These are notes on the sermon, The Power of a Cleansed Conscience, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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First Corinthians 1:21 tells us that it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. And not just any preaching, but that of Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2)! Healing, salvation, and wholeness all flow from the finished work of our Lord Jesus.
That is the good news of the gospel. It is the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24) and peace (Eph. 6:15). Grace because we sinfully bankrupt men have been saved through the finished work of Christ, a gift we neither deserved nor earned. And peace because we have not only been saved but also reconciled and brought near to our Father in heaven.
Yet often, when we fail or fall short, our reaction is to slip back into legalism—thinking we need to “pay back” for our mistakes or earn our way back into our Father’s favor. This is why many believers distance themselves from Him. They are more conscious of their failures than of the truth that they have already been fully forgiven in Christ.
The world says, “Do good, get good; do bad, get bad.” Anyone can understand a system of rewards and punishments. But the gospel proclaims something better: “You can receive the good you do not deserve, because Another—Jesus—bore the bad you deserve.” This is the divine exchange of the cross. And it takes the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to believers.
Now, this does not mean we make light of sin. Sin is destructive and carries consequences. But the answer to sin is not the law. The more we try to obey the law in our own strength, the more sin is stirred up in our lives, because the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor. 15:56). The purpose of the law was designed to reveal our inability to meet God’s perfect standard and to point us to our need for a Savior.
So how can we live free from sin if not through the law? Romans 6:14 gives us the key: “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” The more you receive God’s grace, the more sin loses its grip, and the more you will walk in true victory.
If the gospel is truly by grace and not by works, then what do we make of passages like Matthew 7 where Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21)? At first glance, this might seem to suggest that believers could lose their salvation.
But notice what these people say: “Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” (Matt. 7:22). Their confidence is in their works, even though they claim to do them in the Lord’s name, rather than in the Lord Himself. And Jesus’ response is striking: “I never knew you.” Not, “I knew you once, but now I don’t.” In other words, they were not believers who had lost their salvation, but people who had never believed in the Lord’s finished work at all.
So what is the will of the Father that gives us eternal life? John 6:40 tells us:
The Father’s will is not that we labor to prove or save ourselves, but that we believe in His Son, our Lord Jesus. Our salvation rests not on what we do for Him, but on what Christ has already done for us.
Ephesians 2:8–9 reassures us:
But does that mean good works have no place in the Christian life? Not at all. The very next verse says: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). As God’s workmanship—His masterpiece—you were created with beauty, intention, and purpose.
And the good works we desire to see and do are a fruit and an expression of the love we have first received from the Lord. Just as a wife who loves her husband gladly does good for him—not to earn his love, but because she already enjoys it—so too our good works today flow not from obligation but an overflow of His love. They are not the root of our salvation but the fruit of Christ’s work and transformation in our lives.
Beloved, be at rest today, knowing that your salvation is anchored in the finished work of Christ. And He has promised that all who believe in Him will never be cast out and will be raised up with Him at the last day.
God’s heart for us doesn’t stop at just saving us. He also wants us to live each day with a conscience that is at rest before Him. Salvation secures our future with Him, but a cleansed conscience gives us boldness, peace, and joy in His presence today.
Hebrews 10:2 describes this beautiful inheritance:
My friend, do you ever replay your mistakes in your mind or beat yourself up over your failures? It’s natural to feel bad and remorseful when you do wrong, but if you’re focused on your failures and mistakes all the time, that means living with sin-consciousness. The truth is, because of Jesus’ perfect finished work, you no longer need to carry that burden. By His one offering at the cross, He has completely purged your sins and given you a perfect standing before God.
So my friend, in Christ, your conscience can be free from the weight of guilt and sin-consciousness. A perfect conscience doesn’t mean you will never fail, but that even when you do, you know the blood of Jesus has already dealt with that failure once and for all.
Pastor Prince illustrated it this way: A man owed $50,000 but could not repay the debt. Out of shame, he avoided his creditor. Then a wealthy friend stepped in—not just paying the original $50,000 owed but giving $1 million instead. The debt was not just settled; it was overpaid. The man was now completely free.
But imagine if that man never knew the debt had been settled. He would still be hiding from his creditor, feeling anxious and fearful, even though he was no longer in debt. That is how many Christians live today—still carrying guilt in their conscience when Christ has already paid the price for their sins.
Beloved, your sins have been completely forgiven, and your conscience has been washed clean by Jesus’ one perfect sacrifice on the cross. This is your inheritance as a child of God, and you can live each day at peace knowing you are right with your heavenly Father.
If a perfect conscience is part of our inheritance, then why do so many believers still live weighed down with guilt and condemnation? Let’s take a look at this verse:
The word “evil” here doesn’t just mean wicked or immoral. In Greek (ponēros), it carries the sense of being full of labor, toils, and constant effort. In other words, an evil conscience is one that is restless and striving, always feeling it must do more to be accepted by God.
Why is it important for believers to take note of and avoid a conscience that is restless and always striving? Because an evil or weak conscience can lead to real destruction in a believer’s life. In 1 Corinthians 8:11, Paul warns that a weak conscience can cause a brother to stumble to the point of perishing. This does not mean loss of salvation—Paul still calls him a “brother.” But in Greek, the word perishing is “apollymi,” which means to be ruined, wasted, or destroyed.
What does this look like today? It means living a life of defeat—robbed of peace, weighed down by fear and shame, and even suffering in health because the heart is never at rest.
So, beloved, lay hold of the promise that your conscience has already been cleansed and perfected in Christ. Only then can you draw near to God with confidence, joy, and freedom, and receive all the blessings your heavenly Father desires for you to have.
God’s answer to the problem of an evil conscience is the blood of Christ. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 1:19 that the Christian life is lived “having faith and a good conscience.” Faith takes hold of Christ’s finished work, and a good conscience is the result of knowing that His blood has purged us once and for all.
The old covenant could never accomplish this. Hebrews 9:9 explains that the sacrifices under the law “cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience.” Year after year, animals were offered, yet the worshipers were never truly freed from guilt. The very repetition of those sacrifices showed that the conscience was never perfected.
But now Jesus has done what those sacrifices never could. By His one offering, He has perfected forever those who are sanctified (Heb. 10:14). Unlike the shadows of the Old Testament, His sacrifice was final, complete, and eternal. Our Savior has offered a perfect sacrifice, and that sacrifice has given you a perfect conscience before God.
Beloved, the blood of Christ speaks louder than your failures. It declares, “Paid in full.” To go on living guilty is to live as though His sacrifice were not enough. But to rest in a conscience sprinkled clean is to glorify Jesus’ finished work.
Hebrews 10:22 invites us to “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.” This means you no longer need to approach God as though you are carrying a debt or trying to make up for your failures. You can come before Him with full assurance, knowing that your sins have been put away once and for all. The blood of Christ has not only removed your guilt—it has qualified you to live boldly in His presence.
And this is what it would mean for us today:
Pastor Prince reminded us that the enemy will always try to attack your conscience, planting thoughts like: “You didn’t do enough… you failed again… God must be disappointed.” But when you know that the blood of Christ has already perfected your conscience, those accusations lose their power. You can silence every lie with the truth: “It is finished. Christ has done it all. My debt is paid. I am free to draw near to my Abba.”
Beloved, this is your inheritance. You have not only been forgiven but also received a conscience that is at peace before God. When you rest in this reality, you will find yourself living each day with boldness, peace, and joy in His presence.
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2025
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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