CONSCIENCE

CONSCIENCE

“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

                                                                                                                                                Romans 2:14-16

In today’s blog I want to dwell on the subject of conscience. I want to encourage you to read this blog and also to share. In the Scripture above the Apostle Paul is referring to the non-Jews “showing the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness with their reasonings either accusing or even excusing among themselves.

The Greek word for conscience in the verse 15 is the compound word summartureo. It connotes moral consciousness. The Noun of this word for conscience is the word suneidesis, which comes from the compound verb sun-oido. The prefix means with or together; and oida means to see, be sure, or understand. In verse 15, the verb martureo, which means to testify or bear witness, is also prefixed by sun which in the word above is sum and means with. Therefore, the noun “conscience” and the verb “bear witness” demonstrates that the two bear a joint witness. In other words, what I am saying is the work of the law indwelling, and the conscience bear the same testimony without prejudice to whether it is written or unwritten law. In essence the Christian must know that there is an interaction between the conscience and the law written in the heart or the external law. There is a two-fold witness that either accuse or defend. In reality the conscience of many are defiled.

“Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”

                                                                                                                                                       Titus 1:15 

Conscience therefore is that internal or self-knowledge, or judgment of right and wrong; or the faculty, power or principle within us, which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our own actions and affections, and instantly approves or condemns them. Conscience is called by some writers the moral sense, and considered as an original faculty of our nature. Others question the propriety of considering conscience as a distinct faculty or principle. They consider it rather as the general principle of moral approbation or disapprobation, applied to ones own conduct and affections; alleging that our notions of right and wrong are not to be deduced from a single principle or faculty, but from various powers of the understanding and will.

The conscience manifests itself in the feeling of obligation we experience, which precedes, attends and follows our actions. Conscience is first occupied in ascertaining our duty, before we proceed to action; then in judging of our actions when performed.

Conscience performs partnership action with the instruction a person has received. No man discerns rightness and wrongness by conscience alone. His intellect sees agree- ment or disagreement of conduct with the rule of life either written or unwritten. Information fed into the processing unit of the mind is processed, leading the process to either accuse or defend. Conscience experiences pain or pleasure in itself disagreeably or agreeably. Agreement of conscience with the mind produces pleasure. Disagreement of conscience with the mind causes pain, unless the conscience is seared.

“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”

                                                                                                                                                         Acts 24:16

Every true believer must exercise themselves to always have a conscience devoid of offence towards God and towards man. Before an act is committed, the conscience is an educator to advise and teach as per the revelation an individual possesses. This is often the explanation for how Paul was able to live in good conscience before God even before he was regenerated. He was living as per the revelation he possessed. Properly instructed conscience leads one to ponder before he or she acts. After the act, the conscience plays the role of a judge. There is no getting away with it. A fundamentally dishonest man might make a blunder about the verity or falsity of a pronouncement made several years before, but a fundamentally honest man cannot make such an error.

A dishonest man distorts facts and shapes them to his own purpose. He has nothing but memory on which to rely, and his memory is faulty. Dishonest persons distort and pervert things for personal advantage. However, an honest man relies on truth, truth remains unchanged. When you speak, what does your conscience tell you? You can only answer this if your conscience is yet alive. The Christian loves truth. He seeks out and speaks the truth. Although he may tell a lie, an indelible impression is created on his conscience in order that he cannot forget. His memory will remind him of it as long as he lives. The memory anyone who dies in his sins will associate with him throughout eternity. 

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,”

                                                                                                                                                      Romans 9:1

People in heathen countries that have never been exposed to the written law of God intuitively know that murder, adultery, theft, etc., are evil. After an act of sin is committed, the conscience that tutored and advised becomes the source of condemnation to the one without a seared conscience. Conscience becomes one’s judge, and one cannot perjure his conscience.

Human conscience does not become a member of the body which returns with the members of the body to the dust of the ground. Conscience is a member of the soul which is incapable of returning to the dust. In the same manner the conscience is now an accuser or a defender within, so shall it be throughout eternity. Cain killed Abel, and his conscience was affected such that he never forgot that he murdered his brother. Abel’s blood cried bitterly out to him. The conscience of Judas caused him to kill himself. Felix’s guilty conscience caused him to tremble before Paul’s preaching. The Bible abounds with such illustrations. Man’s condemning conscience will condemn him throughout eternity if he dies in his sins.

Since the righteous have the worst of it now during this world, shall be a judgment that will set things right so that the righteous may enjoy the best throughout eternity. This judgment is not a present reality because God is long-suffering, not willing that any of His own should perish but that they come to repentance.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

                                                                                                                                                        2 Peter 3:9

Hidden things are the most effective evidences of what man is either positionally or conditionally. What we are publicly is no way what we are, but what we are when alone evidences what we are. God’s knowledge of what we are thinking is the best evidence of what we actually are. This is true of the Christian conditionally, and it is true of the nonbeliever positionally. What we are unable to be absolutely sure about is our thoughts, but God knows. Should someone ask you to narrate a quick history of your life, would you provide a true history, or would it be a story that may manifest two different persons. Would you tell it as it is, or would you embellish it to sound such as you want it to be heard? We are what we are before God, we should desire to be before others what we are before God. This then is what is referred to as clean conscience. To be in the presence of man what you are before God. Beloved, the faith must be held in good conscience. The work of God must be done in good conscience. Faith and a defiled conscience cannot co-exist. Careful if they are co-existing in your life. 

“Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”

                                                                                                                                               1 Timothy 3:9