Acts 23:1

Evidently Paul intended to give his testimony again to the Sanhedrin. He addressed this body using the formal address common among Jews (lit. "Men brothers," Gr. Andres adelphoi). He identified himself as a Jew since his loyalty to Judaism was in question.

Paul frequently claimed to have lived with a clear conscience before God (cf. Acts 20:18-21; Acts 20:26-27; Acts 24:16; Romans 15:19; Romans 15:23; Philippians 3:6; 2 Timothy 4:7). Paul referred to the conscience about 23 times in his epistles. Here this claim meant that he believed that nothing he had done, which he was about to relate, was contrary to the will of God contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. Specifically his Christian beliefs and conduct did not compromise his Jewish heritage.

"He was not, of course, claiming sinlessness, nor was he referring to the inner spiritual conflicts of Romans 7. The reference was to the externals of his life, and the blamelessness of his conduct as measured by the demands of the Law (cf. Philippians 3:4-6)." [Note: Kent, p. 168, footnote 19.]