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“Lies The Devil Tells (#5)”
Categories: Daily Living, Lies/Lying, SatanLies The Devil Tells
Jarrod Jacobs
Satan has many lies that he tells people (Jn. 8:44). “It does not bother my conscience” is a lie used to justify sins. Put another way, “Let your conscience be your guide” is the advice given to many when faced with a questionable situation. While this can be good advice, remember our conscience can be trained not to bother us when we sin. The Bible tells us that our conscience can be “seared” (I Tim. 4:1-2) or “defiled” (Titus 1:15-16). Would a “defiled” conscience be a very good guide?
Before he became a Christian, Paul was with those who stoned Stephen and consented to his death (Acts 7:58, 8:1). Paul found Christians and put them in prison for being Christians (Acts 8:3). Acts 9:1-2 reveals that his trip to Damascus was to obtain more authority to persecute the Christians. He declared that he wasted the church and was more zealous than his fathers in doing so (Gal. 1:13-14). Then, as Paul looked back on his life, he said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (Acts 23:1). Did Paul’s conscience bother him as he consented to the death of Stephen, or as he took Christians and tried to get them to blaspheme the Savior (Acts 26:11)? No! Friends, our conscience cannot be the standard for judging right from wrong in every situation.
Friend, when we sin, we will be held accountable for sin regardless of whether or not it bothered our conscience! Let us follow God’s word as our only standard of authority. When we justify sin by our conscience, we are falling for one of the Devil’s lies!
