OUR CONSCIENCE
Robert Meredith
Is the conscience a safe religious guide? God has instilled within each of us an inner moral thermostat, the conscience. Many people believe that as long as their conscience does not bother them, then the thing under consideration must be acceptable. Is the conscience a safe religious guide?
The apostle Paul told the Jewish religious court, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). By this statement Paul declared that religiously his conscience never bothered him. He always did what he believed was right. However, at one time he was in charge of having Stephen put to death (Acts 8:1). He also had many Christians, both men and women, cast into jail and even put to death (Acts 8:3; 26:10). These acts, which were directly opposed to God, never violated his conscience. Paul’s conscience had been trained wrong. He believed what he was doing was correct; he was sadly mistaken. This shows us our conscience is not a safe religious guide because it can be trained wrongly.
God has given to man His word to be our guide through life. The Psalmist penned, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path...The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Ps. 119:105, 130). Man is not able to know what God desires without God telling him (Jer. 10:23). Therefore God has given to mankind direction through His word. The Holy Spirit guided Paul to write, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Too, Peter wrote, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3).
God has provided all things one needs to have spiritual life and to live godly by the ability to come to the knowledge of God. This knowledge comes from the word of God. In Ephesians 3:4 one reads, “Whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.” By turning to God’s word, one gains the knowledge he needs to have spiritual life and to live godly. See also: Acts 20:32; Psalm 119:11; & James 1:21.
Is one’s conscience a safe religious guide? No! The conscience might be trained incorrectly just as Paul’s was at one time. Our conscience must be in full agreement with the Bible’s standard, otherwise it may lead us astray.
God gave man a conscience for a reason. It serves to keep him from doing that which he believes to be wrong. The apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 14 that if one violates his conscience, then he has sinned (Rom. 14:23). Let us make sure our conscience is trained correctly and live out God’s word (which is our spiritual guide) in our lives.