THE INSIDE GUIDE
Romans 9:1 NKJV
9 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,
If you thought the inside guide is the Holy Spirit, you are right. But if you thought that the Holy Spirit was the only inside guide, you would not be correct. There is another guide: our conscience. A saying I have not heard in years is, "Let your conscience be your guide." This is a subject that I cannot cover in a short devotional, but it can get you started. Doing a word study on the conscience is worth the time.
Here is a synopsis of the Olive Tree Bible Dictionary's definition of the word conscience. "To be conscious of. To be one's own witness, one's own conscience coming forward as witness. An abiding consciousness whose nature is to bear inner witness to one's own conduct in a moral sense. It's self-awareness."
I am not sure if that helps, but I like the idea of our conscience coming forward as a witness to our conduct, whether it is right or wrong. One of the best examples of conscience is the story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery in John chapter eight. This is the account where the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus caught in the act of adultery. Side note: where was the man? It does take two. Jesus told the group looking to stone the woman to death that the one who was without sin should throw the stone first. Verse nine says, "Then those who heard it being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last."
Notice that the would-be rock tossers were convicted by their own conscience, not by Jesus. That inner guide on the inside was sounding an alarm, and they knew there was no way they could claim to be without sin. Their own conscience came forward as a witness that their conduct was out of line, so they dropped their rocks and left. Their conscience would not let them stone the woman.
Paul referred to his conscience frequently. He spoke of always trying to have a conscience void of offense toward God and men. Paul wrote to Timothy and mentioned having a good conscience. Paul lists as important parts of the believer's life love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. So conscience is that inner knowing on the inside as to whether we are doing right or wrong.
Often, you will hear of people saying that they feel condemned by the Holy Spirit. A more accurate term is being convicted by their own conscience. As we stay in fellowship with the Lord, our conscience can be a very accurate guide, and we do not want to violate that inner guide. Some people have fallen into habitual sin to the point where they have seared their conscience according to 1 Timothy 4:2. When our conscience is seared, it no longer is sensitive, and the things that used to bother us no longer trigger that inner alarm. But we can always repent and get back to the place where our conscience is a wonderful guide to help us stay on the right track with God and how we treat people.
A good conscience is a good thing and a safe guide in life.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to have a clear conscience before You and people. This keeps me on the right track and sleeping better at night.