WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:01.760 Romans chapter two. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:11.279 Romans chapter two. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.120 We'll pick up at verse number twelve. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:40.000 All who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:46.799 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:58.079 So, when Gentiles who do not by nature have the law do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:06.879 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences confirm this. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:20.560 Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them on the day when God judges what people have kept secret according to my gospel through Christ Jesus. 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.200 Time for me to date myself. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.959 I've seen the original Pinocchio. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.680 I'm not talking about the remakes, okay? 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:39.439 I'm talking about the 1940 Disney Pinocchio. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.560 There's a song from that movie called Give a Little Whistle. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.840 It includes these lines. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:54.079 And if you start to slide, give a little whistle. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:55.599 Any of you remember that song? 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:56.400 I got a few nods. 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:58.079 I've got a lot of, I don't know what. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:01:59.040 Well, just listen. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.640 If you don't know the movie, don't know the song. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:10.000 Give a little whistle, give a little whistle, and always let your conscience be your guide. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.280 Some of you might have had parents that you're gonna go out with friends. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:17.439 Now listen to your conscience. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:20.400 Is that good advice? 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:24.719 I heard a no immediately down here. 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.000 We know listen to your heart. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:32.560 That's that's not the best advice. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.840 The Bible says our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:41.599 That's actually probably really Disney's number one message over the years, whether it's last year or decades ago, listen to your heart. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:43.280 So that's not good. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:45.759 Let your conscience be your guide. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:53.280 I think for most of you, it sounds better than listen to your heart, but there's still some uncertainty about that. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:59.680 We're doing a series made on the on humans who are made in the image of God. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:14.240 Our consciences that God has given us are features of that glorious humanity and part of what it means to be made in the image of God. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:21.919 The Bible never talks about animals having a conscience. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:32.080 Sometimes he looks at you like I did a bad thing, didn't I? 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:48.800 You know, whether he's been trained to want that treat and respond the right way, or whether I don't know, but I know in scripture the language of conscience is always associated with human beings, not with animals. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:58.879 So we're going to consider this theme of the conscience tonight as an aspect of what it means to be gloriously made in God's image. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:04.960 I've got five S's for us that helps you track with where we're going. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:24.240 Number one, the conscience stated, number two, the conscience seared, number three, the conscience saved, number four, the conscience strengthened, and five, the conscience shared. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:29.680 So, first, the conscience stated, what is it? 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:42.560 Our consciences are an innate, God-given capacity that makes moral judgments. 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:44.800 We're here in Romans. 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:47.040 Look again at Romans 215. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:55.759 They show the work of the law written on their hearts, their consciences confirm this. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:06.000 Something inside of them, a kind of God-given intuition, says yes or says no. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:14.480 The verse goes on: competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them. 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:30.720 So the conscience is not independent of our minds, our reason, our wills, our actions, but it's when we make moral judgments, and often it's making moral judgments about our own behavior. 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:37.120 Light goes off, you know, you're doing the wrong thing, or that's a good thing. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:38.560 You should do it. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:40.879 Acts 24, 16. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:46.399 I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:48.800 What's Paul saying there? 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:58.399 The way I act, I don't want this thing God has given me to say, God deserves different than that, or you shouldn't have said that to that person. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:01.439 I want to have a clear conscience, Paul says. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:03.680 2 Corinthians 1, 12. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.160 Indeed, this is our boast. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:12.720 The testimony of our conscience, so consciences bear witness. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:17.680 They get up on the stand and they say, He's right or he's wrong. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:32.560 The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially towards you with godly sincerity, purity, not by human wisdom, but from God's grace. 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:40.560 Animals don't make moral judgments in the same way that humans do. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:53.680 Does the mother lion gather her cubs around and say, now, you see the way that other family of lions just ate that hyena? 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:54.800 Don't you do that. 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:56.240 That is wrong. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.240 Humans are operated instinctually, but not with the same moral framework. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:10.319 They may have certain loyalties or those kinds of things, but that moral capacity to say something's right or wrong. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:16.639 It can be developed, but it's there from the very beginning. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:26.800 How many of you have had children, and sometimes, even when you didn't tell them something was wrong, they give you that look like I did this thing and I shouldn't have. 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:28.079 Even though you didn't tell them. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:33.120 They just they they knew mom probably wouldn't like that and I shouldn't have done it. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:36.399 Conscience stated. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:41.600 Our innate, God-given capacity that makes moral judgments. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:45.279 Number two, the conscience seared. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.600 This is where we get into the reality that our conscience is not perfectly reliable. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:08:06.399 It's a gift from God, but we can't bank on it 100% of the time because, like other instruments, it can go a little haywire if we don't treat it properly. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:10.319 And humans are universally in the habit of not treating it properly. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:14.480 Turn back to Romans chapter 1. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:24.160 The word conscience isn't used right in that chapter, but it gives us an example of the type of behavior that sears our conscience. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:38.240 Romans 1, verse 18 God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:44.080 There's a witness of who God is, and they push it down. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:48.080 It's there in nature, but they push it aside. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:56.000 On an evangelistic note, you can appeal to this when you're talking to people. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:07.440 They may have sincere or less sincere questions about the existence of God and things like that, but they've got a conscience that testifies to God's existence. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:09.360 Look at the world around you. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.360 You really think this is all by chance? 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:13.039 They've got a witness that's there. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.679 Now they may suppress it and suppress it, but it's there. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:18.320 Listen to 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:34.799 The Spirit explicitly says that in later times, some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.799 1 Timothy 1, 19 and 20. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:44.559 Having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.519 And he names two men. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:56.399 So our conscience is a good gift from God, but you might have a good conscience or a bad conscience, and you can sear your conscience. 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:01.519 We're not talking about a beautiful piece of meat that has a nice sear on it. 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:06.320 Talking about when you take a hammer and bang your finger, it's gonna hurt at first. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:11.519 You keep banging it long enough and hard enough, eventually you're gonna lose the feeling in that finger. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.639 You put a hot iron on your finger, it's gonna really hurt. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:19.840 But eventually, when the nerves are destroyed enough, you're not gonna feel that hot iron. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:26.240 It's still just as hot, it's still just as disruptive for you, but you're seared. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:32.000 People can do that, and people regularly do that when it comes to their own conscience. 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:42.320 Third, so we've got the conscience stated, conscience seared, the conscience saved. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:44.799 All right, let's go ahead and turn over to Hebrews 9. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:57.919 You might not have thought about the conscience in quite this way, but there's scriptural language here we want to look at. 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:01.200 Hebrews 9, verse 9. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:09.919 This is a symbol for the present time during which gifts and sacrifices are offered. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:17.200 This is talking about the old covenant law that cannot perfect the worshipper's conscience. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:26.480 There are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed to the time of the new order. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:36.720 So even in the old covenant, the people that were obeying God were bringing the sacrifices, there's something that says, this isn't enough. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:53.600 A lamb can't really make up for your personal rebellion against the holy God, which fits with we're moral creatures who have a special relationship made in the image of God that lambs who are not made in the image of God don't have. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:59.679 So lamb's blood can't ultimately make up for our behavior. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:01.360 It temporarily covered over. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.320 Importantly, it pointed forward to Christ, the Lamb to come. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:08.879 But there's a testimony of there, something more needs to happen. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:15.679 If you look down verse 22, brothers and sisters, we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:20.399 He has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is through his flesh. 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:38.159 And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.159 The conscience is not itself demonic, it's a gift from God. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:55.360 But our consciences can be seared, and they can be twisted, telling us you need to do more to please God. 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.679 God's not happy with you. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:00.320 You've got to work and work. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.879 You're gonna be judged by God. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.639 That's that's a difficult burden to live under. 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:12.559 The gospel message is Christ is the great high priest and he's accomplished it. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:21.120 And for those that embrace and trust Jesus Christ, they don't have to listen to that accusing conscience. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.840 Satan himself is called the accuser of the brethren. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:35.279 He lobbs his grenades, and the apostle John says, When our own hearts condemn us, our own hearts can add on to Satan's lobbies. 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:43.200 People around us, some of you grew up in homes, sadly, where with your parents it was like you never could do enough. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.080 It was always criticism, always the next thing. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:52.559 And laboring under that is a burden of conscience that you can be free from. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:58.080 Salvation brings a purified conscience. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:13:59.840 I am right before God. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.919 Christ has done enough for me. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.399 I'm free and justified. 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.320 You may not all have that freedom of conscience. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:12.240 I want you to be encouraged. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:18.000 That freedom of conscience is not the infallible sign that you know the Lord. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:23.279 You may really know the Lord and be saved and still be wrestling with, am I justified? 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:35.440 But what I can say is God wants us to pray and strive towards that freedom of conscience, to be able to say, Yes, I know I'm justified. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:41.279 I know that God is not against me, he's for me because of Jesus Christ. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:54.559 When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there, who made an end of all my sins. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.919 My conscience needs no other sacrifice beside. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:08.960 And this point right here, the conscience saved, this is that central hinge that we've seen throughout this series on the image of God. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:11.279 The image of God is there in creation. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:17.200 It's restored wonderfully and perfectly in Christ Himself. 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:35.440 And he brings with him in his graces many things in our lives that help to reset and renew and point in the direction and goal and destiny of what that image of God was intended to do all along. 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:43.519 And conscience is one of those things that, even though seared, is reset in Jesus Christ. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:50.000 Number four, the conscience strengthened. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:52.879 Let's go over to First Corinthians eight. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.159 First Corinthians chapter eight. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:09.279 When you're born from above, your conscience is cleansed, but it's not perfected. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:26.879 Yes, your conscience still functions to make moral judgments about your behavior. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:31.200 So if you're saved, you shouldn't have to fear God's condemnation. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:43.279 But if you do something and you get upset and you just let somebody have it, hopefully your conscience isn't saying, don't worry about it. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:45.279 Hopefully your conscience is saying, you know what? 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:46.480 You shouldn't have said that. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.639 Why don't you go apologize to that person? 00:16:50.399 --> 00:17:00.080 But even though we're saved and our conscience has been reset and we're free, justified in Christ, our consciences are not perfect this side of glory. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:07.279 There's all the influences of our past, there's the influences of our people in our lives right now, there's our own thoughts. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:16.160 And different Christians will sometimes have different testimonies in their conscience about certain kinds of behavior. 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.400 Now, hopefully, not issues that are clearly revealed in God's word. 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.640 But you've heard sometimes the phrase a matter of conscience. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:30.640 What they mean by that is not, well, I think it's okay to just have an affair. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.480 No, that's that's in God's word. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:36.400 But there's other issues that aren't clearly spelled out in God's word. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:43.680 And Scripture itself even has a category for issues that are not necessarily right and wrong in and of themselves from God's word. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.359 But sometimes that little voice, that little yellow light will say, I don't think you should do that. 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:51.440 Or, yeah, you need to do that. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.000 1 Corinthians 8, here's an example. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:55.519 Verse number one. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.960 Now about food sacrificed to idols. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.599 Paul is writing to these Corinthians, he's responding to some of their questions. 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.240 Apparently, they were asking him about food sacrificed to idols. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:23.200 In Paul's day and age, sometimes food might be offered to a pagan false god and then brought out and served in the marketplace. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:30.960 You know, the butcher's like, bless my work, bless this meal, bless this food, O Zeus, and he goes out and sells it in the marketplace. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.440 Like, what should we do about that? 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:36.160 Is it okay to get that food and eat it? 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.039 Paul continues. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.680 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.480 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know. 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:50.480 But if anyone loves God, he is known by him. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:56.480 About food sacrificed to idols, then we know that an idol is nothing in the world, but there is no God but one. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:04.960 For even there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there's one God, the Father. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:09.119 All things are from him, and we exist for him. 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:11.119 And there is one Lord Jesus Christ. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.720 All things are through him, and we exist through him. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.160 However, not everyone has this knowledge. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:32.559 Some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:35.759 So this is talking about believers. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:37.519 He's writing to believers. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:46.880 And he says you could have a weak conscience, or you could even defile your conscience when you run over it. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:56.000 So the first principle about strengthening our conscience is be very careful not to run through your conscience. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.640 That's not the way to strengthen it. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.599 That that could be a way to sear it if you're not careful. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:09.519 So when your conscience is giving you the yellow light, don't just run through it. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:18.799 Even if you see somebody else, in this case, eating food in the marketplace that may have been sacrificed to an idol before they bought it. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.240 Strengthening our conscience. 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:40.799 Recognize that with some of these disputable matters or issues of conscience, your participating in them is not going to destroy or or seal your relationship with God. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.640 Listen to what Paul says in verse 8. 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:50.640 Food will not bring us close to God. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.799 So he's saying, okay, first of all, relax a moment. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:04.079 If you do or don't eat the meat, that's not going to ultimately be the measurement of your relationship to Christ. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:10.640 We are not worse off if we don't eat, and we are not better if we do eat. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:16.720 So we don't run through our conscience, but we do instruct our conscience. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:19.119 We instruct it with God's word. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:26.319 I know the conscience is not a person, it's a capacity we have, but we're we're patient with our conscience. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.720 We continue to instruct it and say, well, what does God's word say about whatever this issue is? 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.279 Let me let me think along those lines. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:35.440 Romans 14, 17. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.319 The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:49.200 He brings up the same issue in Romans 14, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.839 Paul says that some people have a weaker conscience. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.039 That sounds like, boy, I really don't want a weak conscience. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:12.000 Context here, the weak consciences are those that are extra sensitive to associations that might be sinful, in this case, the food offered to idols. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:13.519 But he says weak. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.920 He doesn't say it's immoral. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.480 He doesn't say it's horribly unpleasing to God. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.400 He just says the conscience is weak. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:24.400 And if you've got a weak conscience, whatever's not from faith is sin. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:31.440 So if you avoid the meat, if you avoid the drink, Romans 14, you're not sinning against God. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.039 How can we strengthen our conscience? 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.599 Well, we have to test it and calibrate it with God's word. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:55.279 There's an example of this in Acts chapter 10, where Peter has this vision of the unclean animals, and the voice says, Peter, rise, kill and eat. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:58.000 He says, No, Lord, I it's unclean. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:00.960 His conscience was saying, I can't do that, I know it's wrong. 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.960 And the Lord said, No, God has called it clean. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:11.279 So we have to be willing to test and calibrate our consciences according to Scripture. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:23.519 Don't look for unnecessary ways to trigger your conscience or to sear your conscience. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:32.160 And this is where it's so challenging a message like this, because some of us tend to have overly sensitive consciences. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:37.359 And some of us might have consciences that are a little bit dull when they should be sharper. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:42.319 And some of us, in certain issues, have a very sensitive conscience. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:45.920 And in other issues, I can do this to the glory of God. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.680 So even the weak and the strong can vary from issue to issue. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:52.799 Let me give you a couple examples. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:55.839 Dulling your conscience. 00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:57.680 Here's a potential example. 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:15.200 Most of you, your grandparents, if you're under 20, let's say your great-grandparents, if you took them with you to a random movie in the movie theater in a time machine, and sat them down, started watching, say, what are we doing watching pornography? 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:16.960 And you say, Well, what do you mean? 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:18.079 This is just this is just a movie. 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:19.920 This is not the pornography place. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:22.000 They'd be like, Yes, it is. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:23.200 What's happened? 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:29.440 Over time, standards of movie acceptability has continued to decrease and decrease and decrease. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:40.880 So that possibly if they consider you've you've watched it so much, you might have become desensitized to something that maybe is harming you or tempting you to sin. 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:43.920 Now let's take the other side of that. 00:24:44.160 --> 00:25:00.000 If you remember from just a month or so ago, Doug gave the example in one of his sermons that he and Royal had to really work through in their earlier days as Christians in an environment where many things were verboten, to use our German phrase. 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:02.079 Absolutely not. 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:04.799 One of those was going to the movie theater at all. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:15.359 So it took them time and looking at scripture and praying before they stepped out and went to the movie theater for the very first time to watch the Lion King. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:16.720 Do you remember that? 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:17.519 You guys remember that? 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:18.640 Like a month ago? 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:21.680 Most of you are like, well, that's that's silly. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:34.000 No, their conscience had been told and trained by people around them, it's always wrong in every case to go to the movie theater and they had to say, well, wait a minute, is that what scripture actually says or not? 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:39.440 So you could have an overly sensitive conscience or a conscience that's dull. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:47.839 And we want to be aware of both of those challenges, as we do desire to have consciences that are informed by God. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.680 And yet, the information is not the most important thing. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:55.680 Paul gives him the information. 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.759 There's really no false God. 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:03.599 Whatever the butcher did in the back, there was no nothing hokey-pokey's going on. 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:05.279 If it's a good piece of meat, you can eat it. 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:10.079 So he gives him the knowledge, but he says, whatever's faith is not, whatever's not from faith is sin. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:14.880 So here's the knowledge, but more important than the knowledge is love. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.559 And that brings us to the last point. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.960 The conscience shared. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:27.759 So far, I've been talking about our individual consciences, and that's where we really need to start. 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.000 Where's my heart before the Lord? 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:31.920 Have I been saved and cleansed? 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.799 Is my conscience bearing witness that I belong to God? 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:40.400 In the everyday decisions of my life, am I sensitive to my own conscience? 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:44.880 Am I seeking to train it and build it up with Scripture prayerfully? 00:26:46.160 --> 00:27:01.119 When the scriptures speak of the conscience, though, here in 1 Corinthians 8, Romans 14, especially, it's in the context of how do you live with your conscience convictions alongside of other Christians who might have some different convictions. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:05.279 There may be some of you here that just would never go to a movie theater. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:06.720 It's fine, no problem. 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.759 You know, you're not going to be closer to God if you do or you don't. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:16.480 Most of you would probably say, well, the Lion King is fine. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:22.480 I mean, I don't want to sit through a movie where there's just scene after scene of graphic sexuality. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:25.200 But there's a lot of middle space in there, right? 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:29.119 There's a lot of middle space of language that's not honoring to God. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:30.960 But I'm am I supporting that by going? 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:31.839 Am I not going? 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:34.799 You're going to have different consciences about an issue like that. 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:36.720 Let me give you another example. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:39.039 Harry Potter. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:43.920 Christians, don't go online and Google this. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:44.480 Please don't. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:46.160 You just, it's not going to be edifying. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:53.200 But you're going to have Christians very passionate that all Christians should avoid the witchcraft of Harry Potter. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:28:05.039 And you're going to have other Christians saying, this is a fantasy, and people are using their creativity to give us a good moral story that actually points us to, spoiler alert, sacrificial death for others. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:05.839 That's great. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:07.119 You should all do it. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:10.559 But those are pretty different perspectives, right? 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:17.519 The Bible says for some things like that, let each person be fully persuaded in their own mind. 00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:24.720 And importantly, be very loving in how you approach other Christians. 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:34.559 You don't need to convince that mom that doesn't want her kids to check out Harry Potter from the public library. 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:35.759 You should let them do it. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:37.039 And you don't have to. 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:54.799 Yes, we have to judge in certain clear matters of Scripture. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:29:14.400 But in some of those cases where Scripture's not entirely clear on every single application of what would it look like to honor God in this situation or that situation, if they've got the Holy Spirit and they've got a conscience they're working on renewing in Christ, say, you know, I wouldn't do that, but I love you and I care about you. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:24.559 You can talk about your differences in a way that doesn't treat another Christian like your conscience is the Pope, and their conscience should be the slave of your conscience. 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.559 Now, it's not always easy. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:31.359 I know that. 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:36.160 And that's the gift of the conscience is you can feel so strongly about things. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:37.279 You really can. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:41.200 But again, let's look at 1 Corinthians 8. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.240 Actually, verse 1 again first. 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:52.640 We know that we all have knowledge. 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:58.240 Paul's talking about the people in Corinth that realize an idol's a piece of wood. 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:04.079 Yeah, we have knowledge, but he says knowledge puffs up and love builds up. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:09.599 Your goal is not to cram the knowledge of Christian freedom down someone's throat. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:14.319 Your knowledge is how can I build them up in the Lord and care about them and love them? 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:25.359 Verse number nine Be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:35.039 For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, dine in an idol's temple, won't his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols? 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:41.119 So the weak person, the brother or sister for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:47.680 Now, when you sin like this against brothers and sisters and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:56.079 Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat so that I won't cause my brother or sister to fall. 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:08.799 Paul isn't saying here that whoever has the most sensitive conscience in the whole church, everyone has to live their private lives entirely how that particular person wants you to live. 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:16.480 But he is saying, don't do things that are going to encourage other people to run through their conscience. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:19.599 You go out of your way to love others. 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:25.680 And if that means avoiding certain things when you're around them, think about how you can love them in that way. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:27.759 Because Christ died for you. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:32.000 It's about him and his work, not about me and my rights. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:36.400 And we can think about that even collectively as a church. 00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:43.839 Let's be generous towards other churches that might not have every single practice identical to ours. 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:50.400 There are some churches that regularly have one hour plus sermons. 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:55.119 It's not our business to look at them and say, Oh, you think you're all high and mighty? 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:56.960 Yeah, probably no one getting saved in that church. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:58.400 People can't pay attention for an hour. 00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:00.400 Why don't you think about caring for the people? 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:04.000 No, they're trying to love the Lord and honor Him with those sermons. 00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:05.519 Praise God for that. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:11.119 There's some people in some churches that have 25-minute sermons, 30-minute sermons. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:15.119 Our evening sermons are usually closer to 30, morning, usually a little longer. 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:20.160 We don't need to presume, oh, we probably don't care about God's word, 30-minute sermons. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.119 A 40-minute sermon would be probably a lot more honoring to God. 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:24.079 No. 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:30.559 Let's be generous and love and build up those that are around us that God's called us to. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.319 I want to give you, uh, as we close, I've got a handout for you to take home and look at. 00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:40.400 I'll be honest, it the print job was terrible. 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:42.160 I copied it out of a book. 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:44.160 I don't think I broke any copyright laws. 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:46.160 Don't sell it on eBay or anything like that. 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:48.480 I was reviewing again this afternoon. 00:32:48.559 --> 00:32:54.960 There's a book that's really helpful, a little book called Conscience by a guy named Andy Nassali and a guy named J.D. 00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:55.599 Crowley. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:57.680 And this is a chart from the book. 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:03.200 And as I was looking at it again this afternoon, I said, man, this chart is, it would be so helpful for people to put this in their hands. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:05.279 So I'm gonna just pass this out. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:07.200 Maybe I'll just I'll start it on both sides. 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:08.960 Oh, you want to you want to walk it down that side? 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:12.240 Maybe uh, Walter, you want to just kind of walk it and pass it around this side. 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:15.359 Uh I think I have 30 or 40 copies. 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:18.559 If you're a couple, maybe just take one per couple. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:29.359 And I think it just helps us give a little framework and scripture for the different stages and levels of our conscience. 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:31.519 So let me can I grab one, Mike? 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:33.200 Just before I pray here. 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:35.599 And again, we're not gonna go through the whole thing right now. 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:37.759 You open uh have questions about it. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:47.920 But but you can see that that on one side there could be even a legalistic, you must do this to be saved. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:53.039 If your conscience is telling you that, that's that's far on the side of heresy. 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:55.519 Or if your conscience is saying, yeah, do whatever you want. 00:33:55.680 --> 00:34:00.160 Well, that's that's that's a strong conscience, but it's it's too strong. 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:13.440 The middle category is what we're aiming for, where we're not judging others in our shared consciences, but some of us might have stronger or weaker consciences in certain issues. 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:14.800 That's okay. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:19.119 And we want to aim towards a goal of flexibility. 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:22.800 Paul says, I have become all things to all people. 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:29.760 Not sinful, but when I'm with the Jews, I want to try to live among them so that I can have an avenue for the gospel. 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:38.320 He's flexible because he's looking to love and serve, not looking to shout his own rights and freedoms everywhere. 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:41.039 So take a look at it, maybe as you go. 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:46.239 Let's pray and ask God to help calibrate our consciences through his word, through his spirit. 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:50.880 Lord, we need you, we thank you for the gift of conscience. 00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:54.159 We want to be renewed in the image of our Creator. 00:34:54.400 --> 00:35:11.599 We want to have our consciences restored, working, not dulled or deluded by our sinfulness, and not sensitive in a way that runs beyond your word, as though we could somehow be holier than what your word reveals to us. 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:33.440 Give us, Lord, as we think about our own consciences, give us a great generosity, a faith and love which respects others amidst conversations, sometimes disagreements about the best course of action or behavior, that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:37.519 We don't want to add burdens to others that they weren't meant to bear. 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:44.800 We want to worship together in the freedom of our conscience, and we acknowledge that we need the Holy Spirit. 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:56.719 Would He be particularly at work to strengthen and cleanse us, to sensitize us, that we could say we live with a clear conscience, like Paul, before God and others. 00:35:56.960 --> 00:35:58.639 In Christ's name, amen.