1 Timothy 1:5

The ultimate aim of a Bible teacher should not be to generate debate and controversy. It should be to cultivate the lives of his or her students so they manifest love in their daily living. This love should spring from a pure heart, a conscience void of shame, and a genuine trust in God. Faith and love often appear linked in the Pastoral Epistles (cf. 1 Timothy 1:14; 1 Timothy 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:22; 2 Timothy 3:10; Titus 2:2).

"For Paul and the ancient Mediterranean culture in general, conscience was the internal judgment of one’s actions by that one’s group-’pain one feels because others consider one’s actions inappropriate and dishonorable’ (Malina 1981:70). Honor and shame, rather than guilt, were the operative feelings. Therefore, Paul’s readers would perceive the conscience as sending internal signals evaluating the rightness or wrongness of behavior (past, present or future) as a member of a group. We, on the other hand, view the conscience as concerned with right and wrong on an individual basis, not necessarily taking into account what others think and expect about us." [Note: Towner, 1-2 Timothy . . ., p. 47. See Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, p. 70. See also Towner, The Letters . . ., pp. 117-19, for an excursus on conscience in the letters to Timothy and Titus.]

"It has been rightly said, that the idea of conscience, as we understand it, was unknown to heathenism. Absolute right did not exist. Might was right." [Note: Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 1:259.]

We need to approach confrontation carefully (cf. Galatians 6:1). Is our motivation to help or to hurt the other person? Is our attitude loving, and does this come through in our non-verbal as well as verbal communication? Loving confrontation expresses care and respect for the other person. It communicates that we want the other person to respect us and understand how we feel. The timing, location, and setting are all very important in confrontation. We need to be sensitive to other pressures that may be on the other person. We should also give help with an openness to accept confrontation from the other person as well.