Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.--1Peter 3:16-17
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
The conscience accuses. Most of us really hate that, don't we? It notifies us when we sinned. My pride hates being informed of my wrongdoing and wants very much to suppress that notification in any way it can. Romans 2:14-16 tells us this.
"for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."
We have the law written on our hearts. Man knows the basic standard of right and wrong. When violated, a conscience acts like a built-in warning system, and produces some uncomfortable feelings...guilt, doubt, fear, anxiety, shame and sometimes even despair. If we listen to our conscience and handle these assaults as they come up...confessing sin and purposing to obey God...we will have a good conscience toward God. A good conscience produces....well, good feelings. A believer who does God's will has peace, joy and assurance in his heart.
A conscience can, however, become "hard" when ignored and continually assaulted with violations. The apostle Paul urges us in many places not to ignore, violate or cause others to violate this built-in warning system. Repeatedly ignoring the warnings that come from our conscience will desensitize it and eventually silence it all together. That, girls, is a very dangerous place to be. When we experience the pain of a burn from touching something hot we remove our hands from the object. The consequences of not doing that is the searing of flesh. The same occurs when we ignore our conscience...it becomes seared and loses feeling. We begin the process of inoculating ourselves against God and the truth of His word. In effect, we begin the process of condemning ourselves into hell. Read these words from Romans 2:
"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: "
Pretty scary thing to allow our conscience to become seared and cling to our sin instead of turning and repenting and accepting God's free offer of forgiveness.
On the other hand, if we are then reviled for doing good, our accusers will be ashamed...that is, our good conscience will prick their seared consciences enough to perhaps make them want what you have. Perhaps they will be pricked even enough to make them repent and turn away from evil to God.
It is better to suffer then for doing good, rather than doing evil. We do not want to be a reproach to Christ and be reviled because we are acting in an un-Christlike manner towards others or are doing things that are in opposition to God's law. These just serve to confirm in a sinner's heart that God's people are no different from them; that they are, in fact, hypocrites...professing something with their mouths but not believing it in their hearts so that it affects their behavior. Aaaah...but when we suffer for doing good and take it willingly...this is what gets them thinking. Look at the cross. The Just One suffered for the unjust. The greatest good the world has ever known came out of just this kind of suffering. That is why we are to rejoice when we face persecution for naming the name of Christ. What opportunities are ours then to react in a manner that honors Him before men.
Love
Mom
