What Happens When We Don't Live By Our Conscience?

By Rev. Ernest O'Neill

You remember loved ones, he says that in Romans 14 and it's the last verse and you might just want to look at it, especially those of us who perhaps have not read it yet. It's Romans 14:23, "But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."

So really, the truth is that sin is lack of faith. Sin is doing something that in your inner conscience you don't think you should do. That's what sin is. So, if you drink just because a lot of other people think, "Ah, it's okay to drink", and your own conscience actually is uneasy about it, then you are sinning. And you will experience a sense of God's condemnation within you, and you'll sense a difficulty in getting through to God and you'll begin to experience separation from him inside. You'll find that you can mouth all the religious language and you can come to church and can sing the hymns, but somehow, the reality of God in your life is not as it was before.