THE CONSCIENCE by E. J. Hibbard

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 30, 1900

THE CONSCIENCE.

By E. J. Hibbard

E. J. HIBBARD.

I WILL call your attention to 1 Tim. 1 : 19: “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck.” The word-for-word translation is, “Holding faith and a good conscience; which [conscience] some, having cast away, as to faith made shipwreck.”

Of all the figures that could be thought of, a shipwreck is the one best fitted to show complete ruin. A person who has made shipwreck concerning his faith is in a most pitiable condition.

“Holding faith, and a good conscience,”—not simply having faith and a good conscience,—this is what we are exhorted to do. An intermittent experience will never answer. Two things are here mentioned, which must be held in order to avoid shipwreck. These are faith and a good conscience. And the text shows that when the latter is “put away,” the shipwreck of the former is assured.

The query at once arises, What is a good conscience?—The answer may be given in the language of Scripture itself: “A conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.” Says Paul, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men.” Acts 24 : 16. A conscience void of offense is a heart that does not condemn. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” This is the normal condition of a Christian—a real Christian.

Unconverted men have consciences. “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 meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.” Rom. 2 : 14, 15. Now a Gentile is said to be without “hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2 : 12); yet, notwithstanding this fact, he has a “conscience,” and “thoughts” also, which preside over every act of his life, “accusing or else excusing.” But this is not to say that his conscience is a perfect guide or an unerring test, although it is all the monitor he has. In fact, we know it is not; for is it not written, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled”? Unbelieving minds are always accompanied by defiled consciences. Therefore, to the extent that a person disbelieves the word of God, to that same extent are his mind and conscience defiled. And since “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” it follows that to the extent that we accept the word of God, to that extent our conscience is restored.

With these facts before us, we readily observe that all men on earth, in their natural state, have defiled consciences. Consequently, no man in his natural state is able to know whether all his actions are right or wrong. That is, a defiled conscience does not reprove all violations of the law of God. It is “when the Gentiles, which have not the [written] law, do by nature the things contained in the law,” that it “shows the work of the law written in their hearts.” They do not always do it. In fact, they seldom do; but when they do it, and do it naturally,—that is, not for show or effect, but in simplicity,—it is then that it is shown that the law of God has not been wholly effaced from their hearts.

Of course many things are done which outwardly appear good, but which spring from a selfish motive. These, being artificial, are, of course, not natural, and in that case can not be done “by nature.” In the time of Christ, the Pharisees represented this class. Their alms were given, their prayers offered; and all their deeds were done, “to be seen of men.” This did not show the work of the law written in their hearts. And there are some modern Pharisees.

It has been thought by some that conscience is simply a creature of education, but this is not wholly true. That conscience may be somewhat affected by the education, all must admit; but to say that it is created by education, as would be the case if it were simply a creature of education, is to deny both experience and revelation.

The Jews had educated themselves to think that the blood of bulls and goats would take away sins. This must be true, else it would have been superfluous to say to them, in the letter to the Hebrews, “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” This is also apparent from the fact that none of them, not even the disciples of Christ, looked for the death of the Messiah. When Jesus spoke of his death, on one occasion, “the people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up! who is this Son of man?” True enough, the persons who asked Christ this question might not have accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, yet this saying conveyed their opinion of the Christ when he should come.

These people, then, who for generations had been taught that their sacrifices atoned for their sins, had consciences that were ahead of their education. Read Heb. 10: 1, 2, and see if this is not so: “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.”

Had the sacrifices actually taken away sins, the person who once offered them should have had no more conscience of sins. They did not take away sins; and therefore the person offering them did still have a conscience of sins, even after the offerings had been made, which he supposed would take away sins. His conscience still accused him of sins after he had done that which he had been educated to believe would take them away. Again: in

chapter 9, verse 9, speaking of the earthly tabernacle, “which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices,” the Lord says that these sacrifices “could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.”

We may imagine a man who had taken God’s name in vain; and afterward, being convicted of the sin, had brought his offering, confessed his sin over its head, also had slain the animal, and the priest had made atonement for him, seeing only that sacrifice, and expecting that sacrifice—the blood of a bull or a goat—to take away his sin. After all was done, that man’s conscience would say to him, “You are a sinner, you have violated God’s law, and you have not made it right yet.” A sense of condemnation lingers with him. He has not a “conscience void of offense.” He has not seen the sacrifice, the blood, of Christ, which alone can cleanse the conscience; and his conscience is yet defiled.

“The wicked are like the troubled sea.” God. All mankind are seeking that rest of soul which comes only to a conscience purged from sin. The Brahman, the Buddhist, the Mohammedan—all are seeking this same thing. The Hindu mother may cast her babe to the crocodiles in hope of quieting a guilty conscience; the father may go on a weary pilgrimage of hundreds of miles, barefoot, across India’s burning sands; he may suspend himself by means of flesh-hooks high above the car of Juggernaut; he may isolate himself from home and loved ones, and deprive himself of all pleasures and comforts, and of most of the necessities of life,—these, and a thousand other acts of penance may be performed, and yet no peace, no rest. Condemnation fills the heart; the conscience smites.

When we examine one man-made remedy for sin, we see the principle that underlies all. Man can not purchase pardon by any sacrifice or penance that he himself can make. “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isa. 57: 20, 21.

Why all this unrest? Why all this conflict and condemnation?—Simply because man’s mind, his will, his way, are out of harmony with God’s. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God.” “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Our ways are but the natural products of our thoughts. Hence, to change our ways, our thoughts must first be changed. And since thought is but a product of the mind, a changed mind—that is, a new mind—will produce new thoughts and new habits. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 2 : 5. He has expressed his mind in his word. Then “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” “The word of God” effectually “worketh also in you THAT BELIEVE.”

Of Abraham it is written: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”

Here, then, is the atonement offered by God himself for guilty man. Christ, the Son of the infinite God, “was delivered” to death “for our offenses.” How do we know that this offering satisfies the demands of divine justice?—Simply because the Lord says so. Is not that enough? But is there no satisfaction to him that believes? no rest? no peace within?—Indeed there is. And right here is the point where the offering of Christ is shown to be the only way whereby sin may be pardoned, and its condemnation removed. “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Heb. 9: 13, 14. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;” “for he is our peace.”

(To be concluded.)

THE CONSCIENCE.*

THE CONSCIENCE.