|
|
|
Conditioned Conscience Tim Smelser “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit is found no guile. When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was changed as with the drought of summer” (Psalm 32:1-5). In this passage the problem from which David was suffering was clearly a guilty conscience. Vine’s dictionary defines conscience as, “The witness borne to one’s conduct; that faculty by which we apprehend the will of God as that which is designed to govern our lives.” In other words, it is that which determines what is morally good or bad in our lives. However, that determination MUST be based on God’s word if we are to be found acceptable to Him. Basing what is right and wrong on our own personal experience is pure Humanism. Paul said that unless the law had forbidden coveting he would not have known it was wrong (Romans 7:7-8). God gave us a conscience for a reason. In the passage above, David admitted that when he tried to hide his sin and kept silent about it his conscience would not leave him alone. He was reminded of his wrong doing day and night. That was God’s design at work. What we must guard against though, is conditioning or training our conscience, so that it is not bothered by sin in our lives. This can be done and all too frequently it is done. In 1 Timothy 4:2 Paul spoke of those who had branded their conscience as with a hot iron. It was no longer sensitive. It was beyond feeling sorrow and remorse. Such a person today still knows right and wrong but simply does not care to differentiate between the two. We must work diligently to remain sensitive to God’s will. If our conscience condemns an attitude or activity based on scripture then we must listen to it! David found relief only after he turned back to God and asked for forgiveness. That same relief is available to us today! |
