Devotion 12 – Faith & Conscience

 

Devotion 12 – Faith & Conscience

 

1 Tim.1:18-19 – “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck…”

In the above Scripture, Paul identifies a connection between faith and conscience. A good conscience is a safeguard for Christian faith and life. Faith and a good conscience go together. If we do not have a good conscience, we cannot have an authentic faith.

 

The Conscience—An Internal Guide and Judge

Our conscience is a part of our God-given internal faculties, a critical inner awareness that bears witness between moral right and wrong - “their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them” (Rom.2:15). It functions as both a guide and a judge. It serves as a guide before we act by urging us to do what is right and forbidding us to do what is wrong. When we conform to the values of our conscience, we will have a sense of peace or relief. It acts as a judge both while and after we act by evaluating the rightness or wrongness of our actions and motives. It is like a built-in warning system that signals us when something we have done is wrong.  The conscience is to our souls what pain sensors are to our bodies; when we violate our conscience, it induces anguish or guilt.

Our Conscience can be Seared or Defiled

1 Tim.4:1-2 - “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…”

Tit.1:15 - “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.”

 Sin can suppress our conscience and cause it to become “seared” and “defiled”, and wholly unreliable.  Our conscience can also be influence by culture, environment and education. What we read, what we listen to, and what we see affect our thoughts and actions.  In our culture today, many believe there is no real moral truth, no absolute right or wrong.  Moral truth of right and wrong are seen as merely relative concepts and these concepts change with time, place and culture.

 Heb.10:22 – “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

 However, our conscience is bound to the Word of God, it relies upon the knowledge of good and evil that God gives in His Holy Word. It is bound by what the Bible commands or forbids. The psalmist writes, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps.119:105). When man departs from the light of God’s Word, he gropes along in darkness, uncertain of where he is headed. Solomon writes, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25). And Paul warns in his epistle to the Romans that when men reject God, their hearts grow dark, they become fools, and God will finally turn them over to their own lusts (Rom.1:18–32).

 Once we have committed sin, our conscience—if it is operating properly—accuses us of sin, rebukes us and urges us to repent. If we heed our conscience, we will maintain in “good conscience”. But if we justify our sins, ignoring the prompting of our conscience, it will gradually harden and cease to function properly. Our understanding of right and wrong soon becomes clouded and our sense of shame begin to disappear. If this continues, it can lead to spiritual death, our faith may suffer “shipwreck” and we may ultimately depart from the faith. It is for this reason that Paul urges Timothy to keep “faith and a good conscience.”

 

Conscience and the Leading of the Spirit

Acts 23:1 - “Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

Acts 24:16 – “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.”

 Conscience is so important to Paul that he would rather obey his conscience than obey the majority. He took pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men. Why did Paul give such high priority in maintaining a healthy conscience?

Rom.9:1 – “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit…”

 Our conscience has a voice that bears witness to the things of the Spirit. We cannot be led by the Spirit of God unless we are also sensitive to the inward witness of our spirit that is a part of our conscience. The conscience is related to the leading of the Spirit. Hence, if we want to be led effectively by the Spirit of God like Paul, we need to maintain a clear and good conscience. Most importantly, having a good conscience will protect our faith from shipwrecks, and empower us to walk as authentic children of God.