CFVE 2

MODULE 1 – FOUNDATION OF ETHICS

A. Definition of Christian Ethics

Christian ethics is any study that answers the question, “What does the whole Bible teach us about
which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits receive God’s approval, and which do not?”

This definition indicates that our study of Christian ethics will be God-centered and Bible-centered.

The emphasis in Christian ethics is on what God wants us to do and what attitudes he wants us to have.
It focuses on situations in life and tells us how we should live our lives as a Christian today.

Only Scripture has the final authority to define which actions, attitudes, and personal character traits
receive God’s approval and which ones do not, and therefore it is appropriate to spend significant time
analyzing the teaching of Scripture itself.

A Christian ethical system should emphasize virtue ethics because the Bible teaches that we should seek
to develop a Christlike character: Paul says that God predestined us “to be conformed to the image of
his Son” (Rom. 8:29), and he also says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Peter, in fact,
uses the common Greek word for “virtue” (aretē, meaning “virtue, moral excellence”) when he tells
Christians to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue” (2 Pet. 1:5).

The goal of this subject (Christian Ethics) is to show what the whole Bible teaches Christians about how
to live a life that is pleasing to God, not focus much attention on secular theories of ethics, for secular
ethical systems do not claim to be subject to the moral authority of the Bible.

B. The Ultimate Foundation of Ethics- The Character of God.

In the definition of ethics, it says that we would study ethics by asking, “What does the
whole Bible teach?” about various ethical topics. But that leaves another question
unanswered: Where did the Bible’s ethical standards come from?

The Basis of the Bible’s Ethical Standards Is the Moral Character of God

1. God’s Character Is Good. When the Bible talks about God’s moral character, it talks about
God as being “good.” For example:

You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. (Ps. 119:68)

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, and without
iniquity, just and upright is he. (Deut. 32:4)

Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify
 your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you. (Rev. 15:3–
4)
In these and many other passages, the Bible emphasizes that God’s moral character is good.
He is a God who is good, and also loving, just, merciful, faithful, truthful, and holy.

In addition, God approves of and actually delights in his own moral character. He is the One
who is the “blessed” God, that is, the One who is supremely happy in himself (1 Tim. 1:11;
6:15).1 In fact, when his Word declares that he is “good,” it implies that he considers his
own character to be worthy of approval.

2. God Approves of Creatures Who Conform to His Moral Character.

Many other passages in Scripture show that God desires and approves of moral creatures who
conform to his moral character. Just as God is loving, just, merciful, faithful, truthful, holy, and
so forth, so he also desires that we act in ways that are loving, just, merciful, faithful, truthful,
holy, and so forth. These are the qualities that God approves of in himself, and therefore these
are the moral qualities that he approves of in his creatures as well. Just as he delights to
contemplate his own moral excellence, he delights to see his moral excellence reflected in the
creatures he has made.

Here are some biblical passages showing that God delights to see his character reflected in
our lives: But as he who called you is holy; you also be holy in all your conduct. (1 Pet. 1:15) Be
merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36) We love because he first loved us. (1 John
4:19) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Eph. 5:1) You therefore must be
perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
(Col. 3:9–10)

Paul’s idea is that our “new self” is becoming more like God, and therefore we should
imitate God’s truthfulness.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we
know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And
everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

Putting this another way, we are to live in the same way that Jesus lived, to walk as he walked:
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1) And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave
himself up for us. (Eph. 5:2) Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in
which he walked. (1 John 2:6) For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Pet. 2:21)
C. The Ultimate Foundation of Ethics – the will of God
If we define Christian ethics as a study of the question “What does the whole Bible teach us
about which acts, attitudes, and personal character traits receive God’s approval, and which do
not?” then it is possible to see every significant decision as a search to answer the question
“How can I know God’s will for me in this situation?” To know God’s will is to know what
actions, attitudes, and character traits he approves of in each situation.

Sometimes knowing God’s will involves simple and major decisions. Human actions have at
least four dimensions that need to be considered when decisions need to be made:

1. The Action Itself: The first question to ask is, Is this a morally good action? To decide that,
we need to know the commands of Scripture regarding the action.

Some actions are clearly prohibited by Scripture. The Bible tells us not to murder (Ex.
20:13), not to commit adultery (v. 14), not to steal (v. 15), not to bear false witness (v. 16),
and so on. Other actions are commanded. Scripture tells us to “honor your father and your
mother” (v. 12). Elsewhere the Bible tells us that we are to “pay . . . taxes to whom taxes
are owed” (Rom. 13:7).

2. The Person’s Attitudes about the Action. Because “the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam.
16:7), it is not enough for us simply to do morally right actions. God also wants the attitudes
of our hearts to be right before him: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the
Lord weighs the heart”. (Prov. 21:2)

3. The Person’s Motives for Doing the Action. (the reason why the person does something)
Jesus taught us to beware of doing good actions with wrong motives, such as the desire to
be praised by other people:

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them,
for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to
the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their
reward. (Matt. 6:1–2; cf. 23:5–7)

4. The Results of the Action. Other passages in Scripture encourage us to take thought for the
results of our actions. A result that contributes to the building up one another in the Lord:
“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a
revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” (1 Cor.
14:26)

D. The Basis of Ethics as Revealed in the Scriptures

How can we find out what God considers to be right and wrong? We can learn that from the Bible. One
of the purposes of the Bible is to enable us to know which actions, attitudes, and personal character
traits receive God’s approval, and which ones do not. In other words, one of the reasons God gave us
the Bible was to teach us about his views of moral right and wrong—to teach us ethics!

The Bible Was Given to Teach Us How to Live

Several passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament affirm that one of the purposes of
the Bible is to teach us how to live.

In the Old Testament, this is seen in passages that speak of walking in the law of the Lord (where
“walking” is a metaphor for living one’s life):

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits
in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and
night. (Ps. 1:1–2)

In the New Testament we have a similar affirmation, that the words of Scripture are useful for teaching
us how to live or, as Paul says, for “training in righteousness”:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim.
3:16–17)

Nine Sources of Information and Guidance

If you want to know the will of God which is the ultimate foundation of ethics, case, several
different sources of information should be considered, especially if the decision is quite
significant.

1. Information from the Bible. Our first source of information about any ethical decision should be
the teachings of the Bible. The Bible is our only source of inerrant and absolutely authoritative ethical
guidance. The rest of this book is devoted to searching out the teachings of the Bible on numerous
specific ethical topics.

2. Information from Studying the Situation. Jesus gives examples from ordinary life that illustrate
how people typically learn more about a situation before they agree to a course of action:

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has
enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it
begin to mock him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out
to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a
great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (Luke 14:28–32)

3. Information about Oneself. It is important to understand oneself and one’s specific role in the
situation at hand. Paul encourages such sober self-reflection:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he
ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has
assigned. (Rom. 12:3)
Therefore, a person should honestly ponder his or her own skills, interests, desires, and sense of life
calling from God in deciding whether to take a specific action or not. Advice from friends and spiritual
leaders can be helpful in this regard

4. Advice from Others. Christians can get helpful advice from other people regarding an
ethical decision. Personal friends as well as spiritual leaders such as pastors can give useful
advice.

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all
knowledge and able to instruct one another. (Rom. 15:14)

5. Changed Circumstances. When your circumstances change, might that be an indication of God’s
will for you? A correct evaluation will require wisdom to discern whether the circumstances indicate
something of God’s purposes for us, and this requires prayer for God to give us discernment to
understand the circumstances correctly. But there are several examples of circumstantial guidance in
Scripture.

6. Conscience. Conscience is a person’s instinctive inward sense of right and wrong. Peter encourages
his readers that they should take care to have “a good conscience” (1 Pet. 3:16), and Paul said, “I always
take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man” (Acts 24:16). He told the Christians in
Rome that one reason they should be obedient to government was “for the sake of conscience” (Rom.
13:5).

This does not mean that conscience is always a reliable guide, because some people can have a “weak”
conscience (1 Cor. 8:10).

7. Heart. While conscience is an instinctive inward sense of right and wrong, the “heart” in Scripture is
a broader concept, for the heart is seen as the inward center of a person’s deepest moral and spiritual
inclinations and convictions, especially in relationship to God.

Paul also says that God “tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4), Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you
the desires of your heart. (Ps. 37:4)

8. A Person’s Human Spirit. A person’s “spirit” (Greek, pneuma) is the nonmaterial part of a person,
the part that survives when the person’s physical body dies. A person’s human spirit is not the same as
the Holy Spirit, who lives within us and who is himself God, for Paul distinguishes between the Holy
Spirit and our human spirits when he says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God” (Rom. 8:16).

9. Guidance from the Holy Spirit. Another source of guidance is personal direction from the Holy
Spirit. Direct guidance from the Holy Spirit is a normal component of the life of Christians generally, and
it is one of the factors we should take into account in seeking to know God’s will.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom. 8:14) But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you
will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16) If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the
Spirit. (Gal. 5:25)

Module 2: Personal and Social Ethics

Personal ethics rests upon what the Bible describes in both the Old and New Testaments as
wisdom. This wisdom finds its ultimate foundation in the triune God of Scripture.

Wisdom is the skill of understanding and applying the Bible rightly to each

situation. Acquiring Wisdom: The Personal Skill Necessary for Ethical Living

But how can a person become wise? Scripture speaks often about the character of the person who is
making ethical decisions—what kind of person he or she must be in order to have wisdom.

We will look at the source of wisdom and the personal character traits that accompany wisdom:

1. Wisdom Comes from God. God is infinitely wise. His wisdom is so far superior to all human wisdom
that Paul can call him “the only wise God” (Rom. 16:27; see also Rom. 11:33). While human beings may
obtain some wisdom, the Bible says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

Therefore, if we are to obtain true wisdom, we must obtain it from God himself as we walk in a personal
relationship with him. “The Lord gives wisdom” (Prov. 2:6; see also 1 Kings 3:12; 4:29; 10:24; Ps. 51:6;
Eccles. 2:26; Dan. 2:21–23).

James tells his readers that the way to get wisdom is to ask God for it: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him
ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

2. Wisdom Comes from Scripture. If God is the source of all true wisdom, then it is not surprising
that God often uses the words of the Bible as the means by which he gives wisdom to us.

When Moses was giving the people of Israel the written commands of God in Deuteronomy, he told
them that they should “keep them and do them,” for, he said, “that will be your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the peoples” (Deut. 4:6). It is not only a small group of highly trained
scholars who can be made wise by Scripture, but all of God’s people, even “the simple”—those who
might not be highly trained or wise in the world’s eyes—can be made wise by God’s words: The law of
the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. (Ps. 19:7;
see also Ps. 119:98–100, 130; Col. 3:16; 1 Tim. 3:15) The wisdom that comes from God through Scripture
is far different from the wisdom of the world.

3. Wisdom Comes with a Fear of God. Scripture makes clear in several places that if we are to gain
wisdom, we must begin with a fear of God: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those
who practice it have a good understanding. (Ps. 111:10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Prov. 9:10) The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor. (Prov. 15:33; see also Job 28:28)
4. Wisdom Comes with Faith. Immediately after telling his readers that someone who lacks wisdom
should “ask God” for it, James adds three verses (vv. 6–8) about the importance of asking in faith: If any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given
him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is
driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5–8)

5. Wisdom Comes with Knowledge. If wisdom is understood as the skill of applying the Bible rightly
to each situation, wisdom often comes after we have gained more information about the teaching of the
Bible on a topic or more information about the actual situation.

“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Prov. 18:15; see
also Prov. 10:14). In Proverbs 8, when “Wisdom” calls and invites people to learn, she says, “Take my
instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels”
(Prov. 8:10–11).

6. Wisdom Comes with Obedience to God. In the Bible, the “wicked” person is not wise, for “the
words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good” (Ps. 36:3). By
contrast, people who are obedient to God are those who gain wisdom and exercise it in their actions:
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. (Ps. 37:30)

7. Wisdom Comes with Accepting Counsel from Others. A common theme in Proverbs is that
people who are wise listen to counsel from other people. This is probably because other people can help
us understand Scripture or understand a situation more accurately: The way of a fool is right in his own
eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (Prov. 12:15) With those who take advice is wisdom. (Prov. 13:10)
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. (Prov. 19:20; see also
15:31; 20:18; 24:6) Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer
harm. (Prov. 13:20)

8. Wisdom Comes with Humility. Another characteristic of people who gain wisdom is humility.
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2). Proud people
have a wrong kind of “wisdom,” a false wisdom whereby they consider themselves to be wise. Scripture
warns against this repeatedly: Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
(Prov. 3:7; see also 26:12; Jer. 9:23; Rom. 12:16)

9. Wisdom Brings Us Joy. For the person who finds wisdom from God, a valuable reward is the joy
that comes with wisdom. “Wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding” (Prov. 10:23; also note the
joy that wisdom brings to God in Prov. 8:30).22

Social ethics is the collection of values and behaviors of a given culture or people group. Social
ethics vary greatly from culture to culture, but most often the social ethics of civilized societies
reflect the moral standards given in 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:1–17).
The religious beliefs of a culture play a huge part in forming its social ethics. In societies where
Christian values have been influential, the social ethics are generally higher.
How did God introduce Social Ethics in the Old Testament?
1. God has to redefine their Social Ethics when He created a people for Himself. The Israelites
had adopted immoral and destructive practices from the pagan nations around them. That is why,
much of the Old Testament Law was given to combat the wickedness for which God had sent the
flood generations earlier.

Genesis 6:5–7 (NIV) The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on
the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6
The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply
troubled. 7So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—
and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret
that I have made them.”

2. God required a new social ethic of His people. Abraham’s offspring had adopted ungodly social
ethics while living in Egypt, so, once God delivered them, He warned them, saying , in Leviticus 18:3
“You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the
land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices”

Christians are called to live in peace with our cultures, as much as is possible, without
violating God’s standards. Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace
with everyone; Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human
beings!

The social ethics of any society cannot be our ultimate guide. Paul wrote to Titus, who was
ministering on the island of Crete: Titus 1:12–13 “One of Crete’s own prophets has said it:
‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’ This saying is true. Therefore, rebuke them
sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith”

Believers are to have biblical ethics. We are not to love the world or the world’s system 1 John
2:15–16 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father
is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” Our treasure is in heaven Matthew 6:20 “But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal.” The acceptance of the society to which we belong must never
be our highest aim. Where social ethics violate God’s Word, we conform to the Bible.