A QUESTION OF CONSCIENCE

ROMANS 1:18–32

Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them

(Romans 1:19).

Historically, men have recognized that there is an aspect of the human mind called “conscience,” which reinforces the creation ordinances of God to the hearts of all men. Our conscience promotes the good but also accuses us when we sin. We can sear our conscience and render it insensitive, but by creation all men have some degree of inner knowledge of right and wrong.

We find ourselves surrounded by a philosophy of relativism that claims there are no absolutes. If there are no absolutes, how do we explain the presence of the conscience? Within the framework of relativism, conscience is explained as a product of evolution. Over the course of time, society has developed taboos, and these taboos are imposed on people producing conviction and guilt.

Once a student came to my office consumed with guilt because she had slept with her fiance. She had been to see a liberal minister in town and he had told her that her conscience was tormenting her, not because she had done something wrong, but due to the influence of traditional taboos. Thus, what she needed to do, he told her, was to reject these taboos, free up her conscience, and admit that she had done nothing wrong.

She told me that she still felt guilty. I said to her, “Well, it is possible for a person to feel guilty because they have an unsettled conscience, when what they did was not actually a violation of the law of God. In your case, though, you did break God’s law. You should rejoice that your conscience troubles you, because the guilt and pain you feel shows that your conscience is not seared but is still healthy. The remedy you need is forgiveness because you have sinned.”

This story not only illustrates the danger of relativism but also shows that the conscience is not the final authority. The final authority is the law of God.

CORAM DEO

Isaiah 43–44

Colossians 2

Society warps our conscience, telling us that wrong is right and right is wrong. Where do you see some examples of this in society? In the church? Take whatever steps you need to cleanse your heart and reshape your conscience.

For further study: 1 Timothy 4:1–11; James 1:19–27; Building a Christian Conscience series

thursday

october