An assault upon the conscience of man is indicative of the “latter times.” As men depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, their consciences become so weak that they show very little sign of life. The Bible describes it as a searing of their consciences with a hot iron. Initially, there is great pain in the sin and the conscience feels the pain. Yet, eventually, the conscience becomes so seared that it is numb. At that point, the conscience loses its ability to warn the believer of sin. It further loses the ability to get the believer’s attention when he is on the verge of danger. Eventually, men speak lies in hypocrisy and do not care or feel any remorse for their wickedness.
The apostle Paul knew the importance of having believers pray for him. Among the things for which he requested prayers, Paul specifically asked for prayer that he might maintain a good conscience, living honestly in all things. He did not trust the condition of his conscience to his own efforts but depended upon the Lord’s willingness to hear and answer the prayers of the saints. Unfortunately, far too many Christians have become entirely self-reliant and self-trusting. As such, fewer believers request or take part in prayer for another man’s conscience. Instead, prayer has generally been reduced to one’s needs whether they are physical, material, or financial. Scriptural Christianity places a greater concern for the conscience.
Sin within a person’s life messes with man’s conscience. It begins by attacking man’s knowledge of God with the end goal of causing a complete rejection of God. Sinful man turns to many different devices in hopes of taking care of his sin-tainted conscience. He may seek to pacify his conscience by doing religious works. He also may try to forget that his conscience has been corrupted by a further turning toward the pleasures of sin. In both cases, he is left with a conscience in need of purging. Where can man turn to find the purging he so strongly desires? According to the Bible, only the blood of Jesus Christ can purge a man’s conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).
Many people view meekness as an inherent weakness, yet the Bible corrects this faulty notion. The ability to demonstrate meekness in a time of ridicule or persecution displays strength. Today's passage reveals that a man slow to anger is “better than the mighty.” In fact, a man that “ruleth his spirit” is better than a military conqueror who “taketh a city.” Rather than a weakness, the ability to demonstrate meekness is a sign of great strength. The Bible declares that the Lord Jesus Christ was meek (Matthew 11:29); yet He simultaneously held the world together “by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). We see that God referred to Moses as meek, yet he had the power through the Lord to part the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) and to open the earth and swallow his enemies (Numbers 16:28-34). Weak individuals respond in anger when attacked; those who are strong exercise meekness.
