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A Matter of Conscience

Janet Weaver Smith – copyright 2013 gardenministries.org

Conscience is an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.

Humans have a conscience that holds them accountable to their belief system. Whatever or whomever you believe as “right,” “wrong,” or “unsure” is exactly where your conscience regarding that matter throws down its anchor. It is upon the foundational anchors of who and what we believe (and for some, are told to believe), that we base and support our daily decisions.

Ultimately, what our life produces is the sum total of all of these everyday decisions—big and small. Consider for a moment your lifetime from a beginning-to-end perspective. What anchors your belief system? Does it show a history of proven success? Can you honestly rely on it to promote good character and establish moral well-being? The definition of “moral” is: “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.” Moral literally means the matters of conscience.

The anchoring principle of Christianity is simply put: Be like Jesus. The basis of Christianity is centered on Jesus Christ, the crucified-resurrected-and-ascended Son of the living, triune God. Even if people choose not to personally believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord, what’s not to appreciate about His example of how to live life honorably and successfully? Jesus is selfless. He is full of forgiveness, compassion, and truth. Jesus is empowered by His Father’s grace and is utterly loyal to His family.

If we look at the list of characteristics that describe who Jesus is, it’s easy to see how anchoring our belief system in Him and emulating Him ensures that we will be living within a belief system to which our conscience will actually feel anchored. By “feel,” we mean that we literally get to feel the benefits of believing Jesus through “feelings” of love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, etc. With such solid anchoring, we can begin trusting our conscience to prompt us positively or negatively when we are making our daily or major life decisions. Having this kind of inner guidance is priceless—especially in a world of ever-escalating problems and confusion.

Jesus can be trusted to base our belief system upon. His life reflects why.

I Peter 2:21-24; to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Romans 14:12; So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Even believing Christians need to be regularly reminded of Who they are called to emulate, and that is Jesus. When believers lose track of and stop believing Jesus and His Word, and become self-protective, self-righteous, and entitled, they become “veiled” and prejudiced and quickly lose clarity of conscience. That’s when their decision-making can go awry. But 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 points the way back, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

God’s grace ensures that every believing Christian will become more and more like the One whom they rely upon—their Savior and Lord—Jesus Christ.

The following is a list from God’s word, the Bible. It describes what Jesus proved as true about Himself, and by His grace, calls believers in Him to emulate:

Characteristics of Jesus for us to emulate

• Love (John 13:1; 1 Corinthians 13:3-7)
• Joy (Nehemiah 8:10; John 15:11)
• Peace (Matthew 5:9; Philippians 4:7)
• Patient (I Corinthians 13:4; Hebrews 6:12, Romans 12:12)
• Kind (Colossians 3:12, 2 Timothy 2:24)
• Good (Galatians 5:19)
• Faithful (Matthew 25:21; 1 Thessalonians 5:24)
• Gentle (Isaiah 40:11; Philippians 4:5)
• Self-Controlled (Proverbs 16:32)
• Forgiving (Luke 23:34; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13)
• Humble (1 Peter 5:3–5; Luke 22:27; Philippians 2:8)
• Courageous (Deuteronomy 31:6)
• Great friend (John 13:1-5)
• Honest & Truthful (Proverbs 16:13)
• Thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• Responsible (Romans 14:12)
• Content (Philippians 4:10–13; 1 Timothy 6:6–9)
• Generous (Psalm 112:5)
• Pure & Holy (Matthew 5:8; Philippians 4:8; Hebrews 12:14)
• Confident (Philippians 4:13; 1 John 5:14)
• Encouraging (Psalm 119:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:11–14)
• Available (Mark 1:17–18; Acts 16:10)
• Attentive (Hebrews 2:1)
• Wise (1 Kings 3:9; Psalm 119:97–98)
• Compassionate (Mark 1:41; 1 Peter 3:8)
• Enthusiastic (Colossians 3:23, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
• Excels (Proverbs 22:29; Philippians 3:14)
• Diligent (Proverbs 10:4; Rom. 12:11; Colossians 3:23)
• Thoughtful (Philippians 2:4)
• Efficient (Psalm 90:12; Ephesians 5:15–16)
• Optimistic and Hopeful (John 16:33; Romans 8:25)
• Obedient (John 14:23-24; 2 Corinthians 10:5)
• Respectful of those in government (1 Peter 2:13–14)
• Agreeable (Amos 3:3)
• Honoring of others (Romans 12:10)
• Manages anger (James 1:19)
• Good Example (I Peter 2:21-24)
• Childlike Faith (Matt. 18:2–4)
• Commitment (1 Timothy 6:20)
• Good Communicator (1 Timothy 4:12)
• Conviction (Daniel 1:8)
• Seeks Unity (Eph. 4:3)
• Creative (1 Timothy 4:14)
• Diligence (Colossians 3:23)
• Dependable (Colossians 1:10)
• Determined (2 Timothy 4:7,8)
• Deferring (Romans 12:10)
• Devotion (1 Corinthians 7:35)
• Discernment (1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 19:2)
• Discreet (Proverbs 2:11)
• Disciplined (Colossians 2:5)
• Decisive, Acts in God’s Will (Romans 12:2)
• Speaks truth, not slander (Ephesians 4:15)
• Endurance (Romans 15:5)
• Fearless (2 Timothy 1:7)
• Take the High Road (Colossians 3:2)
• Godly Priorities (Matthew 6:33)
• Godliness (3 John 1:11)
• Grace (James 4:6)
• Guidance (Proverbs 27:9)
• Honest (Proverbs 22:20-22)
• Hospitable (Romans 12:13)
• Integrity (Psalm 78:72)
• Just (2 Thessalonians. 1:6)
• Loyalty (Proverbs 17:17)
• Meek (Matthew 11:27-29)
• Merciful (Luke 6:36)
• Persevering (Galatians 6:9)
• Purposeful (I John 3:8)
• Respectful (1 Thessalonians. 5:13–14)
• Submissive (John 5:19)
• Self-Acceptance (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)
• Selflessness (Titus 2:14)
• Sensitivity (Romans 12:15)
• Servant Leadership (Luke 22:26)
• Suffering (1 Peter 4:1-2)


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