New Apostolic Church International

Conscience, reason, and faith

This article explores three fundamental elements of human existence.
The conscience is the human ability to distinguish between good and evil.
Reason serves to help mankind understand the world, Holy Scripture, and
the gospel. Faith incorporates the orientation of one’s life by God’s will,
as well as trust in His salvation-bringing actions.

The conscience

The ability to discern between good and evil is inherent in all people. This capability, which
can have a decisive influence on human thoughts and actions, is called a conscience.
However human beings do not necessarily heed the inner voice that distinguishes between
good and evil. Rather they often ignore it, or even attempt to silence it.

Although the actual term “conscience” only appears seldom, this topic comes up again
and again throughout Holy Scripture. The conscience, as a gift which mankind has
received from God, is described using various terms in Holy Scripture1.

In reference to the conscience, the Old Testament often uses the metaphor of the “heart”,
in which the voice of God reveals the standards for proper conduct and thought. For
example, we read the following in Deuteronomy 30: 14: “But the word is very near you, in
your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

In contrast to this, Apostle Paul explains that the will of God was not only laid into the
hearts of those who lived under the Mosaic Law, but also into the hearts of the Gentiles:
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these,
although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their
thoughts accusing or else excusing them…” (cf. Romans 2: 14-15). Thus all human beings
have an inner awareness of God’s will and that which is in accordance with it – all of them
possess such a conscience.

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1 The term “conscience” is used in many other contexts – e.g. sociological, philosophical, and psychological –
which are not treated here.

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© 2012 New Apostolic Church International January 2012
 Through the fall into sin, human beings have lost the security and support that result from
obedience to God. Here the authority of conscience can help in making decisions that
correspond to God’s will. Nevertheless it is still quite possible for human beings to arrive
at erroneous decisions, especially if the conscience is not guided by reason and faith.
Beyond that, human beings can also ignore their inner voice, particularly when it is a
hindrance to the attainment of their goals and the realisation of their intentions.

Human beings – who have been left to their own devices as a consequence of sin – have
the ability to perceive the will of God in their conscience. The authority of the conscience
can thus lead the will of the individual toward that which is good. For this reason, human
beings should always make the endeavour to continually expand and sharpen their con-
science through the law referenced in Romans 2: 14 et seq., which has been written into
every man’s heart.

The conscience weighs that which is good against that which is evil. When the conscience
is governed by reason and faith, it assists human beings in acting wisely. It also allows
them to recognise whether they have incurred guilt before God or their neighbour, and
reveals where their thoughts or actions have transgressed against God’s will and violated
His ordinances.

Human beings must first and foremost acknowledge their imperfections and give account
to their own conscience. If the conscience attests that a person has sinned and thus
incurred guilt – and provided the sinner allows himself to be guided by remorse and
repentance – God in His grace offers forgiveness through the merit of Christ. This is the
path established by God for the justification of fallen mankind.

Human beings can thus experience Holy Baptism with water as an expression of God’s
healing care: “There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the res-
urrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3: 21). God’s word strengthens human beings so that
they can continue along the path they have begun toward salvation. Thereby the con-
science undergoes a continual sharpening process that helps human beings recognise
God’s will more and more clearly. The “good conscience” is not founded on the individual
alone, but on the wholesome care of God and the individual’s obedience, which is aligned
with it.

The experience of grace fills the heart with the peace of God, and the conscience, which
previously condemned the individual on account of his sins, is calmed. The first epistle of
John sums this up with the words: “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and
shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our
heart, and knows all things” (1 John 3: 19-20).

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© 2012 New Apostolic Church International January 2012
 Reason

Like the conscience, reason is also a gift of God, which distinguishes human beings – as
the image of God – from all other creatures. It is of particular help in structuring their lives
and comprehending their environment. As mentioned earlier, conscience and reason are
closely associated with one another. The conscience can only truly provide orientation and
facilitate critical thinking if it is supported by reason.

Reason is revealed when human beings think and act while engaging their intellect and
knowledge. Whether they are aware of it or not, they are accountable before God and
themselves in so doing. Human beings are capable of comprehending their circumstances
and interpreting the interconnections between them. They recognise themselves as
individuals and see themselves in relationship to the world. Ultimately, reason is a gift of
God to human beings, which can guide them to proper conduct: “Counsel, and a tongue,
and eyes, ears, and a heart, gave He them [human beings] to understand” (Ecclesiasticus
17: 5-6).

God has given mankind the commission to “subdue the earth” (cf. Genesis 1: 28). With
their inquisitive minds, human beings seek to access and make use of that which is avail-
able to them in the creation. When they do this out of a sense of responsibility toward God
and the creation, human beings act in a reasonable manner, and thus make proper use of
the gift they have received from God.

In the Bible, reason is also described using the term “wisdom”. Understood as the ability
to comprehend and recognise things, it is attributed to the activity of God: “For He [God]
hath given me certain knowledge of things that are, namely, to know how the world
was made, and the operation of the elements…” (cf. Wisdom of Solomon 7: 17). Apostle
Paul also used the term “human wisdom” in reference to reason. It equips human
beings with the cognitive faculty by which they endeavour to access divine mysteries
(cf. 1 Corinthians 1: 20-21). If human beings were to elevate themselves above the divine
ordinances and thus above God Himself, they would thereby dismiss divine wisdom as
foolishness. This would cause them to elevate reason over faith, and ultimately reject it
(cf. 1 Corinthians 2: 1-16).

Since the Age of Enlightenment, such a tendency can be clearly identified in many areas,
especially in the industrialised world. It also reveals itself wherever man’s inquiring mind is
not subordinate to his responsibility toward God and the creation.

In this respect human reason is always imperfect on account of sin. It is for this reason
that, from the perspective of faith, an attitude that defines reason as the measure of all
things is exposed as foolishness: “For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world?” (1 Corinthians 1: 19-20).

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© 2012 New Apostolic Church International January 2012
 It is impossible for human reason in its finiteness to grasp the infiniteness of God. His
actions transcend all human reason. Therefore, human beings must always be aware
that they can never succeed in completely penetrating divine matters by way of reason
(cf. Romans 11: 33).

Although reason cannot be the measure of all things, it is still needed, for example, to
recognise spiritual and material interconnections. Without reason, human beings could
not register or understand the words and images from Holy Scripture. It is also required in
order to profess the doctrine of Jesus to others. Reason is a valuable divine gift, but not
the highest good (cf. Philippians 4: 7). For this reason it must not become the only standard
of measure in human life.

Whenever reason is imposed over things divine, there is a lack of accountability toward
God. Through faith, human beings know they are obligated to battle against such
presumption, “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
(2 Corinthians 10: 5).

Faith

Any discussion of conscience and reason must also incorporate the topic of faith, which
is the deciding dimension in the relationship between man and God. Faith is not merely a
supplement to a life with, and born of, God, but rather the determining element that makes
such a life possible in the first place.

The Hebrew text of the Old Testament does not mention the term “faith”. Where this word
is found in modern translations, the original words used were “trust”, “loyalty”, “obedience”,
“confidence”, or “certainty”. All of these meanings resonate together in the single word
“faith”. Hebrews 11: 1 underscores two important aspects of faith: “Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Here the term “substance”
implies trust in God’s will to save, and the alignment of one’s life by this trust. “Evidence”
implies that the things pertaining to the invisible world are accepted in just as real a manner
as the things that are part of earthly life, even though they remain unseen.

Faith always begins with God, who reveals Himself through His word and His works. As
long as human beings trust God completely, they are able to obey God. It was disobedi-
ence that caused mankind to sin and thereby incur guilt in the eyes of God. Since then,
mankind has had a broken relationship with the Creator. For any human being who desires
to enter into fellowship with God again, it is indispensable to have faith: “But without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11: 6).

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 For the examples of faith in the time of the old covenant, salvation was still far off in the
future (cf. Hebrews 11: 39). When God became human in Jesus Christ, the promises of
the Old Testament were fulfilled. Thereby faith acquired a new dimension: it now revolves
around the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him it is possible to be reconciled
with God and enter into fellowship with Him.

The Son of God demanded the following kind of faith: “… believe in God, believe also in
Me” (cf. John 14: 1). He also emphasised the consequences of unbelief in all its impli-
cations: “… for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8: 24).
Great things are promised to those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and
accept Him: they will not perish, but will gain everlasting life (cf. John 3: 16).

True Christian faith is always based first and foremost on God’s grace of election and
revelation. This is evident from the profession of Apostle Peter: “You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God”, and Jesus’ response: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (cf. Matthew
16: 16-17). Faith is a gift of God that is produced by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it
is also up to human beings to cultivate and preserve this faith. If they act in accordance
with it, their faith will be alive and will lead to salvation.

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© 2012 New Apostolic Church International January 2012