Perfectly Good Conscience

by Hugh DeLong

"Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, 'Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day'" (Acts 23:1). Paul will say in Acts 24:16: “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.”

How does that work? The simple answer is, if you think it is wrong, do not do it. If you have done something you think is wrong, and thus your conscience is bothering you, repent and ask God to forgive. Do not ignore the ‘voice of your conscience’! At the same time, educate your conscience so that you know what the good and perfect will of God is concerning how you should live.

How is your conscience?

For further study, see this list:

• Romans 2:15 – "...their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them."
• Romans 9:1 – "...my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit."
• Romans 13:5 – "...not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake."
• I Corinthians 8:7 – "...and their conscience being weak is defiled."
• I Corinthians 8:10 – "...will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?"
• I Corinthians 8:12 – "...and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ."
• I Corinthians 10:25 – "...without raising questions for conscience’ sake."
• I Corinthians 10:27 – "...without raising questions for conscience’ sake."
• I Corinthians 10:28 – "...for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake."
• I Corinthians 10:29 – "I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?"
• II Corinthians 1:12 – "...the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity..."
• II Corinthians 4:2 – "...commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God."
• II Corinthians 5:11 – "...and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences."
• I Timothy 1:5 – "...from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
• I Timothy 1:19 – "...keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith."
• I Timothy 3:9 – "...but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience."
• I Timothy 4:2 – "...seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron."
• II Timothy 1:3 – "...whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did."
• Titus 1:15 – "...but both their mind and their conscience are defiled."
• Hebrews 9:9 – "...cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience."
• Hebrews 9:14 – "...cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
• Hebrews 10:2 – "...would have had no very consciousness (conscience) of sins?"
• Hebrews 10:22 – "...having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience..."
• Hebrews 13:18 – "...for we are sure that we have a good conscience..."
• I Peter 2:19 – "...if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows..."
• I Peter 3:16 – "...and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered..."
• I Peter 3:21 – "...an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."