The Dispensation of Conscience
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1 Tim 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: There were false teachers at Ephesus who were trying to make a name for themselves as teachers of the Law but who did not know what they were talking about. They had turned away from the truth of the Word and were listening to fables (myths, v. 4) and endless genealogies, raising more questions than they could answer. What a picture of some teachers today! Paul’s instruction to Timothy was love, and the purest kind of love at that. It is that love which pours naturally from a cleansed heart (cf. 2 Tim. 2:22), untainted conscience, and a sincere (anypokritou, “unhypocritical”; cf. 2 Tim. 1:5) faith. Adam and Eve instead of confessing openly to God of there guilt and shame when the opportunity was given they chose not to. Conscience is the still small voice of God proving we our not our own master, but are accountable and responsible before God. It must be committed to the Spirit of God and His Word. |
After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they died in their spirit soul and body. Man did not lose his consciousness of God through Adam as some teach, but our love for God and man was lost. Paul said I serve God with my spirit Rom 1:9 through which we have God consciousness. Our soul makes up that part of us which constitutes the five senses and is earthly speaking of our feelings, emotions such as touch, smell, hearing, site ext. When Adam and Eve sinned their soul dominated their spirit and fell prey to the earthly. Before the fall either they had no conscience or that maybe after the fall it was activated. They were in a state of innocents not holiness. I believe God created them with potential to grow. After the fall we read for the first time in scripture of shame, guilt, and persecution. It's his fault or her fault not mine, they told me or influenced me. The first step in a good conscience is honest confession. They not only hid from God but tried to cover up there guilt from Him and there self. There eyes were open and they knew they were naked. Which before they had no conscience of, or guilt of this fact. God now through Christ saves our spirit, soul and body not as though the three are separate from each other but unites all three in power, by His Spirit.
Man's view of God is definitely distorted, because of sin, and the conscience can be seared. Man for the most part has made a god to there thoughts and not of the true and only one God of the Bible. The essence of sin is independence from God. This dispensation starts after the fall and ends at the flood. There is a brief time of calling on the Lord but ultimately God starts over with the human race in Noah. Again our conscience is the still small voice of God proving we our not our own master, but are accountable and responsible before Him. It must be committed to the Spirit of God and His Word.
The conscience provides our inner awareness of conforming to the will of God or departing from it, resulting in either a sense of approval or condemnation. To act contrary to the urging of one’s conscience is wrong, for actions that go against the conscience cannot arise out of faith (1 Cor. 8:7–13; 10:23–30). Condemnation reveals our need for Jesus!
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A good conscience is the palace of Christ; the temple of the Holy Ghost; the paradise of delight; the standing Sabbath of the saints.—St. Augustine* |
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A man's conscience is the Lord's searchlight exposing
his hidden motives. |
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Something that makes you tell your mother before your sister does.—A little boy’s definition of a conscience. |
From (Genesis 3:22 - 8:22) Length 1,656 years
| 1. The 1st Murder | 3. Apostasy and Judgment |
| 2. The Seeds of Cain and Seth | 4. How to Deaden the Conscience |
We find at the beginning of Genesis 4 Cain and Abel bringing a sacrifice unto the Lord before Cain killed Able. Adam and Eve taught their children what God required but because of jealousy we find the first murder and funeral. Adam and Eve soon found out what God meant when he said to dust thou shalt return. God’s promise in 3:15 and Adam’s faith in 3:20 are both seen in 4:1.
This earliest family must have known a definite place for worship, for both sons brought offerings to the Lord. It may be that the glory of God tabernacled at the tree of life, with the way guarded by the cherubim (3:24). Hebrews 11:4 indicates that Abel brought his offering by faith; and Rom. 10:17 teaches that “faith comes by hearing, (NKJV).” This means that God must have taught Adam and his family how to approach Him, and 3:21 indicates that sacrifice of blood was involved. Hebrews 9:22 states that there must be the shedding of blood before there can be the remission of sin, but Cain brought a bloodless offering from the cursed earth. His offering may have been sincere, but it was not accepted. He had no faith in God’s Word or dependence on the sacrifice of a substitute. God probably “answered by fire” (Lev. 9:24) and burned up Abel’s offering, but Cain’s offering lay there on the altar.
Cain had a form of godliness and religion, but he denied the power (2 Tim. 3:5). First John 3:12 indicates that Cain was a child of the devil, and this means he practiced a false righteousness of the flesh, not the righteousness of God through faith. Jesus called the self-righteous Pharisees “children of the devil” and blamed their kind for the death of Abel (Luke. 11:37-51). Jude 11 talks about “the way of Cain,” which is the way of religion without blood, religion based on religious good works and self-righteousness.
James 1:15 warns us that sin begins in a small way, but grows and leads to death. So it was with Cain. We see disappointment, anger, jealousy, and finally murder. The hatred in his heart led to murder with his hand (Matt. 5:21-26). God saw Cain’s faithless heart and fallen countenance and warned him that sin was crouching like a wild beast, waiting to destroy him. God said, “Its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Alas, Cain fed the wild beast of temptation, then opened the door and invited him in! Cain invited his brother to talk with him, then killed him in cold blood. A child of the devil (1 John 3:12), Cain, like his father, was a liar and a murderer (John 8:44). In chapter 3, we have man sinning against God by disobeying His Word; in chapter 4, we have man sinning against man. Warren Wiersbe
Though Cain's offering was rejected God tempered his judgment with mercy and placed a mark upon him lest any finding him should kill him Genesis 4:15.The “mark” is not described. The Hebrew word oth is better rendered “sign.” Whether this sign was a physical marking on Cain’s body or a miraculous display of some sort, it was widely known for many generations (see Genesis 4:24) and did serve to inhibit any who might be inclined to slay Cain. As the Scripture says vengeance belongs to the Lord. This is the dispensation of conscience later God gives judges, justice, and law even cities of refuge for one to flee. The dispensation of law begins in Exodus 14 and we find in Exodus 20 the 10 Commandments and the sixth says thou shalt not kill. But in this dispensation God simply put a mark or sign of protection for he is the ultimate judge of eternity. Cain became a “walking sermon” on the grace of God and the tragic consequences of sin. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance; Christ’s blood cries out peace and forgiveness (Heb. 12:24). Unless we receive Christ and repent from our sin we will suffer the eternal vengeance of God, but even now we reap what we sow as we see Cain become a wanderer and vagabond for the rest of his life restless and under the curse of God. God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance. God had cursed the serpent and the ground; now He curses Cain. “You are cursed from the earth” (Gen 4:11). In other words, the ground would not yield increase to Cain, and he would have to wander from place to place in order to live. He would be a fugitive, and a wanderer. Back to the Top
The Seeds of Cain and Seth Gen 4:16- 5:32
Next we read of Cain going out from the presence of the Lord and dwelling in the land of Nod, also of the birth of the Seth. Cain certainly married one of his sisters, for by then there were many descendants of Adam (5:3 indicates 130 years had passed). Eve shows faith in God's promise of a seed who would bruise the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15 and 4:25-26). God’s promise in 3:15 and Adam’s faith in 3:20 are both seen in 4:1. Eve brought new life into the world, and she thought her child was the promised Seed. “I have gotten a man—the Lord!” is a possible translation. “Cain” means “acquired”—the baby boy was looked upon as a gift from God. Abel means “vanity, vapor”—it suggests the futility of life apart from God, or perhaps Eve’s disappointment that Cain was not the promised Seed. From the very beginning, we see a division of work: as Cain is identified with the ground, Abel with the flock. God had already cursed the ground (3:17), so Cain is identified with that curse.
We see a multiplying upon the face of the earth of two seeds. We know that Christ was crucified before the foundation of the world and that he would come through a seed of faith looking for the Messiah to come, and only after Seth is born do we read that men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Noah was a descendent of Seth and found grace in the site of God from whom God repopulated the world after judging it.
Evaluated from a human point of view, Cain’s descendants are an admirable lot. Jabal (“wanderer”) founded the science of agriculture (v. 20); Jubal founded “culture”—music; and Tubal-Cain founded the metal industries. In outward appearances, Cain’s “city” was a great success, but God made it clear that He had rejected the whole thing. In v. 25, God gave Adam and Eve another seed—Seth—which means “the appointed, the substitute” (taking Abel’s place). God did not try to reform the Cainites. He rejected them and ultimately would condemn them in the flood. As the Cainites were gradually wandering away from the true worship of God, the Sethites were returning to Him (v. 26) and establishing again their worship of the Lord.
Civilization today is Cainite in origin. It has such elements as agriculture, industry, arts, great cities, and religion without faith in the blood of Christ. Also, like Cain’s civilization of old, it will be destroyed. We still have boasting murderers like Lamech, and we still have people (like Lamech) who violate the sacred vows of marriage. “As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:37, NKJV). Men still reject divine revelation and depend on their own human resources. The true Christian does not belong to this “world system” that is passing away (1 John 2:15-17), and should not get involved with it (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Wiersbe
We find that Enoch walked with God and was not for God took Him in verse 24 of chapter 5 which is a type of the rapture see Rapture of the Church.
Genesis 6:1- multiply. God had commanded Adam and Eve to “multiply” (Genesis 1:28). With each man and woman enjoying hundreds of years of parental productivity plus almost ideal environmental and climatological conditions, the earth could well have been “filled” with people long before the Flood. For example, an initial population of two people, increasing at the rate of 2% annually (estimated to be the annual growth rate at present) would generate a population of well over ten trillion people in 1656 years (the time span from Adam to the flood). The Defender Bible
Judgment always follows apostasy. In Genesis chapter 6 we see the flood but before it takes place we see apostasy. In this chapter commentaries differ about who the sons of God are and about the hundred and 20 years that God speaks of in verses two and three. I believe that that the sons of God in verse two are men. The previous verse says men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them. The theory that the sons of God were angels is less likely in view of the words of Jesus that angels do not marry Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25. I believe that verse two ties in with the verse one and speaks of apostasy. That is to say that the godly lineage of Seth intermarried with the ungodly lineage of Cain. As a result we find in verse five the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously. This verse speaks of the old nature spinning out of control no longer listening to the voice of God no longer calling upon him and worshiping him as they did in Gen 4:26. The spirits held in chains and judgment Peter speaks of linking those spirits to the apostasy of that day were spirits that possessed men who had given themselves over to sin. In the day that we live now I believe Jesus is coming back soon. We don't know the day or the hour but we do know the season and the tone which is, even as the days of Noah were so shall it be in the coming of the Son of Man. Before Jesus comes there will be a falling away from the truth, people giving themselves over to sin even from professing Christianity, apostasy from the truth of the Gospel. There must be a separation in our hearts and lives from the worldly Canaanites those who do not know God. The indictment upon the generation before Jesus comes back is they love not the truth 2 Thess 2:10 and that Jesus is coming back in flaming fire to take vengeance upon them who know not God 2 Thess 1:6-9. Jesus said in Matthew 24 the end would not come till the gospel be preached in all the world. It's amazing that through TV, radio and satellite communication this is taking place, but with all the preaching the Bible tells us clearly there will be a falling away, apostasy, meaning a turning away from the truth. Jesus warned in Matthew 24 before speaking of the end time events, he first spoke of deception see also 2 Thess 2:3-12. apostasia ἀποστασία defection from truth, (“apostasy”):—falling away, forsake.
The deception that is taking place today even as in the days of Noah is by a lying seducing spirit's and doctrines of devils 2 Tim4:1.
Gen 6:4 giants. These “giants” were the monstrous progeny of the demon-possessed men and women whose illicit activities led to God’s warning of imminent judgment. The Hebrew word is nephilim (“fallen ones”), a term possibly relating to the nature of their spiritual “parents,” the fallen angels. That they were also physical giants is evident from the fact that the same word is later used in connection with the giants in Canaan at the time of Joshua (Numbers 13:33). The Defender Bible- I believe that just as in the days of Noah sex out of control brought demon oppression and possession and ultimately mutation in progeneration resulting in giants and worldly renown men we are seeing the same today. This in and of itself is a sign of Gods Judgment and more to come. Aids and many more deceases are discovered today from sex not confined to Gods laws of truth and love which I believe speaks to our generation today. Though there are mutations from many of these deceases physically, and spiritually we see much worse happening!
Verse 5 only evil continually. Universal wickedness requires a universal cause adequate to produce it. Nothing less than a worldwide influx of demonic control seems adequate to explain it. The Defender Bible
A close study of Genesis 6 verse three shows that God was not referring to the time that it would take Noah to build the ark, but that he was simply saying that from then on would be 120 years before the flood came and man would be judged. The prophecy probably came through Methuselah. Noah was 500 years old when his sons Shem, Ham and Japheth were born Genesis 5:32, and was 600 years old when the flood came Genesis 7:6. Also in Genesis 6 verse 18 we read that when Noah received the call from God to build the arc his sons were already adults and married. We read in Genesis 11:10 that Shem was ninety eight years old when the flood ended. The fact his sons were not yet born when he received the command to build the arc, being already adults at that time, along with the age of Shem when the flood ended we learn that the arc had to be built within a time period of much less than ninety nine years taking into account of the flood. How much less we do not know but the point is that God's Spirit strove, beckoned and dealt with the soul's of men for 120 years before judgment came, and demon possession, violence and apostasy is taking place today. The question must be asked have we made Jesus Lord and Savior of our lives, and are we listening to what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. Back to the Top
What Adam-and-Eve did not take in account when they ate of the forbidden fruit was that with knowledge comes responsibility and accountability. Today in a world where we have so great technology we find it an age of terror. Mankind can actually destroy themselves with the push of a button. With the knowledge of good and evil came also responsibility to use the good and resist the evil. As the scripture says knowledge puffeth up.
Amos’ description of Israel is sobering, if not downright frightening: “They do not know to do right” (Amos 3:10). Wickedness overflows the nation like a mighty river. As a result, the people are drowning in sin. They can no longer tell right from wrong. There is no longer any national conscience.
In his book Hitler’s Cross, Erwin W. Lutzer gives chilling details about the training of the dreaded SS troops in Nazi Germany. The head of the SS was Heinrich Himmler, who was faced with the problem of how to take decent young German men and deaden their consciences so that they would be willing to perform ghastly deeds of cruelty.
Both Hitler and Himmler believed that each of the SS troops had to perform some deed that violated their conscience and sense of decency. Only when they did what others found to be reprehensible would they break away from their old values. The conscience had to be deadened through these acts of barbarism; that would serve the dual purpose of cutting the recruit off from his past ties, his family and friends, and of bonding him to his new peers and his leader. The break would be so complete that he could never go back. An act of torture or murder would unite him with blood brothers who had crossed the same line, felt the same numbness, and sworn themselves to uphold the same cause.
The Nazis proved that ordinary people, if controlled with rigid discipline and the power of mass psychology, can be induced to carry out the most brutal and destructive crime the human mind can devise.
The troops could say with Hermann Goering, “I have no conscience! Adolf Hitler is my conscience!”*
Erwin W. Lutzer, Hitler’s Cross (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), 92–94.Morgan, R. J. 2000. Nelson's complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) . Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, Tenn.