Sermon Tone Analysis

We have considered the weak conscience, and now we want to think about the strong conscience.

In Romans 14 and 15 Paul dealt with a conflict among the people in the church—some had weak consciences and some had what he called a ‘strong conscience.’

Paul began by saying, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations" (Rom.

14:1).

This means, "Don't argue about doubtful things."

The Christian life contains some doubtful areas that good and godly people have disagreed on down through the centuries.

The specific details may change from age to age, but the basic problems are the same.

What can a Christian do?

How far can a Christian go?

In the Roman assembly the problem centered on /food/ and the /celebration of special days/.

The weak Christians would eat only vegetables, while the strong Christians ate all foods.

The weak Christians commemorated certain days that were very special to them, while the strong Christians realized that every day was a special day with the Lord.

Unfortu­nately, the weak Christians judged the strong Christians, and the strong Christians despised the weak Christians.

In Romans 15:1 Paul said, /"We, then, that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves."/

He was talking about being strong in conscience.

He was not talking about physical strength but about the spiritual strength that comes when you have a strong conscience.

So the strong conscience is opposed to the weak conscience.

Notice that a person can tell when he has a strong conscience.

Paul used the word "/we/" instead of "/they/": "We, then, that are strong."

If you had asked the Apostle Paul, "Paul, are you a man with a strong conscience?" he would have replied, "Yes."

Somebody might say, "Well, aren't you being proud?"

No, this is not pride at all.

If you know you have a strong conscience, there's no reason to hide it.

If you have a strong conscience, you have some very important responsibilities.

I.

Characteristics of a Strong Conscience

What are the characteristics of a person who has a strong conscience?

 

A.

Spiritual Knowledge

To begin with, he is a person with spiritual knowledge.

He knows the Word of God and what it teaches about various matters in the Christian life.

For instance, various kinds of food were a prob­lem in the Roman assemblies.

The strong Christian knows that scripture declared all foods to be clean.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1Tim4:4-5 

 

Paul knew that God had made everything good.

Peter discovered this same truth on a housetop when he was waiting for his dinner to be prepared (see Acts 10:9-16).

He was taught by the Lord that all foods are clean.

So the Christian with the strong conscience has spiritual knowledge.

He is not living according to superstitions, customs or the Old Tes­tament Law.

He's living by New Testament truth.

He understands the truth of the Word.

/ /

B. Discernment

Second, the person with a strong conscience has discernment.

He has exercised his conscience, his spiritual faculties and senses.

He knows what is right and wrong and is therefore able to make the right decisions.

He exercises his conscience.

He's not afraid to obey the Word of God.

Jesus said in John 7:17, /"If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine."/

Obedience results in spiritual knowledge.

The person with a strong conscience is discerning because he exercises his spiri­tual faculties.

He steps out by faith and believes and obeys the Word of God.

/ /Are there levels of discernment?

Yes there is.

A child, with the right training hopefully can tell the difference between what’s good and what’s bad.

All most anybody can, even lost people can.

Most Christians can.

Most know what’s good for them and what’s bad for them.

Yet, that’s not the only level there is; Oh, my if that’s was all there was when it come to making decisions the world would be an easier place to live.

Choosing between the good and bad is child’s play.

But where you and I live mostly is choosing between what’s /good/ for us compared to what’s /best/ for us!

That’s what separates the children from the Adults; that separates the immature Christian from the mature Christian, being able to discern the best that God wants form you as a person.

C.

Enjoyment of Freedom in Christ

This leads us to a third characteristic: He enjoys his freedom in Christ.

He knows that in Jesus Christ he has freedom, that all things are his and that God gives to us "richly all things to enjoy" (I Tim.

6:17).

He realizes that God is a gracious and generous God, that every good gift and every per­fect gift comes down from God (see James 1:17).

Therefore, the Christian with a strong conscience appropriates the truth by faith, and he enjoys his freedom.

If you had visited some of the members in the Roman assemblies, you would have seen a contrast between freedom and bondage.

The weaker Chris­tians were in bondage.

They were living by Old Testament rules and regulations, and consequently they were not enjoying their freedom in Christ.

The mature, strong Christians were enjoying their lib­erty in the Lord because they had appropriated and practiced Bible truths.

!!!  

D.

Tolerance of Differences in Others

Not only does the person with a strong conscience have spiritual knowledge and spiritual dis­cernment, not only does he enjoy his freedom in the Lord, but he is tolerant of the differences in others.

This is an important thing.

A person with a strong conscience is not easily offended.

We noted that the person with a weak conscience is easily wounded.

If somebody does something he doesn't like, he is deeply grieved and offended by it.

This is a sign that he has a weak conscience.

When a person has a strong conscience, he realizes that good and godly people disagree on some practices, and he does not get offended.

I mentioned my friend that pastors in the old soviet republic area, Croatia.

Most if not all of his converts were once Roman Catholics before they were saved.

Once they were saved they realizing just how lost and in darkness the roman catholic church had them in, they truth disliked anything that was associated with the Roman Catholic Church.

They dislike them so much that because the Roman Catholics celebrate the Lord’s birth at the same time we do; those newly saved Croatian folks swore off anything and everything that had to do with celebrating Christmas.

My friend; their pastor had three kids and his wife, and they were definitely from America.

But because it was so strong of an issue, my friend being the mature Christian he is; tolerated this different viewpoint in his people.

Well, four or five years passed, they came back on furlough and for the very first time for his kids, were they able to see Christmas trees, Christmas lights, exchange gifts and so on, why because they out of love and maturity tolerated that non sestina issue that they might could get along at church with his people.

But when they were back in the states they celebrated Christmas just like you do.

You may say, "But isn't that rather inconsistent?"

No, not at all.

The Christian who has a strong conscience realizes that good and godly people can disagree on practice.

We aren't talking about doc­trine.

The fundamentals of the faith are true regardless of whether you are in Asia, Africa, Australia or America.

But practices have a way of changing with culture.

We're talking about this area of questionable things.

The Christian who has a strong conscience is tolerant of differences.

He realizes that differences do not necessarily mean that one person is better or worse than the other.

You will notice changes as you go from place to place and from culture to culture.

The person with a strong conscience is not easily offended.