The Witness of Conscience

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst." (John 8:9)

This is the first of 32 occurrences of the word "conscience" in the New Testament. Through this pricking of their consciences, Jesus had prevented a mob from stoning a woman charged with adultery, for through it, the accusers recognized their own unworthiness to judge another.

A conscience can be a reliable guide, however, only if it is a good conscience. The Scriptures, on the other hand, speak of some who have a "weak conscience" (1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 12) which may become a "defiled conscience" (Titus 1:15) and eventually a "seared conscience" (1 Timothy 4:2) or even an "evil conscience" (Hebrews 10:22).

If used properly, however, the conscience is a blessing. God has given us a conscience to help guide us. The question is, what makes a conscience "good"? There are two references in Scripture to a "pure conscience" (1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3) and six to a "good conscience" (Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5, 19; Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 3:16, 21), but none of these tell how such a conscience is acquired.

The answer to this vital question appears to be found in the apostle Paul's testimony before Felix: "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16). The "exercise" (literally "training") which had produced such a conscience in Paul, he said, was this: "So worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" (Acts 24:14). A lifelong study of the Scriptures, accompanied by absolute faith in their veracity and authority, had produced in Paul a strong, pure, good, reliable conscience, and it will do the same for us. HMM