The Conscience and the Law as Moral Guides.
By W. A. Blakely
NOAH WEBSTER, LL.D., in his unabridged dictionary, defines conscience as "the faculty, power, or principle which decides on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of our actions and affections, and approves or condemns them." Whewell, the English philosopher and scholar, also says: "The English word implies a moral standard of action in the mind." The conscience, therefore, being a faculty of the mind, is susceptible of education the same as other faculties. Hence, early training has much to do in forming the standard by which the conscience judges right and wrong. Different persons have different ideas in regard to what constitutes morality. But why is this? Simply because of education; we find that all have not the same rule, and, therefore, one conscience approves what another condemns as a most flagrant departure from moral rectitude. Take, for illustration, the devout Hindoo mother who casts her child into the jaws of the crocodile; the abominable worshipers of Moloch who offered human sacrifices and caused their children to pass through the fire; the Catholics, who, during the Dark Ages, in the name of Christ, tortured and put to death in various ways over fifty millions of people; and the many other false systems of religion that teach, or have taught, practices which can but be held in condemnation by all who have had their minds enlightened by the word of God. Yet the conscience of these devotees of error approved their actions. Christ himself said to his followers, while he was yet on earth: "Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." These words have been strikingly fulfilled in the persecution of true Christians, with the supposition, on the part of the persecutors, that they were doing God service. In contrast with the foregoing, the moral law, given by the Author of all righteousness, is ever the same; it is the infallible rule by which to test our lives. And this same law is the standard by which we shall finally be judged. Eccl. 12:13, 14; Jas. 2:12. Says David: "The law of the Lord is perfect;" and "through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way." Ps. 19:7; 119:104. Read the 119th Psalm entire, and a good idea of the value of God's law as an instructor may be obtained. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov. 16:25; 14:12. Here the conscience tells a man that he is doing right, yet his reward is death; but in the following scripture we have a rule by which we may know that he shall live: "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them." Ezek. 20:11; see also verses 13, 21; Lev. 18:5; Neh. 9:39; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:12. In the above references we have the relative values of the conscience and the law as standards of right. Following one, he may die; obeying the other, he "shall live." Many a person is deceived with the assurance that "if I do what I think is right, regardless of the law, I shall be saved." The conscience is a safe guide only when in harmony with the law of God. A marked instance of human standard was given by the Saviour in his sermon on the mount. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. 7:21-23. Those persons had been serving Christ, as they thought, in preaching the gospel and in doing "many wonderful works;" but they had neglected the all-important thing, which was to make their life and life work conform to the will of their heavenly Father. There is also danger of "being past feeling" (Eph. 4:19) and having the "conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Tim. 4:2), which should make all doubly careful about following a fallible principle, liable to become perverted, instead of trusting in the Scripture, which is all "given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Early in the history of the Christian church we have a case well known to all, illustrating very plainly the point under consideration. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew, "a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee," "brought up at the feet of Gamaliel," and "he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and, haling [dragging] men and women, committed them to prison;" and he said: "I verily thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." His conscience upheld him in his course; yea, more, it urged him on; and the way that seemed right to Paul, had he not left it, would have proved to be the way of eternal death. When the light of truth shone upon Paul, he immediately asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and after that the zeal which he had manifested against the truth was used in its favor. His conscience had been educated erroneously; but when light came Paul accepted it, and by a proper education his conscience led him to uphold Christ and his teachings,—just what it had before led him to condemn. Yet, notwithstanding all this, we would not underestimate the value of the conscience: "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. Every one naturally has some trace of the law of God in his heart; and, of course, to this extent, the conscience will uphold right and condemn wrong. But all may be sure that when the conscience is not in harmony with "the law" and "the testimony" it will invariably be found that though that way seemeth to be right, it is indeed the way of death. The work of the Spirit of God is to convince the world of sin (John 16:8, margin); but this is done through the law, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20. And where there is any trace of the law remaining in the human heart, the Spirit has something with which it can work. And if any individual, no matter how sinful, when convinced of the error of his way, would follow the promptings of the Spirit and allow his mind to become enlightened by the law of God, it would then work a complete change in him, and entirely transform any erroneous views in regard to what is right and what is wrong. The conscience is educated by degrees; and if earnestly striving to do so, one will soon find that it can be brought into harmony with the law of God.