We read in Acts 23:1, “And looking intently at the council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day."(ESV)
As the apostle Paul stood on trial before the council of religious leaders, he bravely testified that he had lived his life before God with all good conscience. These leaders who tried Paul, were those who adhered to the Law of Moses meticulously, who were bound by religious traditions, but in reality had no personal relationship with God. No wonder then, that Jesus when He was here on earth, was indignant with these religious leaders, and referred to them as white-washed tombs. Outwardly they were doing it all right, but inside they were filled with evil and sin. When Paul was confronted by these leaders, whose conscience was actually defiled, he courageously announced that his conscience was clear and untainted before God. Paul understood these religious leaders better than anyone else as he himself as a Pharisee had once been a part of this group before He met the Lord.
We have looked at our conscience as a good thing God has placed inside of us, which serves as an internal audit to help us assess ourselves and live right. That is also the reason why when someone behaves unjustly, we refer to them as those who act against their conscience or have no conscience at all. Therefore, if we claim to have a good conscience, it would mean that all of our words, thoughts and actions that we engage in all through the week seen and unseen, are totally pleasing to God, and have the Lord’s approval. Our desire must be to strive to lead lives that are transparent which the Lord favors and approves of, so that we can stand before Him with a clean conscience. The evil one’s crafty scheme is to trap us into sin, and then accuse us of wrong doing and in order to be overcomers we need God’s grace and strength, for only those who are victorious can stand before God with a good conscience. We must be determined to do nothing that would displease or dishonor the Lord in any way.
Paul’s testimony
In Acts 22:3 we read, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up here in Jerusalem as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors and was just as dedicated to God as are all of you who are here today.” (GNB)
In Acts 22:4, we read, “And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison.” (NLT)
This is the testimony of Paul that he shared with the members of the council. Paul, (who was earlier named Saul), was a religious Jew who underwent strict religious training and instruction in the Law of Moses under Gamaliel. Not only was he zealous about the traditions of his fathers, he was antagonistic to Jesus and his teachings and his only goal was to arrest, persecute and put to death those who followed Jesus and His Way. Strange as it may seem, Paul did not think it wrong to even kill those who believed in Jesus, though he believed in the Law of Moses which forbid murder, because Paul believed that he was doing God a favor by eradicating those who believed in Jesus. All of what Paul did, he did with a good conscience, in ignorance, not realizing he was doing wrong, because he believed with all his heart on what he had been taught.
Traditions that bind us today
Let us list some of the traditions that people follow today, all of which is done with a good conscience but do need to be scrutinized to see if they are in keeping with God and His word. Many people observe lent, they fast for 40 days in a year, abstain from meat, drinking alcohol and try not to indulge in any sinful habits for that period of time. Some observe this strictly with the anticipation that by so doing, they can please God somehow, and can thereby receive favors from God. There are those who believe that irrespective of how they earn their money, if they go to church, and give their tithes to God regularly, He will be pleased with them. Many others have been taught that by repeating the Lord’s Prayer for a certain number of time or certain phrases repeatedly, they will be blessed by God.
There is another tradition followed by many on what is called ‘Palm Sunday’. If we recall that day Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowds followed him shouting ‘hosanna to the Son of David’ casting their garments and palm branches before Jesus. But sadly it was the same people who when Jesus stood trial before Pilate, shouted along with the Pharisees that Jesus be crucified. Not understanding the significance of what Jesus really did, many today observe Palm Sunday and then take the palms that are distributed, make a cross out of it and fix it on their door frames with the hope that this palm cross will ward off all attacks from the evil one. Some have the habit of keeping their Bibles next to their pillow when they sleep, hoping that evil spirits will be kept at bay.
If we were to analyze our lives, we see so many traditions that bind us and it seems almost impossible for us to be rid of them. It is a worthy reminder to all of us that these meaningless traditions will never save us from our sins and the Lord is not pleased with them. The traditions we follow may be done with a good conscience, but they are of no value and are literally worthless in the sight of God.
So also the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day were so bound by the Law of Moses, and blinded by the traditions that they had been taught, that they failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The ones who got Jesus arrested, and sent to be crucified were not the Romans, but these Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, the scribes and chief priests who were so blinded by their traditions that they could not perceive who Jesus was, could not accept His teachings and were hostile to Jesus. They were so entrenched in what they had been taught, that they did not hesitate to do anything to those who did not subscribe to their teachings.
When Jesus came down to the earth to save mankind from their sins, He left or willingly gave up all the glory and splendor of heavens. If the Lord Jesus did not do that there would be now any of us could be saved, and could ever make it to heaven. The Lord who gave it all up for our sakes, is inviting us to abandon all the traditions, which we could otherwise call as our ‘comfort zones’ and follow Him. There are many who want to hold on to both Jesus and their traditions, not realizing that it is an impossibility, as Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon.” (BLB)
Paul’s encounter with Jesus
In Act 22:6-8, Paul says, "As I was traveling and coming near Damascus, about midday a bright light from the sky flashed suddenly around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute,' he said to me.”
Paul who was then called Saul, had this amazing encounter with the risen Lord Jesus on the way to Damascus. Though Paul was ardently persecuting the people of God, when the Lord confronted Paul He asked him, ‘Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?’ Though the persecution was aimed at God’s people, the Lord considered it a directed towards Himself. It was this astonishing meeting with Jesus that made Paul realize that all the traditions he held on for so long were of no value in the sight of God. He had been actually fighting against God.
Whenever the people of God are persecuted, isn’t it an overwhelming thought to know that the Lord empathizes with us, and regards it as Himself being wronged. In order to enter the Kingdom of God we too like Paul must have a personal relationship with Jesus, for He alone can transform us. We must not fear, but be willing to discard all those traditions that the Lord does not approve of, and only then we will see radical changes in our lives. Once we begin this journey of following Jesus, we will find that we will face opposition from all quarters because we will suddenly get noticed as those who truly follow Jesus. We must bear in mind that only the ones who follow the word of God and live in accordance to the will of God will enter heaven.
Transformation in Paul
Here’s what Paul says in Philippians 3:8, “Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ.” (CEV)
When Paul met Jesus Christ, everything else he held on to earlier became garbage or rubbish. In his ignorance he had earlier followed the traditions of men and the very faith that Paul tried to demolish and destroy, the Lord chose and called him to rebuild. The ones whom Paul hated and persecuted in his blindness, became the very ones that Paul dearly loved and built up.
Many are fearful of change because it goes against the grain of people around them, and the society they live in. If we seek to have a good conscience that is alignment with God and His word, then there is no room for double standards, we are called to let go of all those unnecessary traditions that profit us nothing.
In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul says “For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed ..” (ASV) and in Philippians 1:21, he goes on to say further “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”(ESV)
The change that the Lord brought in Paul was so astounding that Paul no longer considered sufferings for Christ as something to be ashamed of. The one who persecuted the people of God was now ready, and willing to be persecuted for the cause of Christ. He was even ready to face death because He knew whom He had believed, and knew that death was not the end, but would only be his gain as he would be with Jesus for all eternity.
The difference between who Paul was before his conversion, and who he had become on his encounter with Jesus was that earlier he followed the traditions of men with a good conscience and persecuted the church of God, but now his good conscience was totally depending on God and His word and He was used by the Lord to build the church of God. Where do you stand?
And so we need to ask ourselves another question, ‘who is guiding our conscience?’ If we live only for worldly positions, possession, fame and earthly blessings, and seek to compromise and blend in with the standards of this world, we will never have a good and clean conscience. Instead of being ardent about our church, the building, our caste, our language, our work etc., we must chose to be zealous only about the Lord. Sadly, the major hindrance for many to come to believe, and follow the Lord Jesus is not those outside the church, but those of us within, who don’t live consistent lives in obedience to the Lord and His word and therefore fail to have a good conscience. Like Paul each of us should be able to stand and testify as he did before the council in Acts 23:1, that ‘we have lived our lives before God in all good conscience’. When we live this way, others will certainly see the difference in our lives and will earnestly desire to follow Jesus and become His disciples.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
