by Richard Greenham
Look at how our conscience is, so is our confidence. Conscience is a delicate matter, and we must be cautious not to harm it. Even the most hardened sinner has a conscience that can condemn them. If it remains unsatisfied, it will deliver them to the jailer. To cleanse ourselves from this evil conscience, we must begin by having faith in the blood of the Lamb and make a firm determination not to defile the house of God again. Though we may not be able to do all good, let us desire it sincerely, for the Lord judges us according to our purpose, not solely based on our actions or results. However, we mustn't stop at mere desire; it is incumbent upon us to employ the means to master virtues. Hell is full of good intentions but devoid of actions. Therefore, keep a watchful eye on your conscience, for it is like a fortified wall with a thousand witnesses. It often presents the following syllogism: "Whoever sins must die; you have sinned; therefore..." Even Adam, after eating the forbidden fruit, remained in paradise but found no joy until comforted by the Lord.
We should constantly desire the light of God's loving countenance. We can be assured of it if we maintain faith and a clear conscience. If we shipwreck these, even the slightest thing will greatly disturb us. However, when we have them, nothing can dismay us. Therefore, while others may trust in chariots, our trust should be in the Lord alone, which will remove confidence in the flesh and make us rely solely on God.
To examine one's conscience, the best approach is to use the law as a measuring stick to see if you have knowledge, awareness, and disapproval of your sins. It should reveal whether you have a fear of God's judgments for sin and faith in His promises. Additionally, you should assess whether, through personal application, you can demonstrate the effects of prayer, sacraments, the new birth, and repentance.
Beware, especially, of suppressing your conscience's warning when you are inclined to sin. A concern for a good conscience nurtures comfort in holiness, and finding delight in holiness fosters confidence in blessedness.
We may have a superficial peace, but not true peace until we turn to God. Just as Pharaoh let the Israelites alone when they decided to serve God, but then he prepared hardships for them, the devil, too, leaves us alone when we are at ease in sin. However, if we resist sin, the devil will heat the furnace against us. He might even pay us wages, as he did to Judas. Therefore, it happens that as long as we are unaware of our sins, we can eat, drink, and sleep peacefully. But when we become conscientious about sin, trouble and mental distress follow. Those who are worldly-minded may be surprised by this. They are at peace with the devil, for if they were not at peace, they would be cast out of his service. The truth is, the wicked have no true peace. They may have peace with the world, the flesh, and the devil, but they have no peace with God and their own consciences. Their peace is like unused armor, an untilled vineyard, or unploughed ground. They are not disturbed by trials but rust on the walls. Yet it would be better for them to be troubled and have their fallow hearts broken. The Holy Ghost declares that the righteous will have peace in the end. So, there is an initial peace, which is like a temporary truce. Then there is a final peace that follows our spiritual warfare, leading to glory and immortality. Saul pursued peace with men and broke peace with God. Ultimately, he lost peace with both God and men. The Jews rejected peace with Christ to have peace with the Romans, but when they crucified Christ, they lost peace with God and the Romans. Therefore, let us strive for that peace which surpasses understanding, and for everlasting peace.
We cannot suddenly and effectively work upon a person's conscience unless God permits us time to dwell upon their conscience.
A person will never become jealous of their corrupt affections until the Lord has struck their conscience with a fear of His majesty, which dispels all wicked imaginations.
We must especially beware of sins against knowledge and conscience. Just as nothing is as susceptible to injury as the eye among all parts of the body, nothing is more easily wounded than the conscience. It cannot endure any pricking; even the slightest thrust or violence will impair it. It is a tender place and is very sensitivity itself. Learned physicians say that there is something hard like a web in the eye, which, when it affects the eye, makes it insensible despite being the most sensitive part of all. Such a thing may exist in the conscience. Once this hardening spreads over the conscience, the place that is naturally the most tender becomes the hardest. This hardness proves to be more severe than Pharaoh's hardness, and their condition is worse than if they had never known God. I mean that if they once possessed good things and then lost them, they have a blindness over their eyes, and they see the least of all people. When they lose their tenderness and harden themselves, God also hardens them, and this is a fearful obduracy.
God does not severely punish specific transgressions but rather a general falling into smaller infirmities. He punishes gross presumptions more. It is not the particular sin that brings about His wrath, but remaining in sin without repentance does. This, in turn, draws in other sins and God's displeasure. Thus, one sin may be spared and also punished. It is spared when we are humbled upon being admonished, as David was by Nathan (2 Sam. 12) and Jehoshaphat by Jehu (2 Chron. 19:2). In this, we do not seek to draw in other sins but to escape punishment for this one. However, when, despite merciful admonitions and stern warnings, we persist in sin, tying sin to sin, we open the way for God's judgment to fall upon us. Therefore, we may find comfort for particular sins as long as, in the general course of our lives, we sincerely seek to please God. Just as a loving husband does not withdraw his love from his wife, even when she fails in specific aspects of obedience and duty, as long as she remains faithful in her love for him, so the Lord's loving-kindness will not cast off His children for individual weaknesses or failings in specific commandments, as long as we genuinely seek to obey Him out of sincere love for His majesty.