Our conscience is a part of our heart, our inner man, that either approves or condemns our actions, whether they be our thoughts, words, or deeds. It may be thought of as similar to a court – a court does not make law but only determines whether behavior has been in accordance with the law. In a similar fashion, our conscience alerts us to whether our behavior is in accordance what our heart understands and believes. An approving conscience then is telling us our behavior is in line with our belief. A condemning conscience is telling us that our behavior is not in line with our belief.
This leads us to an important truth: We need to get our beliefs right. When one sins because of a belief he has that violates the word of God, a working conscience will tell him he’s ok because he’s acting according to his belief; however, his action is not according to the will of God. Thus God is not pleased with him. So he’s acted in good conscience but still sinned.
This is exactly the apostle Paul’s condition when he did “many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth”, including imprisoning saints, casting his vote for their death, punishing them often, and compelling them to blaspheme (Acts 26:9-10). This evil he did with an approving conscience – one he described as a good conscience: “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). How could this be so? A working conscience only alerts us as to whether our behavior is in line with our beliefs. Since Paul’s beliefs at that time were in error, his behavior in line with that error was approved by his conscience.
Thus, it is clear that an approving conscience, a good conscience, does not equate to approval from God. We can have our own approval all we want, but in the end what matters is whether God approves of my behavior.
Paul’s case illustrates for us the necessity of getting our beliefs right. And it illustrates the truth that the conscience cannot be our guide.
But our conscience is critically important and must not be ignored. A conscience can become seared if it is repeatedly violated and ignored. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” (1 Timothy 4:1-2). This describes a conscience that is past feeling the pain of violation, and thus cannot perform the function of approving or disapproving one’s behavior.
Sometimes we talk about “training our conscience.” I believe that misses the point about what needs to be trained. We need to let our conscience do its job of alerting us to approval or condemnation. What we need to “train” is our beliefs, and they need to be “trained” or ordered according to the truth, the word of God (Romans 10:17).
These truths are clear then when considering the conscience: First, we need to live in good conscience before God and not refuse to hear the voice of our conscience. Second, a good conscience is not equivalent to God’s approval. Third, it is imperative that we get our beliefs right about what is truth and what is sin and error. The conscience is not a guide as to what is truth. The word of God is truth and is the infallible guide. We need to fill our hearts with the truth and belief in it.
-Larry Jones