In this sermon, the preacher discusses the importance of the conscience and its role in distinguishing right from wrong. He emphasizes that the conscience can become defiled through politics and rebellion against God. The preacher highlights the cleansing power of the blood of Christ as the only remedy for purging a guilty conscience. He also mentions that the existence of God can be understood through observing the natural world and the human body, and that God has provided the light of nature as a witness to His power and existence.

I've come to deal with man's conscience. This is a very wonderful part of the Bible analysis of man. I'm dealing tonight with man's conscience. Now, just to show you the slight difference there is between the different faculties that I've mentioned, the different abilities that God has given to man, let me put it before you like this. That man's memory is the thought-retaining ability that God has given him. It's the thought-retaining ability. Man's imagination is the thought-producing ability. Something that he can sketch out, something that he can picture, something that he can plan. It's the thought-producing ability. Man's understanding is the thought-analyzing ability, where he can look at a thing and question it and measure it and see it and understand it and know it. That's man's thought-analyzing ability. Then man's will is the thought-energizing ability. When memory has taken in everything and imagination has thought it all out and understanding has come to the conclusions, then will steps in to make the decisions. And that's the thought-energizing ability of man. When we come to conscience, that's the thought-convicting ability of man. This wonderful ability that God has given us, it tells us when we're right and when we're wrong. It's the great ability that God has given to man to differentiate between good and evil. But the trouble with this great faculty is this. When man fell, this faculty, too, became subject to delusion by Satan. And this faculty can be a defiant conscience, or a feared conscience, or an evil conscience. And on the other hand, when God has this faculty in his hands, by the power of the Holy Ghost, it can become a good conscience and a pure conscience. You see, it's the thought-convicting ability that God gave to man. But when man fell, he became totally depraved. There's nothing that I'm more sure of than the total depravity of man. Why a natural man tonight, his memory wants to forget the particular kind of man he is. This book says, it's like a man looking in a glass and going away and forgetting that he's the poor lost sinner on the road to hell that he is. And man's imagination, as we saw from the book, became depraved. And in the days of Noah, and the last days shall be of the days of Noah, man's imaginations and the thoughts of his heart were evil, and that continued. His understanding, when he fell, became darkened. His will became his own will. We have turned everyone to our own way, and conscience can become defiled and feared and evil. It's good to look at conscience like this. Conscience is like the compass that the captain of the ship may have on the ship. It will ring true and point the way, sure enough, but it can do no more. The pilot on board will set the course as he wishes. The compass is there, but the pilot is in command. And so tonight we are turning to think about man's conscience from the word of God. I want to bring it before you in a way that you'll get the hold of it. I want to look at conscience working in the natural man. Then I want to look at conscience working in the saved man. Then I want to look at conscience working in the carnal man. Then I want to look at conscience in the spiritual man. And so we're turning to look at conscience, first of all, in the natural man, and I'm calling this the activeness of conscience in the natural man, and I'm reading from Romans chapter 1. Now, these are Bible readings, and remember, we're making the Bible do the work all the time. You find the place and try to get the sense from the verses. I'm at Romans chapter 1, and I'm reading verse 20. For the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen. That's a wonderful statement, isn't it? That the invisible things are clearly seen. You see, no man has seen God at any time. Yet it did say that Moses by faith saw him who is invisible. And here we have a tremendous statement that the invisible things of God are clearly seen, the things you can't see. And then it goes on to expound that more clearly, being understood by the things which are made. You see, I still believe that a man's a fool who goes out and looks across the starry heavens this evening and takes in as much as he can understand of the magnitude and the wonder and the might and majesty of the work that God has done in the heavens. And if man only takes a stand on a sunny afternoon and looks round the broad echoes of earth and throws his eyes across the miles of earth that he can see and then remember that there are millions of miles he can't see. If that man can't come to an understanding that there is a God he must be a fool. And remember you don't only need to look at the starry heavens and the broad echoes of earth but if you look at your own wonderful form we are made, you know, we were fearfully and wonderfully made. And if you begin to look at the things which are made you come to the solid conclusion that there's a great God. God never left himself without a witness. When man hadn't got the Bible they'd got the world and their own friends. And they only need to look and they'll understand there must be and there is the almighty maker of heaven and earth in whom we move and live and have our being. So that God has given us the light of nature as a witness of his eternal power and Godhead so that mankind is without excuse. Then if we run away from chapter one we come down into chapter two. In verse twelve we read these words For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law. Well that's a tremendous statement when you think about the heathen. Sometimes we're asked questions about the heathen and where they'll stand on the day of judgment. Well there'll be no leniency there. This book before you now says As many as have sinned If the heathen sins without law he shall perish. The word before you is perish. The God of high heaven must deal with sin. Whether he's a heathen doesn't know anything whatsoever. If he sins God will judge him for sin. And he'll perish without law. Then it goes on And as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. You see the Jews were a select people an illect people and to them alone was given the law. But they thought they would everything because they had the law. And you know friends that put them in their own estimation on a pinnacle. We've got the law. The commandments of God were given to us. But the point is this that they never checked the law. And as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. But this sin is the important thing. If you sin without law or sin with law God will judge your sin. Unless you find a substitute that meets the requirements of God and has counted your sin and the only substitute is Christ crucified. But watch it, it goes further here. Verse thirteen For not the heroes of the law are just before God but the doers of the law shall be justified. There's a tremendous statement isn't it? The doers of the law shall be justified. But there's another verse in your booklet says By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. How do you reconcile the two? One verse says But the doers of the law shall be justified. The other verse says But by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. Friend, we've never met anyone who could keep the law. The law didn't come to bring you life. The law came to condemn you that you might seek a failure. The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. When you put yourself against the Ten Commandments and read the last one Thou shalt not covet. Every person in this building is guilty. Stand guilty before God. There's no use of you trying to pretend that you'll do it. If you could, you would get life, but you can't. By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified. Then it would go on further than that. It goes into the next verse, verse 14 For when the Gentiles Let's get a hold of this. These are the unsaved pagans and heathens and all outside of Christ and outside of the Jewish mission, the Gentiles. There's somebody in this meeting and you're not a Jew and you're not saved you're a Gentile. If you're saved, you're neither Jew nor Gentile, you're in the church. There are three great bodies down here working this evening the Church of Christ the Jew the Gentiles. But the Gentiles, he said which have not the law not the law do by nature the things contained in the law. These having not the law are a law unto themselves which show the work of the law written in their hearts. Now I want you to get that because that's a very important bit. Which show the work of the law. Now it doesn't say which show the word of the law written in their hearts. You remember God said in the New Covenant I will put my law into their hearts and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more. That's the new birth. That's God making a new creation in the very man who comes to Christ. But this is altogether different. This is the work of the law. You know the work of the law is to bring the wrath of God to your consciousness. To just bring you face to face with the condemnation that hangs over your head. And here's what they said now. Which show the work of the law written in their hearts their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts from meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. Here's the great work of conscience in the natural mind. The work of conscience is this. You see God gives us two witnesses even when we haven't got the Bible. Even when we have new missionaries. If you're deep dark down in the jungle God gives you an outside witness that there is a God. It's the mighty heavens and the earth and the things that are made. That's the outside witness telling you there is a God. Ah, but he put a witness inside. There's a conscience that tells you all about evil too. So that the natural man by the witness that's outside and the witness that's inside he knows both good and evil. That's exactly what the devil promised to Eve. Said as soon as you eat this fruit you'll know good and evil. But if ever he told a lie it was then because half the truth is always the blackest kind of lie. Here's the trouble. Man knows good that has no power to do it. Man understands evil that has no power to resist it. So he knows there is a God. But he doesn't want to go that way because he's totally depraved. He knows what evil is and what evil means because conscience either accuses or excuses. And he knows all about both good and evil but has no power to do the good and no power to resist the evil. So he needs to be born again. That's the great truth of this book remember all the time. Everything leads up to that. That he must be born again. And friends the point with this great subject that we're up to and I said that's what conscience was meant to do. But you know this conscience like every other ability in the natural man can be taken away from the very function and the ability and the work that it ought to do. And it begins to do something else. Now watch me now. Come to Titus chapter one. The letter to Titus chapter one. I'm reading at verse fifteen Paul saying to Titus Unto the pure all things are pure. Well I think that that's a phrase that has been taken and very devilishly used by some sects especially in America within the past years. There are certain sects in America and they believe this that some of the filthy and abominable and vile and lustful and licentious sins of this world when those very things are done with men with a certain kind of mentality they're alright. So that's subtle. They hold their sects as their foundation stone. Unto the pure all things are pure. But it doesn't mean any such rubbish as that. Actually the best translation of the text would have been this. The pure delights and pure things. That puts a different face on the subject altogether. Why the devil could bluff you that you could do sexual and licentious sins with a particular kind of mind and it's alright. It can never be alright when God says you're not a doer. But let's read on. Verse 15. Unto the pure all things are pure. But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure. But even their mind and their conscience is defiled. Now this wonderful sexuality called conscience has now come defiled. Now watch just how far. Next verse says They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate. Now watch the words in the two verses. First one I want you to notice is defiled and then unbelieving then denying God abominable, disobedient reprobate and yet these are the people who profess that they know God. Do you see where we've got to now? I've come along from the natural man and his conscience to the pharisaical man with his conscience. We saw the activeness of conscience in the natural man now see the falseness of conscience in the pharisaical man. Because the Pharisee of old said that you know I know God. He professed that he knew God. All the time he was a non-believer. All the time he was disobedient. All the time his conscience was defiled. That's a tremendous state of affairs you know. You know friend the sooner we get down to this sort of thing and get it really brought out in our own lives is this that it's not your lips that counts, it's your life. Oh many you know profess that they know God. There are thousands in our churches they profess they know God they don't know God at all. And yet they deny Him. Then I could go into a lot of details which show you how abominable they are in the sight of God. All of them are evil. Yet they can go on when it starts to take off. Because their conscience is defiled. It's an awful thing. You can swing down to church with the Bible below your arm you hypocrite you. You don't know the Savior at all. You've denied Him all your life. Unto every good work you are a hypocrite. You're an unbeliever. Yet you profess. Why this profession would need a real going for you know. There are tremendous lot of professions. Be careful now that you just don't run on along to the end of the road and then the door is shut in your face. And you knock and you say Lord, Lord open unto us. We've eaten and drank in my name. Listen this one. In thy name we have cast our devils. You say that's a tremendous thing to do. So they think. Jesus said to that very crowd I never knew you. Of course it will take us all you know to examine ourselves. Whether we be in the faith. It's so easy to profess. And then in works deny God. And you can go on with this thing for years because your conscience is defiled. That's a defiled conscience. It ought to be telling that hypocrisy is all wrong. Probably the first day that he played at this hypocrisy it told him. And the second day it told him again. But when it goes on for years the voice is silent. It's defiled. So be careful. Your conscience can be defiled. It's not working. Come with me to John 8. John's Gospel chapter 8. This is the story that I've dealt with more than once from this platform. Nevertheless there's something that I want to get the hold of tonight again. Lovely touch when you take the last verse of John 7 and the first verse of John 8 because in the Greek they should never have been separated. Whoever crosses the chapter there well, I'm afraid it's a blunder that even the smallest boy ought to see. Verse 53 of chapter 7 And every man went on to his own house. Jesus went on to the Mount of Olives. Our Lord Jesus. Why they bid him farewell, you know. They went into their own house. He climbed the way up the house to pray all night to God. It's a pity that was ever divided, isn't it? Verse 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple. And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now, Moses in the law commanded us that such should be done. But what they saw, this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him. You see, this is a very subtle thing. This is the sort of thing that Pharisees would do. You see, they got this woman taken in the very act of adultery. And they very rudely and mercilessly drew her into the presence of the Lord and threw her on the sound of her feet and said, we took this woman in adultery in the very act. Moses in the law commanded us that she should be stoned. But what they have done. Now, it was a very subtle one, wasn't it? Because if the Lord Jesus said, well, stone her, they'd say, there's your gentle Jesus for you. There's your sympathetic Christ now. There's the treasure of Atuk now. And if he said, don't stone her, they'd say, look, he's saying the opposite to Moses. It was very subtle. And Pharisees are always subtle. But watch what happens. Verse 6, this they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. Jesus took down and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. Now, the word finger wasn't put in there for fun. You see, he took down and with his finger wrote upon the ground. Whenever you go back to the old covenant and see them written in stone, it's said that they were written by the finger of God. And Jesus said to the Pharisees one day that he cast out demons by the finger of God. Finger of God is usually taken for the mighty power of the Spirit of God. There have been great arguments about what he wrote on the ground. How do you know? Nobody knows. Nobody can be sure. That's one thing that's certain. And yet there's just a little bit of light comes in in a moment or two that would make you think, anyway. Now watch it. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her. Again he took down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience. Oh, this is this defiled conscience being awakened. This is a Pharisee's conscience. Mind you, they were Pharisees here that brought the woman. And they're professing that they love God and love his word and love the commands of Moses. But all the time, you know, there's a conscience that's defiled. Friends, I've pointed out that the woman was taken in the very act. Well, if she was taken in the very act, the man was taken. Where is the man in this case? He's not here. And the law that they referred to, the law of Moses, commanded that both the man and the woman was told. Why did they hide the man? Just because I believe he was a Pharisee. Friends, this is a very subtle thing. They didn't want to bring this man into the presence of the Lord for he's one of themselves. And if I don't know for sure, the Lord knew for sure. So he's just stood down and with the finger wrote on the ground. I believe that when the book says they were convicted by their own conscience that he must have written the Ten Commandments on the ground. He began to write the commandments. But halfway down, because halfway down are the commandments that belong Godwards. Love the Lord thy God. Then he got up and looked at them. Then got down and wrote the other half. And they're the commandments that teach us to love our neighbor. And you know, friends, when a conscience is defiled so much that you can hide sin and try to bring out something that's evil in the Savior. You see, now, they're twisting the good that way and the evil the other way. When conscience becomes so defiled that you can do things in the presence of God without blushing, the only hope for you is if the Lord puts his finger on you and puts the law up against you and Jesus Christ looks into your faith and speaks to you. You need the Spirit of God, the law of God, the Christ of God to awaken conscience. Apart from that, you'll die in your darkness. Oh, friends, this is tremendous. That conscience can get upwards bound and get defiled. And the only hope for defiled conscience ever becoming awakened is the finger of God and the law of God and the Christ of God. And if the Spirit of God doesn't lay hold on you and set you, and the Word of God doesn't come up against you, and the Christ of God doesn't speak into the innermost depths of your being, you'll die with your defiled conscience. But they're awakened now, aren't they? They start to go out from the eldest right to the last. Being convicted by their own conscience, it's God that has touched the conscience. And unless God touches it, it'll not awaken. Now, let's go further. We're going to Hebrews chapter 9 now. The letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 11. Hebrews 9, verse 11. But Christ, being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and cows, but by his own blood, he entered in one sense of the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. You know, that's one of the greatest verses on the blood of Christ in your book. Watch it. But by his own blood. Mind you, it was his own blood. The blood that's in your veins tonight is not your own. The blood that's in your veins is your father's. Maternity nurses ought to know that the blood that's in the child's veins is the father's blood. The mother's blood never mingles for one moment with the child's blood, or is it the mother's blood that's ever in its veins? It's only the father's. You know, there's a great professor here in Northern Ireland, an obstetric surgeon of the highest order with all the qualifications that could be got. I think perhaps he's rated as the greatest one. I mustn't give any names, but I was riding with him in the car one day, and I said to him, tell me this, sir. Is it perfectly true to say that only the father's blood is in the child's veins? He said, certainly it is. Certainly, he said, because by a wonder that could only come from God, the mother's blood never mingles with the child's. I said, here's a poser for you. Jesus Christ was born miraculously of the Virgin Mary, and had no human father, where did he get his blood? He said, I never thought. I said, I'll tell you. It's divine! This book actually says it's the blood of God! In Acts chapter 20. The blood of God. That's why Christ's blood was precious blood. Mind you, friends, there was no fallen nature in that blood. If I communicate to my boy my nature, it's a fallen nature, it's a pity of him, he'll need to be saved. Jesus Christ had no fallen nature in his veins. It was precious blood. That's why that book says it's his own blood. Precious. And then it says he entered heaven by his own blood. That's powerful blood, isn't it? He could bring him out of the tomb through the blood of the everlasting covenant he was raised from the dead. And by that blood he went into heaven. It's powerful blood. Now watch it. Having obtained eternal redemption for us. I say that's precious, isn't it? That's purchasing blood. I would like to ask you folks who think you can be lost again. What does it mean when it says Jesus purchased by his blood eternal redemption for us? Tell me what it means. Because I'll tell you what it means. It means eternal redemption. Don't ever put a toy on the blood of Christ. Don't ever dare. It's an insult to the work of Calvary. Praise God when my savior died he purchased eternal redemption for me. I don't know about you. Praise God I knew about me. I'm eternally redeemed by precious blood. By precious blood. So it's powerful blood because it took him into heaven. It's precious blood because it's his own. It's purchasing blood because it has obtained eternal redemption for us. But look at the next verse. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer that's the Old Testament sacrifices of course if those things sprinkling the unclean folk sanctify us, that is, set them apart to the purifying of the flesh if the ashes and the blood of bulls and goats could sprinkle the unclean the days of the past and set them apart and purify them listen to this how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without thought to God purge your conscience? Now that's the bit I like, isn't it? I tell you friends, you know this is wonderful because when we started tonight you saw the optiveness of conscience in the natural man and then you saw the falseness of conscience in the parasympathetical man and now you're seeing the pureness of conscience in the saved man. Once upon a time I had a load of sin and guilt upon my conscience. Once upon a time I was conscious that I was getting near to God and unprepared. Once upon a time I was conscious that I was a defiled, ruined, guilty rebel but one day I came to the cross and accepted the Savior and the blood of the cross purged my conscience the burden rolled away gone how did it go? by blood, by the essence by joining the Baptist? Never by coming to the cross and accepting the Savior and praise God his blood cleansed from all sin conscience purged are you following me? I know the well is deep but you're getting something out of it aren't you? do you see the natural conscience telling him I'm right and wrong? do you see it becoming defiled in the parasy so that he can profess that he knows God when all the time he knows he's a rebel? do you see the conscience being awakened by the Spirit of God? do you see the only remedy for cleansing and purging the conscience of a poor life sinner? praise God I love to say it's the blood of Christ now come on, we've got a good bit to go yet 1 Timothy chapter 4 now here's a portion I think that all the younger folks should study very much 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 now the Spirit speaks expressly that is, the Spirit talks very definitely about this thing the Spirit always speaks very definitely but this is really emphasized that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith 1 Timothy 4 that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith that's one of the strains of the last days now you younger folks coming up there you should always try to differentiate like this between the faith which is the truth you believe and the faith which is the trust you have in the truth you believe you see the faith means the truth the whole volume of truth that you believe that's truth the other is trust now in the last days some shall depart from the truth truth the volume of truth, the doctrines we stand for the fundamentals we call the essentials and there are quite a number of men in our day departing from the truth the same that were in the last days now watch what they do giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils of course if you turn from the truth you've got to turn to the lies there's only the North and South Pole and everything there's only right and left all the time there's only good and evil there's only light and darkness there are always these extremes and if you turn from the truth you must turn to the lies and if you turn from God's truth you must turn to the devil's lies and so they turn to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils now watch this, verse 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy now that word speaking is actually preaching this is not talking in the sleep here he's talking about he's talking about preachers preachers preaching lies death death of course when an old fellow gets up and tells you that he can bring a pig around and sprinkle it with water and give it a new birth he's a liar that's all there is about that, that's as blunt as I can be he's a liar and a liar going to hell that's what he is and in these things there are pictures speaking lies but you know who they're following don't you the devil they're seduced by the devil now watch it further having their conscience seared with a hot iron I tell you that's a tremendous statement isn't it your conscience branded is the word seared is the same word branded with a hot iron now wait a minute and I'll bring out the proof watch the next we did forbidding to marry does that give you any light alright I'll be gone and commanding to abstain from meat does that give you any light now watch this picture first of all he speaks lies and then he's got great authority I don't know where he got it from only that the book says it's from the devil and he can command people not to marry and then he can also command them not to eat certain meats it's getting desperately like the church of Rome isn't it oh I say some of you are way ahead of me is that right alright alright alright then am I right in concluding that behind the doctrines of the church of Rome stands the devil of course I'm right because there's no other one controlling the damnable heresies that comes from papish Rome but the devil now how can these men do this sort of thing just because their conscience is sealed with a hot iron you know when the devil starts to deal with your conscience when the lord starts to deal with your conscience it's awakening oh but when the devil starts to deal with your conscience it gets sealed you see you know I'm hoping to bring to the church in the not too far distant future a monk who got gloriously saved and there's a great book on the market just now written by him and it's called the monk who lived again some of my best friends know him very well and here's a story of how he got saved he went into a monastery to become a priest and he says that very definitely in his early days as he went into the monastery he wanted to be a holy man of God and I believe that that was true he actually thought by going and burying himself in this monastery and taking all the teachings from the old abbot or bishop of the monastery that he'd become a holy man of God and he said along with some other young fellows we were brought up to play in the evenings and usually we played for three or four hours that's more than some of the old bishops do by the way and he said the old bishop brought us then into an innermost room in the monastery right before a very huge statue of the Virgin Mary and he said we were told that if we could really get through in prayer that on a certain day at a certain time the face of Mary would light up to show that we were accepted and he said of course I went all in for this then he said I prayed one morning to three o'clock in the morning before this statue and I was freezing of cold and I went to my little chair and then I said well if I tumble into bed I'll never get through and I got down on my knees again he said and I prayed on and prayed on and then he said I was really freezing and I remembered that I left my cloak out at the feet of Mary and about five in the morning I tripped cold out to get the cloak and he said I could see the old bishop with a man up the ladder and he was getting him to paint the face of Mary with luminous paint that's Rome for you that's popish pagan Rome for you no wonder I had no time for it he said I stood in the shadows and watched this thing and then he said in the morning he brought them all into the inner room and said there, there, there it is Panther and all the boys were excited he said Panther's got proof then I took the old bishop aside and said look I saw you painting this he said have you utter one word of this and he turned on me like a devil that man, to make a long story short, had a good way to go escaped from the monastery and got gloriously saved by the E.U.S.A. mission of South America I think it was savage that led him to the Lord I'm not so sure of that but he was there at the time how can a bishop go on bluffing the young fellows and pretending to be Godly how? I'll tell you how because it's conscience, it's serious that's how it is that's just how it is one friend you turn from the truth and you know it takes something to bend some of you young fellows to the truth you don't want the truth sometimes it doesn't suit your particular mould of thoughts if you don't accept the truth you must be looking for the lie and remember if you get mixed up with the doctrines of demons it will be a pity on you oh God save our conscience from ever letting the devil put a grounding iron on us go to that book whether it suits you or whether it doesn't never be afraid of the truth the truth will make you free truth will bring you near to God now you can see the hardness of a seduced man the hardness of a conscience of a seduced man are you following me? the activeness in the natural man and then the falseness of conscience in the prosthetical man and then the pureness of conscience in the saved man and the hardness of conscience in the seduced man now here's a one that we need to watch it's in 1st Timothy 1st Corinthians chapter 8 1st Corinthians chapter 8 we need to read a bit here to get the sense and I think it's only fair to do that to this class 1st Corinthians chapter 8 verse 1 nor are such things offered unto idols you see if you read the first verse of chapter 7 you'll find that Paul says now concerning the things whereof ye root unto me you see they root to him about several things now this is one of the things they root about about things offered unto idols you see they had a problem then that we haven't now they were in Corinth and all round them were idols, pagan idols and into these pagan temples were brought huge portions of meat and this meat was offered to idols then it was afterwards sold sometimes Christians bought it and ate it and in one sense they had every right to but in another sense we need to watch it but they were puzzled about this whether they would eat this meat or whether they wouldn't and so he says now as such things offered unto idols we know that we all have knowledge we all of course mean we Christians all have knowledge about idols is the thing in question of course doesn't mean we have all knowledge of everything but we Christians have got to try it we have all knowledge about idols we know that an idol is a stone or a piece of wood that doesn't worry us we've found a savior and we're liberated from that we've got knowledge of that we all have knowledge we all have knowledge here's a wonderful phrase knowledge puffeth up but love edifies you know that's the thing that all we believers should get the hold of here tonight to know that book is a great thing great thing may I simply say I know the book to know the book is a great thing to love your brother is a greater thing love edifies knowledge will only puff you up you know remember the greatest thing is to love your brother and there's a whole lot of more foreign things than I know and just because they've got a smattering of knowledge they wouldn't look at oh no they knew a door but they love very little don't you become a Pharisee like them there's a whole lot of boys that knew everything but they wouldn't speak to you in the street you know they wonder whether I'm saved or not well let them wonder I'll be in heaven through the blood of Christ oh friend let's get the hold of it that love is the important thing and if we loved one another we would be less powerful now watch how he works that out because he's laid a good foundation to start on the apostle was a great preacher but too, and if any man thinks that he knew of anything he knew of nothing yet as he ought to know but if any man loved God the same is known of his you know I think that's lovely just how it's put you think it should have been put if any man loved God he knows God but it doesn't have to look like that if any man loved God God knows him I think that's lovely now he begins to expound what he's been asked now concerning therefore the eating of those things which are offered in sacrifice unto idols we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other God but one now we do know that don't we we know there's just one God because he's expressed in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost but we know there's one God for though there be that are called God whether in heaven or in earth that is things in the heavens are sometimes worshipped as is the God's many and Lord's many but to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we in him my can't you see the equality of the Father and Son here both on the same basis you know he does exhort the Father of having all things and we in him but he also exhorts our Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we in him you know there are two creations mentioned there by whom are all things he made all things and he upholds all things but he also created us in the new birth we became a new creation two creations he made all things and praise God he gave us regenerating birth now he goes on howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge you see he is coming away now to every man that you know we Christians we know a whole lot of things we know certain things about idols and we know there is one God but howbeit you know every man just doesn't know all this watch for some with conscience of the idol onto this earth eateth as a thing offered unto an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled you know that's a bit that we want to get the hold of before we go much further we'll take it that there is just a young man from Corinth and he's got gloriously saved he's just saved the day or two and he's brought out now from the pagan temple but you know the moment that this piece of meat that was set before the idol in the temple is put on the place you know he becomes conscious of something he's got the conscience about it now if he would swap a wee bit more and had grown a wee bit more he wouldn't have any trouble with that conscience but because he's on land and on top his conscience is weak and he's got a conscience about it but you know sitting beside him at the table there may be a fellow who knows a whole lot he's a great scholar he's got out into the clear he knows all about idols he's not worried about them now and he can eat the meat without any trouble should he do it? now that's the problem that's the problem his conscience is not troubling him ah but listen the teaching in this chapter is that we ought to respect the other fellow's conscience and that's something we very seldom do man we just know what we can do we can go where we like we can watch what we like we'll do what we like but you never respect the other fellow's conscience now what do you see the apostle working about? verse 9 but take ye less by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak for if any man see thee which hath knowledge that hath meat in the idol temple shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died but when ye sin so against their brethren and whom their weak conscience ye sin against Christ wherefore, here's the conclusion if meat make my brother to offend I will eat no flesh while the world stands ah there's a great principle you know if we Christians carried out this principle how we would show our love for one another because that's the important thing you know Sam, if there's something that I know I can do something that I have knowledge about something that I know that I'm free to do if I feel that it'll work that fellow there, I'll not do it not because I can't do it but because I respect his conscience whatever you tell them to do we just trample over the other fellow say I know what I'm doing, I know what I can't do and you bully on your own way but you never respect the other fellow's conscience remember there's not only an activeness of conscience and the falseness and the pureness and the hardness but there's a weakness of conscience that you want to watch and you can't do as you like not if you love your brother oh that's the principle thing how Paul jagged that in at the beginning he says you know knowledge is a great thing boys but love is greater I'd love to go round some of the assemblies and preach that because they would need it because they've gone all out for truth if they don't care for the truth we would need to learn that all over again now come with me to the last little point that I want to make this evening it's in Romans chapter 9 Romans chapter 9 and verse 1 Paul is speaking he says I say the truth in Christ I lie not my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart for I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh now I'd love to be honest in this meeting I wonder how many of us in this meeting can actually say this I wonder can you say that your conscience bears you witness this evening that you have continual heaviness and sorrow in your heart still how many of us just how many now be honest I'm not asking you for your answer I'm only wanting you to look up to God how many of us how many of us ever got to the place that you could say that I've never got to I'm being honest now I'm not asking you for your answer but I'm the leader I could wish that I were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen in the flesh did you ever say that did you ever say I'm prepared to go down into the depths of the caverns of the gym of the dumb did you say the rest of it say the apostle had vision the apostle had a conscience that was being absolutely filled with sincerity and earnestness for Paul I wish we all had I've shown you the activeness of conscience in the natural mind I've shown you the falseness of conscience in the philosophical mind I've shown you the pureness of conscience in the saved mind I've shown you the hardness of conscience in a seduced mind I've shown you the weakness of conscience in the non-taught mind but I'm showing you now the earnestness of conscience in a godly mind a man that's really out for God and for the glory of God he has continual power and heaviness what do we do about it how many of us share that fear for the feet that jump to hell that in your home tonight there's maybe someone and they're on the brink of a Christmas equinox maybe an old mother and after all she's your mother she loves you and she loves you but it should without Christ's mercy near and fair now that she had a wonderful life way down yonder in Yuknard in a wee house tonight I've got one brother out of sixteen of them he's not changed fifteen of them on the way to heaven but there's one more child in the forger and I've seen it, many a time I go in the car and drive around the argument street in Yuknard for one purpose only let the last one go in and say Tom and you will say it's God every night when I get down on my knees and say Lord if you come tonight Tom Tom will bless her have you got this heaviness have you got any sorrow do you be prepared to lose everything that a soul might sustain oh God so many of us are prepared for nothing we just let them go to hell above everything I pray that God will give me a conscience that will make me conscious of man and woman going down to hell what else mother building the Baptist church to include me I want to see man saved you pray that God will do that for you too we are on saved trail if Paul felt like this please God Paul save yourself like this for the Saviour is all about you the Saviour came for you the Saviour died for you Saviour walked for you Saviour went to the cross but you might be saved oh that you would turn and seek the Lord while you are at the cross may God bless the truth we have looked at let us pray blessed Lord we thank you for thy word we thank you for thy truth Lord we have learned long since ago that only the truth can set us free forbid Lord that we should ever get mixed up with the doctrines of demons or be in any way seduced by the devil forbid Lord that we should ever be emptied through catharsis forbid Lord that our conscience would ever be filled with all God's give us a conscience that like the great apostles of old where the souls of men will weigh heavy on our souls day in and day out we'll hear the trump, trump, trump of Christless feet on the road to hell Lord bless thy word help us to love one another and help us every moment of every day in our waken hours and in our unconscious hours to ever praise thee for the blood of Christ that purged our conscience Lord bless thy people save our unsaved souls glorify thy name for Christ's sake