07/15/2026
The conscience to repent..evidence of the Holy Ghost
Conscience...The faculty, power, or inward principle which decides as to the character of one's own actions. *How would you define your character? In matters of the bible, a person's attributes, those actions that can be attributed to his or her character, are determined to be godly or ungodly. Pretty simple. The contrast manifested by words such as light or dark, truth or lie, for me or against me, make decisions critical in determining conscientiousness. A battle for the mind exists today just as it has existed for centuries. As the mind goes, so goes the spirit of that man according to scripture.
What was the purpose of Christ's birth, death, and ressurection? The answer you give establishes the condition of your conscience. However,do you truly understand, and are you able to defend your answer? If not, why not? There has been a gift given to all who have submitted to the will of God, thru a confession of faith, that enables each and everyone to rely and trust in the covenant promises of the Almighty. Do you have this gift? Are you able to defend your faith? Let's take a critical look at your belief system and determine if more is needed to affirm a blood bought conscience.
Prayer: Heavenly Father. Remove all obstructions and hinderances to the hearing of Your Word today. Fill our minds with the truth and power of your will for our lives. It is in Jesus that all things are possible to them that believe. Remove all doubt and fear, that we may see the Son of Glory as He daily tries to reveal Himself to us. In Jesus name we pray.
Scripture: Luke 16:22-26..."And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
Message
The Bible is full of people who received second chances, and even third and fourth chances: Peter, Jonah, Samson, David, and others to name a few. All are trophies of God’s grace. Forgiveness however, is not the same thing as reconciliation. Many people struggle to find the balance between showing mercy and enabling a harmful person to continue harming. Our Lord encourages us to have a loving and forgiving heart, but one that also practices wise guardianship over our lives. So what is the intent of forgiveness?
In order to fully comprehend the intent of a Christian's duty to forgive we must look strongly at two other formidable words... *wisdom and reconciliation. WISDOM: Ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding. RECONCILIATION: The process by which a dispute may be settled. When reconciliation is secured, harmony between opposites is achieved. Does the act of blindly forgiving prevent the trespass from ocurring again? I believe each of us may be able to say emphatically no! So what is a child of God to do?
True forgiveness is a function of the heart and and given to the one who offends, thus removing any barriers that unforgiveness brings. The blood of Christ offers this kind of forgiveness. However, the following truth applies to both the physical and the spiritual. When someone continues to unrepentantly violate another person’s boundaries, a wise person learns to set firmer boundaries. God does the same.
How does God establish firmer boundaries? The answer: by the call to repent, to turn away from sin. Earlier it was asked, what was the purpose of Christ's birth, death, and ressurection? In our Lord's own words we read..."I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:32. And what is sin? As defined by scripture, it is lawlessness or transgression of God's will, either by omitting to do what God's law requires or by doing what it forbids. *The transgression may occur in thought, word, or deed. Jesus came to reconcile us to the Creator thru repentance...giving us both knowledge and wisdom of what defiles His will. Jesus came to save us from the "second death; an eternal spiritual death."
Over the centuries, man continues to manipulate the wisdom of God's word and thus bring to bear on our consciences platitudes of no worth in fulfilling the will of the "I AM" of scripture. There is a place mentioned many times in both the new and the old testaments. It is called Gehenna or hell. How serious was Jesus about the existence of this domain of infinite anguish. Matt 5:29..." if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Serious warning ! So the word hell (Gehenna) as a place of punishment is used in the New Testament by *Him who is the essence of infinite love. This word (Gehenna) is used 12 times in the New Testament, and each time it is translated "hell." *Jesus was a hell fire preacher! It is a place; "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:44
Why is this so important to understand? Many pulpits today preach a message contrary to the written word. The "isms" being brought forward flat out deny the existence and penalty of a place called hell in one form or another. The most prominent teaching today is "annihilationism." There is no place of eternal torment. Those who die in their sin without the covering of sacrificial blood are simply extinguished...their soul no longer exists. If this be so, then where is the incentive in this life to do the bidding of our righteous Judge and Creator? This is not scriptually correct and many will find out too late the error of this thinking. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Rom 1:18 And what is that truth...there is a hell, Jesus says so! Matt 10:28..."fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Another problem within the pulpit is "universalism." This would be the teaching that all go to heaven, eventually. How so in contrast to the following?..."Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor 6:9-10. Be not deceived is the warning here.
And finally we come to one that is most controversial..."inclusivism." This is a teaching that those who have never heard the word of God will not be punished. However this teaching flies in the face of the following. Rom 1:20..."For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Most claims of ignorance fall flat as Romans 1:20 says there is no excuse for not believing in God’s existence. Micah 6:8 also counters the claims of ignorance: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” As such it would be noteworthy to understand, if ignorance does not excuse sin, then feigned ignorance is even worse.
I do believe that Jesus is righteous and just. Therefore I believe in levels of punishment according to His will. We find a hint of this in Luke 12:47-48..." That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Even so, it must be understood...hell is not heaven!
If you are following this message in agreement to its' content and context, then I would say that you are either being prompted by the spirit of truth to believe or that you are in possession of the Holy Ghost and truly understand the wisdom being spoken. In one case you are being drawn to the cross, while in the other you have received the benefit of our Lord's sacrifice. The Holy Ghost is the purveyor of truth; sent by Jesus to all who have confessed in His name and sacrifice. He is the helper, the teacher, and the comforter of John 14:16. In addition...."the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26
And what has Jesus declared to be the truth? Matt 7:15-16..."Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." And what are the fruits of false prophets? "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."John 8:43-44
Perhaps many who hear this message will say...what makes you so certain your understanding of scripture is correct? My answer is simple. There can only be one truth as guided by the Spirit of Truth...the Holy Ghost. If you claim this precious gift as well, then one of us has to be wrong. It is then I would challenge you to do the following. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15 The word of God is always to be the standard for rebuke and reproof. I am willing as, I have always been, to allow the Holy Ghost to be my judge.
In the beginning of this message we mentioned names of a few who received a second chance. Our text scripture revealed the name of one who did not. He begged for aid, but it did not come for "there is a great gulf fixed." He was concerned for the spiritual condition of his five brothers "lest they also come into this place of torment." It becomes most obvious as the parable goes on, his concerns and the methods he proposed to save were too late and unmerited. I love the final word in this most important parable from Jesus. In rebuttle to the rich man's suggestions, Jesus declares..."If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Luke 16:31. How critical does this make the hearing of God's truth? The aid of the Spirit is paramount in this endeavor.
The Lord may return at any moment. I do not willingly compromise the truth of scripture, nor should any disciple of Christ. The power of God to save is in the unified word spoken and that which is approved by the Holy Spirit. That word is backed by heaven and the power of a holy and omniscient sovereign. If you wish to be of the Spirit, do not delay in coming to the foot of the cross. Be washed in the blood of the lamb and know that you belong to Him that saves. The conscience to repent comes only from the presence of the Holy Ghost. I pray this will be so in your life as well.
Prayer: Father. Deception is menacingly prevalent in the world today; a world ruled by the father of lies. Many are being led to the gates of hell thinking safe thoughts. I beg you, in the name of Jesus, to open the eyes of those seeking the benefits of self versus the sacrifices of serving the church, Your bride. Our eternal hope is in You Lord, not in the riches of this world. Guide those of the Spirit in better ways of service. In Jesus name...Amen.