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Sunday, March 22, 2015

What Does Your Conscience Say?

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Acts 24: 16 NIV

 

"They don't have a conscience." We often say this to refer to people who commit heinous crimes without showing any feelings of remorse. But everyone does have a conscience. Call it "the little voice" or whatever you choose to call it, our conscience can keep us from wrongdoing and even from getting into serious trouble.

Christopher Reeve said, 
"I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do."

The Bible has a lot to say about conscience. Is is just a little voice, or is it the work of the Holy Spirit in us?

When Abraham and his wife Sarah went on a journey, Abraham feared that because Sarah was so beautiful, the men would kill him and take her, so he told her to say she was his sister. Sarah did as she was told and the king did, in fact, send for her to make her part of his harem. But the Lord appeared to him in a dream and warned him not to touch her because she was another man's wife.

The king, very afraid, said, "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands." 
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her" (Genesis 20: 5-6). 

In Romans 13: 5, Paul says,  "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience."

In other words, you don't submit because you fear punishment, but because your conscience tells you it's the right thing to do.


Christians face many temptations throughout life, but we must always listen to the voice of our conscience. We must be able to say like Job,  "I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live" (27: 6).

Even children have a conscience. Although they may not always confess when they do something wrong, the guilt shows on their faces. Children know when they deserve to be punished. It's the same with us adults. We know we deserve God's wrath, but instead, we receive His grace. However, that doesn't give us the license to ignore our conscience and go on sinning. We must do the right thing. Go to God, confess our sins and ask Him to help us turn away from them once and for all. God bless.

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