Acts 24:16

“So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” (Acts 24:16 ESV). As we begin thinking about this verse, notice that it begins with “So”, which points us back to why we must take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. Reading through the verses previous to this one we find Paul on trial before Felix at Caesarea. Our verse is found in the defense Paul presented before Felix. In particular “so” points to the comment Paul makes about himself: “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:14-15). Because of the relationship Paul has with God, he stresses his care in maintaining a clear conscience before God and men. Clearly, this verse also applies to us in how we should live before God.

So how much effort do we put forth in maintaining a clear conscience and what do we mean by a clear conscience? To have a clear or clean conscience is to feel free of guilt or responsibility. Conscience is that part of our soul that is most like God in that it knows good and evil (Genesis 3:22). This human conscience was awakened when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, disobeying God’s command not to. To an extent, every human knows when doing wrong by a feeling within that is disturbing. As a believer, we need to nourish our conscience from the word of God and pay attention to it as a guide in our behavior. When the Holy Spirit communicates to us through it that we have sinned we are to come before God and confess that sin and ask for forgiveness to obtain a clear conscience.

Prayer

Father, it appears that today many believers are either ignoring the guidance of their conscience or they have allowed it to become dull or they are seeking ways to overcome the discomfort it gives them. Even though my conscience can cause great discomfort at times, I thank you for it because of the guidance it provides in godly living.