The conscience is the most evident part of the human spirit. The human spirit also contains two other parts, the intuition and the fellowship. Within a fallen man the latter two faculties are usually obscure. The conscience, however, is still able to manifest its function, but only to a small degree. In those who are saved, both the intuition and the fellowship have resumed their respective functions. However, the most distinct function of the spirit still lies with the conscience. As the conscience is the most manifest part, so it is also the most important part of the spirit. In the chapter on the spirit of prayer, we stated that a man who wishes to pray must be in spirit and that his spirit must be well-exercised. But to exercise his spirit, he must first exercise his conscience. Unless a man’s conscience has been properly dealt with, his spirit will surely become ineffective before God. If the conscience is improper, the spirit becomes out of function and deflated. Hence, we see what an important position the conscience has within us.
Although the conscience is a major part of our spirit, it is not our ego. Our personality, our ego, is the soul. The soul with its various faculties is the ruling factor of our actions-our thinking, feeling, and deciding. As far as our actions are concerned, the ruling factor is the soul with its various organs not the conscience. Figuratively speaking, the conscience is equivalent to the Control Yuan (one of the five major branches of the Chinese government) while the various parts of the soul are like the Legislative Yuan. It is the responsibility of the conscience to regulate all the activities of the soul. The conscience does not advocate, comprehend, or desire. It regulates, or oversees. Whether you do something right or wrong; whether you are acceptable to God or not; whether your thinking is in darkness or in the light; whether your emotion is proper or improper; and whether your judgment is pleasing to God or not-all these are under the supervision and inspection of the conscience. If your thought is acceptable to God, the conscience will say yes; otherwise, it will say no. If your preference is pleasing to God, it will approve; if not, it will disapprove. If your decision or choice is agreeable to Him, it will say amen; otherwise, it will raise an objection.
The above points constitute the position of the conscience. The conscience is the major part, the most evident part of the spirit. And although it is not the commanding organ of the ego, it is the organ that supervises and checks the various parts of the soul.
First Timothy 1:5 and 19 speak of a good conscience. In our understanding, a good conscience is a conscience void of offense. But there is a difference between being good, and being void of offense. In this point we shall cover the matter of a good conscience, and in the following point will look into the matter of a conscience void of offense.
Among the Chinese, some have the saying, “So-and-so’s conscience is bad,” or “So-and-so’s conscience is very good.” This thought about a good conscience or a bad conscience really fits in with the concept of the New Testament. In the New Testament, a good conscience denotes a conscience that is not crooked or perverted, but very normal and right. Not to be perverted is to be normal, while not to be crooked is to be right. A good conscience is one that is very normal and right. On the contrary, a bad conscience is one that is perverted and crooked. Suppose it is quite evident that I have stolen my employer’s money, yet I justify my action by saying that he owes me the money. I may reason that since my employer does not pay me what I should earn, it is therefore right for me to steal from him in some way to make up the difference. Everyone knows that this kind of reasoning is called twisting the facts. If I can reason this way, it proves that my conscience is bad.
In 1 Timothy chapter one, the Apostle says that some, having thrust their conscience from them, suffered shipwreck concerning the faith. Hence, a Christian must continually exercise himself to have a conscience that is right and normal, not crooked or perverted. He should be fair and just. If yes, say yes. If no, say no; if you are wrong, admit it; if you are right, avow it even at the cost of your head-not fearing opposition or difficulty. If you make a mistake, confess it, even though you may suffer loss. Maintain this attitude in dealing with yourself and with others. Brothers and sisters often demonstrate an improper conscience. For example, if a matter involves someone’s wife or relatives, his words will be entirely different than if it involves someone else. If others are at fault, he will readily criticize and condemn. But if his younger brother is at fault, he will play it down, make light of it, and even look for an excuse to whitewash it or cover it up. Such behavior shows that the conscience is improper, abnormal, and crooked. It is a bad conscience. If we wish to serve before God and be a praying one, our conscience must be upright. If my wife or my younger brother or even I myself am at fault, I must condemn the mistake. Draw a very straight line and be very upright so that, regardless of who, what, where or when, if any action crosses the line, it is judged wrong. This is an impartial conscience, a good conscience.
When the Apostle Paul wrote the two letters to Timothy the church was in a very degraded condition, and many things were in darkness. At that particular time, the Apostle especially spoke about the conscience. At such an hour, speaking from the human standpoint, to pass judgment on anything would require one to consider the conscience as the standard. Debating, arguing, and disputing are useless. You just need to check with your conscience.
When I lived in north China over thirty years ago, I always encountered outside opposition with regard to the truths and messages I preached. Following the release of every message given on the Lord’s day or in the conference meetings, the reactions always came quickly. Some brother would come and tell me, “Brother Lee, a certain elder, or pastor, or preacher said that your teaching is wrong and that you preach heresy.” Sometimes I would just say this: “If only he would allow the Lord Jesus to touch every one of his possessions, he would know that my teaching is right.” You know what I mean. Why did he say this particular message of mine was wrong? Because his conscience was not upright, and that particular message happened to touch the matter of his possessions before the Lord. If he was one who lived absolutely for the Lord and was fully consecrated, he would surely have an upright conscience. If he spoke according to an upright conscience, he would have to admit that the message I gave was right. But since he was in a state of desolation and failure before the Lord, his conscience became twisted, distorting the facts, and he defended himself. Consequently, he was not able to speak according to an upright conscience.
The most accurate part within a man is his conscience. But when man is in a fallen, darkened state. the darkness and degradation will influence his conscience. causing it to be warped. When the church is entirely in the light and walking according to the truth, there is no problem. But when the church is degraded and fallen. resulting in confusion, preaching the truth will not be very profitable. For if the conscience is confused and one is distant from the Lord, how can he contend for the truth? It was in such a situation that the Apostle wrote the epistles to Timothy, especially pointing out the matter of conscience. People have often come to argue with us concerning a certain truth. At the end of every argument we just said, “Brother, since we are in a dark age today, every child of God must live before the Lord by his own conscience.” The moment we said that, such a person would not argue with us anymore. The moment we touched his conscience, he did not have much to say. For regardless of the circumstances, there is always a standard in man’s conscience. However, man usually does not maintain a sufficiently good conscience. Rather, he often goes against his conscience and bends it, thus producing a bad conscience. During the church’s degradation you and I need to exercise ourselves not to follow this crooked age or walk according to the degraded condition of Christianity. Rather, we must maintain an upright, normal, proper, and good conscience. Thus, we can be a proper man of prayer.
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