1 Timothy 1:18-20
The apostle Paul wanted his young charge Timothy to grasp the basics of keeping the faith. So he wrote about two men who ignored their conscience at great peril. Their example shows that without an understanding of what this gift from God is, we run the risk of capsizing our faith.
Many people mistakenly think of the conscience as God’s voice instead of God’s gift. We were created with an “inner monitor” that acts as a moral compass for life; it points to a standard of right and wrong that can guide our decisions. But the conscience, like everything else in us, is fallen and in need of redemption. Depending on how it has been programmed, our conscience can nudge us in the wrong direction.
Paul himself is an illustration of this. His formal education as a Pharisee had taught him that Christians were a threat to God and the Jewish faith. His conscience had been programmed to see killing them as service to the Lord. So he passionately hunted down believers without tripping an alarm on his moral compass. Only after the risen Christ met him on the way to Damascus was his conscience transformed and his life altered.
Unless we let the Lord redeem us fully, our decisions can prove as destructive as if we ignored our “monitoring system” altogether. By understanding the divine gift of conscience, we stand a better chance of staying on course and away from trouble. What’s more, if we submit our conscience to the Holy Spirit, we will find safe harbor when storms threaten our faith or future.
Tag Archives: moral compass
Charles Stanley – Ignoring the Conscience
Are you making certain choices today that your conscience would not have allowed in the past? If so, you may have become desensitized over time.
As we discussed yesterday, God uses our internal “moral compass” along with the Holy Spirit’s guidance to direct our daily choices. The conscience serves as a protective “alarm system,” sounding an alert when a Christian is about to take part in ungodly behavior. But sin can throw off the system’s sensitivity.
The insidious process begins if we choose to disobey and then refuse to deal with our rebellion. The conscience warns us repeatedly, but it will eventually become “gummed up” and ineffective if we persist in ignoring the distress signal. When that happens, there are no longer any signals from the heart to point us back toward godliness. In other words, the conscience has become seared.
One way of looking at it is to imagine removing all of the traffic signals from a busy intersection: it is a recipe for disaster. Missing “red lights” in our life can deceive us into thinking “go” when we should be putting on the brakes.
Take an honest look to determine whether your internal signals are in good working order. If they are malfunctioning, repent before the Lord, and pursue accountability and fellowship with other believers. A healthy conscience is worth the effort.
Don’t delay. Scripture warns that we have a real Enemy who desires to lure us away from godliness and into destruction. God uses a clear conscience to guide, protect, and lead us into His light and peace.
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