I Samuel 24:5
“But it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.”
The conscience is an interesting study. One more miraculous and wonderful part of our creation. The Lord put a conscience within us to aide us in being good. I would go further and say it's function is also to keep us close to Him.
We've seen the angel and devil on the shoulders of cartoon characters. The conscience is the angel. It's our internal reminder which tells us not to do somethings. It can also haunt us to repair a wrong we've done.
The Lord can use the conscience, but it's not God's voice. I John 3:20 says, "that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things." At times the bible calls the conscience our heart. This passage clearly describes the conscience and God being different. This was helpful, as I can recall feeling guilty and thinking God was sending those feelings. Sometimes yes, but not always. This passage also implies that the conscience can be wrong.
The conscience is like a judge who hears cases. The judge compares actions to laws. If the law is transgressed, then the ruling is usually guilty. As we grow up our parents (and schools and churches) teach us. Those teachings become our internal laws. When we go outside of those rules, we feel guilty. However, we may have been taught wrongly. While growing up our church encouraged us not to eat meat on Fridays. However, when I was an early teen, that changed and was allowed. I was confused. Why did God change His mind? It ends up, it wasn't God who made it or who changed it, but the pope. Some think that he is the voice of God. The point is we may have learned wrongly. In those cases, our consciences need to be re-educated.
I had a sensitive conscience when a young christian. I thought it was God speaking to me. In addition, I would always ask "What would Jesus do?" Whatever I thought became a command and I would feel guilty if I didn't do it. This became real oppressive. My mom and I would visit convalescent homes as a ministry. But I couldn't pass it without feeling guilty. I would go a different route to avoid it.
The Lord sometimes speaks through our consciences. Which means we should give heed. Lamentations 3:40 says, "Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD." We should test our consciences as to whether this is from God. We can simply ask.
David was one of the best of the bible and he listened to his conscience. We need to allow it to be a factor. We aren't to ignore it, nor are we allow it to torment us.
Part of what determines the voice of God is the difference between conviction and guilt. The former draws us to Him, while the second causes us to hide like Adam and Eve.
Lord, thank You for our consciences. Help us to be in Your Word so they can be properly educated. Give us wisdom as we determine if it's You speaking, us or error. Like David, help us to allow them to be used as intended.