A Matter of Conscience

"The requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them" (Romans 2:15).

What is the biblical view of conscience? The New Testament uses the word 31 times, and there are two general ideas for which conscience is used. First, when we sin the conscience is troubled. It is the tool the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to conviction, to drive us to repentance.

Second, the conscience simply reinforces what we think is right and wrong. The inner voice of conscience can tell us what is right, and for this reason we can tend to lean on it for guidance. But the conscience is not the final authority for human conduct because the conscience is capable of change. Yet God’s principles do not change.

There are several kinds of changes that our consciences can undergo. It is possible for us to grow accustomed to sin and for our consciences to become warped so that we no longer approve what is good. We can come to think something is right when in fact it is horribly wrong. An example of that today is the number of people who think abortion is right and even good, when in fact it is murder.

Another distortion of the conscience occurs when it becomes sensitized in a distorted way through wrong information. In Christianity there are subcultures in which the test of sanctification consists of such matters as whether one wears lipstick. If a young woman from such a group wears lipstick, she will be afflicted with guilt.

What about such a situation? It is always a sin to act against conscience, because that which is not of faith is sin. The young woman who wears lipstick, thinking it is wrong, has sinned by doing what she thinks God does not want her to do. So, in counseling her, we first of all have to deal with her sin. It is not a sin, however, to re-educate one’s conscience to the standards of the Word of God. This is the proper way to change the conscience, and we do it by study of the Bible and prayer.

When was the last time you were concerned that your conscience was either active enough or had been dulled by cultural influences? Today ask God to hone your conscience to a razor’s edge through Bible study and Christian education. Determine to make it a more willing tool of the Holy Spirit in producing personal righteousness.

Ethics and Morality

"In my dismay I said, “All men are liars” (Psalm 116:11).

The issue of the weaker brother in Romans 14 (discussed yesterday) demands that we focus some attention on the subject of conscience. 

Most people use the words ethics and morality interchangeably. There is, however, an important difference between the two. The word 'ethics' comes from the Greek word ethos, while morality comes from mores. The ethos or ethics of a society concerns its underlying philosophy and its concept of values. Mores or morality, by way of contrast, has to do with customs and habits, the normal forms of behavior that are found in a given society.

Ethics is concerned with norms and standards, while morality is merely descriptive. Ethics tells us what “ought” to be, while morality simply tells us what “is.” Thus, morality tells us what people actually do, while ethics tells us what they ought to do. People tend to use the two words interchangeably, and in a subtle way, many think that what is customary is the same as what is right.

Out of this confusion has come what we can call “statistical morality.” We take a poll and find out what people are thinking and doing. Let’s say we find out that most people are using marijuana from time to time. Thus, the conclusion is that it is normal in our society for people to smoke marijuana occasionally. Then, because of this confusion, we move on to think because most people do it, it must be all right. What is "normal" is seen as normative. Right and wrong are determined by majority practice. This way of thinking is obviously wrong from the Christian standpoint. The Bible tells us all men are liars, and very often the multitude is engaged in evil. We must be very careful to resist the modern trend toward statistical morality, and firmly maintain the difference between ethical standards, and fallen human behavior.

People begin to think that what is customary is the same as what is right. Such statistical morality once embraced threatens to pervade the church and believers. Where in your life have you determined your ethics in this manner? What is another area in which you are thus tempted?

Weak and Strong Christians

"One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables" (Romans 14:2).

Romans 14 deals with an important issue in community among Christians. There are always some differences of understanding between Christians, and Paul here tells us we are to bear with one another on such matters.

Beyond this, Paul writes that some believers are “weak.” The weak believer is the one who fears to make use of some good gift that God has given to mankind and to the church. In Paul’s day the weak believer was afraid to eat meat and drink wine sacrificed to idols. In our day many believers are afraid to drink wine at all.

If a man believes that it is a sin to eat meat, and then goes ahead and eats it, he has sinned. He has sinned not because he has eaten meat, but because he has done something he thinks God has forbidden. Because of this, Paul says that strong Christians are to be careful not to lead weak Christians into sin by encouraging them to go against their consciences.

Paul admonishes us “not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.… It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall” (Romans 14:13, 21). How can I cause my weaker brother to fall? By flaunting my liberty and encouraging him to act against his conscience.

If, on the other hand, I eat or drink in private without violating my conscience, I have offered no offense. The weaker brother may not like my doing it, and he may even be shocked, but I have not encouraged him to sin. Moreover, Paul makes it very clear that the weak believer is not to tyrannize the church. When the weak Judaizers wanted Paul to eat separately from the Gentiles, Paul adamantly refused (Galatians 2). The strong believer must oppose the weak believer when he tries to make his scruples a law for the whole community.

Some believers think no Christian should do anything that other Christians forbid. Think through this issue carefully and be able to articulate your position. Where would you draw the line between leading others to stumble and exercising your liberty?

Christian Liberty and the Conscience

There is a large sign posted next to the first tee of the local golf course. The sign declares the local rules that govern play. The first rule is a preview of the specific rules that follow. It reads: THE FIRST RULE OF GOLF IS CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS.

Consideration for others, in the context of the Christian’s liberty in Christ, is the theme of Paul’s teaching in Romans 14. With the advent of the new covenant, some rules that were important to the Old Testament were done away with. They were fulfilled by the ministry of Jesus and were no longer necessary.

When laws are revised it is difficult for people to make adjustments. One difficult adjustment for early Jewish converts was to the new situation in which Jesus declared certain foods clean which had been prohibited under Old Testament ceremonial law. Even the apostle Peter struggled with this new state of affairs. (See Acts 10:9–16.)

Questions arose in the early church about rules for eating certain foods and about drinking wine. Some believers were convinced that it was sinful to eat meat offered to idols or to drink wine used for pagan oblations. Others retained scruples about Old Testament dietary laws, while still others came under the influence of forms of religion that demanded a completely vegetarian diet. Such views represented immature spiritual growth and ignorance of the actual laws of God. Some converts to the faith were unaware of their liberty on such matters. These, who had not yet grasped the full measure of Christian liberty, were designated by Paul as “weaker brethren.”

The issue the mature Christian faced was this: How should he relate to a weaker brother whose conscience was bound by rules with which God never intended to bind them? Should the mature Christian forfeit his liberty for the sake of the weaker brother? Should the stronger brother indulge his freedom regardless of the feelings of the weaker brother? Should the scruple of the weaker brother become the law of the church?

Paul’s answer to this situation is based on the principle of loving consideration. Consideration was to be given by both parties. Let us examine some of the guidelines Paul gives in Romans chapter 14.

The first rule of Christian love is that we receive others who are weaker in faith as brothers and sisters. Every Christian is a servant of Christ. Christ is his master. Christ is his judge. I am not to judge those who are Christ’s.

In matters where God has set forth clear laws and rules of conduct we are to bring forth judgment. But in Romans 14 Paul is speaking about judging brothers and sisters in matters that are “indifferent,” externals where God has left man free. Does God prohibit dancing? Does God prohibit lipstick? Does God demand total abstinence from wine? Does God forbid eating meat?

Many church bodies have rules of conduct covering such matters. Some Christian colleges have codes forbidding hand-holding between members of the opposite sex. There are certainly no clear biblical mandates that make such rules. These are “matters indifferent” about which some Christians have scruples. Paul’s command is that I must receive such persons as Christians, and they must receive me as a Christian.

A second principle of Christian liberty is that a person should not be forced to act according to another person’s conscience with respect to “matters indifferent.” This rule presupposes that Christians are at various levels of personal growth.

Another principle set forth in Romans 14 is that the stronger brother ought not to cause his weaker brother to stumble but should be considerate. Suppose a Christian is convinced that partaking of wine is allowed. This person knows drunkenness is clearly a sin but is persuaded that he has liberty with respect to a moderate use of wine. How should he use his liberty with respect to the weaker brother?

He is not to flaunt his liberty in front of a weaker brother. He is not to coax his brother to indulge in wine. A guideline is set down in verse 22: “Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God.”

Someone will ask: “What happens if a brother has a glass of wine privately and his neighbor drops in and “catches” him? The neighbor is scandalized. He takes offense. The stronger brother’s discretion was an act of consideration. He gave no offense. We need to understand an important biblical principle here. There is a difference between an offense given and an offense taken. In this situation an offense was taken that was unjustifiable. The weaker brother is called to act with charity and consideration lest the church suffer from what has been called the “tyranny of the weaker brother.”

Paul declares that the kingdom of God is not in eating or drinking. It is not a matter of indifferent externals. In these things we are to have love for each other, respecting the scruples of the individual as well as their liberties. Patience and forbearance are called for. In matters of externals, the internal fruit of the Holy Spirit must be made manifest. 

Dealing with True Guilt

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:3–4).

What is true guilt? Guilt objectively occurs when we break the law of God. Guilt feelings are the result of that. Sometimes a person may feel guilty when he does something that is not really objectively wrong in God’s eyes. This is because his conscience has been misinformed. In the same way, however, we sometimes don’t feel guilty when in fact we are guilty. Thus, though guilt feelings can be an important signal to us, alerting us to sin, we need to be more concerned with true guilt than with guilt feelings.

The first thing we have to do in dealing with guilt is to acknowledge it. The normal thing for us sinners to do is to deny our guilt. We don’t want to face it, so we push it down. But the more we push guilt down, the deeper it goes, and the more pervasive its destructive influences on our lives become.

We live in a society today that has sought to deal with guilt by denying its reality. We want to see people happy and healthy, and sometimes in order to make someone feel better we tell him that it’s okay, and that what he did is not all that bad. However, real guilt must be dealt with by facing the sin that caused it. We see this principle clearly in the life of David.

King David used his power to take the wife of Uriah the Hittite. After committing adultery with her, David had Uriah killed in order to cover up his sin. Then God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. Nathan did not tell David that what he had done was not so bad after all. Rather, he told David that he had sinned against God, and that what he had done was horrible (2 Samuel 11–12).

David’s response is seen in Psalm 51. David did not minimize his guilt; instead he confronted it and confessed his sin. It was through this confrontation and confession that he found forgiveness.

Is there some area in your life where you feel guilty? Confront this problem by asking two questions. First, am I really guilty of breaking God’s law, or am I feeling guilty about something I shouldn’t feel guilty about? Second, if I am guilty before God, have I confronted this sin and confessed it? Avoid compounding your guilt through your failure to acknowledge it. Set aside time today for reflection, and if necessary, confession.