A Clear Conscience

Three Kinds of Conscience:

1. A Clear Conscience — the alarm is working properly

Acts 23:1, “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”

Acts 24:16, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”

“Void of offence” means that his conscience was clear. It literally means “not causing to stumble, not offending.” This same Greek word is used only two other times in the New Testament, both by Paul. Listen:

I Corinthians 10:32, “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.”

Philippians 1:10, “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.”

Ex: David when he decided twice not to kill King Saul (was it his conscience?)

2. A Defiled Conscience — you’ve tampered with the alarm

Titus 1:15, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”

Holman Bible Commentary: “Those who refuse the truth—who stubbornly exalt themselves, who believe they can attain righteousness through self effort—are impure. Their minds continue in enslavement to false ideas, self-deceptions, and empty philosophies. In such a condition, their consciences remain damaged and dysfunctional…For such individuals, nothing will ever be pure, right, or righteous because they remain defiled within.”

I Corinthians 8:7, “Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.”

This is truly fascinating. Not every Christian’s conscience is the same. Here certain Corinthian believers had a conscience that said it was okay to eat meat offered to idols, but others had a conscience that said it was not. So some would eat the meat, which caused the weaker Christians to follow suit and then feel guilty for doing so.

Your conscience operates on your upbringing, your standards, and your convictions. This is why we must be sensitive to others; we could do or say something that defiles their conscience, which can lead to major problems. We also need to make sure that our beliefs line up with the Bible.

3. A Seared Conscience — you’ve turned the alarm off

I Timothy 4:1-2, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

Illustration: cow that is branded with a hot iron; skin is dead, no feeling

“Depart from the faith”—these were once Christians

This means that you can actually manipulate your conscience by going against it over and over to the point where it breaks—the alarm has been turned off.

Example: how is it that a man can walk into a school and shoot a group of kids? No conscience. He’s turned off the alarm.

Do you see how dangerous it is to live without your conscience? Or to go against your conscience?

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CONSCIENCE

The first major distinction is the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person. But not just that, the Holy Spirit is also God! Your conscience can change over time, but the Holy Spirit does not change.

Secondly, your conscience will tend to focus on yourself—what’s right for you. But the Holy Spirit always focuses on glorifying God. Christian author Chad Napier makes a good point here. He says, “The conscience can deceive in this manner as its only compass for reaction and action is the present and past environment with a conditioning of mind and flesh.” One way to see if something is from the Spirit is to see if they line up with the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Is this conviction from my conscience or from the Holy Spirit? Ask yourself, “Is this conviction more about me or more about my walk with God?”

Finally, your conscience can be tied very tightly to your emotions, whereas the Holy Spirit is connected only to the truth. This is why it’s dangerous to “follow your heart,” as the world says. They’re saying to follow your emotions. Bad idea. Emotions change, but the truth never changes.

Your conscience is a wonderful thing, but it can be manipulated and deceived. When a Bible verse jumps off the page at you and grips your heart, you can be sure it was the Holy Spirit. Let’s break it down:

CONSCIENCE HOLY SPIRIT

Emotions Truth

Tends to focus on you Focuses on Christ

Can change Never changes