Spiritual Warfare Series — Devotional #11
Severed Conscience
This week we continue to answer the following question:
How does God’s enemy come after His people and His leaders for the sole purpose of distracting, disrupting, and derailing them from being involved in God's great mission?
As we survey Pauline literature, we uncover fourteen tactical strategies the enemy uses to oppose God’s people, along with specific antidotes to address them. (See the introduction to this series for an overview.)
Tactic 11: Severed Conscience
“Our enemy attacks the conscience little by little, seeking to wear us down, until he eventually erodes a leader's resolve to fight the good fight.” – Gary Rohrmayer
Text: 1 Timothy 1:18–20
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Problem:
“Satan can use a lack of responsiveness to one’s conscience to eventually destroy a leader, remove them from ministry, and even cause them to blaspheme what they once believed. The antidote is keeping a clear conscience and holding firmly to the truths of the Christian faith.” – J. Robert Clinton
Antidote:
“On the one hand, don’t go against your conscience. On the other hand, allow God to shape your inner life and correct wrongly held ideas that influence your conscience.” – J. Robert Clinton
Reflective Questions
If the enemy were to attack one area of your life, where would you be most vulnerable?
If the enemy were to attack one area of the church, where would it be most vulnerable?
When was the last time you engaged in a rigorous spiritual inventory of your own conscience?
When was the last time the church gathered corporately for public confession and repentance?
Prayer Response
Father of Light, search me and know my heart. Reveal anything offensive in my life. Holy Father, guard my conscience through daily confession, a hunger for the pure truth of Your Word, and a deep awareness of Your holy presence. Righteous Father, give me a humble spirit and a teachable attitude to receive correction from others. Help me to keep short accounts, live at peace with all people, and maintain a heart that is always tender and pliable before You. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
