CONSCIENCE AND LIBERTY

Throughout church history, Christian pastors, theologians and authors have spoken about the conscience as a God-given moral compass, inner voice or divine sense which is God’s revelation to us concerning who we are and how we should live. The Scripture teaches everyone has been given “a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3) to believe in God, and to know the difference between right and wrong so that we cannot excuse ourselves. But this is only the starting point. Left alone without God’s help, our sinful disposition is to ignore our conscience to compensate for our feelings of shame. The Apostle Paul refers to the religious moralists “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2) and to irreligious amoral people who “did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:28). 

As humans, it’s our Adamic nature (or default mode) to excuse sin and like the proverbial frog in the kettle, adapt to the ever-changing cultural climate of the world. Without God’s sovereign assistance we are helpless and our inherent depravity becomes more evident. However, the good news is, when we fully accept Christ as Lord and Savior, God’s laws are “written in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3) and the grace of God “teaches us to deny to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12).

Because of our faith and hope in Christ, God’s grace keeps our consciences and liberties consistent with His will. In essence, God works with the human will and helps us want what He wants. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). So take heart, instead of a depraved mind or a seared conscience, the Christian believer has the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) and the spiritual inclination to “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  The Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin, and will lead us to a change of mind in order that we might “walk in His Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).