Conscience Duty

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
~ Job 13:15

I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
~ Romans 9:1

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
~ 1 Timothy 1:5

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
~ 2 Corinthians 11:3

For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
~ 2 Corinthians 2:17

When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
~ 2 Corinthians 1:17

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
~ James 4:6

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 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.
~ 1 John 3:19-21

And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
~ Isaiah 38:3

The Duties of Conscience, by William Perkins.

The proper actions or duties of conscience are twofold: to give testimony or to give judgment (Rom 2:15).

To Give Testimony: Conscience gives testimony by determining that a thing was done or not done. “Their conscience also bearing witness” (Rom 2:15). “Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience” (2Co 1:12).

Here we must consider three things: (1) of what things conscience bears witness; (2) in what manner; (and) (3) how long.

Point 1: Conscience bears witness of our thoughts, our affections, (and) our outward actions. That it bears witness of our secret thoughts appears by the solemn protestation that at some time men use: “In my conscience, I never thought it.” Whereby they signify that they think something, or they think it not, and that their consciences can tell what they think. Neither must this seem strange. For there are two actions of the understanding: the one is simple, which barely conceives or thinks this or that; (and) the other is a reflecting or doubling of the former, whereby a man conceives and thinks with himself what he thinks. And this action properly pertains to the conscience. The mind thinks a thought, then conscience goes beyond the mind and knows what the mind thinks; so, if a man would go about to hide his sinful thoughts from God, his conscience, as another person within him, shall reveal all. By means of this second The Duties of Conscience.

William Perkins (1558-1602)

The proper actions or duties of conscience are twofold: to give testimony or to give judgment (Rom 2:15).

Here we must consider three things: (1) of what things conscience bears witness; (2) in what manner; (and) (3) how long.

Again, conscience bears witness what the wills and affections of men are in every matter. “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren” (Rom 9:1-3).

Lastly, it witnesses what men’s actions are. “Oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth (that is, conscience witnesses) that thou…likewise hast cursed others” (Ecc 7:22).

Point 2: The manner that conscience uses in giving testimony stands in two things. First, it observes and takes notice of all things that we do. Second, it does inwardly and secretly within the heart tell us of them all. In this respect, it may fitly be compared to a notary (or a register) who always has the pen in his hand to note and record whatsoever is said or done, who also, because he keeps the rolls and records of the court, can tell what has been said and done many hundreds (of) years past.

Point 3: How long conscience bears witness. It does continually—not for a minute, a day, a month, or a year, but forever. When a man dies, conscience dies not. When the body is rotting in the grave, conscience lives and is safe and sound. And when we shall rise again, conscience shall come with us to the bar of God’s judgment, either to accuse or excuse us before God. “Their conscience…bearing witness…in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ” (Rom 2:15-16).

By this first duty of conscience, we are to learn three things. The first (is) that there is a God. And we may be led to the sight of this even by very reason. For conscience bears witness of what? Of your particular doings. But against whom or with whom does it give testimony? You may feel in your heart that it does it either for you or against you. And to whom is it a witness? To men or angels? That cannot be, for they cannot hear the voice of conscience. They cannot receive conscience’s testimony. Nay, they cannot see what is in the heart of man! It remains, therefore, that there is a spiritual substance, most wise, most holy, most mighty, Who sees all things, to Whom conscience bears record, and that is God Himself. Let atheists bark against this as long as they will. They have that in them that will convince them of the truth of the Godhead, will they, nill31 they, either in life or death.

Second, we learn that God does watch over all men by a special providence. The master of a prison is known by this to have care over his prisoners: if he sends keepers with them to watch them and to bring them home again in convenient time. And so, God’s care to man is manifest in this: that when He created man and placed him in the world, He gave him conscience to be his keeper, to follow him always at his heels, to dog him (as we say), to pry into his actions, and to bear witness of them all.

Third, hence we may observe God’s goodness and love to man. If he does anything amiss, God sets his conscience first to tell him of it secretly. If then he amends, God forgives it. If not, then afterward, conscience must openly accuse him for it at the bar of God’s judgment before all the saints and angels in heaven.

To Give Judgment: The second work of conscience is to give judgment of things done. “To give judgment” means to determine that a thing is well done or ill done. Herein conscience is like to a judge who holds an assize, takes notice of indictments, and causes the most notorious criminal that is to hold up his hand at the bar of his judgment. Nay, it is (as it were) a little god sitting in the middle of men’s hearts, arraigning them in this life as they shall be arraigned for their offences at the tribunal seat of the ever-living God in the Day of Judgment. Wherefore, the temporary judgment that is given by the conscience is nothing else but a beginning (or a forerunner) of the last judgment.

Hence, we are admonished to take special heed that nothing past lies heavy upon us and that we charge not our conscience in the time to come with any matter. For if our conscience accuses us, God will much more condemn us, says Saint John, because He sees all our actions more clearly and judges them more severely than conscience can (1Jo 3:20). It shall be good, therefore, for all men to labor that they may say with Paul, “I know nothing by myself” (1Co 4:4), so that they may stand before God without blame forever.

Here we must consider two things: first, the cause that makes conscience give judgment; (and), second, the manner how.

1. The Cause of Judgment: The cause is the binder of the conscience. The binder is (whatever) has power and authority over conscience to order it. To bind is to urge, cause, and constrain it in every action, either to accuse for sin or excuse for well doing, or to say this may be done or it may not be done…When once the binding power is set over the conscience, then in every action it must necessarily either accuse or excuse. Even as a man in a city or town, having his liberty, may go up and down or not go where and when he will; but if his body is attached by the magistrate and imprisoned, then his former liberty is restrained, and he can (only) go up and down within the prison or some other allowed place.

The binder of conscience is either proper or improper.

1. Proper: Proper is the thing that has absolute and sovereign power to bind the conscience. And that is the Word of God written in the books of the Old and New Testaments. Reasons: (1) He Who is the Lord of conscience by His Word and laws binds conscience. But God is the only Lord of conscience because He created it, He alone governs it, and none but He knows it. Therefore, His Word and laws only bind conscience properly. (2) He Who has power to save or destroy the soul for the keeping or breaking of His laws has absolute power to bind the soul and conscience by the same laws. But the first is true of God alone. “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy” (Jam 4:12). “The LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us” (Isa 33:22). Therefore, the Word of God alone, by an absolute and sovereign power, binds conscience. Because this point is clear of itself, further proof is needless.

Hence, we are taught sundry points of instruction. (1) Such as are ignorant among us must labor to get knowledge of God’s Word because it binds conscience. Neither will the plea of ignorance serve for excuse because, whether we know God’s laws or know them not, they still bind us. And we are bound not only to do them, but when we know them not, we are further bound not to be ignorant of them but to seek to know them. If we had no more sins, our ignorance would be sufficient to condemn us. (2) God’s Word is to be obeyed though we should offend all men, yes, lose all men’s favor and suffer the greatest damage that may be—even the loss of our lives. And the reason is at hand because God’s Word has this prerogative to bridle, bind, and restrain the conscience. (3) Whatsoever we enterprise or take in hand, we must first search whether God gives us liberty in conscience and warrant to do it. For if we do otherwise, conscience is bound presently to charge us of sin before God. (4) We do here see how dangerous the case is of all timeservers who will live as they desire and be of no certain religion until differences and dissensions therein are ended, and they have the determination of a general council. For whether these things happen or not, it is certain that they are bound in conscience to receive and believe the ancient, prophetic, and apostolic doctrine touching the true worship of God and the way to everlasting life, which is the true religion. The same is to be said of all drowsy Protestants and lukewarm gospellers who use religion, not with that care and conscience they ought, but only then and so far forth as it serves for their turns, commonly neglecting or despising the assemblies where the Word is preached and seldom frequenting the Lord’s Table…Like silly wretches they neither see nor feel the constraining power that God’s Word has in their consciences.

God’s Word is either law or gospel.

2. Improper: The improper binder is that which has no power or virtue to bind conscience but does it only by virtue of God’s Word or of some part of it. It is threefold: human laws, an oath, (and) a promise.

The seared conscience: Such is theirs who have given their names to Christ, but lift their heel against Him, of which the apostle speaks, “Having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1Ti 4:2), that is, having a corrupt and putrefied conscience that has the devil’s brand-mark upon it. Plainly, a seared conscience is a rotten, venomous, ulcerated, pestilent, filthy, gangrenated conscience. It doth not perform any of its offices but is even past feeling. (It might have been) in Christ’s hospital under cure of soul distempers; but through indulging of sin and not being able to endure the sharp convictions, bitter reproofs, and close exhortations of the Word, he deadens his conscience unto an insensible senselessness (Jer 44:16-19). To this rank of profligate sinners, I refer all those that frequent ordinances, as well as those that reject them; that make a profession of religion, as well as those that hate the profession, yet have a reserve of sin with which they will not part. Searing (you know) is of the part that needs cure…For cure: Seriously set yourselves against those peculiar ways of sinning that have brought you to this. You know them. There is not anyone that hath a seared conscience, but he doth or may easily know how it came so. It is but one or two sorts of sins that are eminently mischievous to your souls in this case. Though a seared conscience is worse than a sleepy conscience, yet as it is more easily discernible, so it is but reasonable you should more speedily and vigorously set upon the cure! Take heed of accounting any sin small, lest at last you account not any sin great. Sirs, God hath been your Physician and hath used a variety of remedies. If nothing will prevail, and you industriously singe your consciences to make them senseless, as sure as God is true, He will make you sensible of your sin by everlasting burnings.—Samuel Annesley

If my conscience bears witness with me that I am a partaker of the precious grace of salvation, then happy am I!—Charles Spurgeon

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