Is Conscience a Safe Guide? (2)

1. IS CONSCIENCE A SAFE GUIDE?

INTRODUCTION: “And Paul, looking intently at the council, said, ‘Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23:1). “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:16). Men say, “Let conscience be your guide.”

Let’s consider a few questions about conscience.

I. What is conscience?

A. “That celestial spark in your breast,” according to an old “copy book.”

B. “That great beaconlight God sets in us all” according to Robert Browning.

C. “The voice of God in the soul.”

D. That faculty within us that commands us, “Do right!”

1. Hunger says to a man, “Eat!” But it does not tell what to eat.

2. Conscience says, “Do right!” But it does not tell what is right.

3. Conscience is like a watch. There is a standard for correct time.

II. Is conscience a safe guide?

A. Conscience must learn what is right from Jesus Christ.

B. Before his conversion to Christ, Paul followed his conscience in persecuting the church.

C. Peter and John had Christ-instructed consciences. They said, “We must obey God.”

D. Every man must obey his conscience. But he must make sure it is Christ instructed.

III. How shall conscience be enlightened as to the right?

A. By studying God’s Word.

B. By doing right when the right is revealed.

C. By praying to God.

D. By obeying God (John 7:17).

E. By yielding to the Holy Spirit.

F. By having fellowship with the best Christians.

CONCLUSION: Saturate your mind, soul, and spirit with God’s Word. Read it faithfully and practice what it teaches.

E. F. Hallock, Bible-Centered Sermon Starters, Dollar Sermon Library Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1974), 5–6.