All right, remember that what
we are reading from is in the midst of a parentheses, Paul,
or rather in our English King James versions of the Bible,
verses 13 through verse 16 are bracketed, are in parentheses,
as Paul expands upon a thought and takes it even further. And
here's his thought. For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these having not the law, are a law unto themselves. Now let's
look at that again. The Gentiles have not the law,
when they do by nature the things contained in the law, having
not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one
another. Now I said we want to study this
subject, or this facet of conscience, and that is that conscience is
a witness, a mighty witness to the being and the existence of
Almighty God. Now we come into this study to
consider two very important functions of the conscience in man, though
we mention them briefly in the end of our last study. That is, that conscience is a
witness to the being of God, and conscience is that which
so often charges guilt upon people and makes them feel guilty for
what they have done or what they have not done. Now as we look,
we see that both aspects of the conscience that we wish to study
or consider are set forth here in the Romans chapter 2 text
of our scripture. Number 1, that there is an innate
notion of deity in the inner part of man. And we see this
in verse 14. When the Gentiles do by nature
the things contained in the law. And when they do that, verse
15, it is showing the work of the law written upon their heart. Now they do the things that are
contained in the law. Not all of them, in fact not
most of them, and not perfectly, and not perpetually. But second,
we have also another facet here, that conscience produces guilt.
And this is declared in the 15th verse of Romans chapter 2. Conscience
bearing witness, their thoughts accusing. Accusing their thoughts
accusing them out of conscience based upon the foundation of
the work of the law that is written in their heart. Here's what we
have. When conscience applies the law to man's deeds and judges
them by the law, conscience then passes sentence against them,
that is, it accuses them based upon the work of the law that
is written in their heart. Now to consider again how conscience
does this, that is, it witnesses to the being and the existence
of God, I want us to remember the quotation that we took from
Sharnock in our last study. Quote, Man witnesses to a God
in the operations and reflections of conscience, unquote. That
is, that the operation and the existence of conscience in the
human family is a strong, in fact undeniable, confirmation
of the existence and the being of God. That conscience is absolutely
useless if there is no God to which it must answer? How can
there be such a thing as conscience that accuses and excuses except
there is a God who is sovereign over the work of that conscience,
that its convictions are groundless apart from the existence of God? These things of guilt and convictions
that people have about their sin and their shortcomings are
groundless apart from a God to whom we must give an account
and answer in the day of judgment. So if there is no God, then the
conscience is certainly without a due authority to press upon
us to be religious or to abstain from some way of conduct or to
perform other acts towards ourselves and towards others. So that if
there is no God, its terrifyings are false if there is no God
to fear. Its scruples are baseless if
there is no work of the law of God to answer and to walk by. And its scruples baseless if
there is no such thing as a God that requireth these things of
mankind. And its peace is deceptive if
there is no God to pardon and to put away their sin. Now I
think we said, close to the end of our first study last week,
that its existence witnesses to the being of God, its accusing
evidence the omnipresent of God, its fears the justice of God,
and its approbations the mercy, the goodness, and the forgiveness
of God. Now, it is an awesome thing for
us to realize, as we take the Scripture, that Scripture speaks
unto us of two great witnesses that God has given to His existence. Acts 14, 17 says that God left
not Himself without a witness. That is, He left not Himself
unattested. He left not Himself without a
witness of His being. There is a two-fold witness.
set forth in the Scripture to the existence and the being of
God. And these two witnesses that
we meet with in the Scripture, one witnesses powerfully from
without, and the other witnesses powerfully from within. And together they form an undeniable,
indisputable witness of the being of God. Now, by them both he
leaves not himself unattested. He gives a witness from without
and a witness from within to his being and to his law and
to his attributes and such like. Now, both of these witnesses
are universal. And by that I mean that they
are attestable to everyone in the world. Everyone upon this
planet that has ever lived or will ever live shall be witnessed
to by these two great witnesses that God has left. What are they? Well, I'd like to name first
creation. Creation is a mighty witness
to the being and the existence of God. Creation supposes a creator
who created all things that we now see and behold. Can anything
make itself? That is a ridiculous supposition
indeed, that anything can make itself. Can anything bring itself
into existence? What can exist except there be
some that cause it to exist and make it or create it? Now there
are two very clear passages of scripture in the book that declare
by holy writ that there exists for us a witness in creation
to the being and existence of God. Now those two passages are
Psalms chapter 19 and then we come back to Romans chapter 1.
If you'd like to read along with me, Psalms chapter 19, for our
first witness of creation. And we'll read verses 1 through
verse 3. And the psalmist has written
here that creation witnesses to the being of God and declares
His glory. Here it is. The heavens declare
the glory of God. and the firmament showeth his
handiwork. We look upon it and we see the
glory of God. We behold it and we see there
the handiwork of God. And Paul will tell us in Romans
1 that it gives us a certain knowledge. We'll look at it in
a moment. But now look at the second verse, please. Day unto
day uttereth speech. And night unto night showeth
knowledge. Now look at verse 3. There is
no speech or language where their voice is not heard. That is the
voice of creation. The voice of that that God has
made. Now coming to Romans chapter
1, Paul has it here for a particular reason. And we take up here in
Romans chapter 8 with verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness of men
who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Now watch verse 19, 20, and 21. Because that which may be known
of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it to them. In them is literally to them,
for that which may be known is manifest to them, for God hath
showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse. because that when they knew God,
they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful, but became
vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened. And then, in the remainder of
chapter 1 of Romans, We have the account of the birth of paganism
by the casting off of the knowledge that God revealed to Himself
in creation. Now this paganism grew out of
a perversion of God's revelation that He made in creation, that
is declared in verse 19 and in verse 20. Now this is a witness
unto all people, wherever they might live. in whatever time
frame or period they might live, whatever language they might
speak, whatever tribe they might belong to, or whatever religion
they might follow, the created universe stands before all as
an outward witness and testimony to the being and existence of
God. Now to pray, men seek the silence,
the voice of creation as a testimony for God, by contending for evolution
or something other ungodly like unto it. But we want to come
to the second great witness of God, and of course you've already
guessed that it is the conscience. It is creation from without,
it is conscience from within. Conscience is the voice from
within. Which conscience, in many things,
becomes the voice of God as it cries out in our breast. Now
the operation of conscience is a proof that there exists one
to whom the conscience is accountable. The operations and reflections
of conscience are a clear witness that the conscience itself is
not a sovereign but is answerable unto another who is. For in this
regard there are two things that are true. A. There is a rule
of right and wrong that are kept up by the work of conscience
in the individual. Notice again verse 15, that thoughts
accusing are else excusing. There is a law, there is a knowledge,
there is a perception, of right and wrong. And then B, there
is in the natural conscience a fear of punishment for those
things that conscience condemns. And this shows the work of the
law written in their heart. Now consider this argument, if
you would. If anyone can pronounce a thing
wrong. Now if you have the word wrong
in your vocabulary and you look at something or you hear something
you say to yourself or to others that is wrong. Or if you say
on the other hand there is a standard of what is right and what is
acceptable. Now if any recognize a thing
to be right or a thing to be wrong, wherein is born this distinction
in the reasonings of men? How can we say this is right
or this is wrong? And how do the thoughts accuse
and excuse except there be a God to whom all these things are
related, particularly the work of the law written in the heart. Now, when one makes the distinction
between right and wrong, that is, what is fit to be done and
what is not fit to be done, it shows exactly what Paul has said
here in our text of the Scripture, that there resides in man the
distinction in conscience between right and wrong, that there resides
in the conscience a notion of good and evil, distinctions regarding
what is right and what is wrong. Not only recognizing such to
be in existence, but it actually makes moral judgments based upon
the work of the law written in the heart of the individual.
Now, this is a question that I want us to consider along this
line. Do we not find almost everyone
we know making such distinctions about right and wrong? Do we
not find everyone that will pronounce a certain thing wrong? Now these
are not necessarily religious people. They do not necessarily
flee to the scripture and say, thus saith the word of the Lord,
this is wrong. But they still pronounce things
right and things wrong. Even atheists, or professing
atheists, use the word wrong and right in their description
of human behavior. But if an atheist, for example,
says that something is wrong and not to be done, or if an
atheist should speak of guilt or of people having guilt, how
can these things be if there is no God? How can anything be
wrong? If there is no God, if there
is no moral law, if there is no judgment, if there is no hell,
how is it that people can say, I have done wrong? Or people
can say, I have sinned? Now, the very presence of conscience
is a testimony, I say, to the existence of God. It witnesses
to the being of God in the operations and reflections of conscience.
But the ground of it, the make-up of it, the constitution of it
in man, that is, man has a conscience, and upon his heart is written
the fragmentary law of God. For example, let's look at it
another way. There is no such impression in
the beast. We do not find the work of conscience
in the lower beast. We do not see them giving evidence
that the law of God is written upon their heart. There is in
them no consciousness of right and of wrong. The law of God
is not written upon their constitution, and there is no conscience in
them to be a monitor of their conduct. And because of that,
they have absolutely no sense of guilt. They have absolutely
no sense of right or of wrong. They're not possessed with a
sense of being a sinner or have sinned against the law of God.
They're never seized with fear. They're never seized by the pangs
of conscience. They never tremble or fear their
death or a coming judgment. They have no conscious soul that
has the makeup that man does. Again, there are no conscious
impressions of God possessed by the inanimate creation. a
rock, or a tree, or such things as that have no impression, for
they lack the senses, they lack the reasoning, and they lack
the feeling with which God has endowed man. But on the other
hand, God has endowed man with senses and with conscience. He has reasoning, he has intellect,
he has a mind, and upon which impressions can be made with
regard to the existence of God, right and wrong, worship and
moral judgments and such like. Otherwise, none could believe
in God, even in a natural way, and the light would go out completely
and totally if God did not maintain in man these senses that come
into play by the operations and reflections of conscience. Here's
something I want us to consider. Number one, is not this work
of conscience like creation's voice a universal one? Is not
the voice of conscience heard wherever people are? in every
land, every creed, every place, every tongue. Its voice is going
out through all of the world, and like creation, it is heard
wherever there are men to hear it. Its voice goes to the end
of the world, and unlike creation, it cries out within. It does
its work within. The Puritan said, all over the
world, conscience has shot its darts." Certainly that is true. Wherever we find people, we will
find the fiery darts and the arrows of conscience, so that
there is hardly a person in any corner of the world, but at some
time or another, by some act or another, by some degree or
another, has been smitten by the fiery arrows and convictions
of an accusing conscience. And this stands true whether
it be a prince, or a pauper, whether it be the moralist or
the most debauched of the world, whether it be the Jew or the
Gentile, whether it be the legalist or the antinomian, whether it
be the pagan idolater or the professed God-fearing man, whether
it be the lost or the saved, there yet is that voice that
works within, sometimes only by natural light, but then again
by supernatural light and the enlightening of the Spirit of
the Lord and the Word of God. Secondly, I want us to consider
that conscience charges every person in whom it works with
shortcomings. Each person falls short of the
light that they have reflected in their natural conscience.
Have you ever heard anybody say, you know I'm better than I ought
to be? You never hear that. I'm a lot better than I should
be. But we have heard a lot of people say, I'm not what I ought
to be. And we hear that confession even
naturally. Who claims perfection? Except
they're under an additional delusion of one kind or another. either
of their making or of religion's making, none ever claim perfection. Where is the fool that says that
he has no moral shortcomings, none whatsoever? Who is there
that measures up even to that law written in the heart by the
very finger of God. And even if some claim that they
have no moral depravity, it does not mean that such a claim is
true. Rather, it means that the conscience
is seared to a greater degree than others are, than most. Even suppose one in whom conscience
is dead or is seared, as Paul talks about later in the scripture,
in whom conscience is greatly diminished as to its work and
conviction. Even if we found one like that
who says, I don't fear anything about my sin and I don't fear
anything about my moral lack. or whatever. It does not follow
that there is no such a thing as conscience, because some have
no conscience of sin, any more than it would follow that there
is no such thing as a mind, because some people have lost the mind
that they were endowed or born with. Again, I want to say that
conscience is one of the strongest testimonies and arguments that
can be found for the existence of God. Now, many would want
to go to the laboratory to prove God and get their labs and their
vials and their chemicals and such like, but there is no stronger
testimony to the existence of God than that work and reflection
of conscience. And you see, the reason is because
the reflections and the work, the operation of conscience has
its foundation in one fact alone that it is answerable to an almighty
and a sovereign God, and that is that the conscience is the
deputy of God and that it is answerable unto him. Now it is
this, the fact that it is answerable to God, that God has written
the law in the heart or the work of the law in our heart, it is
this that puts the whip in the hand of conscience. It is this
that lets conscience scourge with an authority, because God
is the one who hath created it and hath established its operation. God is its sovereign judge. And this is why the wicked are
like the troubled sea when it cannot rest. casting up mire
and dirt, as we see a picture of the sea, Isaiah 57 and verse
20. This is why Solomon said that
the wicked flee when no man is pursuing, that they have a fear
when there's no cause. to have a fear or at least outward
cause. Conscience is why even a Pharaoh
and even a Judas confessed to being sinners in the sight of
God. This is why both of them could
say, I have sinned. And this is why though there
is pleasure in sin for a season, yet there is also torment and
disquietedness in a continual life of sin. There is no peace
in sinning unless the conscience is seared or greatly diminished.
This is why there is no real true peace outside of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. For God has appointed the blood
of the Lord to be that which justifies our conscience. And
the blood applied to our conscience is that that brings us to a proper
and a settled peace. The conscience has but one thing
to sedate it and to give it peace, and that is the absence of accusing,
accusations, and condemnations for sin. The conscience will
be at peace only in one state, and that is when there is a complete
absence of the condemning accusation of sin. And how is that attained?
in one way only, by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed
upon the cross of Calvary. He purged our conscience, it
says in the book of Hebrews, something that the blood of beasts
and animals could never do. And so the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ applied to the conscience is the thing that takes away
the condemning power of the conscience and gives us a good conscience
in the sight of God, purged of evil works. that we stand in
the sight of God uncondemned. Now this is evidence of the existence
of God in another way, I believe, and that is that conscience continues
in spite of all of the attempts to eradicate it. My, would you
look back over the history of the world, how many ways, to
what degree, How many times mankind has tried to eradicate the voice
and the work of conscience? How many things there are to
try to stifle it? How many stratagems there are
to try to extinguish conscience? How many religious works there
are to try to bribe it into peace, to suppress its testimony, to
quiet it down, to make it be silent? stop its crying voice
of accusation. What remedies have been employed
over the centuries in an attempt to extinguish the accusing, disturbing
fires of conscience? Here are some. Atheism, legalism,
moralism, good works, false religion, psychology and psychiatry. These
modern opiates for the guilt that resides in the conscience
are not a success. They are not able to quiet it
down completely. Still the reflections The impressions,
still the operations, the conviction, the fears, the dread, the guilt
continue in the conscience of men in spite of all the opiates
that they have taken to still this accusing voice Yet it continues
its work of accusation. What is the reason for that?
What is the reason that conscience is not able to be extinguished
out? The reason is that conscience
is a part of man's nature. And to be rid of conscience,
man must shed himself of his nature, because conscience is
a very part of that nature. And as sure as one possesses
humanity or human nature, so sure are they to have this conscience
that we are talking about that is a witness of God, so that
one must rid himself completely. of human nature to rid himself
of conscience or one must rid himself of God completely in
order that he might be rid of conscience that accuses and condemns. Now the failure of mankind to
extinguish the voice and conviction of conscience is a testimony
to the being of God just like creation is. Everywhere we look
creation is witnessing to God And everywhere men are in a crowd
where they're happy or alone, where they are reflecting upon
the misery that brood within, conscience is giving out its
voice. Conscience is preaching. Conscience
is acting. Conscience is accusing in the
name of God. Why not? It's answerable to God
who hath created all things. If conscience be eradicated,
man would cease being a rational creature and that immediately. And it would be the end of all
civility as we now know it. The world would become a literal
hell in a public stew if conscience should be eradicated out of all
at one and the same time. But it would mean something else.
It would mean the end of all religion if conscience were extinguished
or eradicated out of man. All religion would be gone, both
true and false, because, as Sharnock expressed it, conscience is the
foundation of all religion." Now, that's why our study is
so important on the conscience. Have you never considered it
in that light? Now's the time to do so. The conscience is the
foundation of all religion. Why do we do this? We find idolaters. We find them worshiping. We find
that people had rather make them a god than to be without a god.
And we find that they will make one and then another. With no
Christian instruction, without the scripture, because you see
there are a lot of people who say religion is simply the opiates
of the mass and it's because they have been instructed and
indoctrinated in such things. Why then, where Christianity
has never been or proclaimed its message, Do we find people
worshiping something in the form of a God rather than being totally
atheistic? Conscience is the foundation
of all religion. Now, if conscience were gone,
so then would be the fear of God, the guilt for sinning, the
terror of death and judgment, and any hope of conversion would
be gone. Because, you see, God uses conscience
in driving us to our conversion. Gone would be any semblance of
civility and morality. As wicked as men are now in the
world, it would be a hundred or thousand times worse if conscience
should die out and the flicker and the flame of conscience would
go out in all people upon the face of the earth. Let me ask
you a question. Who are those to be most feared
in our society? Who do you fear the most? Is
it the God-fearing man who walks according to the Scripture, loves
God, attends church, and worships God? Who is it that you fear
the most? I want to say to you that it
is those with a seared conscience that you fear the most. It is
those who murder for pleasure without the slightest blink of
an eye. who lie with no twinge of remorse
whatsoever, who give themselves to lust without restraint and
without shame. And sometimes we say of such
people, they must be without a conscience. We attach it, or
we make the connection between these two things. But lest we
forget the torments of conscience, and I want you to get this point,
will accompany the wicked even in the state of eternal torment."
Even in the state of eternal torment. What is it that will
be so grievous unto those that perish in the lake of fire? Where
like the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, conscience will be heated seven
times hotter. than ever before while they lived
in this life. I believe that this will no doubt
be a major part of that punishment of the wicked in hell as God
burns the fires of conscience seven times hotter perhaps than
ever before. Remember Luke 16 and verse 25. Remember Abraham said to the
wicked man who died and opened his eyes in hell. Remember Remember,
remember thy lifetime. The wicked will remember their
sinful way of life. They will remember how they spurned
God, for God will see to it as he lightens the fires of conscience. But then I want to ask you a
question. What do you think of when you hear this statement,
where the worm never dies. Mark chapter 9 and verse 44. What is the worm that never dies? See also Isaiah 66 and verse
24. Now there is a two-fold punishment
here in Mark where the fire is not quenched and the worm never
dies, where the fire is not quenched and the worm never dies, expressing
both an inward punishment, the worm, and an outward punishment,
the fire, their worm never dies. Well, I was doing some study
on that this week. Calvin said in Isaiah 66 and
24, the plain meaning is that the wicked shall have as their
executioner a bad conscience to torment them without end,
unquote. Where the worm never dies, and
the fire is never quenched. John Gill agreed and said on
Mark 9 in verse 44, quote, By their worm is meant conscience,
which will be continually flying in their faces, bringing their
sins to remembrance, accusing, upbraiding, tormenting, filling
with dread and anguish, which will never have an end." It conscience
will serve God here more faithfully than it ever served Him while
they lived in this world under their depravity. It will be unfettered
to let loose its full fury The worm that never died. It is a gnawing worm now. It
is a gnawing worm now, but then a worm that never dies, keeping
alive a sense of guilt in those reprobate and perished. again
being the leading faculty in the parish center, the worm that
never dies. But let's go back again to consider
the living, and have another look at Romans chapter 2 verses
14 and 15, especially the part that says, when the Gentiles
do by nature the things contained in the law, and verse 15, which
show the work of the law written in their heart. That is, when
they do certain things that are contained in the law. They do such, and they show when
they do such, the law written in their heart. They show the
work of the law written in their heart. Now this describes them
as they are in their lost estate by nature, unregenerate. Paul does not mean to imply that
the writing of nature is equal to that written in regeneration. And I don't want to give you
that idea either. I don't want to give you the idea that what's
written by nature is equal and as glorious as that which is
written in the glorious work of regeneration. For it is not
of the same nature with that which God writes in regeneration. For in regeneration, God gives
a new heart. Oh yes, He writes again, the
law upon the fleshly tables of our heart, written there by the
Spirit of God in a way that changes the life and the conduct of those,
purges the conscience from their dead works, when God comes in
the great work of regeneration. Nor, not only is it not equal
to that in regeneration, it's not even equal to that given
to the Jews, written upon fleshly tables of stone and brought to
them by Moses. Because you see, Paul is speaking
here of the heathen. He's speaking of un-evangelized,
lost, unregenerate, without the Holy Spirit, without the written
law of God, without the law published orally among them, but who by
nature, or by innate instinct, or intuition, if you want to
use that word, by the urging and witness of conscience, perform
some, but by no means all, of the things that are found written
in the law, the moral law. It is by no means perfect and
complete law-keeping that Paul has in mind here. His point is
that the Gentiles did not have the law as the Jews did, and
yet they did by nature some of the things contained in the law,
and were thus a law unto themselves. And in doing those things contained
in the law, they are confronting themselves with the very law
of God. This is the only way that they
then have the law. And thus becomes the law unto
themselves. And this shows in verse 15 that
the work of the law is written in their heart. This is the point
that Paul is making. Now watch the connecting parts
of verses 14 and verse 15. when the Gentiles, now that means
whenever, as often as they do it, as often as this thing occurs,
and Paul has no particular Gentile in his mind, it's just a universal
work that be found here and there in this one or in that one. And universal Gentile obedience
is not intended. He doesn't mean to say that every
Gentile is busy about keeping the law. But then look at verse
15. Such shows the work of the law written in their heart, that
there is enough light in this to allow a heathen to recognize
that there is a God and also to perceive of himself as an
imperfect being and to feel pangs of guilt. And then conscience
is able in many to distinguish between right and wrong, between
good and evil. In other words, all moral perception
is not obliterated by the fall in the human family. For as William
Perkins, a Puritan, expressed it, there remain some notions
of God and some notions of good and evil even in fallen men. But rather than justify them,
it works to their condemnation. It does not tell them how to
be free, it does not lead them to the remedy, and it has no
means to purge their conscience, from the guilt, so that they
stand at peace in the sight of God. It is not enough to bring
them to God, is what I'm trying to say. They will not be converted
simply by natural conscience, but it is more than sufficient
to their condemnation. For here they have a law written
in their heart. and even by their own judgments and standards they
have violated that law that is written in their heart and are
therefore transgressors. To bear witness of the being
of God it is sufficient but not sufficient to bring them to God.
It is sufficient to cause them guilt but not to remove it. That
must be done by the supernatural operation of the Spirit of the
Lord. Now if any contend that this
seems to teach A spark of divinity. Somebody says, I've been listening
to what you said and it sounds like a spark of divinity. It
sounds to me like a flash of deity or some common grace or
common goodness that is to be found in all. No, my friend,
we answer nay, for the common persuasion of conscience is guilt. The common persuasion of conscience
is always guilt. It smites a hundred times for
every one time that it excuses and pats us on the head. And
the reason that guilt is the rule is because sin is the rule
of the human family. The reason that guilt is the
normal standard of the conscience is that sin is the normal standard
of conduct of fallen people. conscience would prove false
to approve of sin, and in so doing it would be a traitor unto
God, which it often is, by the way, as we'll see in our next
study on the defilement of conscience. That sinners see and confess
themselves sinners does not mean that they are assured of pardoning
grace or of pardoning mercy. Both Pharaoh and Judas cried
out, I have sinned. The Lord is righteous, but we're
far, far from the pardoning grace of God. Neither were close to
salvation, for both were reprobates, and that from their very mother's
womb. Yea, both were reprobate, God
had no intention of grace towards them, God had no intention of
saving either one of them, thus their convictions were merely
those of natural conscience, and as is often the case, soon
passed away. We see a lot of people get under
the convictions of natural conscience, and boy, they want to go to church,
and they want you to tell them about the scripture, and they
want to pray, and you see them 30 days later, they've forgotten
all about it, and go merely on their way, and never mention
it again the rest of their life. You see, there can be these pangs
of natural conscience that will soon pass, like in Pharaoh and
in Judas. But, let us close by considering
the question, why was God pleased to preserve some degree of knowledge,
and to give conscience enough light to let it see a little
bit, even in fallen men. Why was God pleased to maintain
a little flicker of light in the conscience, the natural conscience
of individuals? Why was God pleased to do that? And keep up a flame, a little
flame flickering, a little dim light. Why was God pleased to
keep written upon the hearts of men the work of the law written
there upon their hearts. One described it this way, a
poor glimmering light in the best of men and almost quite
extinguished in some men." Why was God pleased to keep it up?
We see in almost everyone we know an evidence of conscience,
pangs of guilt, feelings of shortcomings, fear of death, and of judgment. Why did God preserve these things?
Let me quickly give you four things, and we'll close. A. God
preserved them as a witness of His existence and being, for
these things are witnesses to the being of God. God maintained
this flickering light, God wrote this law, that it might be a
witness to his existence and being, that wherever we are,
look without, there's a witness of God. Look within, there's
a voice of conscience witnessing to God. Secondly, to keep up
a sense of sin in man. Aren't you glad that there's
a conscience in the human family that at least restrains them
to the point that we see them restrained? To keep up a sense
of sin in man and to charge upon them the guilt of their sin,
God keeps alive this faint glow. And then thirdly, to leave the
human family inexcusable. God has lit the fires and the
light of conscience that they may know that they have fallen
short and that they have come short of the glory of God. And
the last one I mention, it will come before us later in our series
of studies, to be a forerunner of conversion. Now this is very,
very important. Take away the conscience, take
away this faculty of conscience and what have we left? It is
to be a forerunner of conversion by which He first regenerates
the dead in sin and their faculties. God comes to regenerate by the
Spirit of the Lord, sovereignly He appears to quicken, to regenerate
our faculties and to enlighten them that he might then turn
us in conversion as seemeth good unto him. So these reasons are
good why God has kept up the work of conscience even in those
that are fallen, those that are sinful, and even in those who
will never be saved. God maintains yet some semblance
of the work of conscience within them and keeps some light within
them. And it is a very wise work and
a very sovereign work on his part. So, conscience, we say,
is a witness to the being and existence of God in its reflections,
operations, and in its work. And I hope that we're beginning
to see a brighter picture and it's beginning to develop before
us that we might see the importance of this work and what the Bible
has to say about it. All right, let's stand please
to our feet for a final word of prayer.