November 22, 2009

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE--

READY TO SPEAK OUT FOR CHRIST!

A young lady said to me, "Pastor, I've recently gotten my life right with God, and I really want to do right! I want to go back to my friends and take a stand for Christ."

"That's tremendous!" I said. "I'll pray that you'll be able to do so."

Hanging her head, she said sadly, "I want to take a stand, but I can't.

Whenever I get ready to say something about the Lord, "I feel like my mouth is taped shut. I can't speak." I asked her to explain.

"The moment I start to say something about the Lord," she said, "something inside me says 'Don't talk yet! Wait 'til they've observed your life for a few months. If you say something now, they'll think you're a hypocrite.' Pastor, What can I do?"

She expressed what many Christians feel after they've made things right with God. They feel so guilty that they can't speak out for the Lord.

What would you say to this young lady?

Here's what I told her. "Have you considered that the reason you don't have the freedom in your spirit to speak out for the Lord is because you've been a bad testimony to your friends? Consider clearing your conscience with them. Let them know that you've been a bad example and that you've recently made it right with the Lord and want to make it right with them. Then ask them for their forgiveness for not being the kind of Christian you needed to be."

In 1 Peter 3:15, God tells us to "be ready always to give an answer to every man." We need to be ready to take a stand for what the Word of God says.

Why do we fail to read verse 16a? "Having a good conscience." Here's the thought: If we want to take a stand for Christ, we must have a good conscience.

READ AND DISCUSS: Acts 24:16

--Craig M. Scott--