This Is the Life!: Enjoying the Blessings and Privileges of Faith in Christ by Warren W. Wiersbe

Author:Warren W. Wiersbe [Wiersbe, Warren W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781441220493
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-10-13T17:00:00+00:00

Cultivate Sensitivity—the Evil Conscience

People with an evil conscience are described in Isaiah 5:20. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” The meaning of personal morality is so confused in today’s world that some professed Christians boast about their repeated sins and call it “liberty.”

If we want to have transparent lives, we must be serious about dealing with sin. To treat sin lightly is to treat the light sinfully, and the consequences are devastating. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). We can commit sin and cover it up with more sin and end up with an evil conscience, or we can confess our sins and conquer them through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit. We must jealously guard ourselves against losing our sensitivity to the things of the Spirit and having a hard heart and an evil conscience.

When a professed Christian surrenders to demonic doctrines, pretends to be spiritual, and repeatedly speaks hypocritical lies, he or she develops an evil conscience (1 Tim. 4:1–2). Paul says people like this have “seared” their conscience and it is no longer sensitive to the voice of God. The word seared refers to flesh that has been burned and calloused and has lost its feeling. These people don’t hate sin and reject it; instead, they play with sin and enjoy it. If they confess any sin, their confessions are shallow and filled with excuses. They classify sins as small, medium, and large but rarely admit the greatness of their sins. Like the Pharisees in Jesus’s day, they are more concerned with reputation than with character. If you confront them with the Word of God, they explain it away, with “That’s your interpretation” as their usual defense.

The steps toward an evil conscience are listed in 1 John 1:5–10. If we lie to others (v. 6), we commit hypocrisy. If we lie to ourselves (v. 8), we become double-minded and guilty of duplicity. If we lie to God and make Him a liar (v. 10), we are in danger of apostasy! When you read the life of King Saul (1 Sam. 9–31), you see this deterioration demonstrated. Saul was a man of ability but he lacked integrity. He began well but ended in tragedy that brought the death of his sons, including godly Jonathan. We must pray daily that the Lord will help us to end well. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).

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