Good morning. Have you heard of the Conscience Fund? It was established in 1811 as a means for persons who regretted defrauding the U.S. government in some way. In 1811 the entire income of the fund was $5. In 2019 it was 5.7 million. The money is sent anonymously, and there is never an effort to identify those who take part. It is purely established as a way for people to relieve themselves of guilt.
In 1974 a gentleman sent in $10. He explained that it was for a blanket he stole while a soldier in WWII. He signed it “an ex-GI.” A former IRS employee sent in $5 to pay for pens that he had not returned to the office. Another letter was accompanied by $150. The sender explained that it was to pay for his cheating on his income taxes. He concluded by saying “If I still can’t sleep, I will send in the rest of it.” This last guy may need a little more work.
We all know what it means to feel guilty. Every one of us has said and/or done things that we aren’t proud of, which is a nice way of saying we feel guilty about them. When we bring up the topic of feeling guilty it is absolutely fitting that we also consider the matter of conscience.
The dictionary definition of conscience is this: noun – an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.
If we accept that definition the question becomes “whose voice is it that is speaking to us?” Non-Christian psychologists say that it is simply an inner recognition of the moral and ethical standards of the society in which we live. I guess that means that our conscience is one side of our brain talking to the other side.
The Bible mentions four kinds of conscience. There is the weak conscience. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:7 when he speaks of some who refuse to eat meat that was butchered in the name of a false god or idol: However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
The weak conscience is not necessarily speaking to us about sin, but it may be speaking to us about that for which we feel weak or vulnerable or sinful.
There is also the seared conscience. Paul writes to his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
Paul is saying that there are Christian people who have fallen under the spell of evil and have accepted lies as truth. He says that their consciences have been seared. What this is speaking of is being desensitized. When seared we no longer feel the pain or heed a warning and the result is that we forge ahead, mindless of the damages.
The category we are more familiar with is that of the guilty conscience. We can all relate to this type, and it is that miserable reality when our conscience is screaming to us that we are guilty of a sinful act, thought, or word. Hebrews 10:22 tells us: let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
The weak conscience is that of a person who feels guilty when they shouldn’t. The seared conscience is that of a person who should feel guilty but doesn’t. The guilty conscience is that voice within that tells us that we have messed up, we are not right with God when we continue with what we are doing. The answer is to draw near to God and to allow His love and forgiveness to heal the repentant heart and soul.
The final type of conscience we read about in scripture is that of a clear conscience. This is the conscience that is satisfied, made to be at peace. 1 Peter 3:15-16 says: Honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame.
Keeping our “conscience clear” means listening to that voice of the Spirit within us, recognizing Him, honoring Him, obeying Him so that our testimony of Christ will be without hindrance.
Listen to the voice of the Spirit and enjoy a clear conscience and a joyful spirit.
Vern