Shape Your Conscience
As each one of us strive to live a life free from every form of enslavement to all kinds of sinful habits, one of the best gift’s the Lord has bestowed on us, to help us experience true freedom from every form of bondage, is our conscience.
In Romans 2:15 we read, “They know what is right and wrong, for their conscience validates this “law” in their heart.” (TPT)
The conscience that God has instilled in man is not only in believers but in every human being, so that every person is fully aware of what is right and wrong, irrespective of who they are. Conscience that God placed inside of us, is that voice that cautions us before we decide to do wrong, convicts us while we do wrong and constantly bothers us after we have done wrong.
Like most companies have internal and external audits our conscience is the internal audit that the Lord has placed inside of us to keep our lives in check and in order, as each one of us will one day have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ to face what we may call the external audit. As the judgement of the Lord is an assured reality, where each of us will have to give an account for every sinful thought, word and deed, it is necessary for us to keep our consciences alert and sensitive to the voice of God, so we need have no fear to stand before the Lord on that day.
Many people today, are faced with perpetual conflict as to what is right and what is wrong. What was considered inappropriate in days gone by, is now treated as acceptable and the norm. The world sets certain standards which society also attests to, but sadly these standards are flimsy and constantly subject to change. For example, a decade ago if boys wore torn jeans which isl today branded as ‘beggar jeans’ they would be pitied, but today it is considered fashionable and trendy.
As the standards of this world keeps altering continually every day, we as believers are called to exercise caution, to not get into the trap of getting ourselves entangled by the world and its ideologies. In order to be strong and live by God’s standards, we must realize that our conscience is that voice of God that we must constantly give heed to. If we start to compromise on various issues, we will find that we gradually begin to blend in with the world, weaken the voice of our conscience and will certainly come to a place where we no longer feel any form of remorse over things that are not really pleasing to the Lord. Without our even realizing it, our conscience is daily being shaped by the standards that we adhere to.
It is good to remind ourselves that God’s standards will never change, but will always remain constant. Talking about the law of the Lord, David says in Psalm 19:11, “They are a warning to your servant, a great reward to for those who obey them.” (NLT)
The word of God not only warns us, but also promises great reward to those who live in obedience to the same. The word of God therefore is our only standard to follow and live by, for we believe and worship a God who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In 1 Timothy 2:9, Paul says, “I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly;” (GNB)
Paul in the above mentioned verse admonishes women to dress modestly. This standard that God has set in His word does not change with time. Our modernity should never compromise the modesty that the Lord expects for us to have. This is true for and applies to every other area of our lives. In an age where we are being forced to compromise and fit in with the crowd, it’s a good reminder that the Lord has set certain standards for us, and we will be blessed if we comply with His guidelines. Let us not lower our standards to the standards of this world, as the standards of this world are always in conflict with God’s holy standards.
For example the world dictates that if one were to lie to escape a complicated situation it is acceptable. The world has also categorized lies conveniently as white lies and black lies. There’s a story told of four young boys who bunked classes and missed their exams to go for a fun trip. When they got back the next day, all four of them gave letters saying that they couldn’t make it to the exam as the tyre of the car they were travelling in got punctured. The teacher who was a shrewd man, made the four young men sit in different rooms and told them that he would give them a re-exam. The boys were shocked when they found only one question on their paper and the question was ‘which tyre got punctured?’ and all of them got stumped. The story may sound hilarious, but often we put ourselves in a situation of deceit and compromise thereby landing ourselves in deep trouble.
It is becoming more and more difficult for us to live in obedience to the Lord, as society dictates that everything should be accommodated, so that many things considered wrong earlier are no longer frowned upon. It is only when our conscience is shaped and molded by the word of God, can we live differently and comply to Gods divine standards.
A little boy was taking his report card to his Dad and even before his father could look at the marks, he informed his father that 20 boys in his class got zero in the same subject. The father opened the report card eagerly to see what his son has scored, only to find that he had just obtained four marks. Though he along with the 20 other boys had failed, the boy appeased himself with the thought that he secured 4 marks instead of zero like his classmates did.
Many of us are like that little boy, content to compare ourselves with others and satisfied with the thought that we are far better than most of them. Our standard for living should never be other people, but only the word of God. A good name cannot be obtained overnight, as we grow in our faith and choose to walk in obedience to the word of God we will be faced with conflicts. However, as we overcome these contentions and choose to live by God’s standard every time and shun the standards of this world, we will get to the place that the Lord desires us to be.
The difference between the ‘word’ and the ‘world’ is just in the letter ‘l’ but in reality it makes a huge difference for one to be a follower of the word and not of the world.
One of the reasons the Pharisees hated Jesus was because their standards were always in conflict with those of Jesus. We will face situations where we are in a dilemma whether to live by God’s standards or the worldly standards, but if we choose to follow the voice of our conscience and live as the Lord desires and make no compromise, we are assured of a place in the Kingdom of God. The reason Jesus had to go to the cross was because He chose to not accommodate Himself to the standards of this world, but rather chose to live His life in obedience to the will of His father in heaven.
The parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
In Luke 18:11-12 we read, “The Pharisee stood up and prayed, 'God, I thank you that I'm not like other people! I'm not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven't committed adultery. I'm not even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my entire income.”
Jesus told this parable of two men who came to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a Tax Collector. We see how the Pharisee was constantly comparing himself with the Tax Collector and in doing so, he not only justified himself but also felt far more righteous than the Tax Collector. The boasting of the Pharisee was based entirely on his regularity in fasting and in his tithing. However as the Lord looked at both of them, He was most indignant with the Pharisee as the Lord saw through his hypocrisy and legalism which surely did not justify him before God. On the other hand the Lord found the Tax Collector’s prayer more acceptable, as it came from a sincere and repentant heart.
Many believers are of wrong notion that if they pray, fast and give their tithes regularly the Lord is pleased. This is a faulty understanding of who God is, and what He expects from us. Ever so often Jesus was angry with the so called religious leaders of His time rather than with the gentiles who did not really know who He was.
In Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus said,"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.”(GNB)
We see how Jesus was indignant with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees for one reason and that was their hypocrisy. Outwardly they looked like whitewashed tombs, beautifully white and polished on the outside, but if one were to dig a little deeper they were full of decay and stench.
This is the double standard of living that the Lord does not approve. Only when our conscience is shaped according to the word of God and not conformed to the standards of this world, can we as believers lead a consistent life. By compromising with the standards of the world to suit our circumstances, we have lost our credibility and are unable to be the witnesses that the Lord expects us to be. We are called to be truthful and constant in every single area of our lives and in whatever place we may be; at home, at church, at work, at school or college and wherever else we may be. It is only when we are upright in everything, will we receive the Lord’s blessings in all we do.
The world is satisfied if one looks good on the outside, but the Lord does not look and judge as man does. God does not look at the outside but searches deep into our hearts, and expects purity and holiness from within.
Let this be our prayer to be the same without and within. Let us keep our conscience sensitive and not allow it to become hardened. Once we give room for the world to start shaping our conscience, we will become weak and inconsistent in our walk with the Lord. On the other hand if the word of God shapes our conscience, we will have consistency in our walk, in our life and our future will be glorious and blessed, and everyone will recognize that we are sons and daughters of the Most High God. Only as we live consistent Christian lives others will come flocking into the Kingdom of God.
Jesus was the supreme example of one who lived His entire life here on earth, in total submission to the Father’s standards. If we follow the standards of this world, we will do everything right on the outside, but our inner motives will all be erroneous. So also, if we chose to follow and live by the standard of the word of God, sometimes our actions may seem wrong but the inmost motives of our hearts will be in sync with what God expects of us. May the Lord enable us to shape our conscience purely in accordance with His word.
Pastor F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
