Sermon # 20 - A Seared Conscience Series

In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, we read, “The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons. Such teachings are spread by deceitful liars, whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron.” (GNT)

Our conscience is that precious gift that God has placed inside each one of us, so as to discern right from wrong. The purpose of our conscience is to counsel and sensitize us when we do wrong, and to prompt us to do what is right and pleasing to the Lord while here on earth, as one day we must all stand before the judgement seat of God to give an account for all that we did in our life time.

In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul explains how in the last days, many people will lead lives wherein their conscience is seared or dead. The searing of our conscience can be compared to using an overheated iron box on a fabric and getting it completely burnt or ruined. Just like a burnt dress will be of no use, no matter how expensive it was, so also if we constantly still the voice of our conscience, and choose to deliberately keep on sinning, there will come a time when our conscience will become ineffectual to us. This searing of the conscience does not happen all at once, but is gradual process that pulls a person on the downward path, and often the person involved does not even realize where it all began.

Learning from Lot’s life

Lot journeyed with Abraham

In Genesis 12:4 we read, “When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the LORD had told him to do; and Lot went with him.” (GNT)

God called Abraham to come out of the land of Haran to the land that the Lord had promised for Abraham, and his descendants to possess, and Lot who was Abraham’s brother’s son accompanied him on this journey because Lot perceived that God was with Abraham. Both of them started out on this faith journey not knowing what lay ahead of them, but simply trusting the fact that the God who called them was faithful.

We further read in Genesis 13:5 that “Lot also had sheep, goats, and cattle, as well as his own family and servants.” (GNB)

The call and promise of God was to Abraham, but because Lot associated himself with Abraham, he too received God’s abundant blessings. The Lord blessed Lot, just like He did Abraham with sheep, goats and cattle as well as giving him his own family and servants.

When we associate with children of God their blessings will become ours as well, but on the other hand if we cohort with the wrong people, we will miss out on all the blessings that God intended for us to have. If we partner with people of faith, and spend time with those who speak words of faith, our faith too will grow and we be strengthened. That is also why we must be wary of being addicted to news channels most of which thrive on broadcasting bad news, for by constant exposure to such information, our minds are filled with fear and anxiety. Therefore, instead of filling our minds with the atrocities that are happening around us, we must discipline ourselves to read and hear words of faith from the word of God, which alone can strengthen our walk of faith.

Proverbs 13:20 says it this way, “Keep company with the wise and you will become wise. If you make friends with stupid people, you will be ruined.” (GNB)

If we desire to have wisdom and act wisely, we must have as our accomplice those who are wise. There are times when we encounter an adverse situation, and the Lord strengthens our faith through the prayer and encouragement of fellow believers. However, sometimes we are also in close friendship with others, who speak negatively, and as we give heed to those people and allow their skepticism to influence us, we will find that our faith begins to dwindle. If we are eager for our faith to grow, it is important that we choose to be in the company of those who are walking and exercising their faith in God every day.

Lot parted ways with Abraham

In Genesis 13:7, we read, “And there was an argument between the keepers of Abram's cattle and the keepers of Lot's cattle.”(BBE)

Lot was blessed greatly by the Lord because of his partnership with Abraham, but as their livestock increased on both sides, there was a dispute that arose between Abraham’s herdsmen and Lot’s herdsmen as the land was not sufficient for all the herds to graze on. The disputes led to arguments between the two parties, which ultimately lead to their separation.