bul 9-6-09

Email Preacher (Keith McNeely)
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111 S. Curry St. v West Plains, MO
Vol. 23, No. 36, September 9, 2009

Certainly everyone not only should, but must follow their conscience. As a matter of fact, we cannot help but follow our conscience. To violate your conscience makes one not only wrong, but miserable as well. God designed it that way. Romans 14:23 says, “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

God has made our conscience to serve as a barometer to warn us of wrong doing. However, we need to keep in mind that to follow our conscience does not mean we will always be right. It simply means we feel comfortable with what we are doing, which may be either wrong or right.

Our conscience could lead us wrong (and many times does) because it has not been properly taught. Saul of Tarsus was a zealous persecutor of Jesus, all the while following his conscience. He said, “I have lived in all good conscience before God” (Acts 23:1). In Acts 26:9 he said, “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” Paul was not an immoral or godless man. He did what he did because he truly thought he was serving God. Billions of people today are zealously following what they believe to be right but are like Paul; sincere, but sincerely wrong. These same people need to follow Paul’s example. When he learned he was wrong, he repented and did what was right (Acts 22:16). He became a zealous worker for the Lord instead of against Him. When he learned better, he did better!

We must, therefore, education our conscience so it will be in accordance with God’s Will. The place to turn to educate our conscience is the Bible. We must learn God’s Will – what He wants and what He does not want – what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in His sight. Feelings or emotions have no place in dictating whether we are right with God or not. Simply because we feel good about ourselves and have a clear conscience does not make us right before God. To be sincerely wrong is still wrong.

Our conscience is not always a safe guide! Educate your conscience by studying the Scriptures and make sure you are doing what God says, not just what “seems right” to you (Proverbs 14:12; Jeremiah 10:23).

As we carefully read the preceding scriptures we find Christ telling a parable that is easily understood to be comparing the results of seed being sown on various types of soil and the results of the gospel being taught and received into the hearts of men. Let us give serious consideration as to the condition of our hearts and what influence the preaching of the gospel has had in our lives.

1) By the wayside……..Never understood…….Those that never respond to the gospel…..LOST.

2) Upon a rock (stony ground)………Have no root…….Those that obey the gospel but soon fall away………LOST.

3) Among thorns……..Choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of the world…….Those that obey the gospel but never grow spiritually…….ARE THESE LOST????? WHO ARE THEY????

1) Those who do not listen and at a time when they ought to be teachers, have need of being taught again the first principles of the God’s teachings, they are in need of milk because they haven’t matured enough for meat, because meat is only for those trained to discern good and evil………………………………………………………………. Hebrews 5:11-14

2) Those who are still carnally (worldly) minded and still need to be fed milk not yet being ready for meat because of envy and strife which hinders spiritual growth………………………………………………………….1 Corinthians 3:1-3

3) Those without a pure heart, wavering in assurance of their faith, whose habit it is to forsake assembling together, rather than giving consideration and encouragement to love one another and to continue in good works…….…………………………Hebrews 10:22-25

4) Those that are deceived not realizing keeping company with evil men has an influence on their thoughts and deeds…………………………………………………1 Corinthians 15:33

5) Those who love the things in the world, not realizing the desires of the world are not the desires of God and these things will pass away…………………………..…1 John 2:15-17

6) Perhaps even those described in Revelation 3:14-17 as being LUKEWARM, and in verse 19 being rebuked and encouraged to REPENT…….Notice from the text the difference of one’s perception of himself compared to God’s perception of that individual….THE WORD HAS BECOME UNFRUITFUL IN THEIR LIVES

4) On good ground…….Bears much FRUIT……….Those that obey the gospel and are striving to mature spiritually…..HAVING THE HOPE OF SALVATION……HOW?

1) by diligently adding to their FAITH, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love…. If these thing abound in your life you will be fruitful and can be assured of not falling away……………………………………….2 PETER 1:5-11

2) by being steadfast and unmovable abounding in the Lord’s work always being mindful that their work is not in vain, having confidence in a RISEN SAVIOR……………………………………………………………….1 Corinthians 15:1-58

3) by putting aside all malice, guile, hypocrisies, envying and evil speaking…as a newborn desire the milk of the WORD that they may be able to grow by it....................1 PETER 2:1-2

4) by putting on the WHOLE ARMOR of GOD so that they may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil….truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God…………………………................................................................Ephesians 6:10-17

5) by walking (living) in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh …..rather the result of living by the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance….putting to death the affections and lust of the flesh………………………..………………………......................................Galatians 5:16-25

6) by putting away excess of sin and meekly receiving the deeply planted word which is able to save their soul, by being a doer of the word and not being deceived by being only a forgetful hearer………………………………...……………………… James 1:19-22