Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 2:15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 2:15 They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them |
Subject: Is masturbation wrong? |
Bible Note: Dear NC, Sure conscience weighs in. Although I wouldn't use a culturally charged word like "intuition" to describe it. In this context we must recognize the value of conscience, but also its limitations. Everyone has a conscience, but, for a variety of reasons, it is undependable by itself. My pastor says, "You should never do anything contrary to your conscience, but you should never trust your conscience alone." Let us examine a bit this notion of conscience, in the light of Scripture: The best definition I've read was by David Dickson (1664), "Conscience, as it doth respect ourselves, is the understanding power of our souls examining how matters do stand betwixt God and us, comparing His will revealed, with our state, condition and carriage, in thoughts, words or deeds, done or omitted, and passing judgment thereupon as the case requires." Anthropologically conscience is, apparently, a part of the mind. It weighs our deeds or lack of deeds, stimulating a change in behavior by causing feelings of guilt of varying intensity. Clearly the conscience is influenced by knowledge. I believe this is at least part of what Paul talks about in Romans. However, it is also clear from our own experience that knowledge plays a part (e.g., it is not possible to feel guilty for being late when you've arrived on time). In addition, it appears to be effected partly by chemistry in the body. It can be effected by conditioning -- either good or bad. It is also effected by our spiritual state. We are, indeed, wonderfully and fearfully made! God uses the conscience in the lives of the lost in order to maintain order in the world. (Can you imagine what the world would be like without it?) He also uses the conscience in believers to stimulate them to right behavior. Indeed, in regeneration the conscience becomes highly tuned to the direction by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. An awakened conscience is a sign of God's work in you (John 15:2, Romans 7:4, 1 Timothy 1:5). Maintaining a "pure conscience" strengthens this part of our minds. Scripture commands us to be sensitive to both our own conscience and the conscience of others. In Him, Doc "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason -- I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other -- my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." --Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms "You [believers] will reverence your consciences, and have much to do with them, and will not slight them: when they tell you of God's displeasure, it will disquiet you; when they tell you of His approval, it will comfort you." --Richard Baxter "Truth, received in the love and power of it... informs and establishes the judgment, softens and melts the heart, warms and draws upward the affections, makes and keeps the conscience alive and tender, is the food of faith, is the strength of hope, is the mainspring of love." --J. C. Philpot "We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation." --Cambridge Declaration |