God gave us the gift of an inner conscience to help us discern right from wrong.
But what happens if you choose to ignore your conscience and keep on sinning?
A day may come when you will no longer be able to discern right from wrong – essentially, your conscience will be seared.
When a child is told they can’t have a cookie after dinner, but they sneak and steal one anyway – they know what they are doing is wrong.
Our conscience is that inner pang that alerts us when we are about to make a bad decision – and when we go against it, we often experience guilt.
The goal of our conscience isn’t to keep us in guilt and shame, but to cause us to pause and stop – and make the right choice.
But when we ignore our “inner moral compass” and keep on sinning, eventually our conscience can become seared.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2
So what does it mean to have a seared conscience?
Essentially – it means your inner warning alarm is silenced.
Gone will be the ability to make wise decisions, as repeated sin will convince you that the choices you make are “okay” and even “good.”
But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
And when one keeps on sinning and refuses correction, they no longer feel a sense of right or wrong – their conscience has become seared.
A seared conscious is a dangerous and deadly thing.
Instead of feeling convicted when you sin or make a bad choice, your now-seared conscience will find ways to justify your sinful choices.
Of course, depending on life experiences and situations, each person’s conscience can be different, which is why it’s crucial to calibrate it properly.
We must not confuse our conscience with the voice of God – they are different.
And the only way to calibrate your conscience the right way is to tune it with the Word of God.
Grace To You reported:
“A regular diet of Scripture will strengthen a weak conscience or restrain an overactive one. Conversely, error, human wisdom, and wrong moral influences filling the mind will corrupt or cripple the conscience.
In other words, the conscience functions like a skylight, not a light bulb. It lets light into the soul; it does not produce its own. Its effectiveness is determined by the amount of pure light you expose it to, and by how clean you keep it.
Cover it or put it in total darkness and it ceases to function. That’s why the apostle Paul spoke of the importance of a clear conscience (1 Timothy 3:9) and warned against anything that would defile or muddy the conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7; Titus 1:15).”
As believers, it’s critical to keep our consciences sharp and calibrated through God’s Word.
God’s Word convicts, and will teach us all to make sure we are living in accordance of what He commands.
A seared conscience is a dangerous thing, so make sure you stay fervent in reading His Word, and pray to Him to help you in your moments of weakness.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17
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