The Cure for a Condemning Conscience

A Sermon on 1 John 3:19–24, preached by Lewis Kasongo

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Good evening, church. It is a great joy to see each one of us this evening for our evening service, and I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to bring God’s Word to us tonight. My name is Lewis Kasongo. I am one of the pastoral interns here at Kitwe Church.

May I invite you to turn with me to 1 John 3, verses 19 through 24. For the sake of context, we will start from verse 16.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our heart before him; for whether our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him, and by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1 John 3:16–24)

Let’s turn to the Lord in prayer.

Our great God and our Father in heaven, Lord, we thank You for this opportunity that You have given to us, that we can sit under the preaching of Your Word this evening. As I stand before Your people, I pray that You would enable me with the grace that I need to preach Your Word according to Your own will. Father, I pray for the brothers and sisters here, that You would incline their ears, that they would be able to comprehend the truth of Scripture. From this point of time to the end, Father, I pray that You would go before us. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and ask. Amen.

The Cure for a Condemning Conscience

I have entitled my theme this evening The Cure for a Condemning Conscience.

Have you ever doubted your faith because your conscience condemned you for the wrong things you have done? For example, you have been praying, and suddenly your conscience pops up something like this:

Look at you. Look at you. Don’t you remember the attitude you had last week? Don’t you remember how you got angry with your wife or husband for no reason? Don’t you remember how unloving you were to your brother or sister who asked for help? What about the unclean thoughts that passed through your mind this evening at Mukuba Mall, when you stood next to that lady who was dressed inappropriately — do you really think you’re a Christian?

In the heart of every believer, doubts arise at times. They arise because our conscience condemns us. A guilty conscience always produces spiritual doubt. The conscience is the inner moral sense that guides us to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. It acts as a personal alarm system when you act against it. When you become a Christian, your conscience becomes alive and energized to the law of God, and you become far more aware of what is right and wrong. Listen to what one writer says: “You now have a sharper sense of sin, and you now see wrong in what you did not see as wrong before.”

So there will be a struggle with this kind of condemnation, especially for those of us who are hard on ourselves. But when the heart condemns us, when the heart turns against us and asks, Am I truly saved? — the text before us gives us the answer that cures a condemning heart.

I want to propose to you this evening that believers must not rest in their feelings whenever their conscience condemns them. Rather, they must rest in who God is and in the perfection of Christ’s finished work on the cross.

Tonight I want us to consider one question: What are the truths that cure a condemning conscience?

I have three biblical truths for you:

1. The assurance of salvation
2. Answered prayer
3. The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit

I. The Assurance of Salvation

The assurance of salvation springs up in the heart when we demonstrate genuine, authentic love for others. Look with me at verse 19:

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our heart before him.” (v.19)

When John says “by this we shall know,” he is referring back to verse 18: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” Then in verse 19: “By this we shall know that we are of the truth.” John was commanding believers to love — not just in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

What we are learning here is that a lifestyle of love in action is evidence of our salvation, because it is a test of true life. It is foolproof evidence of eternal life. Our love owes its very origin to God’s love. Listen to what John says in chapter 4, verse 7:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

The love we are taught to display is what God Himself is. God is the source of this love. So when we abide in this love, it is an indicator that we are born of God. One of the distinguishing marks of a disciple of Jesus, a child of God, is love. A love that originates in God displays itself in actions of self-sacrifice and is evidence of eternal life. As one commentator, Daniel Akin, puts it: both love in word and love in deed is an indicator that clearly shows the source of one’s identity and life is the truth — is Christ.

Listen carefully, brothers and sisters: love itself does not earn salvation, but it confirms our salvation. Love confirms who we are in Christ. It displays our identity even to the world. God confirms, through authentic love for others, that we belong to Christ — despite our feelings.

A believer’s confidence is not found in the consistency of their performance, but in the perfection of Christ’s finished work on the cross. Notice how John describes salvation in verse 19: “By this we shall know that we are of the truth.” We are of the truth. So the assurance of salvation is not a feeling — it is knowing the truth, just as Jesus Himself says to the believing Jews:

“If you abide in my word, you will be my disciples. And by this you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

The essence of truth is Jesus Himself, because He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

So, brothers and sisters, the demonstration of Christlike love and self-sacrifice for others confirms the evidence of our assurance of salvation. As a result, this reassures our conscience that we belong to God, even when our heart condemns us.

The question is, how does God reassure our heart? There are two truths from this passage.

1. Divine sovereignty. Look at verse 20a: “For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart.” God is greater than our heart. Your feelings do not have the final word — God does, because He is greater than your heart. Paul says:

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:33–34)

So if God declares you righteous by faith in Christ Jesus alone, who can overturn God’s verdict? Our conscience is not the supreme court — there is a higher court, God Himself. He overrules our conscience. He is the perfect Judge who has justified us. Romans 8:1 tells us: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

2. Divine omniscience. Verse 20b says, “And he knows everything.” God is omniscient. He knows everything, known and unknowable. None of a believer’s failures or successes escape God’s notice. He knows everything. God sees the whole picture of you. He knows your true faith. He knows your repentance. He knows your secret motives. He knows the work of the Holy Spirit in you. He knows.

Dear Christians, if our heart condemns us, we can find assurance in God’s character. He knows all of us. He is greater than our feelings. We see the example of Peter, one of the closest disciples of Jesus. After he denied Jesus, and Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus met him and asked, “Do you love me?” Peter felt ashamed because he had denied Jesus, yet he responded, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Peter appealed to Jesus Himself, saying, You are the one who knows my heart. That is what we should do, dear Christians.

II. Answered Prayer

Answered prayer is one of the certainties that we are children of God. Verses 21–22 say:

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (vv.21–22)

What the Apostle John is saying here is that God answers the prayers of those whose conscience is clear — clear by simply believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, and by loving others. In other words, when your prayers are shaped by faith and love, self-condemnation goes away. Confidence before God rises, and it results in answered prayers.

So the basis of God answering our prayers is obedience to His commandments and doing what pleases Him. God does not answer the prayer of a disobedient person; rather, He answers the prayers of those whose lives are marked by obedience and submission to Him. Believers with a clear conscience, confident access, and obedient lives that please Christ can be assured that God will hear and answer their prayers, for their good and for His glory.

Christians, every answered prayer flows from a life of faith in Jesus Christ and love for one another. Believing and loving are the chief evidences of genuine salvation, and they summarize the whole Christian life. You cannot believe without loving, or love without believing. This verse calls for two actions: to believe, and to love.

To believe means to rely on or trust in. It points to the act of faith in Christ Jesus at salvation. Romans 10:9 says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to place your faith and trust in Him — to trust in His divine nature and also in His human nature, to trust in the Lordship of Jesus Christ — and then you have salvation.

We are also commanded to love one another. This points to an ongoing love for one another. Jesus says, “If you love one another, then they will know that you are my disciples.” That is the mark. Faith toward God and love toward man are the foundation of our identity in Christ, because these are the evidence of God’s work and the testimony of His Spirit in us.

Dear Christian, when your heart condemns you, come to Jesus in prayer with confidence to seek forgiveness. Lean on Him. If you feel discouraged, keep trusting Him. Every step forward is sustained by His unfailing grace in prayer.

III. The Abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit

The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit gives us the assurance that we are God’s dear children. Verse 24 says:

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (v.24)

So the Christian life is a mutual relationship: God remains in us, and we remain in God. We know this by the Holy Spirit that God has given us at salvation. The Holy Spirit makes His residence in every person who trusts in Christ Jesus. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee of our inheritance until full possession of it (Ephesians 1:13–14). This passage speaks of the Holy Spirit as a seal, an official mark signifying that we are God’s possession, that we are God’s children.

So whenever our heart condemns us, we must be assured by the Holy Spirit that God has placed in us that we are His. When the conscience accuses and condemns you, you must look for evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in you. The role of the Holy Spirit is to manifest Himself objectively in our heart and conduct. It is He who inspires us to confess Jesus as the Christ who came in the flesh. It is He who also empowers us to live righteously and to love our brothers and sisters.

Conclusion

So what should we do? Remember who God is and what He has done for you through Christ Jesus. Recall your identity in Christ and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within you. Love others just as Christ has loved you. Strive to obey God.

If you are here this evening and you are not a believer, I want to challenge you: no amount of works, morality, or religion can make you right with God. The only thing that can make you right with God is what God has done through Christ on the cross. You must come and trust Jesus by faith.

If you are a Christian, if you are a believer, and you keep doubting your identity in Christ because your conscience condemns you, rest in who Christ is and in what He has done for you on the cross.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You that You died for us, that You rose from the dead, that You ascended to heaven and are seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, and that You have given us access to come to You in our time of need. Lord, help us to live in the truth that we have learned. In Jesus’ name, amen.