The Necessity of a Standard
Opening Discussion: What determines your actions in life? What is your standard for conduct?
Ethics are the reflection of the morals adopted by a certain group. Since ethics is the study of what makes an action moral or immoral, it is essential for every ethical system to have a non-question-begging standard by which all laws can descend, and by which all acts can be evaluated and/or corrected.
The need for such a transcendent absolute, or law above the law, can be illustrated by what happened at the Nuremberg Trials of World War II criminals. Those accused appealed to the fact that they were only obeying the laws of their own culture, and that they were not legally responsible to any other. Faced with this argument, Robert H. Jackson, Chief Counsel for the United States, appealed to permanent values and moral standards that transcended life-styles, particular societies, and individual nations. While he was not necessarily appealing to biblical norms in this trial, the situation illustrates the need for a transcendent basis for moral values. For example, God’s commandment against murder was not just for the Jew. It transcends culture, and it transcends generations. Murder is as wrong today as it was in the Old Testament.
Christian ethics escape this problem of cultural relativity because it is based upon the nature of God. Good is what God wills in accordance with His nature ( see Mark 10:18). God provides the moral patterns which apply to all human behavior.
Romans 12:1-2 "Be not conformed but transformed…" Paul says three important things about the will of God. “Do not conform any longer with the pattern of this world,”—which is the way we have been living, Paul says, until we become united to Christ—“but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve,”—that is, to identify and put into practice —“God’s will.” And God’s will is described with three words. First, it is “the good.” That is the distinctive thing about biblical Christian ethics. The only authentic understanding of ethics is that we identify the “good” with the will of God. Everything, every aspect of the good, has to be identified with the will of God—what He sets forth as receiving His approval. The prophet Amos long ago called for adherence to what in philosophy is referred to as the first principle of practical reason. “Seek good, not evil.” “Hate evil, love good.” That is Amos 5:14 15. And “good” is the most comprehensive term for what human beings ought to be and to do. So we identify the will of God with good. That is what Micah 6:8 says. That is the good; that is the goal that we seek in everything that we do. The will of God is further described as the acceptable, or, what is probably a better translation, the pleasing will of God. That is, what is pleasing to God. It is God’s approval that counts in ethics, not man’s approval or our approval. It is God’s approval, and it is the personal relationship that is brought out in the description of the will of God as the “pleasing.” It makes the lawgiver, rather than the law, supreme. We are not following rules for the sake of rules; rather, we are following rules for the sake of being well-pleasing to God.
There is an additional motivating factor there, and it is finally described as the “perfect:. That is, if we follow the will of God, we will find that fulfillment and satisfaction which is lacking in every other system of ethics because they fall short of the glory of God. It is the will of God that is our most basic definition of the good. The good is what is pleasing to God and perfecting of human nature, so that true fulfillment of human nature consists in being conformed to the will of God, which is essentially God’s own moral perfection being transcribed for our imitation. See Matthew 5:48 for further thought. Sometimes we shy away from that. The word perfect means “mature” or being mature, so you could take account of the growing process. Well, I think we must take account of the growing process. I think God does deal with us as His children, and He knows that we grow from stage to stage.
We are growing toward the image of Christ, but it does not make much sense to say, “Be ye therefore perfect (mature) as your Father in heaven is mature.” It is talking about a standard that is here, and we really do not want a mediocre standard. We are not drawn so much by “Be ye slightly improved.” The goal is perfection. There is something about perfection that draws us out and onward and something that is admirable about it, even if we do not attain it. It is something that is there for us to recognize and adhere to. God’s standard, His perfect rule, will alone fulfill human nature, and then only glory. Nevertheless, it is the standard toward which we aim.
The Christian God is transcendent and therefore, the measure of all things, meaning that nothing (no standard) is beyond Him by which anything, moral or otherwise, can be defined. God’s will, hence, expresses His nature or essence. (See Mark 10:18).
In essence, the Christian says that a universal good cannot come from man, a finite being.
We thus conclude that ethics desperately needs these standards, and the only one qualified to provide them is a transcendent God who really exists.
What do I do?
I know the standard has been set by God and that is to do his perfect will. How does this affect my life and relationship with those around me. This is the point of discussion for our lesson today. Ethics, as we mentioned in an earlier lesson deals with our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. Today’s study will have us looking at our relationship with others.
Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, tells them the attitude God wants us to have in dealing with all people whether they are in or out of the Church, believers or non-believers. He first says that we are to not “render evil for evil.” The meaning here is, that we are not to take vengeance; compare Rom. 12:17, Rom. 12:19. This law is positive, and is universally binding. The moment we feel ourselves acting from a desire to “return evil for evil,” that moment we are acting wrong. It may be right to defend our lives and the lives of our friends; to seek the protection of the law for our persons, reputation, or property, against those who would wrong us; to repel the assaults of slanderers, but in no case should the motive be to do them wrong for the evil which they have done us.
But ever follow that which is good – Which is benevolent, kind, just, generous. See also Rom. 12:20-21. Do not withhold from any man the offices of mercy and kindness; you have been God’s enemy, and yet God fed, clothed, and preserved you alive: do to your enemy as God has done to you. If your enemy be hungry, feed him; if he be thirsty, give him drink: so has God dealt with you. And has not a sense of his goodness and long-suffering towards you been a means of melting down your heart into penitential compunction, gratitude, and love towards him? A similar conduct towards your enemy may have the same gracious influence on him towards you? Your kindness may be the means of producing in him a sense of his guilt; and, from being your enemy, he may become your real friend! This I believe to be the sense of this passage, which many have encumbered with difficulties of their own creating. The whole is a quotation from Proverbs 25:21-22.
Jesus is our Example
A few years ago a statement became very popular and bracelets were being worn by youth and adults with the letters “W W J D?” That stands for what would Jesus do. This is a very important question for us to answer when we deal with our ethics and decisions. As we make important, sometimes life changing decisions, we need to ask, “what would Jesus do?”.
We know Jesus went about “doing good.” What standard did He base His decisions upon? I think John 5:30 gives us the answer. Because of His intimate relationship with the Father He could do nothing on His own. He did only what was right in the eyes of the Father.
- What reason does Jesus give for doing nothing on His own?
- Discuss this verse and make an application to yourselves.
Application
As members of the body of Christ we also are in an intimate relationship with Him. Our desire should be to follow Him as His disciples and therefore to honor Him in every way. He set as His goal in life to always honor and give glory to the Father. In John 17:4-8 Jesus prays to the Father and makes several important statements. First, He had glorified the Father while He was on this earth. He had shown the Father unto men He came into contact with. How did He do that? By His life and the decisions He made everyday. Remember, everything He did was according to the will of God. He also spoke unto men and gave them the word of the Father. You and I have that same word which is our guide for life. So as we make decisions for our life and we ask, “What shall I do?” We, like our Master, must seek God’s will and search His word for answers. God Help us to do just that that we also may glorify the Father.