Hebrews 9:14 (NKJV) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Is there something that can help us hear from the Holy Spirit? Yes, there is! We must ensure that our conscience is not hardened by repeated sins in our lives. The conscience is part of the spirit man or heart, and it does not belong to the soul or mind. The Holy Spirit speaks through our conscience because it is part of our spiritual being. Our spirit is the command centre of our lives. Therefore, we need to keep it clear and not clogged by sin. Our mind or soul makes judgements through reasoning and rationalising, but the conscience receives guidance directly from the Holy Spirit within our hearts.
We have a cleansed and clean conscience because it has been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ when we were born again. Therefore, our conscience is extremely sensitive to the Holy Spirit after the born-again experience.
Acts 23:1 (NKJV) Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Before being saved on the road to Damascus, when he met the resurrected Lord, the Apostle Paul’s name was Saul. Saul was the Pharisee responsible for the death of Stephen when he led people to stone him to death. He was a cold-blooded murderer who persecuted Christians because of his religious zeal. Yet, he stated that he had absolute confidence in having a good conscience before God after his conversion, because he understood the power of Jesus Christ’s blood to cleanse him of his sins. God remembers his sin and lawless deeds no more. It is with this conviction that Paul was able to receive tremendous revelations from the Holy Spirit to write all the epistles of the Bible. This suggests that a clear conscience enables clear communication between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit through the conscience. A clear conscience is powerful in giving us the ability to hear from the Holy Spirit. It is a reliable source.
Our conscience can serve God when it is spiritually purified by the blood of Jesus Christ. It becomes highly sensitive to the Holy Spirit when we are born again. This sensitivity allows the Holy Spirit to remind us of and convict us about what is wrong in our language, lifestyle, and actions. Since the Holy Spirit resides within us, He listens to every conversation, observes every action, and understands the intentions of our hearts. You can be confident that He will prompt you about what is wrong and assist you in making the right decision if you choose to follow Him.
We will either yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit through our conscience or succumb to fleshly desires. Therefore, if we want to walk victoriously, we must control our fleshly desires and avoid actions that are independent of God.
Sermon Series: The Norm in the New Era
清洁良心的能力
希伯来书9:14 何况基督借着永远的灵,将自己无瑕无疵献给神,他的血岂不更能洗净你们的心,除去你们的死行,使你们侍奉那永生神吗?
是否有什么能帮助我们更清楚地听见圣灵的声音呢?答案是肯定的!我们必须确保自己的良心不因生命中反复的罪而变得麻木。良心是属灵人的一部分,属于我们的灵或内心,并不属于魂或理性思维。圣灵正是借着良心向我们说话,因为良心是我们属灵生命的一部分。我们的灵是生命的指挥中心,因此需要保持清洁,不被罪堵塞。我们的头脑或魂常常通过推理和理性来作判断,而良心却是在内心深处直接领受圣灵的引导。
当我们重生得救时,因着耶稣基督的宝血,我们的良心已经被洁净,并且持续保持清洁。因此,在重生之后,我们的良心对圣灵极其敏锐。
使徒行传23:1 保罗定睛看着公会的人,说:“弟兄们,我在神面前行事为人都是凭着良心,直到今日。”
在大马士革路上遇见复活的主、尚未得救之前,使徒保罗名叫扫罗。他是一位法利赛人,曾主导司提反被石头打死,并因宗教热心而残酷地逼迫基督徒。然而,在归信之后,他却能坦然宣告自己在神面前有无亏的良心。这是因为他深知耶稣基督宝血洁净罪的能力——神不再记念他的罪和不法。正是带着这样的确信,保罗才能从圣灵领受极其丰富的启示,写下新约中的多卷书信。这说明,清洁的良心能够在圣灵与人的灵之间建立清晰、顺畅的沟通。清洁的良心,使我们更有能力听见圣灵的声音,是一个可靠的属灵管道。
当良心因耶稣基督的宝血得着属灵的洁净时,它就能事奉神;并且在我们重生之后,对圣灵变得高度敏锐。这种敏锐使圣灵能够提醒我们、光照我们在言语、生活方式和行为上哪些是不合神心意的。既然圣灵住在我们里面,祂聆听我们每一次谈话,察看我们每一个行动,也洞悉我们内心的动机。你可以确信,只要你愿意顺服,祂必会提醒你什么是错的,并帮助你作出正确的选择。
因此,我们不是顺服圣灵借着良心所发出的提醒,就是顺从肉体的私欲。若我们渴望过得胜的生活,就必须约束肉体的情欲,避免一切脱离神、倚靠自己的行为。
讲章系列:新纪元的常态
