Faith Tested by FireSample

Convictions and Conscience

Convictions are formed on the basis of revelation, holiness, and wisdom. Convictions are also developed based on conscience. To say you live a life of conviction is to say you will not violate your conscience. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had their consciences bound to the truth of God’s Word. The Scriptures taught them that idolatry was a great sin in God’s sight. They didn’t try to reason that away or justify behavior that would’ve saved their lives; they would not violate their conscience.

Is our conscience always right? No, a conscience can be wrongly informed. You can feel guilty about things you ought not to feel guilty about. You can also not feel guilty about things you should feel guilty about. Whoever says, “Let your conscience be your guide,” is incorrect.

Your conscience is a God-given judgment mechanism; it makes judgments based on the information given. So, your conscience operates by passing judgment on whether you are being faithful to what you say you believe and true to your standard of right and wrong. Inform your conscience with the Word of God.

A conviction needs to be formed before a time of crisis. You do not wait until it’s a matter of life or death to decide what you believe. Why did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not have to pray or discuss their response to the king among themselves? Their actions had already declared they were not idolaters. That was settled long before the king ever set up his idol on the plain of Dura.

I tell young people that they’re not ready to begin a dating relationship until they’ve worked out, for themselves, a set of standards for that relationship from God’s Word—standards that they will not violate, even if it means they never have a date. As a believer, you must study the Word of God, understand what the Lord requires of you, and hold those things in your heart as firm convictions. If you don’t have that kind of preparation, you’re not ready to date because you will inevitably be tempted to violate God’s will if you are not a man or woman of conviction.

Do you have convictions already established in your life, even in areas where you have not yet been tested?