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“In the latter times some shall depart from the faith…speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
Paul warned Timothy that in the “latter times” (after the apostles had been taken home to be with the Lord), some would depart from the faith. Most of these would be unbelievers who professed to be Christians, although some might not have given up Christianity, but rather had departed from some of the truth of Christianity. The result of this would be that they would tell lies and have their consciences dulled, so that it did not bother them the way that it should, when they did wrong.
This can happen to us too, even though we are true believers. When you get a severe burn somewhere on your body, it heals with scar tissue, and this scar tissue is not nearly as sensitive to touch as normal tissue. This is what can happen to our consciences when we are constantly exposed to evil, and are not careful to maintain a good conscience. It is important for each of us to be like Paul, and to “exercise ourselves” always to have a good conscience. Do not let your conscience become seared (scarred). Someone with a good conscience is not afraid before God, or before other people.
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