Sermon Tone Analysis

Do you sometimes have trouble keeping your conscience under control?

ILLUS.

A mother was helping her son with his spelling assignment and came to the words conscious and conscience.

When she asked him if he knew the difference between the two, he responded, “Sure, Mom, ‘conscious’ is when you are aware of something and ‘conscience’ is when you wish you weren’t.”

Our consciences are sometimes a struggle to manage even when we are living righteously.

One of my dad’s favorite comic strips was Moon Mullins by Frank Willard.

It ran in the comic sections of newspapers for almost 70 years.

Two of the strip’s central characters were a married couple named Willie and Mamie.

In one strip we find Willie slumped in front of the television set with a coffee cup resting on his pot belly as he flicks his cigar ashes into his cup.

He says to his wife, “You’re awful quiet this morning, Mamie.”

And she says in return, “Willie, I’ve decided to let your conscience be your guide on your day off.”

In the next panel, Willie is surrounded by a lawnmower and an edger and a hoe and a shovel and he’s frantically washing the windows and muttering, “Every time I listen to that dumb thing I end up ruinin’ my relaxin’.’”

We can all relate.

Each of us have experienced struggles with our conscience.

Our conscience can be both good and bad.

Let me give you a few examples.

First, let’s see how our conscience can be beneficial.

* Our conscience can uphold us when we struggle spiritually.

Paul encouraged Timothy to /“holding on to faith and a good conscience.

Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.”/

(1 Timothy 1:19, NIV84).

As Timothy faced spiritual struggles Paul encouraged him to keep a clear conscience.

* Our conscience can be a source of encouragement when others attack us.

At one time in his ministry Paul was being severely attacked by his enemies.

He said /“I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.’’/

(Acts 23:1 NKJV).

* Our conscience can protect us from temptation.

In Gen. 39:7-12 we find Joseph being sexually tempted by his bosses wife.

Joseph followed his conscience and resisted the temptation.

Because of his resolve he developed a stronger testimony for God.

An anonymous author once wrote: /“ ... for [our] conscience is ever on the watch, ever ready to warn us of danger.”/

Our conscience can also be convicting.

* Our conscience can fuel paranoia.

“The wicked flee when no one pursues” (Prov.

28:1 NKJV) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective books, was a man of practical jokes.

Unfortunately his humor could sometimes get out of hand.

In one instance he chose a dozen friends and to each one anonymously sent the same telegram with the same words: “Flee at once; all has been discovered.”

Within 24 hours not one of the twelve remained in the country.

Makes you wonder who they thought were pursuing them.

* Our conscience can be hardened.

The Apostle Paul characterizes some people’s consciences as being /“seared with a hot iron.”/

(I Tim.

4:2 NKJV).

The result of continual, unrepentant sinning is that it eventually dulls the senses of moral right or wrong.

* Our conscience can drive us to self destruct.

/“Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’’

And they said, ‘What is that to us?

You see to it!’’

Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.”/

(Mt.

27:3-5 NKJV)

So, our consciences are not altogether good or bad.

Billy Graham said /“Most of us follow our conscience as we follow a wheelbarrow.

We push it in front of us in the direction we want to go.”/

The issue is managing it properly.

The good news is that God has given us the resources for managing our consciences.

What are those resources?

In I John 3:18-21 those resources are described.

Let me read these verses to you from a more contemporary version of the Bible.

/“This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth.

When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God.

God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

My dear friends, if our hearts do not make us feel guilty, we can come without fear into God’s presence.

And God gives us what we ask for because we obey God’s commands and do what pleases him.

This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded.

The people who obey God’s commands live in God, and God lives in them.

We know that God lives in us because of the Spirit God gave us.”/ (1 John 3:19–24, NCV)

In this passage we find four resources for managing our conscience.

!

I. RESOURCE ONE: WHATEVER YOU DO LET YOUR ACTIONS BE MOTIVATED OUT OF LOVE

* /“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”/

(1 John 3:18, NIV84)

#. in I Cor. 8 we find a good illustration of this principle

#. the Apostle Paul discussed the eating of meat that had been sacrificed to animals

#. the question that had been raised among the Christians at Corinth: “Is it proper to eat meat that was left after the blood was used in sacrifice to an idol?”

#.

Paul’s instruction was that such eating was okay

#. there is nothing morally wrong with it

#.

however, if this practice causes fellow Christian to stumble in their faith then I should avoid such practices

#. let love be the guiding principle of your actions

#. love for God first

#.

love for God’s people second

#. based on this principle, what should be our decision concerning the following actions?

#. speaking rudely to another person?

#. social drinking?

#. cursing?

#. being critical of another person?

#. our words, actions and thoughts should communicate love to the other person

#. love is never an inappropriate action

#.

often our words, actions and thoughts are designed to manipulate, control or hurt the other person

#. we never see any of these behaviors in our Savior

#. we should love others—especially fellow believers—with the love of Jesus Christ

#.

We Manage Our Conscience by Acting Out of a Christ-like Love

!

II.

RESOURCE TWO: SUBMIT TO TRUTH

* /“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence”/ (1 John 3:19, NIV84)

#. every human being is born with the law of God written in the heart and with a conscience that either accuses or excuses, depending on how the person acts in regard to that law

* /“For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”/

(Rom.

2:14–15)

#. this means every person has some innate ability to recognize right and wrong

!! A. THE CONSCIENCE IS GOD’S BUILT-IN WARNING DEVISE

#. those of us who are Christians have embraced the truth of Scripture