The great attorney, orator, and statesman Daniel Webster was such an imposing figure in court that he once stared a witness out of the courtroom. Apparently, Webster knew the man was there to deliver false testimony, so he fixed his “dark, beetle-browed” eyes on the man and searched him. According to the story, later in the trial “Webster looked around again to see if [the witness] was ready for the inquisition. The witness felt for his hat and edged toward the door. A third time Webster looked on him, and the witness could sit no longer. He seized his chance and fled from the court and was nowhere to be found.” ¹ That man ran out of the courthouse because his conscience was feeling guilty about the lie he was getting ready to tell. His spirit was trying to speak to the man. His conscience was trying to get him not to do it. Your conscience will do the same. It will try to lead you out of wrongdoing. Learning to listen to it is a part of growing up in God. Four Things that Will Prick Your Conscience, that’s this week’s Light on Life.

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Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This weeks call is:

Tune into the inner promptings of your heart. Talk to God about them. Ask Him questions. Pray about what you are sensing. Above all do not turn a deaf ear to what you have down on the inside of your heart.

Join the Conversation

Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: Besides what you’ve heard or read here, what have you learned about following your conscience? Please leave your comments in the comments section below.

Episode Resources

You can find more information on the subject of the Spirit-Led Life by clicking on the links above.

1. #S1-001: Does the Holy Spirit Speak Today?[Podcact]
2. #S1-002: Being Led by Peace Conscience and the Inward Witness

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Podcast Notes

Lack of Godly Sincerity will Prick Your Conscience

2 Corinthians 1:12 (ESV): 12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

• Refresh yourself once again with the words of Paul’s testimony.
• He said his conscience sided in with the fact that he lived and conducted himself in a holy manner.
• The witness also sided in with the fact that he lived with godly sincerity.
• Again, it’s good to define terms.
• The Greek word ‘sincerity’ means the quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech.
• It implies the absence of airs or pretense.
• The picture is of a person who is what he says he is and does what he says he will do.
• Boastful people need not apply here.
• Those who try and portray themselves as bigger than they are also need not apply.
• Pretentiousness will trigger your conscience because it’s source is pride.
• It stinks of the flesh and is unbecoming for any child of God.
  • But, it’s more than just pride.
  • A pretentious person is prone to exaggeration.
  • Exaggeration is just plain old lying.
  • It should produce a grudge alert.

Walking in Earthly Wisdom Will Prick the Conscience

• The next trigger for your conscience, found in Second Corinthians One, is earthly wisdom.
• Earthly wisdom is fleshly wisdom.
• It’s the wisdom of this age.

1 Corinthians 1:18–20 (ESV): 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

• Fleshly wisdom is finite wisdom which is any accumulation of knowledge derived without respect to divine revelation.
• In fact, the wisdom of this world is opposed to Divine heaven sent revelation.
• Consider the following examples.
  • Does it make sense to build a boat of gigantic proportions when all you’ve known your whole life is a little rain here and there?
  • What about meeting a strong army with praise, a couple of guitars and a tambourine as your only weapon?
  • How about cutting your fighting army from 32000 men to 300 when going to a war against an army whose numbers are described as the sand by the seaside for multitude?
  • Is it logical to counsel a father to sacrifice his only begotten son, a son he waited almost 100 years to father?
  • Does that make any sense to you?
  • What about leaving the comforts of home in a peaceful country to end up living as a nomad in tents in the middle of the desert?
  • Would you do that?
  • Was it reasonable for a fugitive wanted for murder to return in the country where he is wanted and demand the President of the nation to release all of his kin?
  • Does the phrase, ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists come to mind’ in this case?
  • Is it logical to conquer a huge and highly fortified city by just walking around it a few times and blowing trumpets?
  • Is it believable that a man could walk on water as the best mode of transportation in the middle of a tsunami-like storm?
  • Can you fathom a child taking on a fully grown, highly trained, ninja assassin, navy zeal type bad boy, heavily decked in the latest technological weaponry of the day and all you have to fight with is a small rock, a rubber band, and a tiny stick?
  • Are you out there or have you gone home?
• You see the wisdom of God is so superior to earthly fleshly wisdom generated in the university halls of man.

1 Corinthians 3:18–20 (KJV)— 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

• So, ask yourself, ‘Why would the Holy Spirit, who has all superior knowledge, leave you alone, when He knows what stupid thing you’re getting ready to do?
• No, He’s going to prick your heart, man.
• He is Ultimate Love.
• Ultimate Love will warn you if you are going down a path will lead you off a cliff.
• You say that you want God’s best, right?
• You’ve expressed your desires to God on this order.
• And then, why let your mind argue against the witness of heaven?

Not Operating in the Grace of God Will Prick the Conscience

• The three negative ways of operating in life, found in in 2 Corinthians 1:12, not living in holiness, not walking in honesty, and operating in worldly wisdom are set in juxtaposition to flowing in the grace of God.
  • Grace is the place you want to be.
  • Your heart will have peace when you move according to God’s grace.

When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, “Guilty, or not guilty? “When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, “That’ll be ten dollars; a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.” Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. “You have violated the law,” he said. “The fine must be paid, but I am going to pay it for you.” He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! “That,” said Billy Graham, “is how God treats repentant sinners!”

• Grace is God’s operational power.
• It’s God’s life-giving favor.
• Grace is moving in His ability instead of your ability.
• It’s working for God because you are saved not working to try and get saved.
• Grace is free.
• No charge to you Grace comes from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
• So, leaning on His Grace is leaning on the finished work of Jesus.
• Finished is the keyword.
• It means there is nothing more you need to add.
• When you try and add to the work of Jesus, when you are not operating by His Grace, your conscience will let you know.
• The Spirit of God will alert you.
• Here are some more verses where the conscience is referenced and more areas where the voice of your spirit will bear witness.

2 Corinthians 4:2 (KJV)— 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

• Notice the phrase ‘the hidden things of dishonesty.’
• The word for dishonesty here means to be shamefully underhanded.
  • Add to that the idea of being “hidden from other people”.
  • So, what we have here is deceit in the dark.
  • This is ‘not visible to the eye underhanded stuff’’.
• We already looked a little bit at dishonesty when we looked at the quality of lacking in godly sincerity.
• It’s amazing how believers in Jesus can be caught up in underhanded business deals.
• Where is your conscience in all of this?

Walking in Craftiness Will Prick the Conscience

• Craftiness is cunning deceitfulness.
• Cunning which is characterizing by an especially wicked character.
• Here are some synonyms for craftiness.
  • trickery,
  • deception,
  • fraud,
  • deceitfulness,
  • dishonesty,
  • deviousness,
  • cheating,
  • double-dealing,
  • guile,
  • hoodwinking,
  • duplicity,
  • underhandedness
• It’s planned bad behavior.
• There’s nothing accidental about this type of dealing.
• Can see the mercy of God a bit more now when you read a verse like the ones we are studying in Corinthians?
• Here’s the Spirit of God; He is trying to lead you out of these kinds of dealings.
• He’s checking your heart about it.
• The Spirit’s pricking your conscience.
• You don’t want to resist Him in these areas because we have a record from the Word of God about the wicked who live in these areas.

Job 5:13 (ESV) — 13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

• Who are these wise people that God catches and confuses in their own schemes?
• Well, it’s the ungodly worldly wise.
• It’s those who are wise in the schemes and plots of planet earth instead of the peaceable wisdom of planet heaven.
• Schemes, you understand schemes.
• You know that word.
• This is how the world carries on.

Ephesians 4:14 (KJV) — 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Handling the Word of God Deceitfully Will Prick the Conscience

• Paul said believers are to renounce the hidden things of dishonesty.
• The word renounce means expressing strong disapproval especially to distance oneself from the thing denounced.
• In other words, you take down on this type of behavior but you just talk you do something.
• You make space between yourself and the potential of engaging in the kind of behavior that is pricking your heart.
• With that though there’s the quote of the day.
• One gentleman said, ‘The talking about the thing is not the thing. The doing of the thing, that’s the thing.
• So, here’s another area where you have to watch your heart: the intentional falsifying of the Good News of Jesus Christ with the intent of deception.
• It’s on purpose mutilating God’s great plan of redemption.
• It happens all the time.
• Every cult on which has ever gained a footing on planet earth has some come via overriding the Spirit of God in this area.
• People want to be seen.
• They want to make a name for themselves.
• All for the love of the money they can scalp from those who they can deceive.
• But even if you are pure and honest in your efforts to spread the Word and build the Kingdom, the Spirit of can and will at times alert you when you unintentionally misrepresent God’s Word.
• The whole key is being honest and watching your heart.

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