barry
05-10-2007, 10:02 AM
Their conscience is bearing witness with them and, between their own thoughts, they are being accused or even excused.—Rom. 2:15.
Essential to the decision-making process is our inherited faculty of conscience. This faculty has the ability to render judgment. For our conscience to function properly, however, it must be illuminated with the accurate knowledge of God’s Word and made sensitive by application of that Word. An unenlightened conscience is easily influenced by local customs and habits. Our surroundings and the opinions of other people can also misguide us. What happens to our conscience when its proddings are repeatedly ignored and divine standards are violated? It can, in time, come to be marked “as with a branding iron,” becoming like seared flesh covered over with scar tissue—insensitive and unresponsive. (1 Tim. 4:2) On the other hand, a conscience trained by God’s Word is a safe guide. w 3/15/06 6
Essential to the decision-making process is our inherited faculty of conscience. This faculty has the ability to render judgment. For our conscience to function properly, however, it must be illuminated with the accurate knowledge of God’s Word and made sensitive by application of that Word. An unenlightened conscience is easily influenced by local customs and habits. Our surroundings and the opinions of other people can also misguide us. What happens to our conscience when its proddings are repeatedly ignored and divine standards are violated? It can, in time, come to be marked “as with a branding iron,” becoming like seared flesh covered over with scar tissue—insensitive and unresponsive. (1 Tim. 4:2) On the other hand, a conscience trained by God’s Word is a safe guide. w 3/15/06 6