The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
1 Timothy 1:5-7
The Holy Spirit will not only empower you to live a life pleasing to God; He will carefully, through the Word and through His gentle whisper, point out things that do not please Him. And what about those so-called “gray” areas of life? The Spirit will inform and instruct your conscience.
What is the conscience? It’s the gauge on our internal instrument panel that shows us the difference between what pleases God and what doesn’t. The Puritans believed the conscience was like a mirror, catching the light of God’s Word and reflecting its concentrated focus onto our actions, desires, goals, and choices. We can suppress or stifle it, but its voice will continue to speak to us if its volume has been turned up through daily time in God’s Word. Yes, it can also become overly sensitive as well (1 John 3:19-20). But we can depend on the Spirit and the Word to bring it back into right alignment.
Spirit of the living God, please continue to inform and transform my conscience. I don’t want to smother my conscience under a pillow, but I don’t want to live timidly either—like I’m walking on eggshells. How can I know balance unless You bring me balance? With all my heart, I want to please You.
