Conscience and the Spirit

By T.M. Moore - Posted at The Fellowship of Ailbe:

We need the Spirit to work in our conscience.

Referee of the Soul (5)

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit… Romans 9.1

The work of the Spirit
We have mentioned the Spirit of God in conjunction with the conscience. Let’s elaborate on that a bit more.

The Spirit, we said, renews the writing of the works of the Law of God on our heart by teaching and enabling us to obey the commandments of the Lord. What years of neglect and sinful works had obscured, the Spirit, Who comes to us at the moment of salvation, now begins to renew, taking up the work of God again and writing the Law on our souls so that we might live honorably and in love to God and man (Ezek. 36.26, 27). As He sets the Law in its proper place in our heart, as the rule book for loving God and neighbors, He provides the means whereby the conscience can arbitrate between thoughts and feelings.

Apparently, if we understand Paul aright, it is the work of God’s Spirit to confirm to the conscience that it is functioning in line with the good and clean purposes of God. When we are loving God and our neighbors, and when we are acting in such a way as to glorify God in all things, we should expect to know some confirming word from the Holy Spirit, assuring us that we have chosen correctly and acted according to the requirements of a good and clean conscience.

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