The Voice of Conscience

Nehemiah 2:12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.

Nehemiah 7:5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,

The statement I’m about to make will probably come as a shock to about 99.99% of modern American “Christians.” God doesn’t talk to you. The voices you hear in your head, don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s God speaking to you. God has said all that He has to say and all that He needs to say, and He recorded it and preserved it in a book called the Holy Bible. So don’t follow your inner voice, follow the scripture. Don’t always let your conscience be your guide (sorry, Jiminy), let God’s word be your guide (Psalm 119:105).

Having said that, it is the job of the Holy Spirit to “bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit will use the word of God to work on our conscience and direct us away from sin and toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will use the scripture to guide us in the paths of righteousness and direct our service to the Lord.

Nehemiah is an OT example of such a case. The Bible records that the Lord had put on his heart to build a wall at Jerusalem (2:12) and to reckon the genealogy of the people (7:5). Today, the Lord is active in putting ministries and mission fields and service opportunities on the hearts of those who are interested and active in promoting the cause of Jesus Christ.

Two scriptures come to mind. James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Proverbs 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

There are many clear commands in scripture, and I don’t have to wait for any moving of God in my heart to know how I ought to act. I don’t drink beer and smoke cigarettes and excuse it by saying that God didn’t say I couldn’t because there are verses in the Bible that would prohibit me from partaking in those vices. I don’t wait for a moving of God in my heart to witness because the Bible says to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The sower sows the seed on all types of ground (Mark 4:14-20).

But in those instances when God does put something on our hearts – to call a brother, to pray for a missionary, to give that clerk a gospel tract, to respond to a message, to pursue a ministry – let’s be sure to act and to act quickly.

Don’t mistake your inner voice for the voice of God. But don’t discount the role of the Holy Spirit, either. Amen.