Today's encouragement comes from Paul's words, found in Acts 24:16:
"This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men."God's people ought to do everything in their power to faithfully please the Lord; and, in so doing, to not unduly offend men, either. Sometimes this is vir-tually impossible. Doing what God commands *will*, in some cases, offend people. In those instances, it is always best to honor God, and let sinners be upset about it.
The rule for the church to go by is this: faithfulness to Christ is *always* in *every* human beings' best interest, (even though the unregenerate do not realize this, nor accept this). Let us seek to keep our consciences clean, by walking by faith in Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Truth is truth, and error, error; and that which is un-lawful is unlawful, whether men think so or not.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]
