The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NIV)
A tender conscience is a beautiful thing in the Lord’s eyes. His desire is for us to be troubled by the least sin. To be broken by our transgressions. Never wink at sin. It is not your friend. Christ died for our sins. Every time a believer falls again into the pit of destruction – even what we may perceive is the “least” of our transgressions, is like crucifying our Saviour all over again. Putting another nail into His already nail scarred hand. Every sin we flesh out carries with it a death sentence to something. Some people have so seared their consciences that the most heinous is acceptable in their sight or at the very least shrugged at with the all-inclusive “everybody does it”. It is amazing how we can swallow up even the most notorious of transgressions without regret. We are not static people – we are either growing up in Christlikeness or going in a downward spiral into a pit of our own poor choices. Be broken over sin – particularly repetitive – it get us nowhere fast.
A tender conscience is delicate and grieves over grieving God. We live our lives for an audience of One – Who sees and knows and hears all – He considers even the motivation behind the action. As children of the King, Satan is our adversary and seeks to destroy us. As believers, He cannot rob us of our salvation, but he can make us miserable if we go his ways. He tells us sin is pleasant and woos us in our weaknesses. Scripture tells us to stand firm and resist. Satan always seeks to devour and never ceases his wiles telling us all sin is pleasant. He never shows the results of sin. Remember, he is an enemy not a friend. God alone is enough for the believer but without Him nothing is enough whatever the enemy of our souls is whispering to us. Whereas the river of God’s pleasures fill us now and throughout eternity - His love and grace comforting us on our way to our heavenly home. Freedom only comes in following hard after Jesus. All else is bondage and death and will be burned.
We are to shield ourselves against Satan’s fiery darts. We are never to play with fire rather we are to be like Joseph and flee the situation even by leaving our cloaks (worldly goods) behind us. Better to walk with Jesus with a clear conscience than choose to wallow in the pigpen of the adversary’s ways. We must flee – not linger - from a house on fire.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7-10 (NIV)