Dear One,

THE TINY SCOUT is an edited scene, shown above, from a great movie called AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. The tiny scout is your conscience, moved by the Holy Spirit. You can see the whole movie on YouTube. Enjoy it – don’t be a Schmoe! – and this article!

Love you! KRP

THE TINY SCOUT – YOUR CONSCIENCE

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience (Grk. SUNEIDESIS) before God until this day.” Acts 23:1-2 NKJV

What is the conscience? It is the Greek word SUNEIDESIS, from a root SUNEIDEO meaning ‘to see completely.’ SUNEIDESIS is defined as ‘co-perceptions.’ Interestingly, there is no Hebrew word translated into English as conscience in the OT, although Paul says his ancestors served the Lord in a pure conscience (2Tim.1:3). It’s defined as moral awareness, but when you study the usages of SUNEIDESIS, all translated conscience, you find out it may be immoral awareness as well as moral awareness. A conscience can be weak (1Cor.8:7), defiled (Titus 1:15), seared with a hot iron (1Tim.4:2), and evil (Heb.10:22). A conscience can also be pure (1Tim.3:9), without offense (Acts 24:16), and good (Acts 23:1,1 Tim.1:5,19,Heb 13:18,1 Peter 3:16,21). It appears all men have a conscience (1 Cor.4:2), both saved and unsaved (Romans 2:15, 9:1). A conscience can be cleansed (Heb 9:14), and it appears that the Holy Spirit also works with your conscience (Phil 2:13) which would fit with the interpretation the children’s choir gave above.

Is the conscience a function of the soul or spirit of man? I don’t know for sure, but since the regenerated spirit of man (Titus 3:5) is indwelt by the Godhead (Col.1:29, Col.2:9,10), and saved man can still have an unclean, defiled or seared with a hot iron conscience, I would have to say it is a function of the soul, closely related to the spirit, but still in the category of the soul. What allows a saved man to view pornography or gamble?  A defiled conscience. By the way, a hotel operator reported the largest percentage of porn site watching ever recorded in his hotel was during a youth pastors conference. I am so uncomfortable when I view these situations because my conscience cannot let me go there.

This being so, I myself always strive Grk. ASKUEO) to have a conscience (Grk. SUNEIDESIS) without offense (Grk. APROSKOPTO) toward God and men. Acts 24:16 NKJV

How do we strive to have a conscience void of offence toward God and man? Something to note – they couldn’t find anything to accuse Daniel of regarding his work for the Babylonian kingdom. You can bet they audited his tax returns, everything, but couldn’t find anything to accuse him (Daniel 6:4). Daniel had a conscience void of offence before God AND man. ASKUEO is only used here, but to help us understand, there is another related word, GUMNAZO, that is used seven times in the NT.

But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise (Grk. GUMNAZO) yourself toward godliness. 1 Tim 4:7-8 NKJV

A true, vital, spiritual relationship with God – that is godliness. GUMNAZO is used of the training of an athlete, stripping everything away, to enable them to win the prize. Our prize is God Himself – that true, living relationship with Him that pales the desire for anything else. Are you willing to train to have a conscience void of offence, with no defilement in your conscience to trip you up, toward God and men? In the intern program we demand that our students pray in tongues and read the Word for hours, because they must get to the place of that conscience void of offence. Otherwise, they will be defiled teachers defiling the ones they teach. Do you see it? Tongues of fire and the Word on fire will burn up the worthless evil in their hearts. Then, watch out! We will have Holy Ghost fire breathing preachers and teachers…

Let me take you into Hebrews and show you some usages on SUNEIDESIS through which the Holy Spirit lit me up this week.

Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.  7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; 8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience —  Heb 9:1-10 NKJV

There is a cleansing of the conscience that the OT system of worship and atonement could not accomplish. When we get to a truly cleansed conscience, the glory that will break forth in the Church will be a fulfillment of Isaiah where it says the glory of the Lord filled all the earth. The cleansed conscience will lead us to the manifestation of Ephesians glory, as seated at the right hand of God. Now keep reading…

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Heb 9:11-15 NKJV

The dead works were the attempt to deal with the old sin-consciousness that ever-plagued God’s people. When your conscience is cleansed from sin consciousness to God consciousness, to the righteousness of God consciousness, to the perfectly being seated consciousness at the right hand of God, then the glory of God will break out through the nations to bring in the harvest at the end of the age. Keep reading…

For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another —  26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Heb 9:24-28 NKJV

That’s the cleansed conscience – He has put away my sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Remember that SUNEIDESIS means ‘co-perceptions’ – how I perceive myself in light of what God has done in me, either releases the glory of God or hides it under a bushel basket. With my cleansed conscience I perceive myself as a righteous saint. Paul who had been a persecutor and a second degree accessory to murder, said, I know nothing of which I am guilty. The cleansed conscience, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, was what made Paul PAUL!

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Heb 10:1-4 NKJV

Brothers and sisters, we are building something wonderful here. If the law could have purified the worshippers then there would be no consciousness, no perception – SUNEIDESIS – of sins. BUT, it couldn’t, BUT HE COULD!

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

If He doesn’t remember them, why do you want to remember them? I tell you, when we get a hold of the cleansed, pure, good conscience, the glory of God is going to explode everywhere.

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Heb 10:16-23 NKJV

The evil conscience is the ‘works working, self-justifying, sin conscious’ self-perception that denies in practice if not in fact the finished work of Christ. So, we have the largest Christian denomination where He is being sacrificed again daily, at least according to them. Evil conscience…which opens the door for every other evil thing! This is subtle too, because as servants of God we get works oriented and performance driven when we just need to rest in Him. Our hearts are sprinkled, like the High Priest sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat until it was covered and drenched in the blood of the lamb. Our Lamb has shed His blood and cleansed our hearts. We perceive that so we can have a pure conscience. Oh my brother or sister, let your heart meditate on the blood of Jesus, let it wash over your soul and cover you and cleanse you! When you are cleansed, you can walk out in power and glory…

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Heb 10:23-25 NKJV

I want to live before God and man with a good, pure, cleansed conscience, my perceptions of myself, God and other men being such that they glorify His name. When that happens, miracles flow because there is nothing in my heart holding them back, no sense of unworthiness, no sense of guilt or shame, no sense of sin because all that has been washed away by the Blood of the Lamb. You too? Hallelujah! Amen! Love you!

Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…