1 Timothy 4:2 “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”
We have seen that everyman has a conscience, believer and unbeliever alike. We have also seen that the conscience only plays one role in the lives of men, howbeit a very important role, which is to convict them to do that which is good and reject that which is evil. So how does the conscience impact the lives of unbelievers? To the extent that the unbeliever chooses to either obey or ignore their conscience, that will determine just how noble or how wicked the unbeliever will eventually become. The above quoted passage of scripture talks about those whose consciences have become seared, and although this passage is specifically referring to believers, the same principle applies in the lives of unbelievers as well. And so, it is possible for the consciences of unbelievers to become completely seared, i.e. completely ineffective in influencing the life of that person. Each time the unbeliever ignores their conscience and continues in sin, it does that much more damage to their conscience. And so it is possible for unbelievers to reach the point where their consciences become completely seared or hardened, and they are then able to freely commit sin to their evil heart’s desire. This explains why some unbelievers become more wicked than others, for some choose to ignore their conscience, while others choose to obey their conscience. Now we can also understand why sometimes we can look at the lifestyle of some unbelievers and compare them to the lifestyles of some believers and, on the surface, the unbeliever seems to be living a more blameless life than the believer. The reason is because some unbelievers are more obedient to their conscience than some believers are. This should not be the case, but sadly it does happen.
Luke 13:1-3 “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. (2) And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
We need to clarify however, that the degree of blamelessness or wickedness that unbelievers attain to in this life due either to obeying or disobeying their conscience does not determine who will and will not be saved, for all unbelievers (noble and wicked alike) are condemned to eternal punishment. For the only sin that condemns those in the world, is the sin of rejecting Jesus as Lord and Saviour (John 16:8-9). Our Lord Jesus taught us that truth in the above quoted passage of scripture when He stated that the degree of righteousness or wickedness attained in this life was not the issue, for all would likewise perish and only those who repented would be saved.
Genesis 6:5-8 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (7) So, the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
The bible teaches us that if mankind continually ignores their conscience that they have the potential to become altogether wicked. The above quoted passage of scripture reveals that particular truth to us, for in this account we see the wicked and evil condition of man before the Lord destroyed the earth by flood. That generation started out with Adam and Eve and grew to a total population of roughly one million people just prior to the flood. It is estimated that from the time Adam came into the earth until the flood occurred, that approximately ten thousand years elapsed. And so we see that it took mankind roughly ten thousand years from Adam to the time of the flood, to degenerate to the point where they had become altogether wicked and only one righteous person remained among them i.e. Noah. Noah was truly one in a million, as the saying goes. Nevertheless a truth is revealed to us from this account, which is that mankind will ultimately become altogether wicked even though God gives them a conscience, and they will inevitably end up having to be destroyed because their wickedness will continue to grow as they continue to override their conscience.
Michael E.B. Maher
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