First Timothy 1:5 says, “But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and out of a good conscience and out of unfeigned faith.” Verse 19 continues, “Holding faith and a good conscience, concerning which some, thrusting these away, have become shipwrecked regarding the faith.” Second Timothy 1:3 also says, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience.” Ephesians 4:19-20 mentions, “Who, being past feeling [conscience], have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness in greediness. But you did not so learn Christ.” All these verses show us the importance of the conscience. After man’s fall, God ordained that man should be governed by his conscience. Hence, if man is in a normal condition, he will take care of the feeling in his conscience. However, fallen man neither pays attention to the feeling of his conscience nor is ruled by his conscience; instead, he gives himself over to lasciviousness.
After a person is saved, he has Christ’s life within him. If he wants to advance in Christ’s life, however, he must deal with his conscience thoroughly. If a Christian’s conscience has some offense, he will not be able to have any progress in any matter. This kind of speaking may be too heavy for some people. They may think that these four matters—a thorough confession of sins before God, a careful dealing with sins before men, a complete dealing with the conscience, and an absolute consecration to God—are too difficult and seem to contradict the word of grace. On the one hand, we are told that everything depends on the grace of God and the acts of God, and that we are not required to do anything; on the other hand, we are told that we must thoroughly confess, deal with our sins, and consecrate ourselves to God. It seems that these two aspects are in conflict with one another, causing man not to know what to do. The word of grace is pleasant to the ears, full of supply, and very soothing, whereas the word of dealing seems to be too heavy, almost cruel, too hard for man to take, and beyond what man can do. Hence, man faces such a dilemma.
In fact, the grace of God does not weaken man but strengthens man. The fact that a Christian does not thoroughly confess his sins before God or completely deal with his sins before men proves that he lacks grace. A car which does not start is either broken down or short of gas. When a car is in good condition and has enough gas, certainly it will run properly. In the same way, if a Christian does not thoroughly confess his sins before God, or deal with his sins before men, this proves that he is short of grace. If a Christian does not deal with his conscience properly or consecrate himself to God absolutely, this also proves that he is short of God’s grace. The demand of God and the grace of God are not incompatible with one another; rather, they are complementary to one another.
There are many laws in the natural world which have two sides that are seemingly contradictory. Those who have studied physics should know that in this universe there are two different forces: centripetal force and centrifugal force. The reason why many things do not fall to the ground is that both centripetal force and centrifugal force are functioning together. A lamp is another example. To illuminate, a lamp requires two electrical wires; a single wire does not work. Another example is that in the universe there is not only rainwater but also sunlight. The rainwater supplies, whereas the sunlight consumes. Only when both the sunlight and the rainwater work together are all things able to grow. If the plants receive only the shining of the sun from the beginning to the end of the year, yet do not receive the watering of the rain, they will have no way to grow. Conversely, if there is only the watering of the rain without the shining of the sun, the plants will not be able to grow. Moreover, we also know that there are both night and day, so that all things can work and rest in a perfect order. In the same way, a person’s growth also hinges on both supply and consumption. All doctors exhort people to eat and to exercise. Eating is for the supply, while exercising is for the consumption. The spiritual life follows the same principle.
If a Christian only receives God’s grace and love without fulfilling God’s demand, he definitely will not grow well. The more a Christian receives God’s grace and fulfills God’s demand, the better and faster he will grow. A proper Christian should be a person who, on the one hand, receives God’s grace and love while, on the other hand, strictly and absolutely fulfills God’s demand. When God asks him to deal with his sins, a proper Christian will unreservedly deal with them. When God asks him to confess his sins, he will confess them without reasoning. When God asks him to consecrate himself, he will completely consecrate himself to God. When God asks him to deal with his conscience, he will thoroughly deal with his conscience. A proper Christian is neither careless nor does he do things in an incomplete way; rather, he thoroughly deals with his conscience. All the experienced ones can testify that when a person has received grace before God, he will definitely confess and deal with his sins, consecrate himself to God, and deal with his conscience.
A person who confesses and deals with his sins, consecrates himself to God, and deals with his conscience will certainly receive more grace. If we exercise enough, we surely will love eating and will eat well. In the same way, the more strictly we fulfill God’s demand, the stronger His grace will be within us. Seemingly, the two are contradictory to one another, but in fact they are complementary. Without the grace of God we have no way to fulfill all these demands, and if we do not fulfill the demands, we will not receive more grace. I hope that we would not misunderstand or misinterpret these words and think that there is no way for us to fulfill them. By the grace of God, we are able to fulfill God’s demand; by the grace of God, we are able to deal with all sins.