What’s a conscience? It’s translated from “suneidesis,” literally meaning “knowing together” - it’s intimate joint knowledge that is shared between you and God. It’s the place of truth in the inward parts, of the Lord searching me and knowing me. God’s desire is that I end up living in a place where know even as I am known.

The spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord, searching out his deepest passions and emotions and motives. As exposing and intimidating as this seems to many people, this is the very place God has ordained that we meet and remain in uncontaminated friendship and relationship with him. Jesus’ blood answers absolutely every question as to whether or not this is possible.

It makes perfect sense that a man’s conscience is the focal point of the struggle over his eternal soul. Those who are in Christ live as those whose hearts have been sprinkled (ceremonially and totally pure) from an evil conscience, whose bodies have been washed with pure water. If you’re in Christ, the entire demonic realm has no inside track to your conscience - unless you give place for it.

There are two ways evil can gain access to your conscience: by searing it, or by defiling it. The new covenant in Jesus’ blood comes written to us so that we do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father: Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is established forever. If anyone does sin, they will experience pain in their conscience. This is God’s goodness, his mercy: this pain is meant to bring us quickly to admitting what we’ve done to God; and to applying Jesus’ blood in order to totally and eternally wipe out that sin. This wiping out brings the conscience back to a place of perfect sanctuary with God.

When a man sins and then ignores this pain, argues with this pain, silences and buries this pain; he allows his conscience to be seared. He lets the infinitely hateful fire of sin burn his meeting place with God to a crisp. He no longer has a place to know God and be known by God unless something brings him to admit what he’s done and apologize to God from the heart. Without this, the demonic realm has a wide open run through that man’s life.

A defiled conscience works differently, but it can be just as destructive. A defiled conscience is no longer a place of knowing together with God; it is confused and acts outside of faith. A defiled conscience can feel pain intensely, but won’t hear God say “not guilty” once Jesus’ blood has erased sin. In other words, someone who knows God and has been totally cleansed of all impurity doesn’t even have to sin to have a defiled conscience. All he has to do is believe what the devil has to say about him over what God has to say.

Satan is constantly in dispute with Father over godly men’s souls. He can’t believe anyone would willingly love and obey God (since he couldn’t), so he constantly questions men’s motives and accuses them of being just like him. All heaven constantly stands up to this slander, calls it out and rebukes it. But when a man listens to it and agrees, he makes it legitimate. He limits and erodes his relationship with God. God comes to the meeting place looking for his friend, but the man with a defiled conscience runs and hides.

It’s time that God’s people come to a place of living with their consciences totally void (clear) of offense. No one can come into relationship with God without admitting and apologizing for their sin; but then…the very life that comes into being out of this new relationship utterly eradicates the former relationship to sin. The conscience becomes a place of true purity.

Man’s philosophy won’t allow this; it either tells you that you don’t have to answer to God at all, or it sets up a mental system where evil and good pretend to legitimately coexist in you. Both suggestions are grossly deceptive, and both are either partially or completely destructive. God’s call is so simple and so supernaturally pure: don’t allow unconfessed sin or pointless accusation to go on contaminating your conscience.

It is no coincidence that the Holy Ghost testifies in Ezekiel 36 of both a war-ravaged land being restored to look like the garden of Eden, and of God removing man’s heart of stone and replacing it with a sensitive heart of flesh. We live our lives almost totally clueless to how deeply Father desires to live in unbroken communion with us; but we can wake up at any moment. God poured out his own blood to buy this for us, and a pure conscience is the rendezvous spot!

After all, His Spirit testifies along with our own spirits that we are the sons of God.