Sound Doctrine (4)

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience…
1 Timothy 1:5
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We’re really beginning to make the best use of sound doctrine when we understand it with our minds and have engaged it in our hearts, so that we feel and desire what doctrine teaches is proper to the life of faith. But, as Paul indicates in our text, getting love to flow from sound doctrine also involves the conscience. Mind, heart, and conscience – these three components of the soul: all must be shaped and brought into the effort of learning and living according to the teachings of sound doctrine.

What is the conscience? In the soul the conscience is that immaterial component that develops and stores our values, priorities, and default choices. Another way of thinking of the conscience is as the will. In the soul a continuous dialog is underway between the mind – what we think – the heart – how we feel – and the conscience – our most basic convictions. The conscience functions as a kind of referee in the soul, bringing together the thoughts of our minds and the affections of our hearts in a harmonious and truthful way, so that love can issue from all our learning. Thus, it is very important that the conscience be in proper working order – what Paul describes as a “good” conscience, one that pleases God and serves men (Acts 24:16).

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As we study the great doctrines of Scripture and the Christian faith, we may find our mind wondrously agitated and refreshed in thinking the thoughts of God after Him. Our study of sound doctrine may lead us to feel very excited, even exhilarated about what we’re coming to understand. But unless we will these thoughts and affections into action, they will remain just that – mere subjective experiences without benefit to men or glory to God. The conscience is that component of the soul that forges thoughts and affections into strategies and decisions for action. Our conscience is in good shape when the actions flowing from our sound doctrine seek the wellbeing and edification of our neighbors and bring honor and glory to God.

So how do we get a good conscience? The place to begin is with the Law of God, as Paul indicates in our passage. The Law of God was given to exercise a check on sinful inclinations – inclinations natural and persistent in every one of us. The Law, being holy and righteous and good, is able to illuminate dark places in our souls and gaps in our will when it comes to living in obedience to the Lord. The Spirit of God will teach us the Law as we invest time reading and meditating in it (Ezek. 36:26, 27; Ps. 119:9-11). He convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment so that, in His power, and in the light of the Law, we can cleanse our values and priorities and bring our conscience into proper order before the Lord.

From there we need to act on whatever we are learning to be a new priority, a new default choice for our wills (Jms. 1:22-25). The more we act on the values, priorities, and convictions we are learning, the more these become imprinted in our conscience and working components of our wills. As our conscience grows stronger in the Lord, and in His good and perfect will, it will exercise a powerful hold on our thinking and feeling, so that our souls grow stronger and more inclined to let sound doctrine have its proper outlet through works of love.

But we’ll have to work at this. Sound doctrine is not just a matter of knowing truth in our minds – and not even of feeling really good, confident, or magnanimous as a result. Sound doctrine wants to come to expression in works of love, and for that to happen, we’ll have to keep working hard at having a good conscience to go with our true thoughts and pure affections.

VP Sound Doctrine