The Conscience


      Introduction:  Paul said, "…I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23: 1). Conscience is simply defined as, "The sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action (RHCD).  The conscience is that intangible part of man that can be of great directional help.

I. The conscience must be properly educated or it can be wrong

  A. The saying, "let your conscience be your guide is only right if the conscience is properly taught."

  A. The savage offering their first born male child to crocodiles in sacrifice to an idol god did so with a good conscience.

  B. Paul, during the time period of his statement, "I have lived in all good conscience" was murdering Christians (Saul of Tarsus, Acts 26: 9-12).

   a. The word of God must be allowed to educate the conscience (Gal. 2: 14).

II. The answer of a good conscience

  A. Baptism, according to the apostle Peter, is the answer of a good conscience toward God (I Pet. 3: 21).

  B. Jesus taught baptism is essential to salvation (Mk. 16: 16, Acts 2: 38, 22: 16).

   a. Hence, those who have believed, repented, confessed Christ's deity, and been baptized have a good conscience, they have done what the word teaches.

III. The scriptures say a lot regarding the conscience

  A. The scriptures are replete with reference to the conscience.

   a. There are certain things we are to do "for conscience sake" (Rom. 13: 5).

   b. We are to have a "conscience void of offence, toward God and man," (Acts 24: 16).

   c.The conscience "bears witness" (Rom. 2: 15).

     Conclusion:  I shall close with the thought of a "seared conscience." Hear Paul regarding false teachers: "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (I Tim. 4: 2, 1). Most false teachers are not just sincerely teaching false doctrine. Most of them have made a choice; hence, their hypocrisy. The conscience is valuable providing it has been trained and is not seared over.