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ReVision

Conscience Check

A weak conscience results from two primary conditions.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to a more enhanced and fruitful experience of faith is failure to attend to the nurture of our souls, in particular, the conscience.

According to Scripture the soul - an immaterial, spiritual essence, unique to human beings among the creatures of the cosmos - occupies the driver's seat in all human affairs. The stronger the soul, that is, the more consistently and thoroughly it orients to God, the fuller and more fruitful will be our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The soul consists of three integrated and overlapping components: the mind, which gathers and processes ideas and thoughts; the heart, which houses our affections; and the conscience. Of these the last is not the most important; that place falls to the heart, since what we love and desire we will most earnestly pursue. However, the conscience, which arbitrates between thoughts and feelings, is easily neglected in nurturing our spiritual lives, and when this is so, we will find ourselves continually ensnared by temptations, mired in sins, and wondering why our walk with the Lord is no more real than it is.

Paul teaches that a weak conscience results from two primary conditions: First, neglect of true love for God, and, second, continuing attachment to worldly practices (1 Cor. 8.1-7). When our knowledge of God is primarily referenced to ourselves, our interests and needs, and our comfort and satisfaction, then we are not bringing that knowledge to maturity, since we still love ourselves too much (vv. 1, 2). However, as we improve knowledge of God, so that we understand Him as Sovereign and Jesus Christ as our indispensable Savior and Sustainer (v. 6), and as we submit our souls and lives more completely to Him in love, our consciences will begin to grow stronger and we will disconnect ourselves from anything of our former lives which continues to hold us back from progress in our salvation (v. 7; cf. Heb. 9.14).

This is the second casue of a weak conscience: We continue to indulge worldly ways which have no foundation in Scripture, no place in the divine economy, and offer no help to the improvement of our souls but, rather, breed weakness into our consciences. We should be able to look to one another in the household of faith for help in breaking free of such practices and associations. And we must take care that we are in no way a cause of our brother or sister being led to compromise the values and priorities of his or her conscience to indulge some worldly delight (vv. 8-13).

In short, then, we can say that the health of our souls can be measured by the richness of our daily walk with the Lord. The more we practice sincere love for Him, and for our neighbor, the more it will be apparent that our souls - heart, mind, and conscience - are being maintained according to the Lord's will and by His indwelling Word and Spirit. And the more we submit ourselves to the Lord, by His Word and Spirit, the stronger and healthier will be our souls, the more effective our consciences will be, and the more our walk with the Lord will evidence the glory of Jesus Christ in all our words and deeds.

This requires a continuous self-watch as well as reliable soul friends who can help us to chart and maintain a course of continuous growth in the Lord. The way to a richer experience of Jesus Christ is along the path of discipline, beginning in our souls, and, in particular, by bringing our consciences into submission to the Lord and His Word.

Related texts: 1 Corinthians 8.1-13; 1 Timothy 1.5; Hebrews 9.13, 14

A conversation starter: "Have you ever thought about your conscience - what it is, how it functions, and whether or not it can be improved?"

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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