Christian Ethics can be understood through the Great Commandment, the Ten Commandments, and the Beatitudes. The "the kingdom of God" is the realm of right relationship, first with God, from which follows relationship with any other person. One's conscience is significant for discerning right relationship, which is why it is so important that one's conscience be well-formed as well as clear. A mature person takes care to examine one's conscience, questioning both formation and clarity.
The word "conscience" is derived from the Greek syneidesis. I find it significant that eidesis is the root of our words for "ideal", "idea", and "idol." One's idea of reality presents a false ideal if that idea contradicts what has been revealed by God, who created all that is real. Such a false ideal is then an idol. When one's conscience is formed by false ideas, this idolatry leads one away from right relationship with God and others. Without a true God-image, one cannot go on to imagine how one ought to live - the conscience is too malformed to be trustworthy.
Christianity claims that one may clear one's conscience through confessional repentance, submitting one's imagination to the Word of God revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ who perfectly expressed right relationship with God. With the clear conscience that comes from such Christian confession, one may move on to practice right relationship in how one lives thereafter.
Consider Hebrews 9:9 (describing how there are religious practices that are not enough to clear one's conscience) and Hebrews 9:14 (describing how Christ is able to "cleanse our conscience"). Consider also Hebrews 5:14, which shows how Christian maturity is proven by practice.
The kingdom of God is found in the Body of Christ of which we prove we are a part as we live a life of love toward God and others. As long as we are alive, we can choose this way of love, initiated by God's ultimate act of love in giving Christ Jesus to suffer and die on the cross, then be resurrected to new life which is ours to share.
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