintaining a perfectly clear conscience in your life.
Don't you think David knew what he was doing in the matter of Bathsheba and her husband Uriah was
wrong while he was doing it?

The exact phrase "good conscience" is found 6 times in the New King James Version of the New
Testament in Acts 23:1 (previously mentioned above), 1 Tim. 1:5, 1 Tim. 1:19, Heb. 13:18, 1 Peter 3:16,
and 1 Peter 3:21. It would be good to take a quick look at the 5 verses not yet mentioned.

1 Tim. 1:5, "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience,
and from sincere faith." (NKJV) The kind of love God desires comes from a heart that is pure, a faith that
is sincere, and a conscience that is good. Our goal in our Christian life is to grow into being just that
daily and continually – pure in heart, sincere in faith, and good in conscience with love for God and one
another. It is a picture of God's purpose for us.

1 Tim. 1:18-19, "Wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having
rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck." (NKJV) Paul couples a good conscience again
with faith declaring that without a good conscience faith is shipwreck. This is a way of saying that
without a good conscience one cannot be saved by faith. Why not? Because without the good conscience
the faith is shipwrecked. I would refer the reader again to a verse already covered in this article – Rom.
14:23.

All of Bible teaching is that faith leads to obedience. When you or I violate our conscience we either
willfully disobey God's law knowing what we are doing or we do that which we think may well be sinful
and are willing to take the chance thus displaying a heart that is not pure toward God which relates back
to the prior verse – 1 Tim. 1:5. In either case we sin. If the desire is to be saved by faith then one must
have a good conscience toward God which means one must be obedient to God for how can one be
knowingly disobedient and maintain a good conscience?

Heb. 13:18, "Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to
live honorably." (NKJV) Can one live honorably and at the same time live with a guilty conscience? Do
you want to be an honorable person? If so you must live in good conscience in your life refraining from
all things that would violate that conscience. Part of the definition of an honorable man is one who has a
good conscience.

I think it would be good to point out also that the writer in this passage when he said "we have a good
conscience" was saying we have lived faithfully as best as we have known how to do so for otherwise
there would have been no good conscience. Thus one sees again that faithfulness (obedience) ties in
directly with a good conscience.

1 Peter 3:15-16, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to
everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good
conscience." (NKJV) Is this not a command to keep a good conscience? Seems like it to me.

Furthermore, it implies beyond doubt it is essential to have a good conscience if one is to be able to give
an honest defense of the hope he has. Without a good conscience where is the hope? One loses a good
conscience by sin and where there is sin there is no hope unless and until the sin is forgiven and the
conscience is cleansed.

1 Peter 3:21, "There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
(NKJV) How can baptism be the answer of a good conscience toward God? After all most say even
though God commanded it (John 3:5, Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, etc.) baptism is
not really necessary. Most would say, "I can have a good conscience without it." Well, if so it may well
say more about how your conscience has been trained than anything else.

Peter associates baptism with a good conscience in this scripture and none can deny that. A good
conscience (which one can readily equate with a pure heart for the two go together) is essential to
salvation, baptism is thus essential to salvation. On a practical level it matters not whether baptism is an
"answer" of a good conscience as per the NKJV or an "appeal" for a good conscience as per the ESV and
the NAS (and which I think beyond any personal doubt is correct) the bottom line is baptism and a good
conscience have been tied together by the Holy Spirit in this passage and only God can untie the two.
Man attempts to do so at his own peril.

If baptism is an answer of a good conscience the passage teaches that a good conscience leads one to be
obedient and be baptized. If baptism is an appeal for a good conscience it means one is baptized in order
to obtain a good conscience knowing God commanded it. In either case the failure to comply with
baptism is an offense against God and conscience (assuming one's conscience has been trained properly
by God's word).

The exact phrase a "pure conscience" is only used two times in the NKJV of the New Testament. – in 1
Tim. 3:9 and 2 Tim. 1:3. Here is a quick look at those two verses.

1 Tim. 3:9, "holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience." This is listed in its context as being
one of the qualifications for being appointed as a deacon in the church. It just adds to the evidence
already gathered here and presented that God expects his people to live in good or pure conscience.
There can be no acceptable service to God without such a conscience.

2 Tim. 1:3, "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing
I remember you in my prayers night and day." This is Paul once again telling us he lived his life in a way
to always have a good conscience. Compare this with what he said back in Acts 24:16 already discussed
here.
We ought to live our lives every day so as to have a pure conscience. A good conscience is a wonderful
blessing and one which we are in control of – a blessing we can have just by reaching out and taking it. I
equate it to peace of mind which is far superior to turmoil of mind. The conscience tells us, when
properly trained, to repent when we sin. Only by doing so and doing what God requires for our
reconciliation can peace and contentment be found. Truly the conscience is a gift from God if we will
properly train it by God's word and then honor its role in our life. When your conscience pricks your soul
thank God it is doing so for it is nudging you toward repentance and salvation and then peace.