BIBLICAL VIEW | CONSCIENCE (2)

1. Introduction

a) Our conscience controls our reaction to thoughts, imaginations, words, and actions. How can the conscience be trained to serve us correctly?

b) Our conscience is like a baseball umpire...

c) Located in a person's "spiritual heart", the conscience lets us know when we have violated our personal inner moral code, and prompts us to make corrections. This then allows peace to come back into our mind.

d) Our conscience also warns us when we have a problem.

2. The "conscience" and "peace" connection...

a) Why some people or communities have "no conscience".

b) Hitler had no conscience because of the evil information he lived by.

c) Some families also live by "difficult to understand" standards. They accept stealing, cheating, killing as normal acts when they do not get their own way...

d) We play only by the rules we have bought into...

e) Baseball umpires must know all the rules of baseball...when they apply, how they are to be interpreted...If he doesn't know the rules and how to umpire a game - the players will refuse to allow him to officiate at any game...

f) In the same way we need to know the rules of the Kingdom of GOD...

g) As we feed new information into our thoughts, and imagination - the peace of GOD is continually updating what behavior is acceptable.

h) When we violate the "word of GOD" - the Holy Spirit moves on our conscience and makes the call...

i) "Unacceptable"

j) Repent. Bring it to the Throne for mercy and His grace...

3. What happens when our conscience intervenes...

1 John 1:9 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

a) Our conscience prods us, condemns us, and testifies against us - because the conscience knows what is going on under the surface...in the thoughts, and where the spiritual decisions are made.

b) Our conscience reminds us of our sins, takes away the peace, and insists on doing something about what we have done, that we know is wrong by the newly founded standards being developed within us.

c) This become an acute awareness of guilt.

d) That insists that we right the wrong by asking forgiveness of the person and re-reimbursing what is true and accurate...