The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:4, “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t PROVE I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.”
We should never call conscience the voice of God. If it were, it would be the most contradictory voice you ever listen to. As I said before; conscience is that faculty in me which appeals to the highest I know; it may or may not be what God approves of. That is why conscience records differently in different people.
Our conscience is a wonderful tool from God. But it isn’t perfect. The bible says:
Our conscience can be SEARED - 1 Timothy 4:2
Our conscience can be DEFILED - Titus 1:15
Our conscience can be EVIL - Hebrews 10:22
Yet how many times have you heard someone say, “Let your conscience be your guide”, but the purpose of the conscience is not to guide you, or accuse you, but to warn you. It’s like the check-engine light inviting your attention.
You and I need an infallible guide and our conscience is not infallible. For this reason, conscience may be deceptive, and misleading. Only the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are certain guides to what’s right, and what’s wrong.
God’s principles don’t change, but our consciences vacillate and develop. These changes can be positive or negative. The Bible tells us that all of human nature has been affected by sin, including the function of the conscience itself.
Sometimes conscience may even cause some people to turn their backs on someone who is sick, and in need, believing them to be cursed by God, and therefore they should be left alone and ignored.
Conscience cannot be the voice of God, because sometimes it leads people to do things that are contrary to what is revealed in the Bible, which is the Word of God.
Our conscience needs to be guided, trained, and enlightened by the Word of God, and the Spirit of God. We simply can’t leave it to develop naturally, because it is influenced by all kinds of contradictory things that our parents told us and that the world has told us.
Ours is an age of “I’m okay, you’re okay.” But that is just not true. It would be more honest to affirm, “I’m not okay, and you’re not okay. We both need help that we can count on.”
That is why David said in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
We must program our heart with God’s standards, so when the alarm of our conscience goes off, we quickly know not only what standard is in jeopardy, but also what to do in response to the alarm.
by Corville Peters
