I am reading John Ensor’s book, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness. On pages 128-130, Mr. Ensor explains that,

“When Christ went to the cross, He died to clear not only the path for God’s mercy but also the path for our conscience to be purified.”

Sounds easy enough, right? But how does this really work, when we are so often so aware of the shame of sin? Sometimes we know that, in principle our sins are forgiven, but our consciences continue to work overtime to remind us of the guilt that we should feel for sin. Mr. Ensor explains how to have an inner conversation to bring our consciences in line with God’s judgment:

“If my conscience objects to my confidently drawing near to God to praise or petition Him, then I must be willing to stand on the truth of the gospel and contend for my faith.

“Conscience shouts, ‘I object.’

“I reply, ‘On what basis?’

“Conscience says, ‘You did such-and-such. How can you possibly think God doesn’t see it?’

“Faith says, ‘You have a good point. I will not deny the facts. But I ask, ‘Was it or was it not a sin for which Christ died? If yes, was it or was it not paid in full by Him out of His great love for me?’ Our conscience will soon withdraw the objection and agree with us that we ought to draw near to God and say, ‘Thank you, Father, for paying for that awful sin my conscience has just brought to mind. I rejoice all the more deeply in your lovingkindness.’ We can truly say, ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). Such is the cleansing power of faith on a stained conscience.”

Try it. An inner conversation like this while protect you against condemnation and make grace amazing to you!

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