Conscience
Teaching on the conscience is relatively sparse in Scripture. The topic occurs in only a few passages in Paul’s letters so many Christians are either uninformed about the conscience or perhaps confused. How vital is it to the Christian life and what is Scripture’s teaching on it? In a sermon dedicated entirely to key questions regarding the conscience, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones posits that the apostle Paul’s teaching on the conscience is one of the most important subjects for the family of God. In his sermon on Romans 14:14–16 titled “Conscience,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones brings related passages on the conscience together in order to evaluate key terms and answer basic questions on the conscience. Drawing from Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 10, Dr. Lloyd-Jones analyzes the context of strong and weak Christians on matters of opinion. With regards to these indifferent matters, the conscience is ultimate. Christians are not to exercise their liberty in such a way that it comes under the condemnation of another believer’s conscience. Disregarding another’s conscience or one’s own can have devastating results. As such, Dr. Lloyd-Jones looks in-depth at Scriptural teaching on a defiled and seared conscience. Finally, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides listeners with the two main functions of the conscience in the Christian life.
