Question:
Is the conscience a safe guide?
Answer:
No, it is not a guide at all. If it is good, it is that which the Guide uses in part to direct us. The Lord declares, “I will guide thee” (Psalms 32:8). “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” writes the psalmist (see Psalms 119:105). Conscience is like a watch—good when it is regulated and kept controlled by standard time. The spiritual regulator is God’s Spirit; the standard is His law. Without these, conscience is worse than worthless; it becomes “an evil conscience,” a “seared conscience.” (See Heb. 10:22; 1 Tim. 4:2). Conscience alone has been responsible for many awful crimes and sins.