Truth Talk

BONUS : Your Conscience Is Not the Enemy: Rediscovering True Biblical Rest

• Truth Talk (with Caleb Cross & Eliana Rivers) • Season 1

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Have you ever found yourself silencing your conscience with a Bible verse, only to feel that nagging sensation return stronger than before? You're not alone. Many believers today are being taught a dangerous version of "rest" that actually undermines true biblical freedom.

The blood of Jesus doesn't delete your conscience—it cleanses it. When Hebrews speaks of an "evil conscience," it's referring to a guilty, polluted conscience, not suggesting that having moral awareness is somehow wrong. God designed your conscience as a vital safeguard, not a burden to be silenced. Yet many teachers today perform a theological sleight of hand, redefining biblical rest as the absence of moral guidance rather than union-led obedience without condemnation.

This episode cuts through the confusion with crystal clarity. We trace the concept of rest from Eden through Israel to Jesus, showing how true rest always married God's presence with obedience. We expose how misinterpreting Greek words like "poneros" flattens Scripture's richness and prepares believers to ignore genuine conviction. Most importantly, we offer four practical moves for living in authentic biblical rest: honoring the blood rightly, asking for conscience cleansing, practicing restful obedience, and keeping the censer clean through quick confession. The goal isn't a callous heart, but a cleansed one.

Join us for this foundational conversation that sets the stage for Season Two, where we'll continue exposing counterfeit forms of rest while recovering the true grace that enables us to walk with God again—like in Eden, in the cool of the day. Subscribe now to Truth Talk, where filters die and truth speaks.

💡 Hosted by Caleb Cross & Eliana Rivers
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Disclaimer: The content of this podcast addresses theological ideas and teachings often described as “hyper-grace.” We do not target or attack any individual by name. Our goal is to measure doctrine against the Word of God and encourage listeners to walk in truth, holiness, and grace. Any quotes referenced are from publicly available teachings and are examined for the purpose of biblical analysis.


Eliana Rivers:

So, caleb, I was watching a sermon on YouTube. The preacher said the Greek word for evil is poneros, which can mean full of labors, like being pressed and harassed by works. He links that to Hebrews 10.22 about an evil conscience and basically said when Christians feel guilty after sin, they try harder not to sin by keeping the law, which just makes them more burdened. So we should just rest in Christ because the blood has cleansed us and we should have no guilt on the conscience. Honestly, that sounded freeing. Is that right?

Caleb Cross:

There's a grain of truth and a dangerous twist. Let's start with the verse itself, hebrews 10.22. When Hebrews says evil conscience, it's not saying the conscience itself is evil. God gave you a conscience as a safeguard. What's evil here is a guilty, polluted conscience, a heart still stained and carrying sin's weight. The blood of Jesus cleanses that conscience. It does not delete it or tell you to mute it.

Eliana Rivers:

So Hebrews 10 isn't telling me to turn off my conscience, it's saying the blood washes it. So I can draw near with full assurance.

Caleb Cross:

Exactly. Hebrews 9 14 says the blood purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. A clean conscience doesn't nag, it guides Grace rest means you can come close to God without condemnation and keep your moral censor alive.

Eliana Rivers:

But the preacher also said the strength of sin is the law. So preaching the law just makes people sin conscious, Isn't that in the Bible?

Caleb Cross:

Yes. 1 Corinthians 5.56 says the strength of sin is the law and Romans 3.20 says by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law reveals and defines sin, but that doesn't make the law the villain. Romans 7.12 says wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Here's the balance Law reveals, spirit empowers. Romans 8.4 says the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk by the balance. Law reveals, spirit empowers. Romans 8.4 says In the new covenant, god writes his law on our hearts. Hebrews 10.16. So the spirit empowers what the law describes.

Eliana Rivers:

So rest is not the same as no yoke.

Caleb Cross:

Right. Jesus said Rest doesn't mean passivity, it means union-led obedience without condemnation.

Eliana Rivers:

Can you connect that to the big story Eden, israel, jesus.

Caleb Cross:

In Eden, god's presence and obedience was rest. Adam lost rest by disobedience. Israel later missed rest by unbelief In Christ. Rest returns but it rides on union and hearing-doing. That's why Hebrews 4.11 says and think of the conscience as your covenant censor. Under the old it kept remembering sins. Under the new, the blood cleans the censor so it can register real warnings without condemning you. Clean is not the same as muted.

Eliana Rivers:

What if I sin, feel guilty, and then try to silence the guilt with slogans I've done that, Declare I am the righteousness of God in Christ, but use it to ignore conviction. It seems to dull the sting.

Caleb Cross:

That's the danger. If you mute guilt instead of washing it, the conscience grows dull. Do it often enough and scripture says it can be seared. 1 Timothy 4.2. Then the inner voice starts rationalizing, calling darkness light. The gospel's way isn't turn down the alarm, it's apply the blood, then walk by the spirit. 1 John 1.9,. Confess and he cleanses. Cleansed not callous.

Eliana Rivers:

So where's the twist in that sermon logic?

Caleb Cross:

It's a lexicon sleight of hand. Poneros can have etymological roots connected to toil, but in New Testament usage it overwhelmingly means evil, wicked, harmful, even the evil one. Redefining evil conscience mainly as work, harassed conscience, flattens the text and quietly recasts conscience rather than guilt as the problem. Then the cure becomes just rest, turn down the conscience and all will work out marriage, career, everything that preps people to ignore conviction, to call holiness legalism and to mislabel spirit-borne diligence as works. But Hebrews 10 itself, right after the full assurance passage, warns if we sin willfully, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Willfully, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. True rest is yoked obedience with Jesus, not anesthetized conscience with no yoke.

Eliana Rivers:

Okay, so how do I live this?

Caleb Cross:

Here are the four moves Honor the blood, rightly, Draw near in full assurance because Jesus paid the debt. Hebrews 10, 19-22. Ask him to clean your conscience so it can guide, not nag. Hebrews 9, 14. Practice restful obedience. Keep Jesus' yoke on. Read, pray, tell the truth, forgive, flee lust. Give generously from acceptance not for acceptance. Keep the censer clean. When convicted, confess quickly. 1 John 1.9. Don't mute the guilt, wash it. Aim for a good conscience. 1 Timothy 1.5, Acts 24.16. Enter rest by diligence. Build rhythms that marry rest plus resolve Sabbath for refreshment habits for holiness. Let us labor, therefore, to enter that rest. Hebrews 4.11.

Eliana Rivers:

So evil conscience doesn't mean having a conscience, it means a guilty one. And rest doesn't mean mute the guilt, it means a clean conscience under Jesus' easy yoke.

Caleb Cross:

That's it Law reveals, spirit, empowers. The blood doesn't make you careless, it makes you clean, so you can walk with God again, like Eden, in the cool of day.

Eliana Rivers:

This is exactly the kind of clarity season two is about right.

Caleb Cross:

Yes, season two will expose counterfeit rest that muzzles conscience, recover true grace that cleanses it and call us back to holiness as Eden's atmosphere. We start Monday, episode 6. Come ready, this is Truth Talk, where filters die and truth speaks.