And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
We’ll learn more about Felix the governor mentioned here in Acts 23. We’ll see that he will keep Paul in prison for two years, frequently calling for him in hopes of being offered a bribe (Acts 24). He is not one I would consider to have a clear conscience. I wonder how he thought about himself, what struggles of conscience he had at this time – or any other time for that matter.
One can have a clear conscience by means of self-deception. We can convince ourselves that we’ve done no wrong – even if we have done many things wrong. Sooner or later, such a conscience will either awaken to our failures and need for forgiveness, or become seared and incapable of feeling remorse. One with a seared conscience has repeatedly ignored or violated his or her moral sense to the point where they no longer feel guilt, shame, or remorse for wrong actions.
One with a guilty conscience feels remorse and guilt over things done or not done. Sadly, however, sometimes we carry a guilty conscience over things about which we need not feel guilty. That is an erring conscience.
There is a two-fold cure to a truly guilty conscience, a falsely-clear conscience, or an erring conscience. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. The Way of Jesus is one of grace and truth. And because there is no one righteous, not even one, we all need the grace of Jesus. We can fool ourselves into believing we’ve done nothing wrong when in fact we have, or that we have sinned when we actually have not. For that reason we must also have the truth of Jesus, the truth of the Word of God to align our ideals, morals, and actions with that which is truly good.
Grace and truth are beautiful together. One without the other can be a sham of justice, or a hopeless search for self-justification. When we face the truth of our brokenness and sin, and turn to the grace of Jesus’ mercy, love, and forgiveness, we can have a truly clear conscience. We will then surely want to live in such a way that we honor God’s grace and truth, and serve our neighbor in love.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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