Chapter 3 – The Evidence of Conscience

Reginald Fredericks

10.2.2007 / 2.12.2008

“…Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness...”

Romans 2:15 KJV

In this chapter, unlike the previous chapters, I’m going to take a step back and discuss a very important issue: the conscience. In the previous chapter, I mentioned briefly through evidences that justify the Bible’s authentication of being from God. Though merely an introduction, it is so critical to grasp that the Bible is not just a book created by men –though it was written by men—but a book who’s origin is God Himself. In later chapters, I have discuss those three points yet again from a more detailed explanation. In this chapter, however, I want to spend time addressing a person’s internal knowledge system; that is, their conscience. I can easily debate with intellect and for hours a tiring battle is either won or lost depending on the person’s mental strength level. It’s no contest for me in certain situations. However, the most powerful thing that a person has is a conscience; everyone has one. Whether or not a person listens to it is another question; but most often people won’t deny what’s inside them and their reaction to things is usually because of their conscience, innocent or guilty. When you know something is right, you say that you have “gut feeling” and sometimes you’re right. However, when we are wrong it would take so much for us to admit it face to face, but one would simply deny that he/she is wrong because they know deep down something has told them that. If everyone is honest enough to examine themselves, then they would see what the conscience really says. But…just how do I address the conscience? It’s unseen, it’s hidden and is very quiet. But yet in certain situations it speaks so loudly that we often times don’t want to hear it. Well, the conscience has a lot to say and what it will say is truthful to the soul. It contains a law that is unseen but is truthful to every person, deep down. So much so that those who deny God may deny Him, but they cannot deny their conscience. It is the very evidence that they live with everyday that proves that God exists and has put the knowledge of God and evil in their being. This goes back to the garden of Eden, the fall of Adam and Eve.

The Institution of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Many philosophies and religions have their version of how knowledge, good, and evil came into the universe. Many of them tell of their version of what sin is or eradicate the notion of sin and instead regard good as being natural and normal leaving the option of something being evil completely relative. The idea that the knowledge of good and evil came through means other than the Garden of Eden doesn't exist when looking at occultic religions because the idea of man being responsible for sin also doesn't exist. In the case of the Bible, which is God's infallible, holy truth breathed directly from His being through over forty authors, scripture affirms that sin, which is originally associated with missing the mark of righteousness in measuring up to God's standards, entered the world through Adam. God, in the beginning, created heaven and earth and then instituted a man to watch over and work in the Garden of Eden. Later, God added a mate suitable to help Adam throughout his life as well as to assist with garden duties. However, both had a direct commandment from God and that was that they were free to eat from any tree of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The warning associated with this was that if they did eat from this tree, then they would surely die. Even though God gave Adam this commandment directly, it is assumed from scripture and scholarship (due to Eve's conversation with the serpent who appeared to her later) that Adam passed on the message to Eve. Regardless, however, both were held accountable to this commandment. As the account draws to it's climax, Eve is deceived by the serpent who tells her that God is lying and that the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make her like God. It is with this temptation that the serpent played on Eve's weakness of wanting to be like God as well as compromising what the Creator had already established as law. Thus, it resulted in her taking the fruit, eating it, giving it to Adam, and after he ate of it they knew what they didn't know before: they were naked! Innocence was lost and shame was found because they knew what was wrong and right, thanks to the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thus, humanity, created in perfect innocence (though immature many scholars believe) were we knew no shame or deceit now had the capacity to know what was both wrong and right, inherently passing on both good and evil as a sin towards God. This is what the Bible speaks about when Paul talks about how sin entered the world and it was spread throughout all mankind through Adam. Therefore, as we take this into account in relating evidence to the Bible as God's Word, we look at the notion of what the conscience is: the ability to discern right from wrong. (Passages for review for section 1-- Gen 1-3; Rom 5; 1 Cor 11; 1 Cor 15:22

The Conscience as the Natural Moral Witness Against Man Towards God's Law

This ability was in effect, I believe, immediately after Adam ate the fruit and his eyes were opened. The Bible says that God has inscribed His law on the hearts of those who are unbelievers (Gentiles); this puts the entire world guilty before God because all of us were born in this world into sin. That is a fundamental truth the Bible teaches that there is no one that is good and no seeks after God and that there is none that are righteous. That is, all have missed the mark of God's perfect righteousness no matter what they try. The best noble, good, and perfect act that would be considered by man as the "greatest act of kindness" would be consider filthy and dirty rags in God's eyes. That is the truth according to God's Word and is the one reason why no one can work their way to heaven. It will never be good enough to please Him; even Mother Teresa (for example), if she were not saved, were to do the most noble act of kindness and never accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior God would not even consider her worthy of honor although we would. Nevertheless, though, even this is the purpose of "Jimmy Cricket" it only goes so far. A person's conscience can be seared with a hot iron (the Bible says) and will not always go the way that is good. Therefore, the conscience, ultimately, even though it does bear truth when in regards to the law of God, does not always abide with the witness of truth in regards to the world. In other words, God's natural witness of His divine law will always agree with the divine written law (the Bible), no matter what. This is saying that as far morality the conscience will know to a degree, while the understanding of God (His character) is purely erroneous.

However, just like anything in life the person who is being testified against according to conscience can always refuse, deny, and suppress the truth about God due to external factors and sin itself. As a matter of fact, the Bible says that man's knowledge of God is erroneous in the last days (today's world) and that the understanding of God is darkened (by sin). So even when something sounds like it could be truth, if it doesn't align with God's divine written Word of truth then it is not truth, as truth comes from God and not any other source! This is where many religions separate when in terms of doctrinally defining truth. Only Christianity defines truth as being directly from God and found in His written Word (which is why we consider the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant spirit-breathed word of the Lord). Thus, to know if something is the truth or not is to find that truth spelled out directly or through implications in teaching via the Holy Scriptures. If anything contradicts scripture, then it is unacceptable and passed down as a lie. Fundamentally, and for those who have been taught maturely in Christ, this is why we uphold the Bible as the final authority in all truth and wisdom and evaluate all philosophies and ideologies of this world through the grid of scripture because we extremely believe that the Bible is inspired by God and that He supernaturally, providentially governed the transcription of Scripture throughout the ages, as far as the original autographs while He also acted providentially ruling over the transcriptions of the English Bibles so that they will not contradict and err in their original meanings as intended as to remain identical to the original writings in their messages. While I could talk about the transcription of scripture throughout the ages, this is another argument for another time (though I would be happy to entertain questions about it) the idea is that God's Word is still relevant for today and it's not just some dusty old book, because this dusty old book has prophesied many events that are going to take place very soon as well as events that have already taken place (i.e. the current war in the middle east; peace treaty for Israel, great apostasy in the churches, the condition of the hearts in this day and age, etc). And that being true, it has also determined every person's eternal destiny based on what God has done through redemptive history. The question is, do you believe or not? If you do, the Bible tells you what happens when you believe God's promises for salvation (and it doesn't have anything to do with a rich material life or personal happiness). Conversely, the same is true for when you don't believe then the Bible tells you about what happens to those who don 't. So, again, it's essentially giving you options to your choice.

What is God's perogative? Choose Him and be saved by abandoning sin and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation because He wants to save you and wants you to have what is truly yours: the kingdom of God. If not, then by default, you choose remain in your own sin and as well as the benefit for payment for them: that is what Hell is about, people who chose to pay their sins but came up short. No matter what you do, you can't pay them for them to be done away with. Christ has already done it for you. But again, it's up to you! Let your conscience be God's witness to the truth of your morality and don't suppress the truth; you will be held accountable, no matter what!!

(Passages for review for section 2 -- 1 Sam 24; Isaiah 64:6-7; Rom chapters 1-2, 3:23,5, 6:23; 1 Tim 4:1-4; 1 Pet 3:8-9)