Our Conscience – 2

He leads me …

It is interesting to note that Dr Hallesby[1] explains in his book Conscience that the depth of response to the conscience is not something solely for Christians to experience. They can also be evident in the life of non-believers because, as Matthew 5:45 states, For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (NLT)[2]

  In the second chapter of Romans, Paul says there are diligent non-believers who not only know about the Law, but who allow their consciences to bind them to that Law and also to obey it. This behaviour has been confirmed by missionaries who have met people with responsive consciences who were leading upright lives despite the lack of a biblical world view.[3]

  At what stage do we ignore our conscience?

  It is one thing to have a conscience, but we do have a choice about whether we follow its promptings or not. As we have just seen it is very easy to compromise, and it affects everyone. In an issue of the Last Days Newsletter in 1984, the late Keith Green wrote about a poll taken in the United States in which both men and women were asked how much money they would have to be paid to sleep with a stranger. The average amount was $10 for men and $10,000 for women, but when the amount offered was a million dollars, almost everyone was happy to sleep with a stranger.

  Keith Green’s response was that everyone who was prepared to be paid was therefore prepared to be a prostitute, but the only variable was how much they needed to be paid. They were effectively setting aside their convictions for the sake of money. Keith then made the point that any one of these people could be bought for a price. From God’s perspective, He is not concerned about how much it is, but rather that they can be bought.[4]

  Some Christians reading this will be thinking that what Keith Green referred to might be a problem for some, but not for others. However, it may be more of an issue for all of us than we realise. Let us look at some possible scenarios.

1.     As the church worship leader, you require copies of some music for the service on Sunday but do not have enough time to order them. Do you photocopy other copies which might breach copyright laws?

2.     You have accepted a carpenter’s price to do some work, but then find someone cheaper. Do you then break the contract and accept the lower price?

3.     You damage your car by backing into a post. A short time later your car is hit in the side by another vehicle. Should you include the damage to the back of the car in the insurance claim?

4.     Your teenage daughter leaves her diary on her desk. You are concerned about the boy she is currently dating, so do you read her diary while she is out?

5.     You are a missionary with a group of people who take Bibles into communist countries. Are you prepared to lie to the border patrol in order to get the Bibles into the country?

  Putting off dealing with guilt inevitably compounds the problems. Don't procrastinate in clearing your wounded conscience. Paul said he did his best "to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men" (Acts 24:16). Some people put off dealing with their guilt, thinking their conscience will clear itself in time. It won't. Procrastination allows the guilt feelings to fester. That in turn generates depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems.

  Dealing with a wounded conscience immediately by heart-searching prayer before God is the only way to keep it clear and sensitive. But the answer to dealing with guilt is not to ignore it—that's the most dangerous thing you can do. Instead, you need to understand that God graciously implanted a powerful ally within you to aid you in the battle against sin. He gave you your conscience, and that gift is the key to bringing you joy and freedom.[5]

[1] Dr Ole Kristian Hallesby (1879–1961) was an influential, conservative, Norwegian Lutheran theologian, author and educator. He graduated with a degree in theology in 1903 and was awarded his doctorate in 1909

[2] Hallesby, 19-20

[3] Hallesby, 27

[4]  Joel A. Freeman, Living With Your Conscience (California, US: Here’s Life Publishers, 1989) p. 103

[5] John MacArthur, Keeping a Pure Conscience, Grace to You:  https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A195/keeping-a-pure-conscience