The church of Christ

At Granby, MO

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Church of Christ Sermons, Lessons and Studies
Speaker		Sermon/Lesson Title   (Right Click to Download Audio or Video Sermons)			Audio Video  Word Document		Category	Date Added	Lesson
Bobby Stafford		Conscience  (Audio) (Video)					Conscience	April 10, 2011	Sunday PM Sermon

What does the church of Christ teach about the Conscience?

What does the Bible say about the Conscience?

The Conscience

Introduction:

In Inside Sports John Feinstein writes:

      In 1994 golfer Davis Love III called a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round of the Western Open.  He had moved his marker on a green to get it out of another player’s putting line.  One or two holes later, he couldn’t remember if he had moved his ball back to its original spot.  Unsure, Love gave himself an extra stroke.

     As it turned out, that one stroke caused him to miss the cut and get knocked out of the tournament.  If he had made the cut and then finished dead last, he would have earned $2,000 for the week. When the year was over, Love was $590 short of automatically qualifying for the following year’s Masters.  Love began 1995 needing to win a tournament to get into the event.

     When someone asked how much it would bother him if he missed the Masters for calling a penalty on himself, Love’s answer was simple:  “How would I feel if I won the Masters and wondered for the rest of my life if I cheated to get in?”

     The story has a happy ending.  The week before the 1995 Masters, Love qualified by winning a tournament in New Orleans.  Then in the Masters he finished second, earning $237,600.

     The only truly satisfying reward is one gained honestly, for a guilty conscience can spoil any gain.

 Body:

I. Definition of Conscience

• The meaning of a compound word in Greek – “to know with something else” or “to know something about one’s self” or “to be conscious of something”
• The word expresses a shared knowledge with one’s self.  That knowledge comes from information gathered through a person’s experiences.
• The acquired information helps form standards of right and wrong.
• This is why others have defined conscience in various ways:
  1. It is the awareness of a moral or ethical aspect to one’s conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong.
  2. A properly programmed conscience is an inner warning system to prevent straying.  Example:  airplanes. . .
  3. A human’s moral compass is designed to direct someone through difficult times.

• Read:  Romans 2:13-16 One writer, commenting on this text, said that the conscience acts as a court reporter, witness, prosecutor and defender.

  II. Description of the Conscience

• The conscience can be struck.  II Samuel 24:10 It condemns us or pierces the “Heart.”
• The conscience can reproach.  Job 27:6 “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.”  Note what this verse says about how to keep this from happening.
• The conscience can be defiled by unbelief and impurity.  Titus 1:15
• The conscience can be neglected. It can lead to a shipwrecked faith.

      I Timothy 1:18-20

 III. Determination to Possess a Clear Conscience

• Acts 24:14-16 “Take pains”
• Romans 9:1 “Accords with truth”
• II Corinthians 1:12 “Accords with sincerity”
• I Peter 3:21 “Made clear by obedience to Christ”

  IV. Development of a Good Conscience

• Since our conscience functions based upon information it receives, we must give it the best.  That information must come from only an absolute perfect guide, the Word of God.  Hebrews 5:13-14
• A “weak” conscience is not as educated, or learned, concerning God’s Word.  I Corinthians 8:4-13

 Invitation:

     It’s so very important that our conscience be trained by God’s Word.  Then we can “acquire God’s perspective of right and wrong.”  This is critical to the Christian life.

 Bobby Stafford

April 10, 2011