I do my Bible study, small group preparation, and even casual Bible reading through Logos Bible Software (click here for a discount on your own copy). It gives me dozens of translations along with hundreds of commentaries and other resources at my fingertips. Logos also has some terrific blogs that have challenging and fascinating topics for the student of God’s Word.
One recent blog post discussed the question: “What Makes Christian Ethics Truly ‘Christian’?” It’s by Michael Allen, a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla., and it’s as academic as you might expect. But there’s some interesting stuff in there that I think is worth sharing and thinking about.
Allen begins by reminding us that “Christians do not have unique possession of the ethical, of what is good and right”; therefore, “we do well to seriously ask what Christians have to say that is unique, which is singular, and that warrants the modifier Christian ethics.”
One of the first questions in the studies of ethics is, “What is the good?” Allen says that the Bible defines the good in terms of justice and righteousness.
“But paired terms do appear in telling ways. The Bible, in both testaments, speaks of the ‘right’ or ‘righteous,’ which can be rendered as the ‘just,’” he writes. “(English splits language of justice and righteousness, but the biblical languages did not have this divide.)”
Allen quotes Psalm 11:7: “For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.”
“The good marks God’s own being and character, which then defines the character of those who will be with him,” Allen continues. “Herein Christian ethics offers a robustly theological rooting to the nature of the good.”
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Allen notes that we know what’s good from God’s Word, pointing out that “The totality of Scripture is custom-designed to conform us, to prepare us, for all the challenges and temptations ahead” and citing Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness as proof that scripture allows us to understand what’s good, just and righteous.
One of the features of Christian ethics that distinguishes it from other types or schools of ethics is that Christianity doesn’t merely concern itself with doing good things; the Christian life is about becoming good by overcoming the sin nature. It’s a remarkable trinitarian work, as Allen points out:
The Father elects and determines that what is his—God’s own life—will be shared with many sons and daughters in and through Jesus Christ, the true and greater Adam, and will be wrought in the midst of human corruption by the Lord and giver of life, the Holy Spirit.
Christ shares goodness with his own. The saving work of Christ involves his bearing our sin, sharing his fullness with us, and, through that rich and intimate union, his transforming us by his Spirit. Being united to Jesus is elemental. All blessings are found in him (2 Cor 1:20). Yet he does bring a rich and varied array of blessings, and his salvation is not frugal or miserly. He saves sinners not to divine indifference but to inheritance and favor and blessing. He makes us heirs with Christ, joint-heirs in the Son (Rom 8:17)…
The Holy Spirit makes good those who belong to God. The Spirit actually works renewal within, so that the grace and favor of the Lord Jesus Christ do not go unreceived.
The good that Christians do after we devote ourselves to godliness also follows Jesus’ instructions in scripture.
“Love of God and neighbor define Christian ethical objectives,” he writes. “Here there remains a priority: seek God first, and other good things follow.” He refers to Jesus’ conversation with one of the Pharisees:
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
In the end, Christian ethics, like all of Christianity, is about glorifying God.
“Finally, Christian ethics aims at divine glory,” Allen concludes. “Other goods exist and warrant our concern: the good of the neighbor, the salvation of the nations, and the like. Moses and Jesus and all the prophets in between call us to mind the neighbor, the sojourner, the kin. But the glory of God is the ultimate aim of any truly good work.”
The Westminster Shorter Catechism reminds us that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever [sic].” No matter how we think about, consider, or debate Christian ethics, it should always point to God’s glory and our relationship with Him.
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