Why Conscience?

One of the marks of a human being is conscience, which is primarily an innate capacity for moral evaluation. While animals display behaviors that suggest conscience, it seems that only mankind has the full faculties of true conscience.

Conscience makes us recoil at evil, hate injustice, reject lies and appreciate the truth. It is a baseball umpire calling “strikes” and “fouls,” and it is a coach motivating and inspiring us to “do better” and to “be better.” It also speaks to us that there is a God… and that we are not Him! It is a reminder of our relationship to our Creator, ever informing us of our true place in the universe.

The Bible says that we were made in the image of God, which means that (among other things) His moral code was poured into every one of us at Creation. We can ignore it, suppress it, and even deaden it, but we can’t get rid of it because it is a part of who we are. God expects each of us to pay attention to and obey the conscience He gave us.

Interestingly however, the Bible tells us that the conscience can be strong or weak, and that this state is influenced by a person’s knowledge. One can be fully persuaded that doing something is “right,” which gives them full confidence and faith that what they are doing isn’t breaking any of God’s laws (sinning). If one does something without this assurance (a “weak” conscience), the act itself is sinful to that person because they are violating the law of their own conscience — even if God actually has no problem with the activity. Learning more about God (through the Bible and the instruction of the Holy Spirit within us) can inform our conscience and make us strong in faith in whatever we do. We will find that He is not nearly as concerned about “dos” and “don’ts” as religion says He is.
(Romans 1:18-20, 1 John 3:21-23, 1 Peter 3:16, James 4:17, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Timothy 4:2, 1 Timothy 1:19, 1 Corinthians 8:7, Acts 24:16, 1 Corinthians 4:4 NIV, 1 Corinthians 6:12, Ephesians 5:8-10, Romans 14:19-23 NIV)