A pure conscience is the result of having no unconfessed sin.
Conscience – that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God, as that which is designed to govern our lives. That process of thought which distinguishes what it considers morally good or bad, commending the good, condemning the bad, and so prompting to do the former, and avoid the latter.*
To what standard is our conscience trained? Is our standard political correctness, cultural practice, peer pressure, family tradition, church tradition, the Bible or something else?
Since God wrote the book, the Bible should be the Christian’s only standard for faith and practice. If we find that our conscience is not trained to the biblical standard, it can be retrained by letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly. The goal for the Christian is to think biblically with a pure conscience.
Confess – to speak the same thing, to assent, accord, agree with, to admit. To confess by way of admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction.* In other words, confessing one’s sin is to say the same thing about it that God says. It is to agree with God against oneself.
To whom should we confess our sins?
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; I Timothy 2:5
What is the result of our confession of sin to our one and only Savior and Mediator, Jesus Christ?
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
I John 1:8-10
Now the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: I Timothy 1:5
*Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words by Unger & White. Copyright 1984, 1996 Thomas Nelson, Inc.