“You must be a good dancer,” I commented after observing a young man glide to music with different skating partners.

“I’ve never danced.” He explained that he’d grown up in a church that prohibited dancing. If he wanted to move to music and not violate his conscience, he had to put on skates.

Paul wrote that everyone is born with some sense of right and wrong (Romans 2:14-15). However, the conscience is an imperfect barometer of sin. We can sear it, suppress it, and overly sensitize it. If we override it often enough, like feet calloused from going barefoot, it becomes so hard that it no longer twinges at wrong. 

A healthy conscience is shaped by faith and is sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s correction. Romans 14:1-2 shows that weak faith limits our choices. Paul cautioned those with strong faith to respect fellow believers whose faith is weak. To encourage the skater to violate his conscience by dancing would have been wrong. The Bible tells us to live within the limits of our faith. 

However, as our faith grows, our consciences may stretch. If the skater came to believe he was free before God to dance, he could dance in faith. If he felt uncomfortable the first time he danced, his conscience would be clean because the righteous “live by faith” (Romans 1:17; 14:22-23). We must train our consciences to align with biblical faith instead of our fickle feelings or other people’s standards.

A clean conscience is a precious gift.

A Condemning Conscience

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NIV).

A healthy conscience sounds an alarm to protect us from regret and harm when we start to cross a wise limit (Proverbs 8:36). A stricken conscience tells us we’ve failed to live up to what we knew to be right. Yet feelings can lie.

While the Holy Spirit corrects us, He never condemns us (Romans 8:34). Feelings of condemnation may come from living under critical authority figures or our own perfectionistic tendencies and sensitivities. Holy Spirit correction is specific and beneficial, but condemnation can be vague, shaming, and paralyzing.

“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NLT).

A Clear Conscience

“Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ” (1 Peter 3:16, NLT).

A friend once remarked he wanted to get even with someone who’d wronged him. “Don’t do it,” I warned. “God won’t let you get away with it. And then you’ll have to apologize.” No matter how badly we’ve been wronged, God wants us to keep a clear conscience.

Trust the One Who’s Greater than Your Conscience

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV).

We all mess up. God has provided a way to cleanse our hearts. Nobody has to live in regret once they know Jesus (Hebrews 9:9, 14; 10:22; 13:18). If our conscience continues to accuse us after we’ve confessed our sins, we trust God, not our conscience.

“Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20, NLT).

A clean conscience is a precious gift. But our consciences are flawed. As mentioned, we may feel blameless and be guilty. Sometimes, our consciences point accusing fingers when we’ve done nothing wrong. Christ, not our feelings, must be the judge of whether our consciences are on point. Guilty feelings don’t necessarily represent the Holy Spirit’s correction. Here’s a personal example.

Accusing and Confusing Feelings

At a women’s event, I noticed two strangers talking in a corner of the room. I smiled and introduced myself. One withered me with her glare. The other responded, but her eyes held no warmth. What had I done to offend them? I wondered.

Later in the evening I tried again. Maybe I’d interrupted some private conversation the first time. I walked over and thanked them for coming. The hostile one squashed every attempt I made to converse. I left searching my memory for what I’d done to offend these women. That encounter haunted me for three days. Had I been too forward or insensitive? Did I need to apologize? If so, for what?

Later that week, a friend invited me to lunch. She brought up her experience with these women. Their palpable animosity had left her questioning herself too.

Both of our consciences had joined forces with two strangers’ rudeness and accused us. Rationally, we knew we hadn’t wronged anyone, but our emotions whispered: You must have done something.

A Better Barometer

“My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Corinthians 4:4, NIV).

The Apostle Paul kept a clear conscience but didn’t rely on it. The Lord was his judge. Jesus is a better corrector than our consciences. His clear and specific corrections don’t leave us in a fog of uncertainty like my feelings with the two women. 

The same words that ignited faith in some unleashed murder in others. Like them, we can learn to live with others’ criticisms.

It’s taken me a while to separate someone’s disapproval from the Holy Spirit’s correction. Jesus and the apostles outraged many, but not because they mishandled situations. The same words that ignited faith in some unleashed murder in others. Like them, we can learn to live with others’ criticisms. 

As we walk by faith our consciences will hopefully become more in tune with the Holy Spirit. But we must remember, God is greater than our consciences. Sometimes pleasing Him may offend our consciences, especially when our obedience draws criticism from someone we respect. A clear conscience is a gift but not our judge. Jesus’ approval and correction outrank a clear conscience. Make pleasing Him your aim.