[Maximum Joy Series] The Fruit of Fellowship Sample

The Blessing of a Clear Conscience

Loving right, sincerely, and in truth, is an act of sacrificial love. The kind of love John is urging us to pursue. The type of love that flows from the heart of a born-again Christian, someone who is rooted in Christ and whose fruit proves that he or she is living in the light. 

John has warned us regarding the problem of a corrupt conscience; that is the bad news. When my conscience is clogged with guilt, not only is there a barrier between God and me, but I am also unable to love others as He loved us. 

The good news is that there is a blessing which goes along with a clear conscience:

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (3:21-23 NKJV). 

What is the opposite of doubt? Confidence—especially before God. The blessing of a clear conscience is confidence in God, having the certainty of knowing that we can come boldly before the throne of grace. In the book of James chapter 1, we are told that the one who doubts when he comes to God in prayer: 1) Will not receive what he is asking for; and 2) Is a double-minded man, unstable in his ways. 

When we understand that through the blood of Jesus we are clean from all unrighteousness (even from the unrighteousness that we are not aware of), there is no shame, there is no barrier. Our Father has cleansed us, and we can “abide” in Him. 

As you can see, there is a direct link between our conscience and our ability to love that can be explained through this equation:

Sincere Faith + Good Conscience + Pure Heart = Sacrificial Love

As John is concluding the thought of this section on right loving, he comes back to the commandment Jesus gave us—to love one another as He loved us. He is showing us that the cure for self-condemnation is self-sacrifice. Commend yourself to the One who knows your heart better than you do and love in truth!