Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Have you ever had your conscience eat you up? You did something that you know was wrong, and then you just can’t get it off your mind and heart. It just sits there and pops up repeatedly to your conscious mind. You try to avoid thinking about it, but it just seems to keep rising to the surface.
The conscience can be a good thing, if it is driven by truth. So many people have consciences that were formed in an environment that wasn’t truth based. Care-givers who themselves were often raised in an environment that didn’t value truth, parent as they were parented. They pass along the guilt and fear that they themselves had received.
So getting raised in an environment where everything ended up being someone else’s problem, rather than the actual perpetrator, leads to a conscience that can’t rightly discern truth. They end up feeling guilty for things that they didn’t even do. We have given it a name: gaslighting.
But out text is not talking about this misfires of conscience. It is talking about actual offenses that the individual has committed. When our conscience takes us hostage, it can be very difficult to live the life of holiness that pleases God and is our best life.
When our conscience misfires, we get stuck in a guilt loop. We confess the sin repeatedly, but then don’t experience the relief and joy that a clean conscience brings. It is as though the blood of Christ doesn’t really cleanse us. But that is a lie!
The acts from the past that keep creeping up on our mind and heart have been forgiven. Period. Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were a reminder of the sin, our sin is actually forgiven in Christ. He death was sufficient. There is no further need of cleansing.
The removal of guilt is a freeing experience. It is a weight lifted that allows us to actively serve the LORD. The chains have been removed; we are free indeed.
We can now life in freedom, freedom to do what is right and true. We are not held down by the weight of guilt and shame. Guilt and shame have been removed. Jesus was unblemished. His sacrifice for our sins was enough.
We stand free in Jesus to honor Him with our lives. We are free to serve with excellence. The old has gone, the new has come.
The Arnold Journey 