By Mfortaw, Ewang Nelson
Copyright © 2014 by Mfortaw, Ewang Nelson.
It is written, “For if nothing had been wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, ‘The days are coming, declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors…’” (Hebrews 8:7–9 NIV) So God found fault with the people; they could not keep the covenant nor its testament (laws), and He said, “I will make a new covenant with the remnant.” (Hebrews 8:13 NIV)
Christ is described as the mediator of the new covenant. (Hebrews 9:15 NIV) What are the terms of this new covenant?
Hebrews 10:16 says, “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time (Christianity), says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts and write them on their minds.” As the covenant has been renewed, the law system has also been renewed. (Hebrews 7:18–19 NIV)
Therefore, renew your mindset; the law system has been made anew. Christ did not come to break the laws but to fulfill them in the new covenant. (Matthew 5:17–18 NIV) In this renewed covenant, there is righteousness apart from the standard laws. What is this righteousness about? It is the righteousness of the conscience since the laws are in the mind.
If laws are written in the mind, then they become personal. What I consider as law may not be the same for you as we may not have the same understanding of faith. The standard code may be for the strong, but there is room for the weak when it becomes personal. In this way, let the weak say, “I am strong.” (Ezekiel 34:16 NKJV) Therefore, Christ could boldly say, “My yoke (law system) is easy.” (Matthew 11:30 NIV)
The New Covenant says that the righteous shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17 NIV) If you believe something is a sin, it is a sin for you. It might not be a sin for another Christian, but for you, it is a sin (because you consider it as such in your mind). There is no universal code for everyone, but each person’s laws are based on their conscience (which is why we are called believers).
There is no need to try to judge other Christians as their laws may not be the same as ours. Ezekiel 33:7–8 (NIV) says, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so, hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.” Meanwhile, Romans 14:4 (NIV) addresses Christians directly, stating, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord can make them stand.”
No one can judge a believer without risking being condemned for wrong judgment in the spirit world. On what basis will you judge them since you don’t know what God has deemed as sin in their mind? (Romans 10:13 NIV)
The laws are written on our conscience. (Romans 10:14 NIV) Your sin may not be mine. You may even sin by doing what everyone considers as “good” simply because your conscience considers it evil while you are doing it. (1 Corinthians 8:7–11 NIV)
Don’t be deceived: Within you is a more powerful screening light than human eyes—that light is in your spirit. (Proverbs 20:27 NIV) Your conscience is a more powerful judge than thousands of men. Even in secret, we are being watched by our conscience.
The sin of the conscience is simply doing something that you believe to be wrong. If you believe that something is not in line with God’s will, then doing it is considered a sin for you. It’s important to act in faith, not unbelief, as anything done in unbelief is considered a sin (Romans 14:23, NKJV). This is why believers must act according to their faith.
When it comes to prayers and fasting, if you don’t believe, it’s better to not even pray or fast.
Here is the mystery of the law of liberty: “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.”
Let what you do or say reflect what is on your mind; anything beyond that is from an evil conscience (flesh). (Matthew 5:33–37 NIV) Any change along the line is not considered a sin but a change of mind. That is why it is impossible to trap those who walk by the Spirit, for they cannot sin. They have no laws but to love. They walk by faith, only doing what they believe to be righteous. Whatever their conscience considers evil, they do not do. As written, the Spirit leads them through the conscience, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (evil conscience).” (Galatians 5:16–17 NIV)
Christians who live according to their conscience will produce good fruit as they obey the guidance of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22–23 NIV) Therefore, they are unable to sin as it is written, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin.” (1 John 3:9 KJV) This is why Jesus confidently proclaimed, “…on this rock (faith) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV)
The devil gains power and authority through accusations. If the laws are written in our minds, it becomes impossible for us to sin. Hence, it is written, “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NIV) They live through a good conscience: What they believe is righteous becomes their righteousness. Anything that changes along the line is considered a change of mind, not sin, because they believed it was right at the moment, they said it. That is also why a Christian will not be held accountable for a promise unless they had no intention of fulfilling it in the first place.
And if you have such evil intentions, then your place is not here. Why would you act in disbelief? Why would you do something that you don’t believe to be right? Why are you even here since you don’t have the will to do what is right?
All we need here is goodwill (a good conscience), everything will fall into place. The devils operate in darkness: We won’t need to struggle because the truth (light) will effortlessly drive them away.
Did she lie to her friend since her cell phone had airtime credit?
Everyone knows she has sinned, but only God knows she did not. She did not sin because she believed she did not have airtime credit when talking to her friend. At that moment, it was the truth, and so it is. But if she believed that she had sinned, then it is sin, for whatever we believe to be sin is sin—we are believers by nature. So, we should be careful because the devil comes with such accusations.
If you feel guilty for a sin you didn’t actually commit, you have unintentionally accepted responsibility in the spiritual realm.
The term “guilt” means taking on the responsibility for those sins; this is why there was a guilt offering in the Old Testament (Leviticus 5:14-15, NIV).
A guilt offering is different from a trespass offering. A guilt offering addresses responsibility for a transgression, not for trespasses (intentions).
Accepting this responsibility can lead to spiritual accusations against you.
Feeling guilty indicates a spiritual responsibility for that action—essentially, a sin of the conscience. The Accuser and his demons are likely pleased with your self-accusations.
Instead, repent for your actual sins, not for those you may not have committed (1 John 1:9, NIV). If your conscience does not acknowledge that you are spiritually ‘naked’—like Adam—you are not guilty, as your conscience is aware of your true sins.
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