As long as you let your conscience needle you, you wouldn’t slide into that dark abyss.”
–James D. Best (Leadville)
“So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”
–Acts 24:16 (ESV)
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Many years ago I learned the lesson that the Holy Spirit either enrages or He convicts. With that, when He convicts it often turns into rage when it is rejected. The fact is that man in his fallen state loves darkness. John tells us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19, NASB) Man doesn’t want to be told he is evil, that he is a sinner. And those, well, those who totally reject the Light are enraged when they are exposed to the truth that comes through the Light. If you don’t think so, just take a glimpse at the news. From the streets of Portland and other cities, to those cities in the halls of government there is rage. Besides their actions and words their faces show the evil that is inside them.
Most people recognize that there is a right way to go. Few have their hearts so calloused that they cannot see the truth, or feel inside them the working of conviction. Paul writes, “…They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.” (Romans 2:15, NASB) I will say again, that most people still have a conscience, or at least a remnant of one. Andrew Murray said that, “Conscience is the guardian or monitor God has given you, to give warning when anything goes wrong.” Conscience–listen to it. Not only was it placed inside you by God, but it is what the Holy Spirit works upon. Add to that the Word of God and there is not escaping the Light–the truth of God’s Word.
Instead of rejecting the Light we should run towards it. Jesus–the Light of the world, our hope, our salvation, our sustainer, and our soon coming Lord. The writer of Hebrews implores us to draw near to God, “Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (10:22, NASB) I like the way the NLT puts this, “Let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”
We are to live in the knowledge of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit uses that to help us along the journey of life. Murray states, “Up to the light you have, give heed to conscience.” See, as Christians, we have the Light; we have the Holy Spirit, so when we feel a tug of conscience heed what it is saying. The unbeliever does not have this benefit of God’s Spirit living within them, but they still have some knowledge of right and wrong placed within them. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew, that it is the pure in heart that will see God. Therefore, we, as Murray says, should “ask God, by the teaching of His will, to give us more Light.” Keep your heart pure, your mind focused on proper things and then, “Conscience will become your encouragement and helper, and give you the confidence, both that your obedience is accepted, and that your prayer for ever-increasing knowledge of the will is heard” (Murray).