Day 10/13 – Violating Your Conscience

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Violating Your Conscience
Day Two Hundred Eighty-six

“The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.” Romans 14:22-23

The person, who understands his freedom in Christ regarding the non-essentials, does not experience a guilty conscience when he partakes. The conscience is active in the lives of both the informed and ignorant. The enlightened conscience is able to live in harmony with God’s will. It is not your faith alone, but your faith developed by biblical knowledge that liberates your conscience.

As long as your conscience forbids a course of action, however, you are obligated to obey it. More than once the apostle Paul calls attention to the negative results of doing what your conscience disallows. He tells the Romans that if they eat doubting they condemn themselves. Paul does not make clear the nature of this condemnation, but you are safe to assume that you will eternally regret it if you do violate your conscience.

God gave you your conscience for a reason. He understands that it is not totally reliable, and therefore augments it with Scripture. Scripture shapes your conscience, but God does not address every ethical question of life. For example, the Bible does not address the issue of gambling. In ethical matters, where Scripture ends, conscience begins, and God warns that you should not violate your conscience.

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Isaiah 41-42 1 Thessalonians 1 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 41-42
Israel Assured of God’s Help
41
“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
And let the people renew their strength!
Let them come near, then let them speak;
Let us come near together for judgment.
2
“Who raised up one from the east?
Who in righteousness called him to His feet?
Who gave the nations before him,
And made him rule over kings?
Who gave them as the dust to his sword,
As driven stubble to his bow?
3
Who pursued them, and passed [a]safely
By the way that he had not gone with his feet?
4
Who has performed and done it,
Calling the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first;
And with the last I am He.’ ”
5
The coastlands saw it and feared,
The ends of the earth were afraid;
They drew near and came.
6
Everyone helped his neighbor,
And said to his brother,
[b]“Be of good courage!”
7
So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith;[c]
He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil,
Saying, [d]“It is ready for the soldering”;
Then he fastened it with pegs,
That it might not totter.
8
“But you, Israel, are My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
The descendants of Abraham My friend.
9
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its farthest regions,
And said to you,
‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away:
10
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11
“Behold, all those who were incensed against you
Shall be ashamed and disgraced;
They shall be as nothing,
And those who strive with you shall perish.
12
You shall seek them and not find them—
[e]Those who contended with you.
Those who war against you
Shall be as nothing,
As a nonexistent thing.
13
For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
14
“Fear not, you worm Jacob,
You men of Israel!
I will help you,” says the Lord
And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15
“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth;
You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small,
And make the hills like chaff.
16
You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away,
And the whirlwind shall scatter them;
You shall rejoice in the Lord,
And glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none,
Their tongues fail for thirst.
I, the Lord, will hear them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20
That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.
The Futility of Idols
21
“Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.
22
“Let them bring forth and show us what will happen;
Let them show the former things, what they were,
That we may [f]consider them,
And know the latter end of them;
Or declare to us things to come.
23
Show the things that are to come hereafter,
That we may know that you are gods;
Yes, do good or do evil,
That we may be dismayed and see it together.
24
Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination.
25
“I have raised up one from the north,
And he shall come;
From the [g]rising of the sun he shall call on My name;
And he shall come against princes as though mortar,
As the potter treads clay.
26
Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know?
And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous’?
Surely there is no one who shows,
Surely there is no one who declares,
Surely there is no one who hears your words.
27
The first time I said to Zion,
‘Look, there they are!’
And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings.
28
For I looked, and there was no man;
I looked among them, but there was no counselor,
Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
29
Indeed they are all [h]worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.
The Servant of the Lord
42
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My [i]Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3
A bruised reed He will not break,
And [j]smoking flax He will not [k]quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
5
Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
6
“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
7
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
8
I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
9
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Praise to the Lord
10
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise from the ends of the earth,
You who go down to the sea, and [l]all that is in it,
You coastlands and you inhabitants of them!
11
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice,
The villages that Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing,
Let them shout from the top of the mountains.
12
Let them give glory to the Lord,
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13
The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies.
Promise of the Lord’s Help
14
“I have held My peace a long time,
I have been still and restrained Myself.
Now I will cry like a woman in [m]labor,
I will pant and gasp at once.
15
I will lay waste the mountains and hills,
And dry up all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers coastlands,
And I will dry up the pools.
16
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
17
They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
18
“Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
19
Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the Lord’s servant?
20
Seeing many things, but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
Israel’s Obstinate Disobedience
21
The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22
But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are [n]snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”
23
Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
24
Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers?
Was it not the Lord,
He against whom we have sinned?
For they would not walk in His ways,
Nor were they obedient to His law.
25
Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
And the strength of battle;
It has set him on fire all around,
Yet he did not know;
And it burned him,
Yet he did not take it to heart.
Footnotes:
• Isaiah 41:3 Lit. in peace
• Isaiah 41:6 Lit. Be strong
• Isaiah 41:7 refiner
• Isaiah 41:7 Or The soldering is good
• Isaiah 41:12 Lit. Men of your strife
• Isaiah 41:22 Lit. set our heart on them
• Isaiah 41:25 East
• Isaiah 41:29 So with MT, Vg.; DSS, Syr., Tg. nothing; LXX omits first line
• Isaiah 42:1 Chosen
• Isaiah 42:3 dimly burning
• Isaiah 42:3 extinguish
• Isaiah 42:10 Lit. its fullness
• Isaiah 42:14 childbirth
• Isaiah 42:22 Or trapped in caves

1 Thessalonians 1
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace [a]from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their Good Example
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Footnotes:
• 1 Thessalonians 1:1 NU omits from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ