Spiritual Warfare Series — Devotional #11
A Severed Conscience
This week we continue exploring the question:
How does God’s enemy come after His people and His leaders for the sole purpose of distracting, disrupting, and derailing them from being involved in God’s great mission?
As we survey Pauline literature, we uncover fourteen tactical strategies that the enemy uses to oppose God’s people—along with biblical antidotes to resist them.
Tactic 11: A Severed Conscience
"Our enemy attacks the conscience little by little, seeking to wear us down and eventually wear out a leader’s resolve to fight the good fight." – Gary Rohrmayer
Biblical Foundation
1 Timothy 1:18–20 – “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
Paul urges Timothy to guard both faith and a good conscience. When the conscience is ignored or seared, even leaders can drift into error and eventually wreck their faith. Spiritual shipwreck rarely happens overnight—it comes through the slow erosion of conviction, compromise, and unchecked sin.
The Problem: A Numbed Conscience
J. Robert Clinton warns:
"Satan can use a lack of responsiveness to one’s conscience to eventually destroy a leader and take them out of ministry, and further cause them to blaspheme what they once believed."
A conscience dulled by repeated disobedience becomes vulnerable to deception. Leaders who stop confessing sin, excuse “small compromises” as harmless, or resist the Spirit’s conviction are walking a dangerous path. The result is not only personal failure, but often public reproach and damage to the witness of the gospel.
The Antidote: Guarding and Training the Conscience
Clinton counsels:
"On the one hand, don’t go against your conscience. On the other hand, allow God to impact your inner life and correct wrongly held ideas that affect your conscience."
The conscience must be both protected and shaped:
Don’t Go Against Your Conscience – Keep “short accounts” with God through confession and repentance (1 John 1:9).
Let Scripture Correct and Train – God’s Word recalibrates a misinformed conscience (Hebrews 4:12).
Invite Accountability – Spirit-filled mentors and fellow believers expose blind spots.
Stay Teachable – A humble, pliable spirit keeps the heart tender before God.
Through these disciplines, the Spirit sharpens discernment, preserves integrity, and guards us from the subtle erosion of faith.
Reflective Questions
If the enemy were to attack one area of your life, where would you be most vulnerable?
If the enemy were to attack one area of the church, where would it be most at risk?
When was the last time you conducted a thorough spiritual inventory of your conscience?
When was the last time your church gathered corporately for confession and repentance?
Prayer
Father of Light, search me and know my heart; test me and reveal any offensive way in me. Protect my conscience through daily confession, a deep love for Your Word, and a constant awareness of Your presence. Give me a teachable spirit to receive correction with humility and grace. Help me walk in integrity, live at peace with others, and remain tender before You. Keep me from drifting into compromise, and guard me from a shipwrecked faith. In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
