For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9:13-14 (ESV)

 

While our conscience allows us to discern what is good and evil, it is not a flawless moral compass because sin has marred it. If we rest on the truth of our identity in Christ, we will suffer conflicting thoughts that either accuse or excuse us. This explains why we feel right with God on some days but not others. And on days when we don't feel right with God, we will try to fix it ourselves. These works of the flesh, or dead works, cannot cleanse us of sin or produce holiness.

The good news is that after being cleansed by Jesus' blood and made right with God, the Holy Spirit purifies our conscience from dead works, freeing us to serve our living God. In other words, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live a life of Spirit-filled holiness. How does He do it? He does it b giving us a new heart, new nature, and new will (cf. Hebrews 8:9-12), which equips us to walk supernaturally in holiness.

Legalism is one example of dead works.

If we think we can earn God’s love and favour by making futile efforts to observe the law, it shows the gospel has yet to fully awaken our conscience. We are called to walk in accordance with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). It means we must allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and write His law of love in our hearts so that He can transform our thinking and behaviour.

Holiness is not about following a set of rules, but about living in such a way that we reflect God’s purity and righteousness in every area of our lives. When we put into practice what the Spirit puts in us, our conscience matures spiritually, emotionally, and rationally in accordance with our understanding of the gospel. Then we will no longer be tossed around by all kinds of thinking and feelings but will be able to remain stable in faith.