HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 78
page A76
Conscience continued
David’s conscience condemned him, and he confessed his sin of murdering Uriah
and taking his wife. But it condemned him only after Nathan pricked his conscience.
God uses others to testify to our conscience so that our conscience may testify
against us.
When my conscience testifies against me, how should I respond?
• E Z R A 9 :6 | “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our
sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” (See note
on page 424.)
In the courtroom of righteousness and decency, our conscience witnesses against us.
There should be a feeling of guilt over wrongs committed. That is a good indicator that
your conscience is in working order. Then you should take action to right the wrong.
How do I keep a clear conscience?
• A C T S 2 4 :1 6 | “I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” (See
note on page 1006.)
When you stay away from the temptation to sin, you are actively nurturing your conscience
and keeping it from witnessing against you. Listening to your conscience is a good
way to keep away from sin. But keeping away from sin is the best way to keep a clear
conscience.
C
• 1 C O R I NT H I A NS 4 :4 | My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord
himself who will examine me and decide.
HelpFinder
Keeping a clear conscience doesn’t automatically make you innocent. There’s more to
it than that. Conscience is not always an unbiased witness. You may have persuaded
your conscience that all is well when it isn’t. In a sense, you may have “bought off” the
witness of your conscience. But you can’t buy off God. He is the only truly unbiased
witness and judge.
Can I lose my conscience?
• J U DG E S 1 7 :6 | In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right
in their own eyes.
• J E R E MI A H 7 :2 4 | “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they
wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead
of forward.”
You can’t lose your conscience, but you can become so dulled to its urgings that you don’t
or can’t hear it. The conscience is like a muscle; it must be exercised and developed. Even
if you don’t exercise it, the muscle is still there. Those who have done horrible deeds still
have a conscience. But over time they have learned to tune it out, allowing them to commit
heinous deeds. Without your conscience you feel free to do whatever you want.
How can I develop my conscience?
• H O S E A 1 2 :6 | So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend
on him.
Even those who have rejected God can come back to him. When you commit yourself to
God and live by the commands in his Word, he will restore your conscience.
PROMISE FROM GOD
• PSA L M 1 1 9 :1 0 5 | Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Convictions See also Boundaries; Character; Compromise; Doubt;
Honesty & Integrity; Justice; Truth
Conviction is more than just a belief; it is a commitment to a belief. What you think, say,
and do shows the level of your conviction. For example, when you believe Jesus Christ