Romans 2:13 and 15
13 For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.
15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
Laws are written in your heart.
Like any good book, it’s only useful to you when read it.
That’s where your conscience comes in…
It knows how to read what’s written on your heart.
You can lie to it with justifications or excuses for your bad behavior.
But it knows how to read.
What’s written on your heart doesn’t change quickly or often.
Your motivations do.
So don’t waste your time lying to your conscience.
Your conscience is the ingenious strategy of God to make you aware that you are not divine.
Your conscience is like a handy facsimile of God inside of you teaching you how to deal with a being higher than yourself.
You can’t fool it. You can’t control it. You can’t change it. You can’t ignore it.
Of course, you can disobey it.
I wouldn’t recommend that though.
Who wants to walk around with the weight of guilt and shame caused by disobeying our conscience?
When you listen to its voice reading the law in your heart and obey it…
You walk towards God.
Obedience leading to good character is worthy of reward.
So, instead of avoiding or trying to snuff out that God-part inside of you, treat it with the absolute greatest respect and deference.
Listen and obey.
No more excuses. No more lies.
Listen and obey.
What’s stopping you from obeying your conscience?
What would you gain if you obeyed that still, small voice inside of you?
What are you losing by ignoring it?
Pastor Joshua
Have anything you’d like to add?
Leave a comment below!
Debra McKellar says
Excellant reminder, He is always with me, guiding me towards His light! Thank-you!
Joshua Cole says
You’re welcome, Debra. Thank God He’s always leading us towards His light.
Rick VanBuren says
Truly following your conscience often means dealing with peer pressure, which comes from many avenues such as spouses, children and parents. Keeping the peace in a family should never be an excuse to go with the popular thinking. A key I’ve found is to follow my conscience (personal convictions) while respecting others on the same level (not looking down upon). A willingness to disagree and yet love the same as if they did agree. But I am always open to hear other opinions and thoughts to better understand. I am never to old to learn (from young and old) and that helps tweak my conscience while always judging my thoughts and motivations against the Word of God. Just my two cents…
Joshua Cole says
Wow. That’s a great point and good advice. The balance you are talking about isn’t always easy to maintain, but I’m hoping to get better and better at it!
William Mark Seymour says
Good response from Rick.
William Mark Seymour says
You helped me have insight into what the conscience is and what it does. I will have to meditate on this some more. The bible speaks about a pure conscience and a defiled conscience. It also refers to sin-consciousness, which comes from a lack of understanding of Christ’s redemption.
Joshua Cole says
Thanks, Bill. There’s a lot to chew on about the conscience. The Bible speaks a lot about the conscience. I don’t think that we can live a life of wisdom without appreciating its presence in our lives. I believe that the conscience is proof of the work and existence of every person’s spirit. Believer in Christ or not. The Bible says that the spirit of a man knows the heart of a man. I think that implies that it’s separate from the soul. And the Bible tells us that the spirit of a man is the lamp of God. It’s where moral truth is broadcast into the consciousness of man. Hence, my statement that the conscience reads whats written in the heart. The conscience is revelatory and not simply reactionary in nature. It may be dulled or stifled by our culture and upbringing, but it is not simply fashioned by these external forces. There are universal moral standards because God put eternity in the hearts of men and the conscience reads those laws written on every man’s heart. Thank God for His light!
Leah Harvey says
Bouncing off of what Rick said about peer pressure – I sometimes struggle to differentiate my own conscience from the desires of others. Or my desire to look good to others. I care more about what people think than I’d like to admit. There are often circumstances (not when it’s a clear sin/law issue… just choices) where I’m unsure if it’s my own conscience or peer pressure and people pleasing tendencies. That’s usually what stops me from following my own conscience – not knowing if I have a clear mind to make the right choice. My best solution so far is to slow down and pray. But I still get it wrong sometimes and later realize I couldn’t see clearly. Thank God for grace.
Joshua Cole says
I totally understand that struggle. You’ve described what so many of us go through all the time. And it doesn’t help when other people think that they have an obligation to “be” our conscience or help it figure things out. lol. That’s one reason why I love Gordon MacDonald’s book called, Ordering Your Private World. It talks about the importance of having an ongoing relationship with yourself and how to do that. His practical advice has slowed me down to think through my days, my decisions, and my feelings.
Denim says
Love this thank you.