https://youtu.be/eIZM3wZCua8
In our study of Romans we are between chapters 7 and 8 in some topical studies related to what Paul is discussing. We are presently in a study on the doctrine of the heart of the soul and we are presently looking at the conscience.
We have seen that the heart has several compartments where information called "knosis" in the original Greek of the Bible is processed and deployed.
Last time we noted that the conscience as a source of motivation is mentioned in 2 Tim 1:3, "I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, the way my ancestors did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers, day and night."
So your conscience has something to do with your effectiveness in prayer. Paul's conscience demanded that he pray for certain people, and he did so. Paul didn't pray for people because he liked them, but for conscience sake and that is one of the strongest motivations possible.
We also see this idea in Prov 22:6;
Since the conscience is located in the right lobe of the soul, the norms and standards of the conscience are based on epignosis doctrine, not gnosis doctrine.
The conscience is related to dealing with unjust and unfair treatment, 1Pet 2:18-19, "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle masters, but also to the perverse and unreasonable ones;
v19 for this grace, if for the sake of conscience toward God, anyone endures grief when suffering unjustly."
Though originally addressed to slaves, this verse came to refer to anyone who is under the authority of someone else. Some people in authority are evil, but you are just as responsible to submit to their authority. You serve them so you do your best job as unto the Lord in spite of the grief you get. Col 3:23;
A believer who can do this has a strong conscience. The weak believer complains and rejects authority, and as a result becomes a loser because they have negative volition so they reject God's grace system for deploying blessings that is based on who we are not what we do.
It is very important to have a conscience based on epignosis doctrine so you can handle unjust treatment in the same way that you handle fair treatment.
Military training often involves unjust and unfair treatment from authority because learning how to submit to unfair authority is a way to prepare to function under the abnormal unfair circumstances of combat and warfare.
The conscience is important in suffering for blessing from God according to 1Pet 3:14-16, "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed (suffering for blessing in three categories). Furthermore, do not fear their intimidation tactics and do not be troubled,
v15 but set apart the Lord Christ in your right lobes, and always be ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you to give an account for the confidence that is in you with grace orientation and respect (occupation with Christ).
v16 Be having a good of intrinsic value conscience, so that in the things in which you are slandered, those who malign your intrinsic good in Christ may be put to shame."
The three categories of suffering for blessing are providential preventative suffering, momentum testing, and evidence testing. Epignosis doctrine is the source of occupation with Christ in the heart of the soul. You deflect slander with epignosis doctrine in the heart' s stream of consciousness.
If you have a strong conscience, you will leave it in the Lord's hands. Then it will go to the supreme court of heaven where God will judge it. God will put the accusers to shame without you even trying to defend yourself or respond to the slander.
False teaching that creates false norms and standards in the conscience is a source of apostasy in believers. 1Tim 4:1-2, "But the Spirit explicitly states that in latter periods of time (between first and second advents of Jesus Christ), some believers will become apostate from doctrine, paying attention to deceitful spirits and concentrating on doctrines from demons (involvement in satan's cosmic system)
v2 by means of propaganda from liars (false teachers), seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron."
False teaching sears the conscience like a branding iron sears the flesh so it destroys the conscience. This searing refers to scar tissue of the soul from being involved with satan's cosmic system.
Much of the believer's strength in life comes from having the proper norms and standards in the conscience of the heart so it is important to understand that false doctrine destroys the proper function of the conscience.
The conscience is purified from dead works through the cleansing it receives from the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross according to Heb 9:14; "How much more will the blood of Christ who, through the eternal Spirit (omnipotence of the Holy Spirit), offered Himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
There is no work we can perform for salvation; salvation is by grace alone. Therefore our conscience must be purified from dead works. Dead works are works of human good that we do that we think will please God but none of it does.
Jesus will destroy all dead human good works that believers have done at the Judgment Seat of Christ immediately after the exit resurrection.
Anything that a believer does when they are not filled with God the Holy Spirit is dead works because their reason for doing it is wrong. That means that Christian service that involves dead works is actually not Christian service at all even though many believers think it is.
God's protocol plan for His great power experiment in the Church Age demands the use of the omnipotence of the God Holy Spirit and God's Word of Truth inside of God's spiritual power system for anything that believers do to be accepted.
God's omnipotence and human power are mutually exclusive so serving God and fulfilling God's plan cannot be accomplished with human power. Human power destroys the conscience and performs dead works. That means that in the Church Age legalism cannot execute God's plan, purpose, or will.
Serving God requires the use of God's power exclusively. That means the filling of God the Holy Spirit and the cognition of Bible doctrine that establishes accurate doctrinal norms and standards in the conscience of the believer's heart are predicates for everything the believer does.
The next compartment in the heart of the soul is the momentum compartment that is the compartment where momentum from metabolized doctrine inside God's spiritual power system under the enabling power of the Holy Spirit creates spiritual growth.
When God the Holy Spirit moves doctrine that is in the frame of reference into the memory center, vocabulary and categorical storage compartments norms and standards are developed that create spiritual growth from metabolized doctrine that carries the believer toward spiritual maturity.
There are two categories of spiritual growth. Normal spiritual growth comes from post-salvation renovation of the thinking from human viewpoint into the divine viewpoint thinking of Jesus Christ.
This is the process of reception, retention, and recall of God's Word of Truth under the function of operation Z.
Receptive comprehension is the first of the three stages of Operation Z. Retention is the metabolization of Bible doctrine that converts gnosis into epignosis and recall, the application of that doctrine.
Accelerated spiritual growth comes from the application of metabolized doctrine and the function of the problem solving devices of spiritual adulthood under suffering pressure, and adversity for blessing. There are three categories of suffering for blessing in spiritual adulthood.
Spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering advances the believer into the cognitive self-confidence of spiritual autonomy. Spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing leads to the cognitive independence of spiritual maturity and spiritual maturity plus evidence testing leads to the cognitive invincibility of maximum glorification of God.
In some cases a believer can even learn from the punitive suffering of divine discipline and self-induced misery under the law of volitional responsibility but that is a slow process and does not necessarily advance you into spiritual self-esteem, the first stage of spiritual adulthood because of the arrogance of negative volition from reaction to the suffering.
The next compartment of the heart of the soul is the wisdom compartment that is the launching pad of Bible doctrine to experience. Wisdom is the application of metabolized doctrine through the problem solving devices to the various experiences of life.
Learning Bible doctrine must be accompanied by wisdom otherwise, arrogance sets in. Doctrine without wisdom results in self-righteous arrogance.
The Greek word for wisdom is "sophia" and the Hebrew equivalent is "chakmah." Wisdom is the ability to relate metabolized doctrine in the heart of the soul to life from divine viewpoint. It is the ability to deal circumspectly with life from the accumulated facts related to the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.
Wisdom is the application of metabolized doctrine and the deployment of the problem solving devices for both normal and accelerated spiritual growth.
The launching pad is a hall that connects to the memory center. This is the application area. The launching pad takes recall of doctrine and applies it to experience under the function of the believer's royal priesthood.
The launching pad is used for the application of metabolized doctrine in both normal and accelerated growth, as well as in problem solving. One of the greatest areas of accelerated growth is the utilization and application of metabolized doctrine in suffering for blessing.
You can only apply doctrine for yourself because no one can do it for you and you cannot apply what you do not know.
The launching pad is where thought is converted into action. Your norms and standards are applied to life. All of the compartments of the heart come together to make application. As you apply more doctrine you develop wisdom.
In the launching pad all the epignosis doctrine that is in the heart of the soul is pulled together for application. This is where the categories of hope, virtue love, God's happiness, and occupation with Christ have a tremendous impact.
This is the application of doctrine to your own personal experiences in the privacy of your priesthood. It is not trying to apply your norms and standards to others unless you are parenting a child.
1Cor 1:30, "But you are from Him in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption."
1Cor 2:7-8, "For we communicate God's wisdom in a mystery that has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages for the purpose of your glory, (mystery doctrine) which none of the rulers of this age have understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
James 3:17, "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and divine good production, impartial, without hypocrisy."
1Thes 5:21; "But examine all things; hold fast to what is good."
Phil 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is integrity, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if there is any virtue, if there is anything worthy of praise, concentrate on these things."