“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:” (I Timothy I:17-20)
The problem here has to do with an absence of faith rather than conscience.
And it is a common problem that sincere believers must face. Some more than others.
For a good portion of my young Christian life, I was afflicted by a kind of hyper conscience over a great many things. And on a couple of occasions, it almost destroyed me.
“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us.” (I John 4: 17-19)
Joy is not possible in the midst of fear. A prerequisite to having joy and keeping it is to reach the end of fear.
So what is it that causes our fear?
The problem is our focus on ourselves — on our own performance, our own good works, our own sincerity, our own inner spiritual gymnastics. Even our own faith.
As Christians, has God brought us to a place where we can live without fear? Do we have a relationship to Christ that removes fear? Can we know the peace and joy of His approval?
The answer is, “Yes”.
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