Conscience and Feeling
I saw a post recently on Facebook that consisted of a quote that was attributed to Martin Luther. The quote said “You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the Word.” I don’t know exactly where he said this without doing some research, but the quote is definitely consistent with Luther’s theology.
What does this quote mean? Humans have a conscience, and of course humans have feelings as well. Consciences are created by God, and they testify as to the morality of our actions, desires and words. Sometimes we have a guilty conscience over something we have done, while other times our conscience might tell us what the correct course of action is. While consciences are useful, they are not perfect. Because we are sinful, our consciences can be flawed. For example, our conscience might tell us that we have done wrong, but in reality we haven’t done anything wrong. According to psychologists, we can sometimes have “false guilt”; i.e. feeling guilty for something that we actually bear no responsibility for. This can especially happen when someone has experienced a traumatic event. They can feel that they were somehow responsible for the wrong that was done to them. Furthermore, our conscience sometimes won’t recognize the evil that we have done. This is because our sin can blind us to the wrongs we have committed.
Feelings are even less reliable than our conscience though. Feelings come and go, and they can be influenced by so many factors. They can be influenced, for example, by our health or by events that have occurred. They are definitely not a reliable indicator of the strength of faith, or the will of God, or the righteousness of our actions.
The Word of God however is a reliable guide in all things. Our conscience and feelings might tell us that we are damned, but God’s Word teaches us that through Christ we have salvation. For Christ died for our sins and rose for our Justification. In matters of righteousness and salvation, we should only trust God’s Word and nothing else. For God’s Word alone tells us the truth concerning righteousness and salvation. In the same way, The Ten Commandments are an accurate guide for matters concerning sin. The Word of God is inspired by God and inerrant and therefore completely reliable.
In Christ,
Rev. David L. Putz, Pastor
Holy Cross Lutheran Church (LCMS)
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Good things are happening at Holy Cross! Praise God for that. When we keep Word and Sacrament ministry at the heart of what we do, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sown. As we share the Word, God gives the growth and we rejoice as humble stewards of the God who changes lives and hearts. Help us always, Lord, to keep Your Word at the center of our life together under your Holy Cross!
Please continue to pray for our congregation and each other. Don’t forget to visit our church website www.holycross-crawfordsville.org to find links for all our services on YouTube.