Manchester Lutheran Church

What does an honest conscience say?

Everyone wants to be a right and good person. It’s built in to who we are.

You don’t have to scratch very deep to see that feeling kick in. Think of the immediate responses we have when we hear someone say something like: “I don’t think we see eye to eye…” “Let me be honest for a second…” “You’ve got great gifts, but…”

And being British, we all have more coded ways of saying things like this… “Your approach to these situations is interesting…” “I’m sorry, I haven’t explained what’s needed here…”

We all know for ourselves, our responses to statements like these… …our emotional responses …and our learned responses.

That part of ourselves that wants to be a good person, that wants to be “right”—that is our conscience.

At this point in Luke’s Gospel, people have been asking Jesus about things like divorce, adultery, the meaning of repentance.

So, the issue of conscience and feeling bad, is probably on their minds. And that’s the context in which Jesus tells this famous parable.

Where He reveals three things about the conscience:
1) A deceitful conscience is expert in excuses
2) A silenced conscience will scream at you for eternity
3) Only the Gospel can give you an honest conscience now

The first thing Jesus’ parable reveals about the conscience is this: 1) A deceitful conscience is expert in excuses

Please look at vv. 19-21:

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Jesus contrasts the rich man and Lazarus in every way:

The man is rich, Lazarus is poor.

The rich man feasted sumptuously every day, Lazarus desired to be fed with what fell from his table, desire implies his wish was not fulfilled.

The rich man is clothed in purple, meaning he has political power, and in fine linen, meaning he lives in luxury.

Lazarus is clothed in sores, he has no power over even his own body. And the dogs lick his sores: showing his total degradation and helplessness.

And Lazarus sits at the rich man’s gate. So the rich man is aware of him every day, but does nothing.

The rich man is a picture of a conscience that is asleep. Someone who walks through life callous to the situation of others, lacking empathy and love, not caring about those in need.

And why? Because the rich man is obsessed with himself. And looking only at himself and his own desires, he can’t see the needs of Lazarus right in front of him.

The rich man’s conscience feels nothing toward Lazarus, never points the rich man away from himself toward Lazarus, doesn’t stir him to help or think of Lazarus in any way.

The rich man’s conscience is lying to him—it is deceitful. It is telling him that he is a good person, even though he is choosing to ignore Lazarus’ needs right on his doorstep.

And it could only do this day in, day out, if his conscience is making excuses.

That is how our consciences convince us we are good people…

It’s easy to think: “I’m not like that rich man—I don’t feast every day while someone starves on my doorstep.”

But that’s exactly how a deceitful conscience works: it gives us just enough distance from the story so we don’t have to feel it.

But, who is at your gate? Who do you walk past in your life—emotionally, spiritually, or physically—without really seeing?

Who is it at church, in your family, in your workplace, whose suffering you’ve learned to ignore?

That when you see them, instead of empathising with them, you think of yourself and why you’re right? “I’ve got enough on my plate.” “Someone else will help.” “I give in other ways.”

And just like the rich man, we start believing: “I’m a good person,” even when we’re living completely inwardly, focused on ourselves. A deceitful conscience is expert in excuses

Which leads us to Jesus’ second shocking point: 2) A silenced conscience will scream at you for eternity

Please look at vv. 22-26:

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Throughout his life, the rich man had been silencing his conscience.

Or, rather, his conscience was deceiving him, constantly justifying himself, and pointing him away from the needs of Lazarus.

But, now, in the afterlife, his conscience wakes up—but too late. He is tortured by the consequences of his lack of love in life.

Desperate for respite, he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to him with water to cool his tongue, but Lazarus is unable.

Both because of the Law: the legal ruling about what happened in their lifetimes, and because the afterlife is a fixed state for all eternity.

And we should take Jesus’ warning here very seriously:

Hell is real.

It is a real place, of real suffering, from which there is no escape. The rich man is conscious, and his conscience has now woken up.

But, rather than moving him to love, his conscience is still focused on himself… …and he is full of bitter regret and self-pity.

That is the nature of hell… …the chasm is at least partly of our own making.

The rich man still does not have a conscience that can empathise with Lazarus and his situation. It is Abraham who has to tell the rich man that Lazarus is not simply his servant to be ordered around, and that Lazarus is rightly receiving blessing in the afterlife.

Lazarus is not blessed because he received bad things in life. We are not rewarded in eternity simply because of suffering in this life.

Rather, Lazarus is being rewarded, because he relies on someone else to speak for him.

Abraham is the one championing Lazarus’ case—not Lazarus. Abraham points to the real advocate: Jesus.

The real reason why Lazarus is in paradise: is because he relied on God’s Word of promise, of a righteousness outside of himself that is given to him.

Similarly, for us, if we trust God’s promise in Jesus now, then both now and in the afterlife: He will speak for you.

Jesus is telling this story not just to warn—but to wake up consciences now, before it’s too late.

If you’re hearing this today, your conscience is being stirred—there’s still time.

And the example of Lazarus shows us that an honest conscience is not a conscience that’s beating you up, it’s not a conscience that’s screaming at you: rather, it’s a conscience that relies on someone else speaking on your behalf.

That’s Jesus’ third point:

3) Only the Gospel can give you an honest conscience now

Please look at vv. 27-31:

And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

The rich man still does not understand the nature of the Gospel, because he thinks that if, given enough proof, enough evidence, his family would repent.

But, repentance and faith do not depend upon us. They are not something that comes from our own understanding.

They are something that must be given to us from the outside. And God gives this faith as a gift through his Word, through the Gospel.

The Spirit gives you the gift of faith, so that your conscience wakes up.

But, an honest conscience would not lead the rich man or his family to love Lazarus in order to avoid Hell and get into Heaven.

Because an honest conscience does not tell you: “Do this and you will be good!” That’s a dishonest conscience.

The reason why faith is a gift, is because an honest conscience speaks as Lazarus’ did: “I have nothing. I am not good. I am not righteous. But God has given me his righteousness.”

An honest conscience recognises that I don’t deserve anything good because of who I am.

But, God chooses to treat me as perfect and good, simply because he loves me in Christ.

An honest conscience does not look at Lazarus and say: “I’ve done enough.” “I have my own problems.” “It’s probably his own fault anyway.”

But an honest conscience also doesn’t look at Lazarus and say: “I’m terrible, I need to do more.” “I’ll give him loads of money and that will make me fine.” “If I sort out his problems, then I’m a good person.”

An honest conscience looks at Lazarus and says: “I haven’t done enough for this person: but God has made me righteous anyway, and because of that I’ll help him out.”

An honest conscience is one that looks away from itself: We look at other people’s need, and see and empathise. But, we don’t look to ourselves to be good… …we look at Jesus, risen from the dead, and find that we have been made perfect in God’s sight.

So, What does an honest conscience say?

Not: “I’m good enough and can ignore other people”
Not: “I’m terrible and need to fix it”
But: “Jesus is my righteousness. And that sets me free to notice and love others.”

1) A deceitful conscience is expert in excuses

A conscience that looks inward at ourselves, trying to explain away our failures and convince ourselves we are good people. A conscience like this doesn’t make you right before God, and it doesn’t make you treat others well. It’s just curved in on itself.

2) A silenced conscience will scream at you for eternity

A conscience that is curved in on itself, will remain like that for all time. It won’t provide you any comfort… …it will scream at you in bitter regret and failure. So, give up trying to justify yourself, just silence that inner voice trying to explain why you’re right.

Because…

3) Only the Gospel can give you an honest conscience now

God loves you. He has made you right in Christ. Look away from yourself at him. Don’t argue your own case, allow him to argue his case on your behalf.

Because, we have Moses and the Prophets; so, let us hear them. Let’s hear God’s witnesses telling us, as John writes: that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.