Do You Have A Functional Conscience?

Romans 2:12-16

Message No. 0790 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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Conscience. Everyone has one, but is yours still functioning as designed by God? This week we examine the meaning and functions of conscience, and we encourage christians to go to God in repentance if they discover that the wrong things no longer move them.

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Have the actions or statements of some people ever made you to open your mouth but remain speechless? Well, yes of course. Everyone has experienced situations where they were so shocked at someone’s actions or statements that they were unable to speak. The question is, why is there so much disparity in what different people believe to be good behaviour? Is it culture, tradition, practice, orientation, or is it something completely different?

The fact is, even with different cultures, orientation, and norms, there are certain behaviours that are generally agreed to be good or bad. For example, it is generally agreed to not steal, kill, cheat, insult, or dehumanize a fellow human being, and these beliefs appear to hold irrespective of which region of the world you go. The questions are, why is this so, and why do some people appear to not adhere to these norms? The answers may largely be found in one word - conscience. 

When God created man, He built an engine on his inside, a guide of behaviour, and a checkbox for right and wrong. It almost works like a computer, never failing to say something, especially at critical junctions in our daily living. This guide of behaviour acts like a judge, either affirming or condemning our actions. The wonderful thing about our conscience is, it lets us know or at least think about the acceptability of our actions even before we act. And when we act, our conscience either accuses or excuses our actions.

Let us look at an example of how this works. After David was anointed king, Saul envied him and was all out to have him killed, for he feared that David was being positioned to take over the kingdom. Marshalling the entire might of Israel’s military, Saul hunted David daily and made many attempts to eliminate him. Now, under this condition, David would naturally be eager to kill Saul at any opportunity so he could eliminate the king’s death threat over him, but David’s conscience would not allow him to kill Saul, for he said, God forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 26:11). 

However, on one occasion, David had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe, showing that he could have killed Saul if he wanted. The Bible says that after doing this, David’s heart (or conscience) troubled him and he was sorry for what he did. In this example, we see a classic case of how our conscience works, warning us before we do something, and if we do not pay attention and we do it anyways, our conscience condemns or accuses our actions, and the only way to retain peace with God is to repent and seek forgiveness.

The word conscience comes from the Latin word con-scientia, meaning, ‘knowing with.’ In other words, conscience is that inner guide that helps us to know right and wrong. God is a perfect Judge any day, and this is the reason those who died before the Bible was written will still be judged, according to their conscience. In Romans 2:15, the Bible says:

Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them).

Unfortunately, some people’s conscience has been corrupted. They have acted against their conscience so much that it no longer means anything when they do the wrong things. In Romans 1:28, the Bible says even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting. In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, the Bible says:

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.

A dead conscience cannot work with God, because if you fail in the moral things, how can you pass in the spiritual things? Here’s the question: is your conscience still functional? Do you feel shocked or disturbed when you see people doing the wrong things, or does it no longer mean anything to you? Have you submitted yourself to doing the wrong things over and over again and now it no longer feels bad when you fail morally?

Many of God’s children probably need to go back to God in weeping and repentance, asking for fresh cleansing and forgiveness and asking the Lord to repair and retrain their conscience so they can return to what God created. If we are no longer moved when the wrong things are done, then it’s time to repent. Is your conscience still working as God created it? 

What to Do?

If you no longer pay attention to your conscience but instead wallow in disobedience everyday, then it’s time to go back to God in repentance.