Question:

Is our conscience to be our guide for practical everyday living when we, as young people, may not know the Bible well enough to be guided by the Scriptures?

Answer:

The proverb, “Let your conscience be your guide,” is not found in Scripture.  The Bible speaks of people with consciences that are “weak” (1 Corinthians 8:7,10,12), “defiled” (Titus 1:15), “evil” (Hebrews 10:22), and “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2).   Instead, we need to exercise ourselves (Acts 24:16) through study of God’s Word and prayer to have consciences that are “good” (Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:19; Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 3:16,21), “pure” (1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3), and “void of offense toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16).  If we don’t know what the Bible says about a certain type of behavior or activity, we should seek the counsel of other, older Christians.