Maintaining A Pure Conscience (Part 1) Series

Intro

We recently introduced the subject of self-awareness. First, we talked about the dangers in the Self-Esteem movement. Then, in a second message, we discussed three keys to managing self-awareness according to Scripture.i Today, I want to go a little deeper into the subject by talking about conscience.

What is conscience? What are some of the conditions of conscience referenced in the Bible? What are the benefits of a healthy, pure conscience? How do we maintain a pure conscience?

The Self-Esteem movement has drawn upon the teachings of secular psychologists and from that teaching, developed recommendations for maintaining self-esteem. Their concepts do not come from the Bible. Their terminology does not come from Scripture. In many ways, their teaching is a substitute for biblical teaching on self-awareness. By avoiding the subject of conscience, secular psychologists avoid the subject of sin and accountability to God. Instead of accepting the biblical concept of guilt, they speak of guilt in terms of feelings. In the Bible, guilt is violation of God’s commandments. On the psychiatrist’s couch, guilt is a feeling. Getting rid of the feeling becomes the goal, rather than repenting of objective wrong-doing and getting right with God. It is a counterfeit gospel.

There is safety in sticking with biblical terms. Words carry concepts. The concept behind the term self-esteem is different from the concept behind the biblical term conscience. When we use non-biblical terms, it is very easy to fall victim to the error in the concept behind the term. Words matter. I am not saying we should never use secular terms. Language does evolve and there are subjects that are simply not addressed in Scripture. But we should be very cautious of terms that are not in the Bible. It is very possible that there are unscriptural concepts labeled by those terms.

UNIVERSALITY OF CONSCIENCE

Certainly, self-awareness is a biblical reality. God made us in such a way that we are aware of self. That awareness is of a higher nature than the animal kingdom because it includes the inner sense of moral accountability. Everybody has an inner sense that God is there, and therefore, they are accountable to him.

In Romans 1:18-32, Paul deals with this explicitly. There he talks about the general revelation of God that is evident to all through the existence of creation. He is not referring to the special revelation received by the Jews. He is talking about an awareness of God’s existence that is in everyone. In verses 18-20 he writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”ii

The order and majesty of creation declare the existence of God. In the light of that knowledge, the conscience is alerted to a personal accountability to that Creator. And because humanity has eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the person’s moral standing before God is reflected in the conscience.

“It is a universal fact,” writes Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “that there is a sense of God in mankind.”iii

Still addressing mankind in general, Paul says of them in verse 32 of Romans 1: “who, knowing

the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not

only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” There is an inner sense of moral

accountability. It may be rather uninformed or even ill-informed, but conscience is there. After

quoting Romans 1:32, Lloyd-Jones explains: “Now that is a way of describing the conscience.

There is in mankind universally the sense of right and wrong, this feeling that sin deserves to be

judged and that sin will be judged, and that the moral governor of the universe is righteous and

just. They know that: ‘knowing the judgment of God’—that is something that is innate in the

whole of human nature, in the whole of mankind, and that is why I stress the importance of our

remembering that the Apostle here is speaking about Gentiles, the pagan races, as well as the

Jews, who have been given a special revelation.”iv

Webster’s Dictionary defines conscience as “the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or

blameworthiness of one’s own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of

obligation to do right or be good.”v Conscience is the moral compass in the heart of a person. It

is unclear how much it is a result of the original creation versus the eating of the Tree of the