Description
I first came across the title Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ in this helpful article by The Gospel Coalition. I was familiar with one of the book’s authors, Andrew Naselli, from the book he co-authored with Jonathan Leeman titled How Can I Love Church Members With Different Politics Than Me? Although I hadn’t read anything by J.D. Crowley before, I am super thankful for his collaboration and perspective in Conscience. The authors begin the book by examining the use of the word ‘conscience’ in the Bible. They highlight various verses in which it is used and move from there to define the term. I really appreciate that they began the book this way because it generally seems that a lack of definition creates unnecessary conflict in conversations about deep matters. Establishing a definition was a great way to serve readers and help them more fully understand what the authors were writing about. The definition that the authors arrived at is, “The conscience is your consciousness of what you believe is right and wrong,” (pg. 42).
The authors helpfully explain that whereas under the Old Covenant, the people of God had guilty consciences because of their sin, they are now free because they have received the righteousness of Jesus. The authors articulated this beautifully when they wrote, “. . . now we can confidently approach God on the basis of Jesus’s definitive conscience-cleansing work on the cross. Now we can have a ‘clear conscience’ (Heb. 13:18). Only the cross can fill that ever-widening gap between your consciousness of what you ought to be and your actual obedience. As you mature in your faith, you grow increasingly in love with Christ and his gospel; you place your trust more and more in Christ to make you acceptable before God; and you wait with greater anticipation for the day when Christ will come back and make your obedience match your knowledge,” (pg. 51). Read more of my review here.
