The Clear Conscience

By Emmanuel Iweha

The conscience is an integral part of our humanity. It is something that guides everybody. It also is also an area in our human existence that is condemned to controversies because of it's unique nature of being subjective as it were. This book takes a look at the conscience as it has to do with scripture and how the individual is meant to relate with and through it.I pray that it will bless you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emmanuel Iweha
• Release date: Sep 9, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452315829

Emmanuel Iweha

Emmanuel Iweha writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

Book preview

The Clear Conscience

Emmanuel Iweha

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Emmanuel Iweha

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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All scripture quotes are from Authorized King James Version

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the person who alone has the singular ability of being a friend, savior, teacher, master, general, comforter, and still come out tops in all. He saved me freely then after bringing me in, taught me how nothing comes freely. I love you, will die and live for you. And oh! Thank you for everything…I’m talking about Jesus.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1-The Discourse

Chapter 2-The Conflict

Chapter 3-The Rightness

Chapter 4-The Answer

Chapter 5-The Weak

Chapter 6-Within The ministry 

Chapter 7-The Import 

Chapter 8-Conscience and Sin

Chapter 9- Conscience Alive

Chapter 10-The Evil Conscience 

Chapter 11-Conscience Captive 

Chapter 12-Conscience Revived 

Chapter 13-The Balance

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Chapter 1-The Discourse

‘The more a person keeps on justifying his seemingly wrong actions, the less restrained by his conscience he becomes. Because the conscience acting as a witness to one’s deeds tends to serve as a ‘god’ to that person in the sense that such a person would naturally want to take cognizance of it and act in accordance to its witness, all things being equal..’

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men Acts 24:16

It could be said that it is the conscience that resides in all beings of the human populace that compels them to act in accordance to that which seems good or bad in their own sight. That it is that which 'gives' them the knowledge of good and evil and regulates their application of this knowledge in their day to day existence with regards to their actions and intents.

Every human has a conscience that accuses him or justifies (i.e. excuses) him.

"For when the gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, THEIR CONSCIENCE ALSO BEARING WITNESS, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another"

Rom.2: 14&15 (emphasis mine)

It does not really regulate and compel them as such (or accuses or justifies either), as if to say that it has a controlling influence over them to do one particular thing at a giving point in time. Rather it stands as a witness to the individual concerning his actions and inaction. Indeed, it is a witness that is subject or better still, subjugated to that individual because it has no controlling influence to cause that individual to do otherwise with regards to a set course of action that such an individual wants to take; be it good or bad. However, even when what that person wants to do is contrary to the conscience of that person, he will keep on ‘hearing’ his conscience speak against such an action even after he has done the act.

Now this is where the subjugation becomes questionable because one's conscience cannot be silenced or killed, it will stay until the grave comes. However, an individual can justify his actions even though they are or seem bad. What he is doing at that point in time is not really justifying his action but defending it before his conscience because it cannot be killed as such or silenced but in a way, it can be assuaged.

Before any man defends or justifies his actions before the eyes of the public or any other individual, he first and foremost does this before his conscience even way before that deed is done. Again this 'assuaging' is not really one as such because the conscience cannot be assuaged because it is not a judge but a witness. In addition, a witness is not there to condemn or commend but to tell what he or she saw. Question: ‘what did the fella do ma'am? Reply: ‘he lifted up his hand’. ‘Thank you ma'am, you may step down'.

The scripture says their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Note here that it is the thought i.e. the mind that accuses or excuses their actions or lack of it. That is to say, that while their thoughts is the defense or prosecuting lawyer, their conscience is a witness but not for either mind you, although it would still have to favor one or the other because it will only bear witness to what is ‘good’ or otherwise.

But the man is not really answering his thoughts because he does not know that it his mind that is accusing him. And this mind or mental accusation is as a result of knowledge i.e. mental knowledge (here I speak with regards to the world system and its man made laws) because the thoughts can only accuse one of what it knows as being wrong. And there are many places where wrong has been made to be right and right wrong. But what he does is to 'reply' his conscience, which he thinks, is accusing him and when he has satisfied his thought whether with a token of 'repentance' or an explanation that justifies his action, he then feels all right with his conscience

...having their conscience seared with hot iron.. 1 Tim.4: 2

Thus in a way the conscience has an influence over the individual. When a man takes up his time to answer his thoughts (hence justifying himself), what he is doing at that particular time is bruising his conscience (i.e. when his deeds are wrong). As he continues in this, he does not hurt his conscience in any form whatsoever because it cannot be silenced or killed. However, he alienates himself from his conscience that is the 'ever faithful' witness. So it becomes 'weaker' as the man continues in such a life. It is not really the conscience that gets weaker but the accusations that comes from the thoughts.

Nevertheless, the more a person keeps on justifying his seemingly wrong actions, the less restrained by his conscience he becomes. Because the conscience acting as a witness to one's deeds tends to serve as a ‘god’ to that person in the sense that such a person would naturally want to take cognizance of it and act in accordance to its witness, all things being equal. When he does not, he feels and indeed knows that his conscience is standing against him as it were and tries to placate it either by justifying or rectifying his deed.

Now what we have seen here is like the function of the conscience, it bearing witness. But the importance of the conscience is also seen here with regards to one's place in eternity with respect to the dispensation that was before Christ, that is the dispensation of the law, for though the law was present but it was not made manifest to all of humanity. So there were those that lived without the law even though they were in the dispensation of the law. But to these people the scripture says:

…as many as have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law.. (Rom.2:12).

However, in them being judged, something has to serve as the law would serve to those that were in the full awareness of its reality. And the scripture says that such people that didn't have the law had become a law unto themselves and elaborating further, it says they have their conscience bearing witness to the work of the law written in their hearts and there thoughts serves as the preacher and priest, condemning or commending them (Rom.2: 12-15).

And these would best serve as an entrance to the spirituality of the conscience. Because the law being completely spiritual (Rom.7: 14) would only take a 'spiritual' being to fulfill it, that is why the Jews stumbled at it. But there were those who were without this spiritual law and the scripture says of them that their conscience bore witness, of what one would ask?

For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness.. Rom.2: 14&15

How did they have that work of the law which they happen to have no knowledge of written in their hearts? The scripture says their conscience bore witness of that which was written in their hearts i.e. the works of the law. But it first said that they by nature did what was contained in the law. That is, such lived a life that was more open to their conscience with respect to them doing right from wrong. Them doing what was right came naturally. Now the scripture above is actually referring to the gentiles that fulfilled the law. And that scripture shows that the law written in their hearts is essentially different from their conscience though they have a symbiotic relationship.

One of the differences that come up here is that the conscience belongs to the individual while the law is something out of the person but has become part of him. The Gentiles that do by nature the things written in the law had the law written in their hearts i.e. God's law. Having it written in their hearts sounds like a conditional thing from this scripture in that they have to do by nature those things written in the law which they were not given as in the case of the children of Israel. We have said earlier that the law was completely spiritual, that is to say, it was from God. But the law in its precepts speaks of those things that are naturally correct and does not need a spiritual mind to discern them or carry them out (i.e. the do not kill is something that anybody would agree with to be correct whatever the culture). Because even the natural man would know that it is wrong to steal and the morally strong man will not find this an impossible thing. Hence, there were those who carried out those things written in the law as of by nature without even knowing that what they were doing was in consonance with what God wrote down in His law.

But we are not talking about the spirituality of the law but of the conscience. Although without the law, whether given or written in their hearts the conscience will not really be what it is, and in fact there would be no conscience. This is because there first of all has to be the knowledge of wrong and right for guilt, condemnation and or commendation to be produced. And this knowledge of wrong or right would serve as the law, while the guilt and the rest would be a by-product of the conscience. We have already inferred that the conscience acts as a ‘god’ to man, even to one that is Godless or has no respect for that which is Godly.

However, this is not just what we mean when we speak of the spirituality of the conscience. What we are saying here is the comprehensive connection between God and the conscience of man, how it has its root in God. The greatest visible link