In an earlier issue of The Christian (June 2014), we considered that which is absolute and that which is relative, and particularly in the moral and spiritual realm. Among other considerations, we saw that man is by nature a relative being, but also responsible to God who, in His nature, is absolute. For this reason, man must deal with both the absolute and the relative in his life down here on earth. However, when we look at conscience, we find that it cannot work properly unless firmly connected to moral absolutes.
As we have seen in another article in this issue, man acquired a conscience at the time of his fall in Genesis 3; he then possessed the knowledge of good and evil. Conscience was not necessary before this, for man in his innocence did not need to know right from wrong. Since he was not, in his innocent state, capable of doing wrong, he did not need an inner check on his actions. But now, having disobeyed God and become “sinful flesh” instead of being innocent flesh, God gave him that which would remind him of his sin, act as a deterrent to it, and, above all, remind him of his accountability to God. Since that time, it has been the constant object of sinful men to try and escape that responsibility to God.
Moral Light
Just as our eyes need natural light to function properly, so our consciences need moral light to function in a right way, and this God has readily provided us. Before the written Word of God, God revealed Himself directly to man, making it clear what was required of him. Since the written Word appeared, man has had abundant witness of his responsibility to God. More than this, God is able to speak clearly to man “in a dream, in a vision of the night” (Job 33:1515In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; (Job 33:15)), and sometimes, where His Word is not readily available, He continues to do so today. Finally, every man has the witness of creation, “for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” (Rom. 1:2020For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)). While creation and entities like dreams and visions may not give direct moral light, they remind man of his accountability to God and should cause him to seek God.
After the Reformation, which took place largely in the sixteenth century, the Word of God was widely circulated in Europe and eventually North America. Because it addressed itself to men’s consciences, it bore the stamp of moral authority from God. Consciences were exercised by it, men were made to feel their need of a Savior, and many accepted Christ. But even in the world at large, there were many who, while not being truly born again, accepted the moral standards of Scripture. (This was true even before the Reformation, although the Bible was not generally in the hands of the common man.) As a result, the laws and government were based on the absolute moral standards of the Bible. Herein lies the difference between the Word of God and false religions, for Scripture brings God directly to the conscience through the Word, whereas that which is false stands between God and the conscience. That which is false forms a god of its own making and may even formulate some good principles, but it also allows men’s basest lusts to express themselves under the guise of religion. (Sad to say, in too many cases that which is true is sometimes corrupted by man, with the same result; it happened under Judaism, and it is happening under Christianity.)
The Word of God
When the Word of God is given up, the conscience has no absolutes to guide it, and everything becomes relative. Our Lord warned about this, telling the people, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:2323But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:23)). When man has the Word of God, there is, in that sense, light in him. If he gives it up, the darkness is greater than if he had never had the light. This happened to the Jews, for as another has remarked, it was not that they did not have the light; rather, it was the condition of the mind. By teaching some right principles, a false religion may even put the soul in some degree of light, but it leaves man in the darkness of his own malicious or covetous motives. This was the case with the Jews, for Judaism, as taken up by the corrupt motives of men, could make them ready to kill the Savior. (Not that Judaism was a false religion; rather, it was superseded by Christianity after Christ came.) The full result of this in our day was seen in Germany before and during World War II, when the land that was one of the cradles of the Reformation became the scene of some of the worst atrocities in modern history.
A Seared Conscience
Connected with all this is what Scripture calls a “seared conscience” (1 Tim. 4:22Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (1 Timothy 4:2)). This is not the same as a defiled conscience, although perhaps having some of the same characteristics. A seared conscience is one that is beyond feeling, having lost its sensitivity to evil. With constant exposure to evil and without the influence of God’s Word, the conscience becomes so callused and hardened that it can carry out the most awful acts with no remorse. We see this manifested to an extreme in those whom this world describes as “psychopaths.”
These individuals have both severely abnormal personality traits and marked deviant behavior, yet often appear very normal and totally in control of the situation. They are usually clever and charming, while underneath they remain totally self-centered, ruthless, and seemingly lacking in feelings or remorse. They are also characterized by impulsiveness, a need for excitement, a lack of responsibility, and frequent deceit and lying.
Moral Declension
In the past, the effects of stable family life, firm discipline, and Christian principles in society tended to control such behavior, at least to a large extent, but the past few decades have witnessed such a moral declension in Western countries that there has been a marked increase in serious crime. More than this, such crimes are being committed by children at an ever younger age, and we are seeing children under the age of ten who seem capable of the sort of mindless violence that once was seen only in hardened adult criminals. We are saddened by all this but should not be surprised, for when man gives up God, God may give up man to experience the full effect of what he has chosen.
Doubtless the psychopath is genetically predisposed to his bad personality structure, but then his will takes that tendency and allows it to act in open sin. Some would say that these individuals have been born without a conscience, but this is not true. The real root of the problem is found in Psalm 53:11<<To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.>> The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 53:1): “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Man’s conscience needs light to function properly, and if God and His claims are rejected, then man behaves as if there were no God. Another has remarked most aptly concerning this verse:
“The secret of this course is old too...all the path of the wicked comes from this. For him God is not. Faith does not exist, and God is not seen. This is the secret of all error in practice and in human reasoning. The more we examine the whole course of human action, the faults of us Christians, the various wanderings of philosophy, the more we shall find that ‘no God’ is at the root of all. Here it is the case that the conscience takes no notice of God. The heart has no desire after Him, and the will works as if there were none. Man says so (that there is no God) in his heart. Why should he say it? Because his conscience tells him there is one. His will would not have one, and, as God is not seen in His workings, will sees only what it will. God is set aside, and the whole conduct is under the will’s influence, as if no God existed.”
J. N. Darby
New Life in Christ
In view of all this moral decline, this world, and even believers, may raise the same question as did Israel in the days of Ezekiel: “If our transgressions and our sins be upon us ... how should we then live?” (Ezek. 33:1010Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? (Ezekiel 33:10)).
For the world, the only solution is Christ, for unless we have new life in Christ, we have no power to swim against the tide of evil that is engulfing this world. The answer to the problem is not for man to try to pull himself up by his own power, but to accept Christ as his Savior.
For the believer, the answer is to be more and more familiar with God’s Word. Its light is as strong as it ever was, and it will make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, and enlighten the eyes (Psa. 19:7-87The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psalm 19:7‑8)). God’s Word will endure forever, long after the need for a conscience in the believer has passed away. And it will keep us in a path pleasing to the Lord now.
W. J. Prost