Sinners Made Saints — If it Feels Right it Can't be Wrong

1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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God wants his people to live with a clear conscience and has given us the tools to transform our conscience and in transforming our conscience transforming our living.

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Text: 1 Corinthians 3:18-4:7

Theme: God wants his people to live with a clear conscience and has given us the tools to transform our conscience and in transforming our conscience transforming our living.

Date: 08/15/2021 Title: 1_Corinthinas_08 ID: NT07-04

In this passage the Apostle is dealing with his conscience. He wants to live with a clear conscience, and this is what he wants for the Corinthian believers.

God wants His people to live with a clear conscience and has given us the tools to transform our conscience and in transforming our conscience transforming our living. But there’s a problem: The Bible says we have all sinned and we fall short of the glory of God. Our conscience, like every single part of our personality and character, has been affected negatively by sin. What does that mean? It means that sometimes your conscience will falsely accuse you of things you shouldn’t feel guilty about. It also means that sometimes you conscience will falsely excuse you of things you should feel guilty about. For believers, the Word and the Spirit make all the difference.

A man’s conscience, sometimes referred to as one’s moral compass is generally thought of as, "Any set of beliefs or worldview which serves to guide a person’s decisions based on morals or virtues." Most of us from an older generation remember the phrase “Let your conscience be your guide.” Which worked well when the Judea/Christian ethic primary shaped the American collective conscience. Most Americans still believe that their actions should be guided by their conscience. The problem is that a totally different moral ethic now shapes the conscience of the typical American. Today, that moral ethic is based on a radical self-autonomy that says, “It’s all about how I feel. If I “feel” something is right, then it must be right, and no one can tell me it’s not right!” It means that such decisions are purely subjective and frequently have no basis in facts or reality. The problem with that mind-set of doing what you “feel” is right is not necessarily guided by moral values.

In this passage, the Apostle teaches that if one’s conscience is not properly formed, then it will not point (or orient) you in the correct direction. Hence, the analogy of conscience to a compass — it must be properly oriented. If a compass is not pointing to true North, it doesn’t matter how closely it is being followed — you are still going to go the wrong way, and the longer you continue in that wrong path, the more wrong you will be. 1-60-1 Navigation rule.

I. A SECULAR HEART LEADS TO A FAULTY CONSCIENCE

ILLUS. In 1961 Black recording artist, Marvin Gaye, sang a love song titled Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide. He sings the line, “Let your conscience be your guide, it won't lie to you,” which he regularly repeats throughout the song. The implication is that, at least in the matters of love, your can always trust your conscience.

1. actually, you can’t ... your conscience will lie like a rug to you!

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,” (1 Timothy 4:1–2, ESV)

2. Satan understands what truth can do for a person, so his main agenda is to hide and distort the truth to keep a Christian from Godly choices and Godly behavior

a. if he can fill your mind with fake-truth he can sit back and watch you make faulty decisions because fake truth will generate a faulty conscience

ILLUS. This is the Devil whispering in Eve’s ear, “ ... God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” (Genesis 3:5, ESV). The fake-truth was implanted, she believed it, and made a really bad decision based on a faulty conscience that said, “God is wrong, I really won’t die if I do this.” Eve was wrong, (and so was Adam, by the way).

A. A FAULTY CONSCIENCE IS ALWAYS BASED ON FAULTY KNOWLEDGE

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”” (1 Corinthians 3:18–19, ESV)

1. human wisdom, in and of itself, will never lead a person to a personal knowledge of God

a. Paul is not talking about such things as business knowledge, or mathematical knowledge, or scientific knowledge, or mechanical knowledge

1) we can be quite knowledgeable about those things without any special enlightenment from God

b. where human wisdom becomes foolish and useless is in matters concerning God, salvation, spiritual truth, and moral truth

1) human wisdom has no way of discovering and understanding divine things without God’s revelation

2. even so, God has given all men a moral-conscienceness that points them to something or someone outside themselves

a. in Proverbs Solomon compares our conscience to a candle burning in the inner depths of our heart illuminating the difference between right and wrong

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.” (Proverbs 20:27, ESV)

1) this moral searchlight is given by God to every person who has ever lived

2) all societies, for example, have rules against murder and stealing

3) where did they get that idea?

4) it came from our God-given conscience

ILLUS. When Adam and Eve sinned, they felt guilty about what they had done. They suddenly realized they were naked, and the first thing they wanted to do was to cover their nakedness. How did they know that? Their consciences were operating.

b. in the Book of Romans, the Bible teaches that even without being taught moral law, people are born with a sense of what is right and wrong

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Romans 2:14–15, ESV)

1) you don’t have to read a written law to know that stealing, murder, and lying are wrong; that’s something everyone instinctively knows — even though they may choose to violate them

3. if our conscience is constantly fed by worldly wisdom we will be conformed to moral and ethical standards that are the opposite of Christ-like thoughts, attitudes and behaviors

a. we become wise in this age, but the wisdom of this age is folly to God

b. it leads to a conscience that will make faulty decisions

4. Paul has declared that when we ignore our internal knowledge of the true God — it is internal because God planted it in each one of us — we also lose our moral bearings and descend to a level that can only be described as a debased mind, knowing but still doing wrong and encouraging others to do the same

... a Faulty Conscience Is Always Based on Faulty Knowledge

B. A FAULTY CONSCIENCE IS DEFECTIVE BECAUSE OF SIN

1. as Christians, we understand that our God-given conscience is deformed by sin

a. we are very good at, as Paul writes in vs. 1, deceiving ourselves

b. self-deception occurs when a person tries to justify his thoughts, words, and actions and refuses to admit that he is wrong and persuades himself that he is right

1) this is the sixteen-year-old saying, “But dad, everyone else is doing it!”

2) this is the forty-six-year-old telling the State Trooper, “Honestly officer, I didn’t know I was speeding,” when you know full-well you had you cruse control set at ten MPH over the speed limit

3) this is the young woman who convinces herself her boyfriend loves her even though he has told her several times he intends to break up

c. why do we think this way?

2. because of sin our conscience becomes distorted

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” (Titus 1:15–16, ESV)

ILLUS. David Dykes, Baptist pastor and author writes, “Your conscience is like a triangle that operates within your soul. It has three sharp corners, and when you are considering doing something wrong, the three corners stab you on the inside. However, every time you ignore or deny your conscience it’s like filing down the sharp edges of that triangle. The next time you are confronted with the same opportunity to do wrong, your conscience stabs you again, but this time the jab is not as sharp. Over time, as you continually resist the dictates of your conscience the sharp edges are worn down until you seldom feel them. Instead of being a triangle, it’s as if your conscience has become a moral beach ball bouncing around inside your soul.”

a. worldly wisdom will distort your conscience

3. because of sin our conscience also is deadened

a. a person can commit sin so often over a period of time, his conscience can basically die

b. the word seared in this verse is the word for which we get the English cauterized

1) often when a wound has to be cauterized the surrounding tissue loses all sensitivity because the nerve endings have been so damaged that they no longer feel anything

c. the Bible says the same thing can happen to a person morally

1) a professing believer can ignore their conscience so long until it becomes completely desensitized to conviction

2) that’s a terrible place to be — the very worst sin is consciousness of no sin!

d. worldly wisdom will deaden your conscience

... A Secular Heart Leads to a Faulty Conscience

II. A SERVANT’S HEART LEADS TO A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:3–5, ESV)

1. in these verses Paul is essentially telling the Corinthian believers that they have no right to sit in judgment on him, and he has no right to sit in judgment on them because they both are going to stand before a higher court

a. we read this passage and ask, “How can the Apostle say with a straight face that “I do not even judge myself?”“

1) this is a striking statement, and it may sound as if Paul were antisocial at the least or arrogant at the worst

2) isn’t this the same Apostle who says, “Examine yourself to make sure you’re in the faith?”

a) how can he turn around and here tell us that I do not even judge myself, For I am not aware of anything against myself?

2. Paul is declaring that, when it comes to his ministry among the Corinthians, he has a clear conscience, a good conscience

a. why?

b. because he has been a faithful servant of Christ and a steward of the deep truths of God

“This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1, ESV)

3. 1st, Paul had been a model servant

a. here in vs. 1 the Apostle used a unique word for servant — he literally writes that he is an under-rower — and so are Apollos and Cephas

b. the word originally described the slaves who rowed on the lowest deck of a Roman warship

c. Paul describes himself as a slave to Christ — in fact, the lowest of all slaves — who pulls his oar in perfect harmony with other gospel slaves like Apollos and Cephas to the command of the Holy Spirit, and the beat of the Scriptures

4. 2nd, Paul had been a model steward

a. he, along with Cephas and Apollos have been stewards of the mysteries of God

b. throughout his writings Paul reveals several divine mysteries — secrets of God’s redemptive plan that had been revealed to him and for which he was responsible

1) in the Book of Romans Paul had revealed the mystery of Christ’s cross

2) in the Book of Ephesians Paul had revealed the mystery of Christ’s church

3) in the Book of 1 Thessalonians Paul had revealed the mystery of Christ’s coming

5. this is how Paul saw his ministry among the Corinthians — as a model servant and a model steward ... he had a clear conscience

a. if some of the believers at Corinth were going to judge Paul, let them judge him for this

A. LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE ... KINDA

1. why does let your conscience be your guide warrant scrutiny?

a. the reason is because it’s only half true

2. your conscience can be an adequate guide only if it is guided by God’s law which has been implanted within your mind

a. but if you actively ignore this internal law for a period of time, then like a compass with no reference points, your unguided conscience can quickly lead you astray

ILLUS. In 2001, George O’Leary was hired as head football coach for Notre Dame, the job he had always dreamed about having. Five days later, he was fired when it was discovered he lied about his background. He claimed to have an earned Masters degree NYU-Stony Brook University, and to have lettered in football three years at New Hampshire. As it turned out he did not have a have a Masters degree, the school being totally fictitious. Neither had he lettered at the University of New Hampshire. He had made the team, but had not played in a single game. Early in his coaching career he fabricated these lies and as the years passed he found it easier and easier to repeat the claims as if they were true ... until someone at Notre Dame checked!

3. letting your conscience be your guide is commendable if your conscience has been correctly formed, but if your conscience is calibrated to the wrong values, it will approve the wrong things

ILLUS. Let’s face it, suicide bombers go to their deaths with a clear conscience, believing that what they do will lead to an eternal reward.

a. our conscience can be absolutely sincere, but still be wrong

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, ESV)

ILLUS. Translation ... “You may think you are on the right road, but you can still go over a cliff.”

4. as Christians, we understand that you can let your conscience be your guide only to the extent that your conscience has been recalibrated by the Scriptures and remains sensitive to God’s moral law both written in your heart, and also taught and explained by godly teachers

B. YOUR CONSCIENCE NEEDS TO BE SHAPED

1. Moses ordered his people to teach the commandments to their children and talk about them at every opportunity

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6–9, ESV)

2. the Christian’s conscience must be shaped and nurtured by the Word of God, which reveals His holy standards of right and wrong

ILLUS. Smoke alarms in homes are life-savers when they are working properly. Safety experts say that in 74% of home fires were there was an injury or death the smoke detectors had been purposely disabled by the owners removing or disconnecting the batteries.

a. we do the same spiritually when we neglect God’s Word

3. how do we shape our conscience

a. 1st, your conscience must be cleansed by Christ’s blood

1) when people have a guilty conscience they do all kinds of things to get rid of their guilt

ILLUS. In certain areas around the world people crawl on their hands and knees up steep mountains to reach a church or altar. They think these painful acts of penitence will absolve them of their guilt. Other people throw themselves into religious activity trying to get rid of their guilt.

2) but the Bible teaches that there is only one thing that can clean a dirty conscience — the Blood of Jesus Christ

“how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:14, ESV)

3) the believer’s conscience needs to be regularly purified by confessing our sin to God, and pleading the blood of Christ for forgiveness

b. 2nd, your conscience must be corrected by Christ’s word

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV)

1) as Christians our standard for morality is NOT what the majority of other people think, but what GOD thinks, and what God thinks is found in His Bible

ILLUS. Remember the VBS pledge to the Bible? I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.

2) why do we hide it’s words in our heart? ... that I might not sin against God

c. 3rd, your conscience must be controlled by Christ’s Spirit

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5–8, ESV)

1) a Christian is one who is habitually dominated by the Holy Spirit and minds things of the Spirit

2) it means that a true Christian is concerned about themselves as a soul first and foremost who shall one day stand before God and give an account for every idle thought our conscience conjures up and every idle word our lips utter

4. which leads to the final point ...

III. OUR SAVIOR WILL JUDGE EVERY MAN’S CONSCIENCE

“Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5, ESV)

1. Paul is not saying that they should suspend judging altogether

a. we cannot live life without make judgments about events and people

ILLUS. When you’re hiring an accountant, you might not want to give the job to someone with a known gambling habit.

2. what the Apostle forbids is criticizing a person whose teaching and conduct are in harmony with Scripture

3. it’s God’s business to judge the service and the stewardship of God’s people, but be judged it will

a. if ever there was a motivation for God’s people to live holy, righteous lives here it is ... God will bring to light the things in your life that you would just as soon see remain hidden in darkness

ILLUS Mark Twain once told an audience that, as a practical joke, he once sent a telegram to twelve friends — each of whom were well-respected men in their community — which read as follows, “Flee! All is discovered!” He says that each of them left the country within 24 hours. Now, this is Mark Twain and he was a known story teller who entertained through exaggerations. Is the story true? We can’t say for sure. But here is my point ... flee to Christ for mercy now, before you have to stand before Christ in judgment tomorrow!

4. nothing about our lives can be hidden from God

a. but, praise God, we will also received commendation from God who will graciously apportion praise to the individual believer on the judgment day when Christ reveals all things

Application: How do you live with a clear conscience?

Appreciate the value of guilt. For the Christian guilt is that sharp-pointed triangle that jabs you in the side when you do something, or say something, or think something that violates God’s word. Unfortunately our culture has declared war on guilt. A guilty conscience is considered medieval, obsolete and unproductive. Tell a friend you’re experiencing a guilty mind and your friend may well recommend their therapist. But guilt is actually God’s way of helping you battle against sin, and living a righteous life with a clear conscience. Listen to your guilt, confess the sin behind the guilt and repent.

Renew you mind with the Scriptures. In the 12th chapter of the Book of Romans Paul writes that in the pages of the Bible you will discover God’s will for your life and what is good and acceptable and perfect behavior that will produce in you a clear conscience.

Pray daily for the filling of the Holy Spirit. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). The Holy Spirit — whom Jesus called the Spirit of Truth — will always guide us into right living. Right living will give you a clear conscience.

Become a Servant of Christ ministering in his name. Methodist founder John Wesley was right when he said, Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.

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