A Clear Conscience

"They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." 

-1 Timothy 3:9

The Bible is not always clear on some subjects that we would prefer to know more about. However, in some areas or topics, God's Word is quite clear. When it comes to the qualifications of an elder or deacon, the pastoral epistles (1&2 Timothy; Titus) clearly identify what godly and righteous traits and characteristics must be in a man who takes on one of these positions. One of these qualifications is that he "must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience."

As I was studying this portion of text in my personal study, I realized (with the help of a Reverse Greek Interlinear Bible and a Greek Lexicon) that this was a gospel-centered truth that sustains ALL believers, not just deacons.

When Paul wrote, "They must hold", He actually only wrote one word: echontas. This Greek word implies the portion of our English that reads, "They must". This Greek word is an active present participle, meaning that it is something that HAS TO CONTINUE if anyone is to desire the office of deacon. Therefore, translators inserted "They must" before "hold" to clarify it's meaning, which is an accurate translation. Another word translated from echontas in this context is to keep. Meaning that the mystery of faith must be kept, continuously, by an individual if they are to be qualified to be a deacon.

Like I said before, nice and clear...clear as mud. What does understanding the meaning of echontas have to do with the rest of this verse? Simply knowing the mystery of faith is not enough. It must be held, not just known or acknowledged. It also must be held with a clear conscience. The meaning of mystery is "a secret or mystery too profound for human ingenuity." Meaning the way that faith works in both salvation and sanctification is too complex and, in essence, too perfect for a human to have conceived. This faith, that is too complex for us to have created ourselves, is the very faith that God demands His deacons to continually hold and keep. If that is true, then there must be some agent at work to help us hold or keep this faith. So what is it?

A clear conscience. The Greek meaning for conscience is "a weak conscience." So how does this "weak conscience" enable us to hold the mystery of the faith. If it is so weak, how does it maintain the constant change and fluctuation of the difficulties of faith? The answer is simple: it doesn't. In order for our conscience to gain the ability to stabilize our strength to hold the mystery of faith it must first be cleared. Our conscience, according what Paul has written here, is a weak and unstable conscience. Only when our conscience is cleared, is it empowered with the ability to strongly hold the mystery of the faith.

So how do we clear our conscience? We don't...Jesus does. Or I should say...Jesus did. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that breaks down all the weaknesses of our conscience. Without Jesus, our consciences are burdened with the guilt of our sin and therefore far too weakened to take on any more burdens such as faith, or the mysteries that come along with it. In order for our clear conscience to hold the mystery of the faith, it must be freed from the burdens of guilt, sin and death. And that is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ did and does. In Christ, our conscience is clear! We can stand before God the Father and proudly and loudly proclaim with all our voice that we are His children, despite any errors or remaining sins that we cling so tightly to, we are free. Our conscience is cleared before God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has taken our burdens and guilt that weighed heavy on our conscience and he nailed them to the cross, buried them and rose from the grave, conquering sin and death, hence leaving guilt, sin and death behind in the grave.

Once we believe this truth and place our faith in Christ alone for our salvation, our guilty, burdened conscience is free and clear. Then, once clear, our conscience is open to receive the great mind and life of Jesus Christ to dwell richly in our hearts. As He does, HE becomes the controls for our conscience through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in HIS strength alone, we are able to hold the mystery of the faith...because of a clear conscience in Christ.

We often wonder how the gospel continues to work in our lives. If it already saved me, that is in the past...what is the gospel doing for me now? It is the gospel that puts Christ in you (Gal.2:20). And it is Christ in you that continues to work in you to transform you into His own image, which is pleasing to the Father. This verse is just another example of the gospel of Jesus Christ continuing to work in His people, for our blessing and His glory.