GIF Faith and Conscience

“Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and have suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.”
(1 Timothy 1:19)

Faith and Conscience
by Larry Burkett

Our Scripture verse likens faith to a ship. The conscience can be likened to the hull of that ship. When the conscience (hull) gets a hole in it, faith (the vessel) can become shipwrecked and sink.

Picture a ship sailing down a channel. The ship is faith and the channel is love. If the ship (faith) gets outside of the channel (love) it will run aground, puncture the hull (conscience), and sink.

When we operate our lives outside of love, we will cause our consciences to become defiled and suffer shipwreck with regard to our faith. And we know from God’s Word that without faith it is impossible to please God.

Augustine said, “The words of God come like fire, so that when your heart is cleared, Christ can be built in you.”

How can we clean up an evil conscience and restore faith in a ship-wrecked condition? Through confession of sin.

A very practical and easy way to do this is to ask God to reveal the things in our lives that aren’t pleasing to Him. Write them down, repent of them, receive His forgiveness, and then destroy the list. After you’ve been forgiven, the list no longer exists, because God’s Word promises, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for this very special blessing as God’s child.

Daily Scripture Reading: 

2 Kings 25:23-26
Jeremiah 40:7-44:30