According to a 2008 character survey of nearly 30,000 high school students, 64 percent of them said they had cheated on a test in the past year, 30 percent had stolen from a store, 42 percent said they would lie to save money, and 83 percent said they had lied to their parents about something significant. One of the more interesting findings of the survey was that 93 percent of the students surveyed said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character. These students seem to have a clear case of what the Bible calls a “corrupted” conscience (Titus 1:15).
What does the Bible say are indicators of a corrupted conscience? When people continually entertain thoughts of evil or practice deeds of evil, they have defiled their conscience (Genesis 6:5; Titus 1:15-16).
Second, when they to listen to moral and wise advice, but are bent on listening to and following the delusional counselor of their wicked hearts, they sear their conscience (Exodus 7:14, 8:15; Jeremiah 17:9).
Third, wherever there is little or no shame over sin and moral failure, that person has corrupted his or her conscience (Jeremiah 6:15). Willful pretense, lies, and an impenitent heart are the poisons that wither the beauty of a conscience that has been cleansed by Christ (Acts 5:2; Romans 2:5; 1 Timothy 4:2). Never wholly reliable, our conscience can only be purified by God (Psalm 51:10). He does so through the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14).
As followers of Jesus, our individual consciences can become more sensitive to right and wrong as we grow in spiritual knowledge and obedience. This includes allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us when we’re wrong and approve us when we’re right. It also means confessing and repenting of sin immediately (1 John 1:9)
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Genesis 11:1-9
More:
According to 1 Peter 3:13-17, how do we maintain a clean and clear conscience in a hostile society?
Next:
Why are spiritual knowledge and godly obedience so important in maintaining a clean conscience? Spend time confessing sins that the Holy Spirit has convicted you of recently.
dossk on January 8, 2013 at 5:59 am
Dear Marvin, How the powerful tool of God[conscience] in man is simply crushed down,, by ennobling the very evil act. This is the finding among a group of students [in India] and by ennobling the act, they can go to any extent in their evil behavior.There is no moral & spiritual standards to refer to and follow, as their very gods are immoral and unrighteous.
Gene on January 8, 2013 at 7:24 am
What a scary thing to have our minds corrupted and eventually have a dead conscious. Aren’t we all at risk? Or knowledge and obedience are important as the Holy Spirit convicts us. Thanks, Marvin, for the thoughts and Scriptures.
Scott on January 8, 2013 at 9:52 am
These statistics are quite alarming! The statistics tell me that these students, on most part, have no fear of God. Is it possibly because they have never been introduced to Him? Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” It’s a wake up call for me as His “worker” to fulfill His calling to “Go, and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). I am God’s hands and feet here on this earth and I have a responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ to young and old alike. A responsibility that I do not take lightly as I realize that I may be the only person in someone’s life to ever step up and share the good news.
tom felten on January 8, 2013 at 11:07 am
Scott, good point. The “fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). As we draw closer to Him and His holiness, the Holy Spirit and a sanctified conscience help us steer clear of sin.
daisymarygoldr on January 14, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Marvin Williams, great post and good questions that is very relevant! Note, 1 Timothy 4:2 and Titus 1:15 refer to people in the church. Counterfeit Christians with corrupt conscience claim to know God, but deny Him by the way they live. Just as a tree is identified by its fruit, people are identified by their actions.
As far as the students are concerned, children within the ages 5 to 17 feed on a daily diet of hate, anger, vulgarity, immorality, sinful speech, perverse attitudes and behaviors belted out through music and mainstream media. Even those who say that “their religious faith is extremely important in shaping how they live their daily lives” report that all or most of the movies and videos they watch are R-rated.
Do you know why it no longer bothers “Christians” to be entertained by the pollution that pervades society today? Or why we have no shame in lying, cheating, stealing, engaging in illicit sex, smoking, drinking, and doing drugs? It is because a corrupted conscience cannot recognize sin. When people grow up having it ingrained in them that adultery or homosexuality are perfectly legitimate ways to live life then their conscience will consider it as right and God’s values given in the Bible as wrong.
The Bible warns all those who call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Conscience is the knowledge of good and evil according to the standard of God’s truths. When conscience is corrupted, truth and error cannot be distinguished. Since our consciences can be easily influenced by the world, it is important to keep ourselves informed of God’s Word.
In the letters to the churches, Christians are exhorted to stop being conformed to this world, come out from among unbelievers and be clean. If sin is not immediately confessed and forsake, it results in guilt which is the number one cause of depression and suicide. The beauty of “the blood of Christ” is that it provides perfect cleansing of the conscience. A clean conscience is the key to effective ministry. It enables us to be bold—in approaching the throne of God and proclaiming or practicing our faith before others.