How does the "conscience" work? What is the conscience? How does it help us know what to do? From a Christian biblical perspective, this is an overview of how to know God's Will through the working of the human conscience.

1. This is Your Conscience Speaking
Understanding the “Conscience”
Freddy Cardoza, Ph.D.

2. Our Consciences Keep Secrets

3. The Weight of the Inner Psychological and
Emotional Discomfort Placed on Our Soul
Because of Personal Secrets Creates
the Need for a Clear Conscience
So We Sometimes Tell Our Secrets

4. Everybody Has Secrets
Governments.
Companies.
People.

5. Examples of Secrets
Governments.
Nuclear Proliferation Programs
Spying, Black Ops Sites, Area 51
Companies.
The 11 Secret Herbs and Spices of KFC
The Formula for Coca-Cola
Grand Central Station “Track 61”
People.
Actions. Motivations. Indiscretions.

6. Keep Secrets To Yourself
But Never From Yourself
Prov. 11:13; John 8:32 ESV

7. Some (But Not All) Secrets Are
Legitimate and Need to Be Kept
To Ourselves
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he
who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
Prov. 11:13
But We Should Never Keep Secrets
From Ourselves
(i.e., avoid self-deception and self-delusion)
And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 ESV

8. When We Allow the Heart
to Keep Secrets From Ourselves
We Corrupt Our Conscience and
Lose Discernment of God’s Will
“They are darkened in their understanding…
because of the ignorance that is in them
due to the hardening of their hearts”
Ephesians 4:18

9. What is the Conscience?

10. The conscience is
God’s automatic warning system–
Dr. John McArthur
“The Vanishing Conscience”

11. God Gave Us a Conscience
He gave it to help us “know and
understand ourselves”
That’s part of what it means
to have a “soul”
The soul and the conscience give us the
ability to reflect upon ourselves.

12. God created the conscience
to help us deliberate within ourselves
about choices, decisions, and ethics
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in
it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their
conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even
excuse them Romans 2:15

13. The Conscience and the Spirit
• All people have a soul and a conscience
(Romans 2:14-15). These help them know
ourselves, be aware of God, and to make decisions for
life/eternity.
• Only believers have soul, conscience, AND
the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). These help
us know God’s Will, in addition to the others.

14. Everyone has a soul.
Everybody has a conscience.
Our “soul” is our innermost being. It’s
who we are and who we are becoming.
The conscience is what God uses to help us
understand and evaluate our souls and
who we are becoming.

15. The conscience is the intersection of our
thoughts, motivations, and actions. God, the
Holy Spirit, speaks to us and confirms His
Voice and His Way through our Conscience.
It helps us mediate between them, to discern good or bad–
and to help us know whether each of them are “of God” or not
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel [H.S.]; in the night also my
heart [conscience] instructs me. Ps. 16:7

16. Sometimes Our Own Duplicity, Caused By
A Spoiled Conscience, Experiences Great
Inward Conflict Between Wanting To Obey
God And Wanting To Be (Our Own) God.
That drives our minds toward instability because
we try to have it both ways
A fool does not delight in wisdom because
his heart meditates upon madness.
Prov 18:2 Aramaic Bible-PET

17. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God
speak to our conscience– they
inform our minds (thoughts) and
emotions (feelings)
It is meant to help shape our wills
(our decision-making capacity)—
as free agents/human beings

18. The conscience has three possible
“statuses” or conditions
And two possible “states”
Strong, Weak, Seared Status
(1 Cor.8; 1 Tim. 4:2)
Clear [also, blameless/pure] (Acts
24:16) or Guilty State (Heb 10:22)
(Guilty can lead to Reprobate Mind, Rom 1:28)
The Reliability of Your Conscience

19. The conscience has three possible
“statuses” or conditions:
Strong, Weak, Seared
Its ability to help show you what to do
and to know God’s Will depends on
how it’s treated.
The Reliability of Your Conscience

20. The Conscience That Works As It Is
Intended, Objecting to Bad and
Affirming Good Behavior and Decisions
1 Cor. 8; Rom. 14
The Strong Conscience

21. The Conscience that Objects When
It Should But Also Objects When It
Should’t (Overreactive)
Signifying Legalistic,
Immature Believer
1 Cor. 8; Rom. 14
The Weak Conscience

22. The Conscience That, Due to
Abuse By Our Frequently Doing
Whatever We Want, Fails to
Accuse or Object When It
Should
1 Tim. 4:2
The Seared Conscience

23. 5 Ways to Gain a Clear Conscience

24. 1
Remember, Doing “Good Works” to
“Make Up” for Personal Wickedness
Cannot Clean a Dirty Conscience
This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that
the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to
clear the conscience of the worshiper.
c.f., Hebrews 9:9

25. 2
Tell Yourself the Truth
About Everything
(Always Make Sure You’re Dealing with Facts by Having a Personal
Commitment to “Traffic in Reality”)
And you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 ESV

26. 3
Acknowledge the Truth to God
God Already Knows Everything, So We Can’t
“Reveal” Anything To Him. We Can only
Acknowledge It

27. 4
Obey Your Conscience
Respond to It
Don’t Silence It
Don’t Abuse It

28. 5
Retrain Your Conscience By
Knowing and Obeying Scripture
and the Holy Spirit

30. Additional Study
1)http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Guilty-Consciences
2)http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Clear-Consciences
3)http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show
/RTD/CGG/ID/1811/Conscience-Seared.htm
4)http://www.gracevalley.org/sermon_trans/1999/how_is_your
_conscience.html

31. Sources
Image Courtesy:
Little Zoker on Flickr
http://cardoza.link/LittleZokerConscienceonFlickr