Page 75 - Christ and Culture Textbook

law itself. The law or the standard of reference to which the conscience bears witness is mediated or
given to it. The conscience is innate, born of God and is possessed by all men. But the standard to which
it bears witness is mediated, born of man (except as the conscience is motivated by the Word of God),
and differs from one individual to another.

The conscience devotedly bears witness to the highest standard it knows. The highest standard it knows,
however, may be faulty and even contrary to the will of God; in this sense it is fallible.
God help me." Immanuel Kant, the famous philosopher, used to say, "There are two things that fill my
soul with wonder: The starry heavens above and the moral law within." Man can neither repudiate his
moral strivings nor dilute the demands of conscience without grave consequences.

Components
Conscience has been defined as self, passing judgment. Therefore, the conscience concerns the whole
man as a moral being.
A. Conscience moves us to turn from our mistakes (Proverbs 28:13)
B. We can suppress our conscience (Jonah 1:5)
C. The Holy Spirit can speak through our conscience (Romans 9:1)
D. Keep your conscience clear (1 Timothy 1:18–19)
E. Church leaders must have clear consciences (1 Timothy 3:9)
F. Consciences can be destroyed (1 Timothy 4:2)
G. Jesus’ forgiveness clears our conscience (Hebrews 9:14)
H. A clear conscience helps us live a God-honoring life (1 Peter 3:16)

There are four discernible aspects of conscience:

1. The impulse to do what is right. Moral striving is found in all human-beings; it is at least part of the
"image of God." The conscience always has an accompanying impulse to the highest that we know,
whether the highest be right or wrong. If a man is asked why he is doing any given act, he will intuitively
say, "Because I think it is right." It is contrary to man as moral to say, because I know it is wrong.

2. The intellect or moral judgment as to the rightness or wrongness of a thing. This, we have seen,
varies with each individual, depending upon his training, background, culture, etc. That is why we need
the Word of God to train our conscience and to check its judgments.

3. The will or volitional aspect of personality (the act of making a conscious choice or decision). The
will is the response we make to the impulse of the conscience. The conscience gives an impulse to the
highest good, but it cannot compel the will. I must choose to ignore or comply with the demands of my
conscience. The consistent repudiation of the conscience results in a "seared" conscience (ITi.4:2).

4. The emotions or affective feeling which follows the response made to the moral situation. A feeling
of guilt or a self-approval comes from the "accusing or excusing" aspect of the conscience. This resultant
feeling is what the Bible means by an "evil" conscience (He.10:22), and a "good" conscience (ITi.1:5). An
individual may be free from guilt feelings and still be sinning. How often the statement has been made,
"I don't see anything wrong with it." Sometimes an overly sensitive conscience, not trained by the word
of God, will produce guilt feeling where there is no real, legal guilt before God. The results are just as
devastating on the personality as real guilt. Consequently, we need to develop a Bible-informed, good
conscience, for it is a precious tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

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