Conscience is a gift from God, providing human beings with the capacity for accurate self-examination, particularly when aligned with His truth. It serves as an inner moral sense, bearing witness to the rightness or wrongness of one's actions or motives, as seen in Romans 2:14-15, where Gentiles, without the law, show the work of the law written on their hearts, their conscience accusing or excusing them. It reflects a person's current values, responding to internal beliefs about right and wrong, and can provoke guilt or motivate repentance when based on God's truth, or show no remorse when rooted in unrighteous values. Living in all good conscience, as Paul claimed in Acts 23:1, is possible through sincere striving to align with what one perceives as right, though it may not always reflect God's true will, as seen in Paul's pre-conversion actions. A good conscience does not guarantee righteous works, for Paul's zeal against early disciples, though from a clear conscience, opposed God's will. Yet, a Christian conscience, when pricked, should inspire repentance and a willingness to forgive others. While God, not the human conscience, must be the final arbiter of actions, this inner sense aids in decision-making and responding to sin. Subordinating the conscience to His law enhances the likelihood of right-minded self-examination, better decisions, repentance when needed, and maintaining a conscience without offense toward God and men.

Conscience is a complex aspect of human awareness, not merely a recognition of a higher power, but a function shaped by education and life experiences. God has created us with the capacity to develop a conscience, which operates based on the standards and ideals we learn over time. These standards are not inherent at birth but are formed through our interactions and upbringing. As a vital part of free moral agency, conscience either approves or disapproves of our attitudes, actions, or self-judgments. Conscience can be understood as man's moral intuition, passing judgment on his own state. When viewed through divine revelation, it becomes the response of man's moral awareness to what is revealed about himself, his attitudes, and his activities. The intensity of conscience varies among individuals due to differing experiences and levels of understanding of God's ways. Some may have a deeper awareness, while others are at different stages, leading to diverse approaches and feelings about right and wrong. A conscience functions only according to what it knows, particularly in relation to God, based on the knowledge of His moral standards. If a person lacks understanding of these standards, the conscience cannot operate at that level, allowing actions that may be considered evil by divine definition to be performed with a clear conscience. Historical examples demonstrate that a conscience can be so shaped by education as to permit acts of great harm under the belief of serving God. Moreover, a true Christian's conscience can become defiled or contaminated. It adjusts in the direction it is exercised, meaning that repeated sinful behavior can dull the initial feelings of remorse or shame, eventually enslaving the individual to actions they once abhorred. Even without violent rebellion against God, neglect can lead to a gradual hardening of the heart and conscience, making repentance increasingly difficult as sensitivity to right and wrong diminishes. Under the New Covenant, God promises a transformation of the heart and conscience, changing it from hard and resistant to soft, sensitive, and pliable. This conversion process involves softening the heart, removing obstinacy toward God, and fostering a concern for submission to His will. In contrast, an unconverted person's conscience remains hardened, lacking sensitivity to God's ways, while a converted person's conscience grows more tender and discerning of right and wrong through the miracle of conversion. Conscience depends on education and experience, progressing in the direction it is exercised—toward good or evil. If exercised rightly, it becomes increasingly sensitive to divine standards; if wrongly, it condemns the individual for their actions. Conversion is an educational process in the right things, and without it, the conscience adjusts to wrong influences. God does not instill conscience by decree; rather, individuals must make choices, growing one way or another through their conduct. As individuals progress in conversion, the conscience undergoes numerous changes, aligning with God's values. A radical re-orientation of the mind is necessary to reflect His image, adjusting the conscience to become more sensitive to divine perspectives on right and wrong. If exercised in the right direction, the conscience transforms positively; if not, it hardens, moving away from God's standards. Within a community of faith, varying levels of conviction about conduct can create tension and offense due to differences in understanding and background. The conscience of each person must become convicted of the rightness of their approach, though following one's conscience does not inherently make an act righteous unless it aligns with what God would do. A sensitive conscience considers the impact of actions on others, prioritizing love and unity over personal liberty, even when one is theologically correct. The function of conscience is to assess whether actions align with divine law,

Human nature is highly adaptable, and the conscience, as a faculty within us that decides moral rightness or wrongness, adjusts to the environment and culture in which we live. If the culture is morally declining, the conscience can adapt almost subconsciously, accepting standards that were once unthinkable. It takes a conscious effort to resist this downward slide and hold fast to the standards of the Kingdom of God, lest the conscience becomes desensitized to moral and ethical decline. Conscience, meaning "to know inwardly" or "knowledge along with," functions as an exercise of judgment based on certain behavioral standards, combined with a feeling of responsibility. It is a compulsion to do what the mind feels is right, a moral intuition that passes judgment on one's own state, approving or disapproving. It manifests as a sense of moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's conduct, intentions, or character, with an obligation to do right or be good. Biblically, it is the response of man's moral awareness to divine revelation concerning himself, his attitudes, and his activities, feeling obligated to act or refrain based on conformity to an ideal of right or wrong. However, the conscience appears to be entirely a function of one's education and cultural absorption from birth, rather than an inherent set of values installed by God. This is evident in the diversity of moral opinions and cultural standards across the world. The apostle Paul, for instance, acted in good conscience when persecuting Christians, believing his actions were right due to his education, though they were not righteous. His conscience adapted to the incomplete education he had received, showing that sincerity does not guarantee correctness. The danger lies in the adaptability of the conscience to false doctrines or declining moral environments, which can lead it to accept behaviors once deemed unacceptable. If the heart accepts truth, the conscience follows, allowing faith to produce love as the ultimate goal. Yet, if the heart is darkened by rejecting God, the conscience slides downward, permitting lower standards and leading to a reprobate mind devoid of proper judgment. A defiled conscience, polluted by incorrect moral judgments, loses its ability to restrain wrong actions, as seen in examples where individuals in the church exhibited corrupted moral thinking. While one should live according to conscience, trusting it requires evaluation, as it is subject to the education received, which may be incomplete. Historical and cultural examples show that individuals can commit grave acts, feeling justified by their conscience, due to flawed education or cultural norms. Conversion involves a shift in allegiance from flesh to spirit, from the world to the Kingdom of God, requiring a change in the conscience as knowledge of Jesus Christ increases. As growth occurs, the conscience should ascend to meet God's values, becoming more tender and acute in discerning right from wrong. It is not static but a dynamic element that must be protected through spiritual growth to prevent backward slipping. Sin, however, can harden the conscience, petrifying it through a progressive desensitization—from horror at wrongdoing to regret, rationalization, acceptance, and finally indifference or enslavement to sin. This addictive process underscores the need to guard against initial compromises. Feelings tied to the conscience can be misleading, requiring the cognitive mind, educated in God's way, to override deceptive emotions and guide actions toward producing love, aligning with divine standards.