Date:   10/30/2005 11:12:48 AM ( 20 y ago)
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URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=406079

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a reprint from yesterday on the debate forum:


i dont want to lose anyone with fancy translations or references to ancient languages, so we will start with the king kames version and the search engine at bible gateway, and see what the word of god has to say.


John 8:9
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

here we have a perfect example of how the light of the truth effects human conscience. a crowd had caught a woman in an act of adultery and brought her to jesus to have him judge the matter. they were trying to trick him to see if he meant what he had been preaching or not. under mosaic law, she was to be stoned, along with the man, but he was nowhere to be seen and he obviously would have had to be there when the woman was caught in the act. just prior to this jesus had written something in the dirt. could he have written, "where is the man?" i dont know, but he said to the people the famous line, "whoever is without sin cast the first stone." this stimulated their consciences and brought about conviction of their wrongdoing. so we see that jesus saw great purpose and validity in conscience.

Acts 23:1
And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

this is the man who held the coats of those who stoned stephen. so, believing paul to be a teller of truth, one has to say that conscience has little to do with outward appearance and everything to do with what is inside of a person, exactly the thing that god looks at. it is clear that his thoughts were inclined toward doing gods will, even though his actions were in error(sinful).

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

here it is clear that ones attitude toward others is part and parcel of ones attitude toward god, which is exactly what jesus taught.

Romans 2:15
Which shew 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;)

here the middle english of the KJV obscures the meaning somewhat, but the essence of an important process is exposed here: the process of judgement. it is similar to what the psalmist wrote, "thy word hath i hid in mine heart, that i might not sin against thee." it is not merely the intellectual knowing of the law that is important, but it is how it is applied - to oneself, not to others. if one knows the law, the only way to have a clear conscience is to not break the law.

Romans 9:1
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

Romans 13:5
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

1 Corinthians 8:7
Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

pertaining to being just, there is but one path, and that is if you would condemn it in another person, you best not do it yourself. this extends, in the mature walk, even to appearances.

1 Corinthians 8:10
For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;

again, for emphasis, conscience is what a person themselves thinks and how that effects their own behavior. judging another is quite a different thing. the key here is to be ever mindful of ourselves in that we do no harm, not knowingly anyway. and though most people could find outward excuse and feign ignorance, the person themself knows better and god knows even better than that. to purposely try to deceive someone, regardless of the means, is still a lie. and you just cant lie to god about anything! it is better to be as open and honest outwardly as you are in your head and sin than it is to try to hide like adam and eve did, or should i say attempted.

1 Corinthians 8:12
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.

not taking your conscience into account is counter productive to the walk. conscience is crucial, in fact.

1 Corinthians 10:25
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:

here paul is saying dont look for trouble where there is none. all of this poking and prodding into persons personal beliefs is a crime. they dont like it when someone else calls their belief system into question so they shouldnt do it themselves. thats why i lke this forum instead of the other. i want my feet held to the fire, and i want to speak my mind, in truth of course.

truth be know, a clear conscience is the pearl of great price - it is worth whatever personal price one must pay for it.


think about it. what is conscience? the english word is a compound word made up of two parts - con, meaning with, and science, meaning that which can be proved by observable evidence. conscience is an internal phenomenon, meaning that it exists in the kingdom of heaven. there are two observers - oneself and god. so conscience IS the invisible(to the rest of the world) evidence of whether or not one is knowingly doing wrong(sinning). and i believe we have recently covered the implications of knowingly doing wrong, but in a nutshell, it seperates us from god because it causes us to seek the darkness in which to hide. he doesnt do the seperating, we do. he will never leave us, but we can leave him. it uses up valuable time to heal these breaks, just as was set forth by the law for those who had broken a law and were unclean and could not approach the temple for a period of time. jesus isnt the pearl of great price, a clear conscience is, and, without which, one cant have anything meaningful to do with christ.
 

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