Nov 02 2009
Killing Your Conscience
The subjects of my reading are somewhat various right now. My time is FAR too limited. Thus, my thoughts are somewhat eclectic at times. I believe this is a good thing. After all, as cohesion comes, I am finding the various thoughts are really just branches of the main question: How can I best live my life to the glory of my Creator?
One of the areas I have been studying lately is the Christian mind. In fact, I read an entire book in two settings (okay, it was short, and I was trapped in the car) by John Stott which I will review in an upcoming post - excellent and a quick read by the way.
However, I just wanted to address why it all really matters.
Our minds are under attack. If you doubt this, try to take a more objective view of what you are watching on TV, what you see in the checkout aisle at the supermarket, what you hear on your radio. It is pretty bad, folks.
While we are far too much like the frog in the pan of water - as the heat turns up we just think we’re getting more comfortable - the world is bombarding our minds (and through them every aspect of our lives) with an ungodly mix which, were we to really hear and see it, ought to turn our stomachs.
John MacArthur asked a compelling question, and one we should all ponder, in his sermon on 2 Cor 1:12-14. While I will refer to this sermon more in the future, I want to highlight one point because I believe it is an understanding of this one point which shows why purity of the mind and filling our minds with what is true and good and lovely is so very important.
He asked the question: What sin is the most serious? The answer: The sin of the mind.
The biggest challenge we face as Christians is to keep a pure mind. To indulge ourselves in sins of thought (you know, those sins no one sees and we assume are, thus, no big deal) is to molest our conscience.
To combat mind sins, we must constantly confront our minds with God’s word. Our conscience is our only guard against mind sins. We must be strengthening our conscience with God’s word.
So, the question is: In a typical day, how much time do you spend feeding your mind on what is good and pure and lovely? Compare that with the amount of time your mind is bombarded by what belongs to and flows from the world in which you live?
Are you killing your conscience? Important question!
