Beware a seared conscience!

 

What Should A Christian’s Conscience Be Like?

What is our conscience?

Let’s have a look at how two well-known dictionaries describe our conscience:

Cambridge Dictionary: the part of you that judges how moral your own actions are and makes you feel guilty about bad things that you have done or things you feel responsible for

Collins Dictionary: Conscience is doing what you believe is right even though it might be unpopular, difficult, or dangerous.

So, from these two definitions we see that our conscience is that which is in us by which we can judge our own morality (our own actions), what we do right and what we do wrong according to our own morals and moral upbringing. This also impacts our ‘feelings’, we feel good when we do good things and bad when we do bad things. Using the standards of today’s society, we have a problem in that what one person’s definition of what is right or wrong, may be completely different and even totally opposite to another person’s definition of right and wrong!

But for a born-again Christian our conscience should be governed and modelled in Christ Jesus and the Bible and led and guided by the Holy Spirit in all our actions and speech!

Where is our conscience located?

God created man in three parts, spirit, soul and body – see my blog posted on 9 May 2021. https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/05/how-did-god-create-us-spirit-soul-and.html

Our conscience lies within the realm of the soul in what we call our conscious mind. The conscious mind is where our conscience functions along with our thought and reasoning processes. In the New Testament writings, the soul is often referred to as the ‘flesh’.

Let’s write the below verses indelibly in our hearts and minds so that our conscious minds will always be led by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:5-8 (AMP)

5 For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. 6 Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; 7 the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

Now, we’ve had a look at how the world defines ‘conscience’ from two well-known dictionaries, so let’s now have a look at how the Bible defines ‘conscience’ from the original Greek text.

The transliteration of the Greek word used in the New Testament texts is ‘suneidésis’ (soon-i'-day-sis) and means conscience/consciousness. This Greek word is derived from two other separate Greek words, ‘syn’ which means ‘together with’ and ‘eido’ which means ‘to know, to see’ in the moral sense.

Consequently, the expanded meaning is: conscience (in the Biblical context) is that which joins moral and spiritual consciousness together as part of being created in God’s image. Consequently, all people (believers and non-believers alike) have this God-given capacity to know right from wrong because each is a free moral agent.

In the case of born-again Christians, ‘right’ is in accordance with Biblical teaching! In this way our conscience tells us when we are doing right or wrong and we are consciously aware of our right and wrong actions and speech because we have God’s standards by which to judge ourselves! Our conscience is a ‘self-judging’ tool whereby we can examine ourselves to see if we line up with the Word of God in all areas of our lives!

What kind of conscience should we have as born-again Christians?

We should have a clear conscience before God and man!

The Apostle Paul tells us that we should always strive to have a clear conscience before God and man! He tells us that because he is born-again (a follower of the Way) he always strives to keep his conscience clear before God and man! And as he says, we should imitate him as he imitates Christ!

Acts 24:16 (NIV)

14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT)

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us this:

Hebrews 9:14 (NIV)

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Hebrews 10:21-22 (NLT)

21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

These verses tell us that when we repent of our sin and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we become born-again, and our consciences are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and when we are baptised in water our bodies are symbolically washed clean – we become a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

The Apostle John puts it this way:

1 John 1:7 (AMP)

but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].

The conscience of the born-again Christian is guilt free because of the blood of Jesus and when our ‘flesh’, our soulish realm, slips our consciences should be immediately ‘pricked’ so that we can repent, and the clear conscience restored!

See my blog ‘What Happens When A Born Again Christian Sins?’: https://rayskilton.blogspot.com/2021/09/what-happens-when-born-again-christians.html

In Romans 9 Paul tells us that it is the Holy Spirit that enlightens the born-again Christians conscience, we are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit. A clear and good conscience can only be maintained through living life in the Holy Spirit!

Romans 9:1 (AMP)

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit,

In 1 Timothy 1 Paul is warning Timothy to watch out for and oppose the false teachers and prophets that have risen up in Ephesus and tells him to command these people to not teach false doctrines any longer.

1 Timothy 1:3-4 (NIV)

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.

Paul goes on to tell Timothy in verse 5, that the aim of this command, the command to oppose false prophets and teachers, is love (the agapé love of God) which can only come from those of us that have a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith in Christ Jesus!

1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

When we lose these three facets by embracing false teachings our Christian walk becomes meaningless. God created us with a conscience to use for aligning ourselves with Him. A conscience fully committed to the Lord is a good conscience, any other doctrine other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified is false and rubbish and will eventually lead to one having a seared conscience!

Today, as born-again Christians it is our duty to foster a good conscience before God and man by following Jesus, being led by the Holy Spirit, and knowing the Word of God, the Bible, and not only knowing the Word but being doers of the Word as well! A good conscience is informed by all things Godly through the Holy Spirit!

1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Psalm 119:11 (NIV)

I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

A Christian should have a conscience that immediately convicts them of wrongdoing and sinful behaviour against God and our fellow human beings especially those with weaker consciences than ours. When we sin against a brother or sister in Christ who has a weaker conscience than ours, we wound their consciences and thus we sin against Christ as well!

1 Corinthians 8:12-13 (NIV)

12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

A life free of ongoing and un-confessed sin, lived under the command of the Lord, will produce a good conscience “without offense” to God and man! A good conscience will produce a believer who is “after God’s own heart” and one who is spiritually mature.

A good conscience will testify to the world that you belong to Jesus and that you are truly a Godly and righteous person. It is this kind of testimony that leads people to Christ and us to spiritual maturity.

2 Corinthians 1:12 (AMP)

12 This is our [reason for] proud confidence: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world [in general], and especially toward you, with pure motives and godly sincerity, not in human wisdom, but in the grace of God [that is, His gracious lovingkindness that leads people to Christ and spiritual maturity].

James 3:13-16 (NIV)

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Let the conviction of the Holy Spirit through your conscience lead you to an ever repentant heart and spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus! Cultivate a good conscience without ceasing!

Now that we know what a born- again Christian’s conscience should look like, let’s examine through scripture what will happen to us is we ignore the Holy Spirit’s conviction of our conscience.

We will develop a defiled conscience!

In the Book of Titus, we are told that if we ignore developing our conscience into a “good conscience” by the leading and conviction of the Holy Spirit we will develop a conscience that is defiled and unbelieving towards God. We will then become worthless in the eyes of God. Titus calls this a mind and conscience that has become corrupted through continued sin and an unrepentant heart and by this kind of act we deny God.

Titus 1:15 (AMP)

5 To the pure, all things are pure; but to the corrupt and unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their mind and their conscience are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God [to recognize and be acquainted with Him], but by their actions they deny and disown Him. They are detestable and disobedient and worthless for good work of any kind.

A SEARED CONSCIENCE

If we continue in this way and remain unrepentant, we will eventually develop what the Apostle Paul calls a ‘seared conscience.’ Paul states that, in the end times, people will abandon their faith in Christ Jesus and follow deceiving spirits because their conscience has become seared – false teachers and prophets!

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (AMP)

But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning],

Seared is a medical term referring to cauterization. A seared conscience becomes desensitized to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit and thus morally insensitive to what is good in Biblical terms.

If you continue to sin and turn away from God, you will become still more apathetic about moral and spiritual things. This speaks of one losing all moral restraint. The false teachers and prophets we have in the world today have seared consciences and have lost all moral restraint. That are doomed to destruction and lead many others to the same fate.

2 Peter 2:1-3

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

The Christian’s hope and strength in Christ Jesus is in the convicting and restraining influence of the Holy Spirit working through our consciences.

Repeated willful and unrepentant sinning hardens the conscience so that it becomes seared like cauterised scar tissue. The neglected and resisted conscience becomes more insensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and will eventually stop giving warning signals about wrongdoing.

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
I pray in Jesus’ name that you help me to listen to your voice through the Holy Spirit and that you help me to develop an ever repentant heart. I pray too Lord that you would help me to develop a good and clear conscience and take notice of the conviction of the Holy Spirit as He pricks my conscience when I do wrong and to kneel before you in humble repentance. Amen.

All glory, honour and praise belongs to Jesus!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!