Consciousness is an internal warning system that tells us when something we are doing is wrong.
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Consciousness for our souls is the same as pain sensors for our body: inflict tension, in the form of guilt, when we violate what our heart tells us is right.
Consciousness testifies to the reality that some knowledge of the moral law of God is inscribed in every human heart since creation (Romans 2.15). The Greek word for "conscience" (suneidisis) and the root in Latin from which the term is derived has to do with self-knowledge, specifically, a moral self-awareness.
That capacity for moral reflection is an essential aspect of what Scripture presents when it says that we are made in the image of God. Our sensitivity to personal guilt, therefore, is a fundamental feature of our humanity that distinguishes us from animals. Trying to suppress consciousness is actually reducing the humanity of the person.
The conscience is not completely infallible. A poorly educated conscience can accuse us when we are really not guilty or say we are innocent when in fact we are wrong. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4.4: "Because although I have no conscience at all, I am not justified by that."