1 Peter 3:16 – Having a Good Conscience in Christ

1 Peter 3:16
¹⁶ Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers,
they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

It’s important to have a good conscience because it prepares you for false accusations. The conscience is that part of us that says whether something is right or wrong. We received our conscience when Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That’s when we received the ability to know right from wrong, good from evil. When you were born again the conscience was not removed. ^“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22)

God purged our conscience from evil. What we feed our hearts then feeds our conscience. If you are still under the law, your conscience tells you every time you break a law. If you are still sin conscious, your conscience tells you every time you sin. You begin feeding your conscience with error and you can’t have a good conscience.

But when you know that God loves you unconditionally, that your sins past, present, and future are forgiven and that you are walking in Spirit and not under the law, you have a good conscience. We learn how to behave. We learn other people’s opinions about proper behavior, what to eat, drink, and how  to act.

Conversation in this verse is not your speech, but your behavior. It means “to conduct oneself, indicating one’s manner of life and character, is accordingly rendered behave (Vine’s). It seems the ones to mostly accuse you for your wrong behavior are church people—religious people. They for the most part have twisted the scripture and turned holiness into a certain behavior.

But in Christ you have a clear conscience. When God see you, He sees Jesus. Our behavior flows from our love for Jesus. It might not meet church standards, but it meets with God’s approval. Having a good conscience, have your life firmly in Christ