“Energy Overload”

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

[This question is a follow up to “A Spirit Conflicted”)

     Is the Spirit some sort of energy force?  Can energy be spiritual?  I have sensed/felt a presence that enveloped all of me, yet I couldn’t define it as other than a sensed experience.  Later, I knew it was God (without a doubt).  The experience left me but not my mind.  Does God give us a conscience, and is it Him within us?

Sincerely,
A Lot On My Mind

Dear A Lot On My Mind,

God does give everyone a conscience, and it is a very common mistake to confuse the voice of your conscience for the voice of God.  Your conscience is that part of you that makes you feel good when you do what you believe is right, and it makes you feel bad when you do what you believe is wrong.  Sometimes, what you believe to be right is actually wrong or what you believe to be wrong is actually right. 
The Bible clearly teaches that we should attempt to learn and increase in knowledge, so we can better discern between good and evil (Heb 5:14).

You can’t trust your conscience as a direct communication with God because God is never wrong, but your conscience definitely can be!  For example, take the apostle Paul.  Paul said that he had a clear conscience… even though he had attempted to kill Christians (Acts 23:1).  The reason Paul could have a clean conscience after doing such reprehensible things is because when Paul did them, he did them in ignorance (1 Tim 1:13).  As soon as Paul realized that he was sinning, he changed.

The Holy Spirit isn’t an energy force that resides within us and speaks to us directly.  The Holy Spirit is an actual divine Being, just as much as Jesus and the Father.  Read “Father, Son, & Holy Spirit” for a detailed breakdown of who each member of the Godhead is.  The Bible is the tool God uses to bring us salvation (Rom 1:16).  God never says that we should expect to feel His presence in some sort of miraculous way.

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