Pro 28:1 | KingComments | STEP | “The wicked” may have a big mouth, but inwardly they are always afraid. They have a guilty conscience and fear judgment. They trust no one, are suspicious, and even flee from imaginary danger (cf. ; ). Wicked people keep fleeing, for they always carry their bad conscience with them wherever they go. Sin makes a man a fearful person. “But the righteous” are aware of the favor of God and people. The righteous one has a clear conscience. He doesn’t have to keep looking back over his shoulder to see if anyone is on his heels to do him harm. Like “a lion” he is free from fear. He is bold because he trusts not in his own strength, but in God. A righteous person does not go running for an imaginary enemy, for no such enemy exists for him. The verse shows the connection between boldness and a good conscience and also the result of a bad conscience. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” ( ). He who is guided by God’s Spirit does not need to flee. Elijah, a righteous man, stood as a man of God “bold as lion” on Mount Carmel against hundreds of false prophets ( ).

‏ Proverbs 28:1

A Bad or a Good Conscience

“The wicked” may have a big mouth, but inwardly they are always afraid. They have a guilty conscience and fear judgment. They trust no one, are suspicious, and even flee from imaginary danger (cf. Lev 26:36; Psa 53:6a). Wicked people keep fleeing, for they always carry their bad conscience with them wherever they go. Sin makes a man a fearful person.

“But the righteous” are aware of the favor of God and people. The righteous one has a clear conscience. He doesn’t have to keep looking back over his shoulder to see if anyone is on his heels to do him harm. Like “a lion” he is free from fear. He is bold because he trusts not in his own strength, but in God. A righteous person does not go running for an imaginary enemy, for no such enemy exists for him.

The verse shows the connection between boldness and a good conscience and also the result of a bad conscience. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2Tim 1:7). He who is guided by God’s Spirit does not need to flee. Elijah, a righteous man, stood as a man of God “bold as lion” on Mount Carmel against hundreds of false prophets (1Kgs 18:22).