The Blessing of a Bothered Conscience

by Cale Fauver

The Infused Courtroom

The Apostle Paul unfolds for us in Romans 2 that even the Gentiles who don’t have the Law actually know it by nature because it “is written on their hearts” (2:15).

Paul then communicates to us the global, natural purpose of this God-infused courtroom in the heart of every man: to either accuse or excuse (2:15b). Therefore, every one knows God’s Law (literally: con [with] + science [knowledge]). Every sin, every trespass against God’s moral Law expressed in the 10 Commandments is a known sin, i.e. the sinner knows that when they lied, committed adultery, stole, blasphemed God’s name, etc. is wrong. And their conscience will either accuse them or excuse them. The unbeliever knows with absolute certainty that it is sinful to lie on that paperwork at the office — and so does the one who has been born again. So, what is the difference?

Bothered, or a Holy Bothered

Perhaps one of the most concrete examples of this distinction can be found in the life of Joseph in Genesis 39. At this point in Joseph’s life, he has been bought by Potiphar (the captain of the guard in Egypt) as a slave to work in his house. Thus, after some time he moves up the ranks and is now the in charge of Potiphar’s house and is entrusted with the care of it all!

Enter Potiphar’s wife who finds the very handsome Joseph, handsome (v.6-7). She throws herself at Joseph and Joseph responds thus: “[Potiphar has not] kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can i do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (39:9).

According to Roman 2, the typical unbeliever might respond with thoughts similar to Joseph’s, but different. And the distinction is an eternity of difference.

If Joseph was a pagan, he may initially respond the way he did with a “No, I better not; you’re the boss-man’s wife.” But, then, he could think, “Well, Potiphar is a jerk. And his wife is here alone with me. And who would find out anyway?” It is possible to keep sin enclosed and secret for a lengthy amount of time if there is the utmost precaution. The sinner’s conscience would be, by the Apostle’s authority, bothered. It would accuse him to do that to someone; adultery against another man’s wife, even to a pagan, is pretty messed up at the least — especially considering the coming angry husband if he finds out (cf. Proverbs 6:30-35).

Even unbelievers can have a bothered conscience — but Joseph had a holy bothered conscience. His concern was not primarily against his neighbor, but against God.

Signs of Life

Christian, consider your life. When you have the opportunity (or are in the act of) to sin, your conscience is going to sound like the tornado alarm — similar to a pagan’s. But, consider the strength of your conscience’s appeal: not to man, but to God. Yes, part of obeying our conscience is loving our neighbor as the Law is summed up with; but the primary offender of breaking God’s Law is always God first and primarily (cf. Psalm 51).

Do you know that loud, keeping-you-awake-at-night, bothersome conscience? Do you feel that holy bothered conscience? Thought it is painful, though it is strong — when you respond in repentance and faith in God’s Law and God’s promise and find your conscience clean before the Lord, rejoice! Rejoice that this is a sign of your being made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5)! Your new and highest desire is to please the Lord, to fear God and to keep his commandments because they have been supernaturally written on your heart as part of the New Covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). Unbelievers do not feel any inclination towards offending the God that created them because there is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:18). Their main thought in this process is one of great rebellion, as if God didn’t exist in the first place (Psalm 10:4).

When God’s Word convicts you and accuses you of trespassing God’s Law, your conscience will loudly remind you and accuse you for your good. You have a fear of God before your eyes. It is good that this is your experience; this is a gracious blessing that the Spirit has worked within you. You are alive to Christ and his glory! How could you sin against that God?

Your Conscience Before the Court

The good news of the gospel is that as you stand before God, Christian, you can do so with a clean conscience cleansed from evil (Hebrews 10:22) because you are standing in the New Covenant. We can have full assurance that God has declared us righteous in Christ because of “the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). Your final courtroom day before the Most High will be one of absolute freedom of judgment for your sins, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Therefore, rest in Christ’s work for your rest and safety from condemnation and not in your conscience, ultimately.

But, because of Christ’s work for you and his cleansing blood, we must listen to and work to obey our conscience when it accuses us before God and his Law. Seek direction from God’s Word and renewal by seeing more of his revealed will in the Scriptures. Desire wisdom and direction from your local church and your pastor on issues where you are unclear or unsure. Trust your conscience by binding it to God’s Word. And may we sing with Charles Wesley:

Almighty God of truth and love,
to me thy power impart;
the mountain from my soul remove,
the hardness from my heart.
O may the least omission pain
my reawakened soul,
and drive me to that blood again,
which makes the wounded whole.

Cale Fauver

Cale Fauver is a Pastoral Resident at Christ Church Carbondale (IL). He is an undergrad student at Spurgeon College, and he and his wife Kelly have a son, Jude.

On Building Convictions and Wearing Masks

By: Andy Farmer

This time last year, I could have imagined I might write a blog on building Christian convictions. But I could not imagine it would have been about wearing masks. Yet here we are facing contention in our communities, families, and churches on the issue of wearing masks during the current pandemic. I have had my share of conversations with folks who believe masks are essential to saving lives in a pandemic. Others are equally convinced that masks are at best an unfounded government overreach and possibly part of a larger plan to abridge personal freedoms. I’ve been sent mountains of information and study data (from both positions) that have, frankly, left me more bewildered than anything else.

Often the issue of personal convictions comes up in the current conversations about wearing masks. As in, “I have a personal conviction that I should not go anywhere if I can’t be sure people are wearing masks.” Or, “I have a personal conviction against wearing masks unless there are legitimate health issues at stake.” I can certainly respect people operating out of conviction. But it has raised questions for me.

• What is a personal conviction?

• When do I need one?

• How do I get one if I need it?

• How do I build a conviction in response to a particular circumstance?

Without diverting into a philosophical rumination, let me briefly answer the first three questions because they’re generically related. Personal convictions are beliefs that are held strongly enough by an individual that they are committed to having their lives governed by them. They are committed to being known for them, and to varying degrees, are willing to act on them even at personal cost. A conviction isn’t a preference or a tendency. It is something clearly believed and strongly held in an ongoing way.

Essential Convictions and Personal Convictions

As Christians, we must have certain convictions borne out of our belief in Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. These convictions are best derived from the great creeds of the Church and the Statements of Faith to which we ascribe in our churches and denominations. Orthodox Christianity is well attested. We can have great confidence in our faith convictions when we ascribe to the primary historic doctrines related to the nature of God, the state of humanity in creation and fallenness, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, and the person and work of Christ.

Personal convictions are of a different sort. They are not creeds or fixed rules or laws that define our standing with God. Nevertheless, they are an important part of the Christian faith. Christians draw the idea of personal convictions from the command language of the Bible, in particular the “grace commands” of the New Testament. Knowing that Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law on my behalf, I am now free to live for Christ in joyful obedience to His commands. That is how I love Him (John 14:15).

We talk about the “indicatives and imperatives” pattern in the New Testament letters. The apostle Paul, in particular, structures his letters to churches with a strong doctrinal basis for confidence in our salvation (the indicatives) and follows that up with “if this is true, therefore here is how you should live”—the implications of life in Christ expressed in command language (the imperatives). The forming mechanism for Christian personal convictions is our application of the New Testament imperatives to life situations based on our indicative position in Christ.

Convictions overlap with wisdom and Christian freedom of conscience. We should be able to show from the Bible where we develop our convictions. But just because we derive convictions for ourselves from Scripture doesn’t mean we can impose them on others. In many cases, Christians may come to different personal convictions because of the biblical principles they are applying and how they weigh out various applicable biblical texts. In any case, the rule of faith should keep us from elevating our convictions to universal moral law. And the rule of love should keep us from imposing our convictions self-righteously on others.

Not all convictions are created equal. We often have to develop convictions in response to what life brings our way. I had no convictions on wearing masks prior to 2020. I hope at some point in the not-too-distant future, I’ll be able to retire this conviction, or at least only have to apply it in limited circumstances. But I’ve recognized the need for a conviction on masks so that my behavior is not being shaped by cultural pressure or personal feelings. I need a conviction on masks so I can approach mask-situations with a clear head, a humble heart, and a focus on serving others, not defending or protecting myself.

Building a Conviction

This gets us to the fourth question. How do I build a circumstantial conviction? Here are some guiding principles I’ve tried to apply to my mask conviction, and really what I want to apply to anything I hold as a personal conviction.

• Seek to understand the circumstances in a balanced way, as much as possible. We want thoughtfully considered convictions, not knee-jerk reactions we need to defend. Defensiveness can be used to cover the fact that we haven’t considered an issue in its complexity and depth. If I’ve considered an issue thoroughly, I should be confident but not defensive if someone disagrees with me.

• Consider the whole counsel of God. Don’t cherry-pick verses out of context to support what you think. Wrestling with the Bible is essential in developing personal convictions. In the example of masks, I have been strongly influenced by Romans 14, relating to how the strong must consider the weak. But I can’t build from this alone. After all, who says I’m the strong one in this issue? Maybe time will prove that others were more right than me, and in fact, I was the weak one who needed bearing with.

• Commit to humility and charity in the way you articulate and apply your conviction. The fact that we need personal convictions in the first place assumes there isn’t universal clarity on an issue. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul counsels us that we can be entirely right on a given issue but utterly wrong on what God values.

• Build out from principle to practice. A practice without a principle is a rule. A principle without a practice is a theory. I need to apply my personal conviction on masks without other people having to accommodate me. In fact, graciously held personal convictions will position me to interact with others in a posture of servanthood, not personal rights.

• Keep convictions proportional. Something may be very important to me, but not to someone else. We don’t need to fight over masks. We live in a time where the fewer needless arguments we have (in person or on social media), the better off we will be.

So what is my personal conviction on masks? That’s another conversation entirely. My question is, what is your conviction? And how have you gotten there?

Question for Reflection

1. What passages of Scripture have shaped your personal conviction on mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic?

2. Are you humbly and charitably applying and articulating your conviction, or is being right more important to you than loving your neighbor?

Posted at: https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2020/12/07/on-building-convictions-and-wearing-masks/

Can I Help Someone Else's Conscience?

Tim Augustyn

How do I, when I see that someone else’s conscience has been seared and corrupted, help that person, especially if they don’t feel like they need help? I know only God can change someone’s heart through the Holy Spirit. Should I simply pray the Holy Spirit doesn’t let go of him?

The answer most likely depends on the openness or willingness of the person you are talking about. And, it is probably not necessary for him to see his need at this point in order for you to be helpful.  

There are three things that enable us to have a healthy conscience, or to restore an unhealthy conscience:  

1.) His conscience needs to be powered by the Holy Spirit 

This would depend on whether or not he is a Christian. So you can pray for him, that the Spirit would bring conviction of sin, whether or not he currently believes. 

In one case, you are praying essentially for salvation. In the other, you are praying for God to revive him spiritually.  

2.) His conscience needs to be set by the Word of God.  

This is really about encouraging him to open the Bible.  

Depending on where he is, you might begin by asking him to go to church with you (if that’s possible). If he is already in a church, then you could go a couple of different routes.  

i. You might invite him to go through the Bible with you, once a week. 

Check out Open, where Pastor Colin leads you through the whole Bible story in 50 sessions. Read the bible chapter, listen to the teaching, and meet to discuss the questions.  

ii. Or you could ask him to memorize / meditate on a verse a week with you. 

If you have the ESV bible app, there are fice icons across the bottom. Click on the second icon (looks like a calendar). Then scroll all the way to the bottom, and second from the bottom you’ll see the “Truth Bible Memory Plan.” Click on this and work your way through these verses together.  

3.) His conscience needs to be cleansed by the blood of Christ.  

Again, this cannot happen apart from genuine Christian faith. But God is able to intervene in his life and do the beautiful work of cleansing his conscience.

THE AUTHOR

Tim serves as the resident pastor, writer, and editor of Unlocking the Bible. He was born and raised in northern Wisconsin, came to faith in his 20's while working in the business world, and received a Master's in Divinity from Trinity International University. He is author of the children’s book Man on the Run, and co-author of The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional with Colin Smith. Tim and his wife, Janna, and their four kids live in Arlington Heights, Ill. Contact Tim at taugustyn@unlockingthebible.org.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2019/07/bible-qa-can-i-help-someone-elses-conscience/