Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

As described by Paul in Romans 2, conscience is an attribute given by God to all humans (even to those without knowledge of His word as found in the Bible) with respect to discernment of moral conduct. (The Christian apologist C. S. Lewis referred to it as "the universal law of right and wrong", and used it in his excellent book Mere Christianity as the starting point in his argument for the existence of God and the accuracy of the Bible.) In that respect, conscience can be a useful tool in bringing individuals to the realization that they do not perfectly comply with that law.

At the same time, however, and as also noted by Paul, conscience is fallible, and can be corrupted by cultural influences, as well as by the state of original sin into which all humans since Adam have been born. That is why the voice of conscience must always be compared with and considered in light of the inspired word of Scripture, and rejected when its promptings are not in accordance with that guidance.

May 27 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Good question, Ainsley! The problem of putting too much importance on the conscience is this:

It must be purged (Heb. 9:14, cleansed) because it can be evil (Heb. 10:22, cf. Jer. 17:9) and 
Seared (1 Tim. 4:2, insensitive).
Weak and ignorant (1 Cor. 8:7, 10, 12). John MacArthur says, "Educate your conscience. A weak, easily grieved conscience results from a lack of spiritual knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:7). If your conscience is too easily wounded, don't violate it. To violate even a weak conscience is to train yourself to override conviction, and that will lead to overriding true conviction about real sin."

A weak conscience is like a flag on a pole, vacillating between right and wrong, truth, etc. 

“shipwrecked.” (“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 1 Timothy 1:19) 

Defiled (Titus 1:15, polluted, stained). MacArthur adds, "Guilt feelings may persist long after the offense is forgotten, often spilling over to other areas of our lives. That's one reason people often feel guilty and are not sure why. Such confused guilt may be a symptom that something is terribly wrong spiritually. Paul may have had that in mind when he wrote, "To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their consciences are defiled" (Titus 1:15)."

A former pastor of mine, before he was saved, Dr. James Borror, felt "so bad" and so he said, "I didn't know why!" Well, it was because he was "unbelieving" and needed to be saved. After he was saved, he didn't feel "so bad" anymore! To say the least. I will bet he felt "so good!"

Imperfect conscience (Heb. 9:9)

http://www.theoldpathspublications.com/PDFs/CONSCIENCE%20OUTLINE.pdf 

Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a “necessary evil,” it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil. - Sidney J. Harris

May 27 2022 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Phil Price Supporter

I believe the conscience was a direct result from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Too often today we are eating from that tree; what we judge as good today, tomorrow we may see it as evil. I have had my conscience condemn me for something that was not wrong, and not for something that was. The Holy Spirit doesn’t use our conscience to teach us, He speaks directly to our heart. I think the conscience can cause us to want to partake of the tree of knowledge so we can be sure we are right. 

God wants relationship with us. Jesus is the tree of life, that’s the fruit we should desire.

June 10 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jim Dubé Supporter Former pastor

Here is what the Word of God tells me:

1. Conscience is influenced by what it is fed (1Co 2:14 – natural man cannot discern spiritual things)

2. Conscience is woefully partial, disregarding favorite sinful actions and excusing those which besiege us (1Sa 13:8-12)

3. Conscience may convict our hearts over issues which have no bearing on our relationship with God (1Jo 3:18-21)

4. The blood of Christ is empowered in our lives to the effect that it will cleanse our conscience from dead works (any thing from our past with no life on it and anything we do and trust in for our own righteousness, see Tit 3:5), Heb 9:14

From God's Word, we also know these:

It is possible to have a GOOD conscience
Acts 23:1 and 1Ti 1:5,19 & Heb 13:18 and 1Pe 3:16,21

It is also possible to have an EVIL conscience
Heb 10:22

Our conscience can bear witness
Ro 2:15, 9:1

It is also possible to have a SEARED Conscience
1Ti 4:2

Or even have a DEFILED Conscience
Titus 1:15 and 1Co 8:7

October 21 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report