Paul wrote about “liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Tim. 4:2 ESV). What did he mean? What is a seared conscience? For that matter, what is the conscience? Our conscience is our inner voice that inflicts us with feelings of guilt when we have sinned (Rom 2:15). The interesting thing about the conscience is that it can be wrong and can even completely fail to work!
The conscience must be properly trained
An improperly trained conscience can make us feel we are doing right when in fact we are sinning. For example, Paul once said, “I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23:1 ESV). Paul was able to say this even though he had once persecuted and imprisoned Christians and threatened to murder them. In addition, he was complicit in the murder of Stephen (Acts 7:58-60, 9:1-2)! The conscience is “the inward faculty of distinguishing right and wrong.”1 If it has been improperly schooled, it is unreliable as a means of differentiating right and wrong.
Paul believed that by persecuting Christians he was doing God’s will (Acts 26:9-11) and therefore he felt good about what he was doing. Moreover, his conscience approved of his actions because it was “trained” with faulty information. While it is normally true that our conscience is a good guide, it is also true that we cannot always trust it. Our sense of right and wrong is only useful if it is properly informed.
The conscience must be functional
If a person disregards the nagging of their conscience long enough, it will eventually cease to work. How guilty does one feel when he or she commits the same sin over and over? Eventually, one’s feelings of guilt for that particular sin goes away. This is true for any sin – from repeated use of foul language to something as severe as serial murder.
A seared conscience is one that is no longer sensitive to feelings of guilt because it has been burned over and over again by the guilt of repeated sin. It is similar to flesh which has been severely burned (seared) and is so injured that it no longer has any sensitivity to touch or pain. A seared conscience is one that has grown numb.
A branded conscience
by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron (1 Tim. 4:2 NASB)
According to the NET Bible translator’s notes, the Greek word translated seared in some English bibles can also mean “branded” as in the branding of an animal to show ownership.2 This would suggest that the devil has branded such people to show his ownership of them.
“The nonfigurative translation is ‘brand with a red-hot iron.’ The reference is to the ancient practice of branding criminals, runaway and disobedient slaves, defeated soldiers, people in certain religious cults, and people in other specific professions. This translation suggests that Paul’s opponents have had their consciences branded by Satan to mark his ownership, somewhat like the ‘666’ of the antichrist.”3
1 Timothy 4:1-2 confirms what we already concluded in chapter one. The false teachers in Ephesus were not merely misled and mistaken. They were liars who were intentionally teaching lies. The devil’s branding iron seared their hearts. They no longer had any sense of right and wrong. They chose to serve the devil and he marked their hearts as his property.
A good conscience
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Tim. 1:5 ESV)
The Bible says that there are three prerequisites to possess true love for God and others: a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. “The reigning idea is sincerity. Love comes from a heart cleansed of sin, a conscience clear of guilt, and a faith devoid of hypocrisy.”4
A tender childlike conscience
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14 ESV). Children possess several qualities which Jesus wishes for His followers to emulate. One of those traits is a tender conscience together with childlike faith. We cannot go wrong if we accept the guidance of a tender heart which has been properly trained by the word of God.
References
- Danker, Frederick W., et al. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed, University of Chicago Press, 2000. BDAG, s.v. “συνείδησις,” 967.
- W. Hall Harris, eds. The NET Bible Notes. 2nd ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019), paragraph 85506.
- Mounce, William D. Word Biblical Commentary, Pastoral Epistles, Vol 46, Nelson, 2000, 532.
- Ibid., 250.