A number of years ago when we were camping I was attempting to tie up a tarp over us because it was raining. I was standing on a round log turned on its end that was about two feet off of the ground, trying to get the tarp as high over our head as possible. As I was stretching to reach a branch to tie the tarp to, the log I was standing on tipped over and I fell into our campfire landing in it with my hand. I burned it severely and was driven to the emergency room of the closest hospital. Now, years later, my hand works fine but the area that was burned most severely has no feeling in it, it is totally numb, like a piece of wood. The Bible ays that some people have seared their own conscience with a branding iron, meaning that they can do wrong and not even know it is wrong. And then the Bible talks about those who have effectively made their conscience sensitive so they are aware of even small inconsistencies in living.

Our conscience is part of our soul and is a very important part of our inner person, the real us that is going to heaven someday. As we grow in our character and become more Christlike in our behavior our conscience is what guides us as we make choices and decisions. The more tender our conscience the more closely we will walk with Christ in life. Our conscience gets calloused when we deliberately choose to do wrong because of the pull of the world and the temptation of the devil. As our conscience gets more and more calloused sinning gets easier and easier to do.

People often get to a point where the Bible calls them spiritually blind. They are totally incapable of understanding the gospel, and the only way they can get saved is by God doing a miracle in their heart and restoring their spiritual eyesight. He does that on the basis of the prayers of a saint or saints who are interceding for them.

1 Timothy 4:2
by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,