The second choice is that a believer will try to do many other things to comfort the conscience. On the one hand, he is not willing to obey the voice of the conscience and follow its direction to please God. On the other hand, he is afraid of the condemnation of the conscience which troubles him and makes him feel miserable. Therefore, he thinks of doing many good things to cover up. He tries to replace God's will with good deeds. He does not submit himself to God, but he says that his present deeds are as good as God's instructions and perhaps, they are even better, more beautiful, wider in scope, more profitable, more useful, and more influential. He considers his work as the best. Regardless of how much he does and how men appraise his work, there is not any spiritual usefulness in the eyes of God It is not how much fat there is, nor how many burnt offerings there are, but how much obedience there is to God. If God has revealed in the spirit that something should be removed, then no matter how good your intentions are, no matter how fat your cattle are, or how heavy your gold and silver are, they are not sufficient to move God's heart. The voice of the conscience must be obeyed. Otherwise, God is not pleased, no matter how good your work is. Even if the offering is many times more than what is required by God, it will not stop the voice of the conscience. The conscience requires us only to obey; it does not require us to do anything extraordinary to serve God.

Therefore, let us not have any self-deceiving conduct. If we want to walk according to the spirit, we have to obey the guidance of the conscience. Do not try to escape the "inward rebuke!" Moreover, listen carefully. If we want to walk according to the spirit all the time, we must humble ourselves and give heed to the corrections of the conscience. A believer should not make a general confession, thinking that his mistakes are so numerous that they cannot be articulated. A vague confession does not allow the conscience to do a thorough job. The believer must allow the Holy Spirit, through the conscience, to point out his sins one by one. He must humbly, quietly, and submissively allow the conscience to rebuke and condemn him of his sins one by one. He must accept the rebuke of the conscience and be willing, according to the mind of the Holy Spirit, to remove everything that opposes God. Dare you allow the conscience to examine your life? Do you have the boldness to let the conscience tell you the real condition of your whole life? Are you willing to allow the conscience to place your entire living and conduct before you, according to God's mind? Are you willing to allow the conscience to open up all of your sins? If you are unwilling and draw back, afraid in your heart, this indicates that there are still many things in your life that should be condemned and nailed to the cross; yet you do not obey. It also indicates that you do not completely submit to God in many things, nor do you walk according to the spirit. Between you and God there is still not a complete fellowship, and many obstacles still remain. Consequently, you cannot say to God, "There is no separation between You and me."

An unconditional, unlimited acceptance of the rebuke of the conscience and a complete willingness to walk according to its revelation prove whether our consecration to God is complete, whether we genuinely hate sins, and whether we sincerely want to do His will. Many times we are willing to submit completely to the Lord, walk according to the Spirit, and be a man who really pleases God; now is the time to test our intentions, whether they are true or false, whether they are complete or lacking. If we are still involved with sins and not completely cut off from sins, then most of our spirituality may be false. If a believer cannot walk completely according to the conscience, then he cannot walk completely according to the spirit, because the requirement of the conscience has not been fulfilled. Therefore, other than the "imaginary spirit" which leads him, the real spirit is persistently demanding that he listen to the speaking of the conscience. If the believer is stricken in his conscience after self-examination, but does not want to be judged by the light of God, does not repent, and is not thoroughly dealt with, then his spiritual life will surely have no real progress. Whether the believer's consecration and work are true or false depends on his willingness to submit completely to the Lord, obeying His commandment and rebuke.