A Good Conscience or Fear #148

"Let your conscience be your guide." How often we use that saying. We really believe the conscience is the final authority to which any individual can appeal. But unfortunately, although everyone has a conscience, not everyone's conscience is totally reliable.

God speaks of people who have told lies and are "seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron" (1 Timothy 4:2). He urges upon us "faith with a clear conscience" (1 Timothy 3:9). He also exhorts us to "keep a good conscience" (1 Peter 3:16).

The point is, you can have a bad conscience. This means your conscience is not clear. You can even be fooled about this. You see, your conscience should be soft and pliable, pliable before God. When a hot branding iron is placed on a piece of leather, and that leather is burned, it becomes hard and brittle. Your conscience can get that way. You think you are right because your conscience doesn't bother you. But in God's sight you are totally wrong. For example, a lot of married people get caught in an affair. At first they know it's wrong. But after a while, their consciences become seared, and they begin to justify their actions. They know God opposes them. But because a blunted conscience is their guide, they continue in sin!

But there is a way out. "The blood of Christ [will] . . . cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews. 9:14). You need to turn to Christ. He will cleanse your conscience. Then you can begin to train your conscience to say "Yes" when God says "Yes" and "No" when God says "No." Only with such training can you let your conscience be your guide.

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Contributed by Dennis J. Prutow, email: djprutow@juno.com Voice message and free tapes: 1-800-777-0389 [USA] Or order your free tapes online. Today's cassette is #148.