CAN CHRISTIANS SEAR THEIR CONSCIENCES? Many Think That They Cannot Sear Their Conscience? More importantly, though in the event that a Christian sears his conscience, can a Christian repent of a seared conscience?

Harry Riches answers

If a Christian realizes that his conscience has been seared, can he ever be brought back to repentance, if he wants to experience conscientious living again?

The Bible says that God does not change (Malachi 3:6). God has given us freewill to seek Him or reject Him and even to play the hypocrite, as so many are want to do. There are even those who claim to be Christians and preach against what is written in the Bible to justify their belief system, which are the philosophies of evil men posing as sinners saved by grace.

Any suggestion then that a person cannot lose his salvation is contrary to what God has already stated in the Book of Ezekiel, chapter eighteen.

• “But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die. (Ezekiel 18:21-24)

What is implied in this text is that a wicked man can become righteous and then become wicked once more. The word "treachery" is used here in a number of translations rather than the word "trespass" to indicate that the seriousness of having turned from wickedness to know righteousness and then spurn the grace of God, by willfully turning back into wickedness.

None of the righteous man's wicked ways will be remembered, his slate will be wiped clean, so that as far as God is concerned, his sins are removed from existence. The person is saved from perdition.

Those who teach that people are saved before the foundation of the world and saved by grace alone tread on dangerous ground. They are actually false teachers and not teaching what the Bible states. Because it is clear that people can lose their salvation if they are considered righteous and then turn their backs on God.

The book of Hebrews clearly states that it is impossible to restore to salvation those who have been enlightened, tasted the Heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, God's goodness and powers of the age to come.

• For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.(Hebrews 6:4-6)

Those false preachers who teach people have no freewill to choose life or death, or to seek the Lord God and so be saved, or that to seek salvation by faith is the same as salvation by works, are agents of the Devil. They deceive people into thinking that they are saved before the foundation of the world and can sin as much as they like. They have no faith themselves, therefore they try to rope others into their own deception. In fact, they will avoid this topic and even babble about how God created evil. They are condemned themselves. Teachers of deception will be judged more severely than those whom they deceive. But it is still up to each one of us to seek out our own salvation. For we are all accountable to our Heavenly Father for ourselves alone.

We are not the judge who has the final say regarding a person's salvation. Nevertheless, if we have knowledge of what the Bible states and do not speak up, we will also be held accountable. If a person takes offense at a person who is speaking the truth from the Scriptures, then that person has the problem. This is because offense is always taken and never given. How much easier is to simply repent rather than resist the Holy Spirit and outrage the Spirit of Grace.

• How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29

If we see a person who confessed Lord Jesus Christ and who has now fallen into sin, we are instructed to restore that person, if possible, in a spirit of gentleness.

• Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

The reality is that Jesus died for the ungodly, not the righteous and what nearly everyone overlooks is God blots out our transgressions not because of our sake, but because of His sake. This is to prove that He is righteous. Yet certain individuals influence many people in Christendom and charge God as the author of evil.

• “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. (Isaiah 43:25)

Because God is righteous, He is doing every thing possible to bring everyone to salvation without violating anyone's freewill. It is very difficult for people to turn away from God once they have decided to seek Him and they have been born from above; so that they see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3) and have tasted the Heavenly gift of salvation (Romans 5:15-17). But seek God we must, because this is why we are here. Although the servants and false teachers, who speak on behalf of the accuser of the brethren, deny that we need to seek the Lord God in order that we may be saved. Yet this is what the Bible states we are do in many places. Here is just one:

• And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, (Acts 17:26-27)

Without faith it is impossible to be saved (Hebrews 11:6). The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy that the Old Testament was able to instruct him how to be saved, but only through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:15). Those who hate the truth will speak out against being saved by faith. They will say that the Bible teaches that we are saved by grace alone and we do not have to seek God.

Some people begin looking to God but then they slack off because of these false teachers, or because they see hypocrites among Christians who claim to be leaders or have studied doctrines and theology. However, we are responsible for our own salvation, and just because other people do not possess faith and the faithfulness that comes with being authentic in what they say, we ought not take our own eyes of the prize that lies ahead.

Many people speak against the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and others think that once they are a partaker of the Holy Spirit they cannot lose their salvation, but if you notice in the above text taken from Hebrews, chapter six, those who commit apostasy and crucify the Son of God on their own account are partakers of the Holy Spirit.

In order for a person to lose their salvation, a person has to be someone like Judas Iscariot. The person has to know Lord Jesus intimately and have experienced the goodness and blessings that come with such an intimate relationship, and then decide to turn away from Him (which is usually done for money or worldly comforts). This is not something that many people are capable of doing because not too many get that close to Jesus in the first place. Many are called but few are chosen. However, many are saved also; but only as through fire, and even then, this is often only deathbed repentance that gets them through the door of salvation.

Jesus will not forsake us or leave us. We have to forsake our own salvation. Everybody who is born has their name written in the book of life. It is only removed when we sin against God. How do can we know that this is true, because this is what the Lord God Himself said to Moses:

• So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”  But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. (Exodus 32:31-33)

If we fail to seek God out and find Him, then we have demonstrated our disregard for the truth. If we seek God, experience His blessings, and then turn away from Him, we have also shown our disregard for the truth. If we repent, while we can, we are being wise for our own sake. For if we reject what God has on offer, which is to secure our inheritance because of what the Son of God did for us on the Cross, and we do not claim our inheritance, then we are despising our Savior and that which He has made available for us as a result of His death.

Can a Christian repent from a seared conscience? Not if it is completely seared. For then it is impossible.The reason for this is because we have sinned against God by rejecting the ransom that was paid to redeem what Adam had lost when Lucifer tricked Him into handing over the authority he had been given for him to reign on Earth.  For Christians to sear their consciences, they have to be like the Egyptian Pharaoh and harden their hearts more each time when they see a demonstration of God's power, after once acknowledging that Jesus died for their sins. Or by believing lies and rejecting the truth when it is presented to them.

The Ten Commandments Were Designed For You To Enjoy And Possess Life