JIMINY CRICKET says to PINOCCHIO

Every time Pinocchio’s nose would grow, it was because he told a lie.

I’ve used this illustration of Jiminy the Cricket to Pinocchio as the convicting conscience for years. This simple example helped individuals without any idea about the Holy Spirit’s work within us. (by no means in using this example do I neglect the Holiness of who the Holy Spirit is as part of the trinity Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In the story of Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket serves as a convicting conscience or mentor to the wooden puppet. His purpose was to keep him aware of the world’s evil, help him keep his heart pure, and stay brave, truthful, and unselfish.

He accompanies Pinocchio on his adventures and tries to help him make good decisions to distinguish between good and evil.

Jiminy quotes 

”All right. Sit down, son. Now you see the world is full of temptations.”—Jiminy Cricket

“Attaboy, Pinoke! And I’m gonna help ya.”— Jimmy Cricket

Gee, there’s no way you wouldn’t find me again. “I’m your conscience. And your conscience will always be your guide. Remember?”—Jiminy Cricket

“A conscience is that still, small voice that people won’t listen to. That’s just the trouble with the world today.” -Jiminy Cricket

“Go ahead, make a fool of yourself, then maybe you’ll listen to your conscience.” — Jiminy Cricket

The Holy Spirit convicts 

Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit

John 16:8-11

8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

When we respond to the Holy Spirit’s convicting work with repentance, it transforms our hearts, lives, and conscience!

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water” (Heb. 10:22).

Bring your conscience under the authority of God’s Word is a clean conscience 

“The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace” (2 Cor. 1:12).

The accusers respond by leaving after being convicted by their conscience

John 8:7-11

When Jesus had lifted up Himself and saw no one but the woman, He said unto her: woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? And she said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Verse nine, and they which heard it, Being convicted by their conscience went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the youngest. 

This portion of Tozer’s sermon is so powerful, it’s about the voice of the human conscience.

“The voice of conscience “

1953 A.W. Tozer 

Now, what we mean by conscience is that which always refers to right and wrong. Conscience never deals with theories about anything. Conscience always deals with right and wrong, and the relation of the individual to right and wrong. You will notice a strange thing here, that conscience never deals in plurals. It always deals in singulars. 

Now, the word conscience here, means, a moral sight. It means to see completely. It means an inward awareness. It means to be secretly aware of. And the secret presence of Christ in the world is the ground of human conscience. It is a moral awareness. A verse that I very often quote for it is a verse very basic in my theology, is John 1:9, that says that that is the light, Jesus, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And that Light in the world, that Secret Presence in the world, which lights every man that comes into the world, that is the ground of moral conscience. However, it operates, that is its ground. That’s why it’s here. That’s what put it here, that the living, eternal Word, is present in the world, present in human society, present here, secretly present here and giving to humanity a secret awareness of moral values. A secret awareness. That’s the terror of a conscience. And that’s precisely what the conscience does. It singles the man out. So God has then given us a faithful witness inside of our own hearts. A.W. Towzer

Bring your conscience under the authority of God’s Word. Ask God to keep you sensitive to His Spirit’s leadership. By doing so, you can say along with Paul:

“The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace” (2 Cor. 1:12-14)

2 Timothy 4:2 Paul taught that “through the insincerity of liars who conscience are seared.” We are unable to give sincere reliance to the conscience.

The believer can only boast in our “testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God.”  (2 Corinthians 1:12)

“A clean conscience “

Genesis 20:1-18 When Abraham was traveling in the region of the Negev he told people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. One day Abimelech, the king of the land, sent for Sarah and took her. 

But God came to him in a dream and told him she was a married woman. Now, Abimelech hadn’t touched her, so he appealed to God and claimed his innocence. 

He said, “I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” Then God told him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.”

Clean conscience; #8552completeness; figuratively, prosperity; usually (morally) innocence:—full, integrity, perfect(-ion), simplicity, upright(-ly, -ness), at a venture.