FAITH AND A GOOD CONSCIENCE

“Having FAITH and a GOOD CONSCIENCE, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck” – 1 Timothy 1:19

It takes FAITH and a GOOD CONSCIENCE to produce God-glorifying Impact: “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the GOOD WARFARE; having FAITH and a GOOD CONSCIENCE, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck” (1 Tim.1: 18-19). Faith is God’s supernatural gift to the Believer, the Measure of which all who believed received at New Birth (Rom.12:3). Faith is not apart from God; it is His gift. Faith is not a product of human thinking, effort, or assertion. We cannot use Faith independent of God. Therefore, Faith does not operate with a wrong lifestyle. The operations of Faith presuppose living right. An inappropriate lifestyle will neutralize the operation of one’s faith!

Paul warned Timothy to “wage the good warfare, HOLDING FAITH and a GOOD CONSCIENCE” (1Tim.1:19, English Standard Version). A true Christian life is an active warfare against spiritual forces, founded on a strong Faith and clear conscience, where even the slightest deviation can lead to a “shipwreck” of one’s faith, as negatively exemplified by Hymenaeus and Alexander who were handed over to Satan for their blasphemous doctrines. A Good Conscience describes a transparent and upright inner conviction; living in accordance with God’s Will, and thereby being able to “wage the good warfare” of Faith without guilt or shame. The actions of such a person align with their beliefs, and they can stand before God with Integrity! This calls for regularly reflecting on our intentions and actions to ensure divine alignment!

Faith is our Access to the Victory of Christ (1Jh.5:4). However, this will materialize only on the platform of a Good Conscience! 1 John 3:20-22 says, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” A good conscience is crucial to the operations of Faith: “And having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a TRUE HEART in full assurance of FAITH, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who praised is faithful.” (Heb.10: 21-23).

Our Faith will be effective and impactful only on the ground of a Good Conscience. However, if we have done wrong as God’s children, there is provision for repentance and forgiveness (1 Jh.1: 6-10). We cannot continue to walk wrongly and expect our Faith to work or be positively impactful. This is because Faith is of the heart and Satan will attack an unrepentant heart with condemnation, to not be bold in Faith!