by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Acts 22:22-23:5<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Teaching the difference between right and wrong<\/p>\n
A. Young children have no knowledge of good and evil – Deuteronomy 1:39<\/p>\n
1. As a result, they are not very concerned with matters of right and wrong.<\/p>\n
2. Mom and Dad handle those issues and let you know.<\/p>\n
B. But somewhere along the line it does become an issue.<\/p>\n
1. It means you are growing up.<\/p>\n 2. It is not enough to know this is right or wrong, you want (and need) to\nknow why.\n 3. And this leaves some parents with a quandary. How do you explain what\nyou basically know in simple, logical terms that a young person can\nunderstand.\n
C. Actually it gives adults trouble as well.<\/p>\n 1. More often with the passing years I find that people are growing up\nwithout basic moral training.\n a. To give an example, I had a mother ask if it was all right to lie to\nher daughter’s friend about the fact that her daughter was being\npunished and sent to her room for the afternoon.\n
b. I explained that lying is never proper. <\/p>\n (1) She didn’t owe these children an explanation about her\ndaughter’s punishment.\n (2) Instead of offering a lie, she could have told them that her\ndaughter was unavailable and that they could talk to her\ndaughter the following day.\n c. But, she objected, then her daughter would be forced to lie about\nwhat happened and that’s not good.\n
d. I responded that no one is forced to lie. People chose to lie.<\/p>\n e. “You mean a Christian girl has to be honest about being punished?\nHow embarrassing!”\n
f. Is a wonder? Most people think lying is fine if you have an excuse.<\/p>\n
2. People don’t understand that sex before marriage is wrong.<\/p>\n 3. Over half the country now think there is nothing wrong with\nhomosexuality.\n D. A major problem is that most people have come to rely on their own feelings about\nmatters to determine right and wrong.\n
II. “Let your conscience by your guide”<\/p>\n A. Or as they tell children in school these days, if something makes you feel\nuncomfortable, tell people and don’t do it.\n
B. It is a noble thought, but it presupposes that the conscience is well trained.<\/p>\n
C. The conscience can be wrong<\/p>\n 1. Paul lived in all good conscience while he put Christians in prison and\nconsented to their deaths\n
a. Acts 23:1; 24:16 – Paul’s declaration.<\/p>\n
b. I Timothy 1:12-13 – His true former state.<\/p>\n 2. Some, so long exposed to sin, no longer have a conscience in regard to sin\n– I Timothy 4:2\n
3. Our conscience can be defiled – Titus 1:15<\/p>\n
4. We need to be cleansed of an evil conscience – Hebrew 10:22<\/p>\n
D. We need a good conscience <\/p>\n
1. The commands bring about a good conscience – I Timothy 1:5<\/p>\n
2. Hebrews 13:18 – Confident of having a good conscience<\/p>\n
3. Having a good conscience – I Peter 3:15-16<\/p>\n
III. Our conscience reflects our own thoughts<\/p>\n
A. Proverbs 3:7 – Don’t be wise in your own thoughts<\/p>\n
B. A man cannot direct his own steps – Jeremiah 10:23<\/p>\n
C. The conscience cannot lead to unity as there are many involved<\/p>\n
1. Unity can only be achieved by a single standard- Ephesians 4:5<\/p>\n 2. Thus one may decide to avoid meats and another to eat meats – Romans\n14:2\n a. Each comes to their conclusion in good conscience. They are\nconfident that they are right.\n
b. But it is not their confidence that makes them right – Romans 14:3-4<\/p>\n c. For either to teach that their way must be followed would be\nwrong – Romans 14:10\n
d. The only judgment is God’s – Romans 14:11-12<\/p>\n
D. This is an important point often missed.<\/p>\n
1. It doesn’t matter if you feel you are right<\/p>\n
2. It doesn’t matter if you think you are right<\/p>\n
3. It doesn’t even matter if you are confident you are right<\/p>\n
4. The only thing that matters is what God has decided.<\/p>\n
IV. The conscience does serve a purpose<\/p>\n
A. The conscience should not be ignored<\/p>\n 1. Hopefully our conscience does not permit more than what is allowed, but\nwe are not to act against our conscience either – Romans 14:20-23\n
2. Though wrong, a weak conscience can be defiled – I Corinthians 8:7-13<\/p>\n 3. Notice that the concern is not to be just with our own conscience, but also\nthe conscience of those around us – I Corinthians 10:25-33\n B. Yet, we must always keep in mind that the conscience is trainable and the training\nit receives can be wrong\n
1. The conscience may be a guide, but it cannot be a standard<\/p>\n
2. While it helps the individual decide what he should and should not do<\/p>\n a. The individual must always compare it his decision against God’s\nword for accuracy\n
b. The individual must not impose his conscience on others<\/p>\n C. When the conscience is trained well, it serves as an early warning system – Psalm\n119:11\nV. The existence of the conscience shows that man understands moral decisions – Romans\n2:14-16\n A. No one can ever go before God and say they didn’t know there was a right and\nwrong.\n B. Each person carries judgment of himself within him, however imperfectly trained it\nmay be.\n
C. But there is no excuse to leave the conscience untrained or poorly trained.<\/p>\n
D. God has given us His will – Ephesians 3:1-8<\/p>\n
E. Now is the time to learn of Christ and become his follower.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 22:22-23:5 I. Teaching the difference between right and wrong A. Young children have no knowledge of good and evil – Deuteronomy 1:39 1. As a result, they are not very concerned with matters of right and wrong. 2. Mom and Dad handle those issues and let you know. B. But somewhere along the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[810],"class_list":["post-62050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-conscience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39649,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-conscience\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":0},"title":"My Conscience","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 4:1-5 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Defining your conscience \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A part of every human is an awareness of what he should do in various situations \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your conscience does not determine what is right or wrong \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That is what judgment is for. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Righteous judgment is done by God\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67018,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wrong-is-always-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":1},"title":"Wrong Is Always Wrong","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Richard Thetford In a period of loose and sagging morals, Satan provides many rationalizations for improper behavior. Those who would live faithful Christian lives must not be ignorant of Satan's devices. Paul said, \"...Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.\" Wrong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12297,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-discuss-gut-feelings\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":2},"title":"Can you discuss “gut feelings?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been having some great discussions at Bible study about gut feelings; for example, when some say I have a gut feeling about that person, but we have never met that person. I got a gut feeling about the boy my daughter is dating, or I got a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44896,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-believe-something-is-wrong-and-i-still-do-it-does-it-make-it-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":3},"title":"If I believe something is wrong, and I still do it, does it make it a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that if I believe something is wrong, and I still do it, it makes it a sin? Answer: If we take your statement at face value, we run into a problem. It would mean that men define what is sinful. First, let us understand that sin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":74139,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/morality-from-molecules\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":4},"title":"Morality from Molecules?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Atheists have a sense of right and wrong; as skewed as it is, it is an issue they cannot explain. Where did this sense of ought, moral right and wrong, come from? Do men get to make it up from within their own molecules? If so,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/molecule-300x240.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-we-all-believe-in-right-and-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":62050,"position":5},"title":"Why Do We All Believe in Right and Wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer via InLight Media Across cultures, times, and worldviews, humans share a deep sense of moral obligation-a feeling that some things ought to be done and others ought not. But where does that sense come from? Is morality something we invent as societies\u2026 or is our conscience discovering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Video"","block_context":{"text":"Video","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/video\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}