The Power of a Clear Conscience by Erwin W. Lutzer

Author:Erwin W. Lutzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736953078
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

7

Conflicts of Conscience

The testimony of a good conscience is worth more than a dozen character witnesses.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

I am even crying writing to you. My daughters and I are very modest but I let them wear baggy shorts and pants for gym in the public school. We don’t always follow the dress code of our church: long sleeves—skirts, very long hair is a must. And my husband is okay with me and our daughters not conforming to these expectations. But the leadership at the church we attend say that we are backslidden and lost.”

She continues, “My conscience bothers me when these people visit… I am in bondage. Am I worldly to want to look pretty with simplicity? Why can’t I let this dress issue go? Why do I worry about what they think? Am I condemned? Am I not walking in the light? Am I lost? The enemy has used this on me for years. I don’t want to miss heaven for trying to look nice.”

My response is to say that yes, most assuredly women should be modest, but to expect women to conform to certain standards such as she has described puts the emphasis in the wrong place. Even the Old Testament prohibition that a woman should not wear the garments of a man has more to do with cross-dressing than it does with whether a woman wears a pantsuit or a skirt. Nor is it wrong for a woman to look beautiful. Of course, in our culture, beauty is often overrated. The television shows and other media that emphasize beauty and sexuality are destroying our young people.

But how can this woman be delivered from the harsh legalism of her church? Jesus, it seems to me, would admonish us to focus on the heart and not whether some rather petty rules are kept. Sometimes it might simply be best to not join a church where members are required to meet certain arbitrary standards.

How should these disputes be resolved?

The New Testament teaches that sometimes Christians disagree about matters of conduct because one person’s conscience might allow them to do something that another’s conscience would forbid them to do. We have to learn to be careful in judging one another.

We must never forget that some things are always wrong: It’s always wrong to break the commandments; it’s always wrong to be conformed to the world; it’s always wrong to permit unwholesome words to proceed out of our mouths; it’s always wrong to grieve the Holy Spirit; it’s always wrong to feed our sensual appetites. The list could go on.

On the other hand, there are some things that are always right: It’s always right to love one another; it’s always right to set our affection on things above, not on things of the earth; it’s always right to be filled with the Spirit; it’s always right to be honest and to respect other people.

However, there are some matters that are difficult to classify categorically as either right or wrong, sinful or not. Some things are a matter of conscience.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.