Christian Ethics: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical Moral Living I Bible school lecture with notes

[0:00] Christian ethics, it is a Bible school topic, so it's the study of how believers live in accordance with God's will as revealed in the scriptures.

[0:11] ! It's not some set of rules, but it's the dynamic spirit empowered response to God's character and grace and the idea of glorifying Him in every aspect of life.

[0:23] So, our personal conduct, our relationships, our work, our engagement with the world, and it's grounded in the unchanging truth of the Word of God. So, Christian ethics equips believers to really live for God's glory and have that biblical approach to moral living, to navigate the moral dilemmas that we're all faced with too, because we're living in a fallen world and the world that we live in doesn't share Christian values a lot of the time, whereas we want to reflect Christ's love and His holiness and truth.

[0:53] The foundation of Christian ethics really is the Word of God. The inspired, authoritative, and sufficient Word of God.

[1:05] The Word of God is what really is the B-I-B-L-E, basic instructions before leaving earth. It's God's Word, isn't it? It's the way to live, God's revelation. It reveals His will, His moral will, His character, His standard for righteousness.

[1:21] Unlike secular ethics, Christian ethics don't rely on human reasoning or the culture that we're in. It's grounded in the Word of God, God's revelation.

[1:32] And that's objective, it's unchanging. 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17, it tells us, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

[1:54] And the Word of God gives us all the commands of God, the guiding principles, moral examples and wisdom, and helps us know how can we glorify God in all aspects of our life, personal, relational, societal.

[2:11] The Word of God, it reveals God's character and will. And the Word of God is sufficient. There's the Biblical principle, the sufficiency of Scripture.

[2:24] God's given us everything that we need. It's enough for us, the Word of God, to guide how we live, how we make choices. It doesn't require human wisdom to add to it.

[2:36] Psalm 119, 105 says, So you've got the two there. You've got the light unto your feet, light in the immediate, your present day, and then a light unto your path.

[2:50] It shows you the way forward, God's way ahead. And it helps us make those right choices, that decision-making can be led by the Word. It gives us a light and a lamp.

[3:01] And it's a divine revelation. It reflects His holy nature. It transcends all the cultural and temporary shifts of this world. It's unchanging. We know the world that we live is fickle.

[3:13] There's fads and fashions, and it changes from time to time. Values change. But God's values are not changing. They're permanent.

[3:24] And we read of the Word of God, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. It's got those moral truths that are timeless truths.

[3:36] And it gives us specific divine commands, culminating in the teachings of our Lord Himself. You've got the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5 through 7. And really for us as believers, Christ is that model for us, isn't He?

[3:51] That He's fulfilled the law in His own body. He's embodied it in Himself. He's really the Word of God incarnate as to what perfect obedience is. He set the absolute example.

[4:03] And again, the Sermon on the Mount, it internalizes the law. It's about the heart. It's about the heart transformation which our Lord speaks to. Not some outward compliance.

[4:16] It's the heart. Getting the heart right. And following the Lord. And there's practicalities to it too. As we study the scripture, it'll guide our way. The lamp unto our feet.

[4:27] The light unto our path. And it'll help us to make those decisions of life that we're all faced with. Whether it be workplace situations, conflicts. How do we resolve that scripturally?

[4:39] How do we manage that? Our family decisions as well. We're called to pray for that wisdom. To exercise that wisdom. And to ask God for wisdom.

[4:50] And He'll grant it. James 1. And to rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide our steps as well. So when we're faced with ethical dilemmas, which we'll talk about. When we're wondering which way do I go when you hit that fork in the road.

[5:05] We've got that guide. We've got that resource. We've got that source of God's wisdom that we can put into action. What is the purpose of Christian ethics?

[5:16] Ultimately, it's to glorify God. That's what we're here for, isn't it? As God's people. That's why He's made us His people. He's wanting us to reflect His glory. To do all to the glory of God.

[5:27] Whatsoever you do. Whether therefore you eat or drink. Or whatsoever you do. Do all to the glory of God. And ethical living flows from that gratitude that we have of being God's people.

[5:41] As we're like living sacrifices. And we're making those choices that will glorify our Lord. And advance His kingdom. And along life's journey, God helping us will reflect God's character.

[5:57] We'll be like our Lord. We'll walk in His steps. We'll do His will. And we'll let our light so shine before men that they see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.

[6:10] As God's people we're meant to mirror God's holiness, love and justice. And also to be a witness as well.

[6:21] It talks about how we are to shine as lights in the world. It talks about the world being dark. And it tells of God's people that we're meant to shine as lights in the world.

[6:32] Philippians 2.15 And draw others to our Lord too. Philippians 2.15 It's a testimony really to the world of God's transforming power.

[6:43] Because we're living epistles. We're living letters. In the sense that we're actually reflecting our Lord. I've heard it said really the best translation of the Bible in a practical sense is you.

[7:00] We should be translating the gospel into our lives. So it's the gospel according to Peter Richardson. The gospel according to Don Hopley. In the sense that we are like living letters.

[7:12] That God's transformed us and we're a letter. We're God's message. We're God's messengers to our world. That others will see Christ in us. And they'll be drawn to our Lord because of our witness.

[7:25] Not even as much as we ought to say the gospel and speak it. But even more so than our words, our lips. It'll be our lives that will be a witness. Our lives will be a witness. And it tells how John 13.35 By this shall all men know that ye and my disciples, if ye have love, one for another.

[7:42] One for another. We can be that testimony by our lives lived out to the glory of God. So we can live that. The gospel according to you in the sense that it's Christ in you.

[7:56] It's Christ in each one of us. We're a living testimony of our own selves. Of our lives. Practical application. When we think about situations of life and we're faced with decisions to make.

[8:12] It's good to question before we act. And think about what we're contemplating to do. Will this action honour God?

[8:23] This decision that I'm faced with. What are the choices we might need to make? To rather make that the highest consideration. Will it honour God?

[8:35] And the choices in our speech, our dress, our choices of entertainment even. Will it reflect our Lord? We can be just as worldly as the world, but rather let's have that mind.

[8:48] Hey, how can I honour God? And that's the first question. And so when there's fellowship times, hey, I'm going to make that God helping me something that I'll put as the first consideration.

[9:02] How can I honour my Lord with the choices of how I use my time, what I do? And how can I be a witness of Christ's character, to live distinctly, to choose modesty, integrity and kindness, to reflect God's glory in my life?

[9:18] So it really has that practical aspect too. We're not just talking theory tonight. It says, how do we actually live out the Christian witness? How can I live out my faith and live with integrity to the commitment to Christ that I have?

[9:33] Why do we need Christian ethics? The necessity of it. We're living in a world that's fallen. And humanity's fallen nature is reason for having godly principles of how to live.

[9:48] Because sin has distorted everything. And we need that discernment. And that's not going to come from following what the world counts as value or important.

[9:59] But what does God count as important? And the world that we're living in, people are inclined to rebel against God. And it's only through God's grace and guidance that we can live godly.

[10:14] We know the reality that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23. It tells in Jeremiah 17 verse 9 that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

[10:26] It's that problem of sin that impacts everybody. When you think about it, even the best that we do is tainted. It's corrupted. It's not always what God would want.

[10:37] And the heart is deceitful. Even our very heart, the core of us, our intellect, our will, our desires. Sin is impacting all of those dimensions of everyone's life.

[10:48] And Ephesians 4.18 talks about how we should understand that the world has got this blindness of heart. Their understanding is darkened. So, you know, Joe Blow next door, the mates down at the work site, they don't have the same understanding that we have as God's people.

[11:09] Their understanding is darkened. So maybe we ought to have just to spare a little thought for our worldly neighbour, our unsaved neighbour. They can't help it.

[11:21] Their understanding is darkened. They've been blinded in their hearts. Ephesians 4.18. And even the best that they do, it's flawed. Their ethics are flawed.

[11:32] And they've got this fallen world view. Need for redemption. The solution, really, in this fallen world is Christ, isn't it?

[11:43] It's to know Christ and to make him known. And for us that believe, we're new creatures in Christ Jesus. If any man is in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.

[11:56] But yet the flesh continues. Even though we're born again, we've got new life. Christ is living in us. We're his for eternity. Yet we still have the flesh.

[12:06] Romans 7 talks about the flesh and the spirit, the struggle. The good that I ought to do, I don't do. And that which I ought not to do, I do.

[12:18] There's this constant struggle, internal struggle. The flesh versus the spirit. And that's life. Paul the Apostle had that. It's going to go with us through life. We're still going to struggle against the flesh nature.

[12:30] And it's only by God's grace we can be enabled by his spirit that will enable us and empower us. The Holy Spirit. That we walk in the spirit. That we be enabled to live righteously.

[12:42] It's by the grace of God. And as we really yield to the Holy Spirit, let God's spirit have his way. That we'll walk in that redemption truth that we have. And we'll live it out.

[12:55] As far as moral guidance, the word of God gives us that framework. As we say, we're living in a world that's fallen and immorality reigns. So for morality, for moral truth, we go to the word of God.

[13:08] And the word of God exposes sin and gives us that framework to help us overcome. And gives us that way through to navigate through this sinful world that we're living in.

[13:18] To resist temptation and to pursue godliness. Some practical thoughts on how we can cope with this fallen nature of man. Which we all struggle with, even as saved people.

[13:30] There's scriptures that we can take heart in. Where it tells us, 1 John 1 verse 9. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[13:42] There's a promise there. That we can seek God's strength. When we face temptation. And sure, we may even fall. That we can confess our sins. And know God's grace and help. To get us back on track.

[13:54] Help us to get where we ought to be. It tells us how the righteous man falls seven times. But the Lord keeps picking him up. Over and over again. And we've got God's strength. As we hopefully yield to God more.

[14:05] We'll yield less to the flesh. We'll yield more to God. To his will. And we'll seek his strength. And we'll find it. And we can engage in spiritual disciplines. So we can think spiritual disciplines.

[14:17] Bible study. Prayer. Fellowship. It's going to help us get stronger. The more that we pray. The more that we read his word. The more that we fellowship. Those spiritual disciplines. Will help us.

[14:28] So we can discipline ourselves. The self-discipline. In the sense of. Hey. Sometimes it's hard to. To commit to this or that. But. I'm going to make that. Effort.

[14:38] I'm going to be self-disciplined. To practice that. To yield to God. To be that one. Who. It's not conformed to this world. Romans 12. To be not conformed to this world.

[14:49] But be transformed. By the renewing of your mind. So the more that we train ourselves. In those godly disciplines. Then. Will help us to keep. On the right track. And to maintain that ethical.

[15:00] And spiritual. Integrity. So next section. Number four there. Some core principles. About Christian ethics. It's guided by biblical.

[15:11] Principles. To shape our decision making. So. Our lives can be submitted to Christ. And so. These are not. Rules. So much as. More. It's God's character in us.

[15:24] That. That's developed in us. And you've got. The truths of. Matthew 22. When. Our Lord. Answer the question. What's the greatest commandment.

[15:35] Matthew 22. From verse 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. With all thy heart. With all thy soul. With all thy mind. With all thy strength. And thy neighbour. As thyself.

[15:45] They're both two big things to do. Aren't they? To love God. With all. With everything. Everything of who we are. To love the Lord. Thy God. And then to love thy neighbour.

[15:57] As thyself. How much do we love ourselves? You know. I think. That we. We would measure. Our love to the neighbours. With the love that we give. For ourself.

[16:08] It's a big call there. Isn't it? And so you see this. Couple of dimensions. The vertical. As in our relationship with God. It's expressed through worship. Through faith.

[16:18] And obedience. And devotion. The vertical. And then the horizontal plane. That. Our love for others. Our love for humankind. Is. Meant to be that love for our neighbour.

[16:31] That horizontal plane. That we love our neighbour. With compassion. With service. With sacrificial love. With. With that. Compassion.

[16:42] To love. Our neighbour. As Christ loved us. As well. In that sense of. Even. Caring for the well-being. Of other people. That we might.

[16:53] Humanly. Not really care for them. To even love our enemies. That's. That's a big call. Isn't it? To think. Well. The. The ones that I probably. Would least want to love.

[17:04] Would be my enemy. And. And Jesus says. Love your enemies. How can you have that kindness. Towards people. That. Really don't. Humanly. Want to give it to them. It's agape love.

[17:15] Which is the Greek word. It's. This. Unconditional love. We think how Christ has loved us. We don't deserve his love. We don't deserve the cross. Where he bled and died for us.

[17:27] He says. Love. As I have loved you. He's modelled that. Sacrificial love. That. That giving of himself. To such a degree. That we would love others so.

[17:38] That's. Takes a bit of. Swallowing of human pride. Doesn't it? Of human. Inclination. Of our natural. Persuasion.

[17:49] To really. Hate some people. That God would. Give us love. At least. Take away the hate. Help us to love. Help us to be kind. And we see this.

[17:59] Love for God. And neighbour. And then. Moving on. This idea of absolute truth. What are some of these core principles? We've got absolute truth that dictates what we believe.

[18:13] How we behave. Ought to believe and behave. And John 17. 17. Our Lord says. Sanctify them. Make them holy. He's praised for his people.

[18:24] Through thy truth. And he says. Thy word. God's word. Is truth. And. When you think of this word. Truth. The world would try to redefine truth. I've got my truth.

[18:35] You've got mine. That truth is relative. But no. The Bible says truth is objective. It's. Unchanging. It's been defined. Truth doesn't change. When you think about it.

[18:46] The truth. 4,000 years ago. Is still the truth. Today. It's. Not something that changes. It's just like God. His unchanging nature. It's objective. And so.

[18:58] With that framework. We reject what's called. Moral relativism. In other words. Morality. Is defined. By how we feel. It's subjective.

[19:09] Or. It's culturally. Determined. So in some countries. Something is allowed. In other countries. It's not. The laws. Are different. In different. Nations.

[19:20] And in different cultures. What's. Acceptable. In one. Culture. Culture. Is not acceptable. In Australian. Culture. For example. But the Bible.

[19:30] Doesn't have this. Kind of confusion. It's got very strong. Clear. Unchanging. Message. The word of God. And that's. Not something that changes. Based on culture.

[19:40] Or how people feel. And when you think about it. Christ himself. Is the ultimate. Embodiment of truth. He says. John 14. 6. I am. The way. The truth. And the life. No man cometh unto the Father.

[19:52] But by me. He's the absolute definition. An embodiment of truth. We then ought to stand firm. In biblical truth. That. Hey we're not wavering like this world. That doesn't really have.

[20:03] A moral compass. That's definite. It just sways here and there. We've got a definite. Statement of truth. That is unchanging. And it's. True.

[20:14] Now as it ever has been. Ever will be. We can stand firm. In bible truth. We've got clarity. About what the truth is. Next section.

[20:25] We think. How. These core principles. Of Christian ethics. Another core principle. Is holiness. So. Personal holiness. Our Lord says. Be ye. Holy.

[20:35] Even as I am. Holy. Be holy. As God is holy. And holiness. What is it? It's separation from sin. It's. Consecration to God.

[20:47] Pursuing purity. And our thoughts. Our speech. Our actions. God helping us. To get. Right with him. When there's ungodly habits. We'll repent. We'll not want that.

[20:58] We want to have. We'll have that mind shift away from. That which is ungodly. And that mind shift towards that. Which is holy. Next one. Is. Also the dimension of stewardship.

[21:10] In the sense that. All of us. We've got a stewardship. We've got things in our care. Our family. Our. Environment. Our world. That we're living in. The resources.

[21:20] God's given to us. 1 Corinthians 4. 2. It says. Moreover. It is required in stewards. That a man be found faithful. So we've all got stewardship. In the sense that. We've all got. Something.

[21:31] In our. Kind of. Purview. Something in our. Hands. That we've. Been given by God. Some. Area of responsibility. And when you think about it.

[21:41] All of us. We're all accountable for our time. Our time is the most precious resource. Because it's running out. As sand through the hourglass. So are the days of our lives.

[21:53] Our days of our lives are running out. Aren't they? And you think. I know. As you get older. I know my dad's been telling me things. Well. Well. When. When you're 80. Think.

[22:03] Oh yeah. It's really. What the things that we ought to take mind of. That we ought to be faithful with what we have. Our time. Our talents. Our resources. God's creation.

[22:16] We're the ultimate greenies really. We care for our planet. We care for this world that we're living in. We care for our nation. And the resources that we have. We should use them wisely.

[22:28] So when we have resources. We should use them to care. For others. To support. To be wise. With our stewardship. Next one.

[22:39] Justice and mercy. In Micah 6 verse 8. The Lord kind of. Balls it all down to. A very simple statement here. As to. The fundamentals of life.

[22:51] We're to do justly. To love mercy. To walk humbly. With thy God. And. God's the ultimate measure of what's just and right.

[23:02] What's fair. What's fitting. And it's. The sense that justice upholds what's fair. It upholds fairness. And it upholds mercy.

[23:13] And compassion. It advocates for the vulnerable. It practices forgiveness. In relationships. God helping us. We'll have that. That definition of what is just.

[23:25] What is. What is mercy. That we'll have that mind. And the next one. Integrity. Is a big thing. Through the word of God. We call to integrity. To have those ethics.

[23:36] It says the Lord delights in his people. And he wants us to be. Living right. Integrity. It aligns our actions. With convictions. And so we maintain honesty.

[23:48] With our lives. And that honesty. Will extend to. How we speak. Our. Business. Our relationships. Our work ethic. As well.

[23:59] That we'll work diligently. We'll work. Full heartedly. As unto the Lord. And avoid gossip. Or unethical practice. So. Ideally. God helping us.

[24:09] We'll be the ideal employee. That people will look at us. And. They'll say. Yeah. They're. They're fair dinkum. They're putting the effort in. They're not. Serving as. In eye service.

[24:20] When people are watching. Them. That they're. Working. Wholeheartedly. And. When you think about it. As. Employees. Our ultimate. Employer.

[24:31] Is God. Isn't it? He's. Ultimately. Our master. And we should. Serve. Our employer. God helping us. As we would serve. Our Lord. It's a reflection of our faith.

[24:43] How we live. Our. Christian walk. We apply those ethics. In our daily living. So. In our family setting. We'll. Have those. Biblical roles. Of.

[24:54] Marriage. Relationships. And. Also. As parents. As well. We'll. Apply those. Christian. Principles. God helping us. In our workplace. We'll. Employ. Employ.

[25:05] Diligence. And integrity. So we won't. Do the wrong thing. By our employer. We won't. Kind of steal. From our employer. We'll. Do what's. Right. And truthful.

[25:16] And we'll work. Diligently. As well. We'll. And we'll. We'll have speech. That will. Edify. And encourage. And uplift people. And avoid gossip. It's kind of putting those things into.

[25:27] The. Living. So. The. The idea of Christian ethics. Really. Is where the rubber hits the road. Isn't it? This is how the. Christian life should be. As I say.

[25:38] Translated. In the gospel. According to you. That it's translated by us. Into our daily living. Into our shoe leather. That. That the ethics. The. Principles. The standards.

[25:49] That God gives us. We live it out. In our everyday living. That we're fair dinkum. That we're not. One thing. In church. And one thing. Outside of church. We've got integrity.

[26:00] Here's a chart. Which. Articulates. The core principles. Of Christian ethics. So. You've got there. On the left. Love for God. And neighbour. The bible verses there.

[26:13] Application. All relationships. And moral decisions. Think of that. Love. Love the Lord thy God. With all thy heart. Soul. Mind and strength. Love thy neighbour. As thyself. How does that translate?

[26:24] How do we apply that? In all relationships. And moral decisions. The principle of absolute truth. Hey. We've got absolute truth. It's here. In the cover of our bible. It's God's unchanging character.

[26:37] And so we'll apply those truths. In honesty. In integrity. In faithfulness. We'll live it out. God helping us. We'll. Be a reflection of that truth. To the world around us.

[26:49] Next one. We see personal holiness. It tells how. Be ye holy. Even as I am holy. God helping us. We should be like God. Who is perfectly holy.

[27:00] That will pursue righteousness. And purity. In our living. And then this other principle. Stewardship. Responsibility. God gave them the garden.

[27:13] Said go and look after it. And we've got the same responsibility. To care for our world. And our resources. Our stewardship of our time.

[27:24] Our talents. Our treasures. Next section. Applying Christian ethics in daily living. God. You could think about really how.

[27:36] Really it translates into everyday living. Our everyday decisions. That what we believe. What we profess to believe. As God's people. As Christians. That it's across every domain of life.

[27:47] Really. Isn't it? Like we've talked about. It's not theory. It's lived out. Or meant to be. In the daily choices we make. That will be empowered by God's spirit. Will be guided by the scriptures.

[27:58] To live it out. To actually live it out. That there's no conflict. When someone sees us. Down at the shop. Down wherever. How we carry on. And then how we act in church.

[28:10] There should be no conflict. It should be. We're the same person. We're an open book. And people aren't going to say. Oh. They say they're a Christian.

[28:21] And they act this way. Or they make some accusations about us. Hey. We're just fair dinkum. We're who we are. And we're not putting it on. It's no pretense.

[28:31] It's not performing. We're. We can have the integrity. To know that. When people find out. That we're a Christian. There's no conflict. In their mind.

[28:42] Oh. I wouldn't have thought a Christian. Would act like that. Or whatever it be. So God helping us. And sometimes that can be hard. We've got the flesh. We can still be reactive. We can still act.

[28:52] Just like the world does sometimes. Because it's that human nature. We've got to fight that. Battle that. Nail it down. Crucify the flesh. I die daily. That sense of dying to self.

[29:03] Of the sinful nature. But God helping us. We'll be applying those ethics. And we think of all these. Principles here. To exercise honesty. And integrity.

[29:14] In relationships. So be kind to one another. That sense of how we speak. That. Our relationships. Of marriage. Of family. Of work.

[29:24] Of how we resolve conflict. Hey. Are we going to resolve conflict. Like the world does. Or are we going to actually. Try to resolve it. Calmly. And in a godly way.

[29:36] God giving us grace. How we handle our leisure time. Our recreation. Are we just wasting it. And squandering it away. Just like the world does. Or do we actually have a thought to.

[29:48] What's going to honour God. How can I use my life purposefully. Now that's not to say. You know. As a Christian. You can't have some leisure time. And enjoy. The.

[29:59] World that we live in. And just. You know. Have some. Recreation. Activities. But we know for the world. It's almost like. That's all that they think about. Isn't it.

[30:10] They're lovers of pleasure. More than lovers of God. And that can be a problem. Because we want to honour. Our Lord first. And honouring God. Means enjoying his creation. Having time with family and friends.

[30:21] And enjoying the world around us. But it's just having the thoughts. All those principles. It's good to have a look at those scriptures. In more detail. As you can. Maybe get a chance to reflect on it.

[30:34] There's this thought of really. Biblical decision making. So you could think of maybe a model. A process. Some ideas about. When we're faced with a decision to make. What do we do?

[30:45] Sometimes we put God last in making decisions. I can be guilty of that. But in a sense it's. Hey. We should ask God. Ask God to give us wisdom. To pray. Maybe there's some scriptural principles.

[30:57] We can search for. When we're faced with a dilemma. Some question of life. Actually. Well. Maybe we could get God's. Handle on it. And find what does God say.

[31:08] If. If it might be. Some. Decision that. Might be biblically. Laid out. We can go to the scriptures. And get that idea. We can go to. Godly counsel.

[31:19] Talk to others. The Bible talks about. The wisdom of going to different counselors. And. Talking to others. Obviously. Godly counsel. Try to seek that out. And then act in faith.

[31:29] As well. That we've got the sense of. We'll trust in the Lord. We'll know his will. And we'll walk in his ways. And we'll have wisdom. In how we. Undertake life.

[31:41] And all. Ideally for. The glory of God. That everything won't be. There won't be a clash. With the glory of God. That. Whatever decision that we make. It's not going to. Dishonour God.

[31:52] Or to rather. Glorify God. That will be the ultimate. Purpose behind it. And you could think. As it goes on. In the notes. There about. Our. Life domains. Of our family setting.

[32:04] Of workplace. Of our speech. Of society. How can we be salt and light. Of our personal conduct. How can we choose. Edifying entertainment. So for example.

[32:15] We might think. Well the latest movie. I know what can. What can be helpful. Is. With all the tools. That we've got on the internet now. Is.

[32:26] Maybe do a little research. And think. Well. I can't. Should I take my children. My grandchildren. To this movie. Well. Maybe just have a look. Hey. You type in the name of the movie.

[32:37] Write something like. Christian movie review. Something like that. And often a lot of movies. Worldly movies. There's a Christian movie review. There's different sites. That do that kind of thing.

[32:49] And they'll let you know. Hey. That's got a lot of nudity in it. Or it's got a lot of swearing in it. Or. Or crass things. Or blasphemies. It uses God's name in vain.

[32:59] Multiple times. You might think. Oh. Given that. Maybe that movie. I won't touch that one. I'll find a different one. To take my family to. So for example. Just. It's good to have that discernment.

[33:11] Hey. Actually. I want to think about. Hey. Does it glorify God for me. To take my family to that one. Because sometimes. You sat there in the movie. Not that I go to movies really. But. Or you know. One that you might watch on. On the screen.

[33:22] Somehow or other. And you sit back. And you're watching it. And you think. Oh. Oh. That's embarrassing. For the kids to see that. For example. That. Rather. Be good to. Have that mind.

[33:33] To check it out first. And think. Oh. No. We won't even worry about that one. We'll just find something else. It's having that biblical. Decision making. Isn't it? Even up. In our personal conduct. Next section there.

[33:45] Talks about navigating ambiguity. So ambiguity means. Oh. I can see it this way. And I can see it that way. Which one's the right way? You can see it. Oh. Sometimes a bit hard to make a decision.

[33:56] When it's ambiguous. You think. Well. I can see that might be the way to go. And that might be the way to go. And you're a bit torn. One way or the other. So here's some. Ways you can navigate the.

[34:07] The grey areas. You know. Is that right or wrong? Some questions you could ask. Is it going to glorify God? Is it going to honour God? Is it to the glory of God? Will it edify others?

[34:20] Or is it going to actually be damaging and unhelpful? Does it align with my conscience? Romans 14.23. It says. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

[34:30] So if you've got this conflict. Oh. This unease. This conflict of your conscience. Oh. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Oh. Maybe it's not of faith.

[34:41] Don't do it. If it's not aligning with your conscience. Choose not to do it. If in doubt. Don't. That's a good precept. And then we've got this idea. This principle of love and unity.

[34:52] Is it going to be benefiting? Is it going to be. Something that's useful. It talks in the word how. Everything's. Allowable for me. But not everything is constructive.

[35:03] We've got this freedom. But sometimes we've got to exercise limitations. On our own freedom. We might be feeling like we're free to do something. We've got the liberty to do something. But when it's going to be a conflict.

[35:14] Or it might cause harm. Or some question. If it's going to be causing any question. Or conflict. Then it might be better to choose not to do it.

[35:26] That you'll exercise freedom responsibly. Next section. It talks about number six there. There's a whole heap of different things.

[35:36] That we're faced with. In this truth of Christian ethics. There's many things that we're faced with. Which are kind of ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas.

[35:48] And there's so many things. That we're confronted with in life. And so we're just going to touch on some of those. Some modern dilemmas. How do we apply biblical principles.

[36:01] With wisdom. Humility. And grace. All the time. We know that the truth of scripture is authoritative. For example. The question of.

[36:13] War. And. Of such. Things. Christians can be conflicted. And there might be different. Kind of ends of the spectrum.

[36:24] We can go to. Where we know. The word of God calls for peace. Peace is the ultimate thing. Ideally we ought to be peacemakers.

[36:35] Even in personal conflicts that we have. In personal situations where. There's bashing of heads together. We should rather be the peacemakers. That that will be our inclination.

[36:46] That that will be our bias. To make peace. To find ways to make peace. So there's got that. That end of. Peace making. As in. Pacifism.

[36:57] Which is. Which is the word for peace. Pacifism. And then you've got the other side. Where actually. We're getting invaded. By a hostile nation. Is trying to bring in some.

[37:08] Contrary ideologies. And might be. Hurting our. Our families. Our communities. And. Bringing mayhem. And maybe a dictatorship.

[37:19] Over our country. You see that. Question of. Actually we should defend. Our nation. So there's this. Conflict. Some would. Some Christians. Err on the side of pacifism.

[37:31] Of non-violence. And others. Err on the side. Of hey. We should defend. Our nation. And uphold. Our. Sovereignty. And our state. And.

[37:41] These are things. That we've all got to grapple with. And come to our own mind on. Of course. You know. For myself. I was in the army reserves. For a time. I don't have a problem. With defending our nation. Whereas some Christians.

[37:52] Do take a view. Well. Maybe. We could. Serve in the military. But more in a. Pacifist role. You know. Taking more. Being a medic.

[38:03] Or. I suppose. Non-combative. Roles. Again. It's this. A question. Of ethics. Of coming to your own mind. On these kind of things. And. You might err on one side.

[38:13] Or the other. I guess. On the. Just. War side of things. So this. It's a kind of. Philosophical. Principle. Called just war. And you can look it up.

[38:25] It's basically. Why is a war just. Sometimes. And it could be where there's. A just cause. Actually people are getting invaded. There's. There's mayhem.

[38:36] And destruction. People getting killed. Or. There could be a genocide. Of some kind. And then there's this sense of. Legitimate authority. Actually our. Government is saying.

[38:46] We should. Intervene here. And. This sense of. Proportionality. Is it proportionate? We start. Bombing. Them to pieces. Or. Is it proportional?

[38:58] Or. Is it the last resort? Hey we've tried everything. We could possibly do. To come to some. Diplomatic. Resolution here. We tried to bargain with them. And to.

[39:09] Reason with them. But. It gets to a point. Where you can't reason. With a dictator. For example. So there's this. Conflict here. Of. A just war. Hopefully we can.

[39:21] See peace. That will pray for peace. That will find ways. To. To bring. About peace. And. Of course. We want to protect the vulnerable. We see. In some.

[39:32] War situations. And I know some of you. Got personal. Exposure to it. Where this whole. Community's getting. Destroyed. And. And there's. Evil things being done.

[39:42] To the most vulnerable. In different nations. Where whole populations. Are. Destroyed. And. So we've got to think. How. How do I take that place. Of. Wanting peace.

[39:53] But also. Wanting to protect. The vulnerable. So that. These are things. That we grapple with. An ethical dilemma. Other ethical dilemmas. Are more along the line. Of bioethics.

[40:03] So ethical issues. About health. About medicine. About life sciences. Again. Christians can differ. On some of these things. Which side of the spectrum. Do we fall on.

[40:14] But some of the basic. Christian principles. Of course. Human life. Is sacred. That. It's. We're made in God's image. This. Something special. About every life.

[40:26] Whereas the world. Would say. Oh well. This baby. Is going to be. A down syndrome baby. So just don't even. Give them a chance. To live. Some would take that view.

[40:39] Whereas we would see. Really. We knitted together. In the mother's womb. God sees us. God's formed us. In the womb. There's a special. Quality. To everyone's life.

[40:50] No matter. What their. Ability. Or disability. Might be. That life. Begins at conception. And there's that. Precious truth. About that. So we would consider. For myself.

[41:02] I would consider. Abortion. Is. Is really something. That's grievous. Really. Except. In. Perhaps. Really. Extenuating. Circumstances.

[41:13] Where the mother's. Life is threatened. You know. We've got to. Come to our own mind. On. On these things. That really. Life begins. At conception. And we want to. Value. And. Uphold life.

[41:24] It's a very important. Principle. And even though. There might be questions. About. The conception. Or the. The. The. Baby. And its health.

[41:36] That really. Saving the life. Saving life. Ought to be. The priority. Euthanasia. Is another. Issue. Again. Deuteronomy.

[41:46] 32. 39. Tells us. That God. Decides. Life and death. It's in his hands. And. We want to. Really. Respect. That God.

[41:57] Calls the shots. Who lives. Who dies. Or when we live. Or when we die. Yeah. I suppose. When we stood at the. Bedside of a loved one. And. There's situations where.

[42:10] We know with modern. Technologies. They can keep someone alive. By some artificial means. Even when they might be a vegetable. And really. There's no hope.

[42:20] There's no hope for them. To return to. Normal. Life again. Or they might be in this. Coma that. That they may never come out of. Of course.

[42:30] Then there's always the question. Well. They could come out of the coma. And they could recover. So. It's a grappling thing. So I'm not. Saying anything hard and fast here. For you tonight. You've got to come to your own. Ethical mind.

[42:42] These ethical dilemmas. For me. I think. You know. If you've got someone there. That's in a vegetative state. That they're. Hooked up to all kinds of artificial means.

[42:53] To keep the blood pumping. If it was a hundred years ago. That have passed away. You know. Are they being artificially kept alive. For no point. And you know.

[43:04] Is it just a matter of. If that. Equipment was turned off. Well. They wouldn't be alive. But we're just artificially. Keeping them alive. Whether then.

[43:15] You might be questioned. Well. Why would we do that? Why would we artificially keep them alive? When there's no. No real hope of them coming back to. Life. Yeah.

[43:26] I mean. There's all of these questions. With the medical systems as well. And of course. In. In last few. Years. With the COVID. And all that. All of the things about.

[43:36] What's. What's good medical treatment. What's bad. How can we. Honor. Embryonic life too. There's questions about the IVF program. Because. There's embryo disposal.

[43:48] And. So there's all sorts of questions. About all of that. If we were to come to our own mind. On all of these things. Quite. It's quite a. Conflict at times. An ethical conflict. That we face with.

[43:59] And. I suppose. We can't always know. What we're going to do. Unless we're faced with some of these dilemmas. Ourselves. And. God helping us to make the decisions that. Hey. Life is sacred. And we're in his hands.

[44:10] And. We want to do. What would be still honoring to him. In all of our decisions. About that. To trust God. To make. Ethical.

[44:21] Medical decisions. Next section. We see. Again. A whole load of other. Ethical dilemmas. We might be faced with. Or contemporary dilemmas. Situations of life. For example.

[44:32] Economic justice. The Bible talks about. Looking after the poor. And avoiding greed. How can we have that. Sense of what's.

[44:43] The right thing. That's the just thing. How can we. Be one who gives. And. Avoids. Those things that might be. Unethical.

[44:54] With. Even our purchases. Where. We might consider. Well. Buying something from some countries. Where. There's slave labor. You. You can question. Is that just.

[45:05] Is that economic justice. Obviously. The. The gender. Vendors. Of the. Of the moment. The. The questions. Of what is a marriage.

[45:16] What is not a marriage. The Bible tells us that. A male and female. For life. God helping us. They. The two become one flesh. Biblical marriage.

[45:27] Really. There ought to be no conflict there. Because it's very clear. This covenant. Between one man. One woman. And. Yet. There is that sense. Well. How do we treat those.

[45:37] Who have a different view. That this. These others. How can we. Extend love. And compassion. That we might reach. Those that might be. Otherwise minded. That they might come to Christ.

[45:47] And be saved. And that we can stand. For biblical truth. While still. Reaching out. To the others. Who might. Not see it that way. And then we think.

[45:58] Of the environment. As we talked about. Stewarding creation. And. Digital ethics. To. In the sense of. This world that we live in. Is different from the world.

[46:08] A hundred years ago. The sense of. Digital ethics. Like screens. And computers. And internet. And all of those gadgets. That we have. Today. Are we using technology wisely?

[46:20] Sometimes it can be. Really a time drain. Can't it? We know we can easily get. Sucked into. Just wasting time. On mindless. Things.

[46:31] Like. Games and such. Sometimes. Some people get so obsessed. That they're. What's it called? When they do gaming. They do gaming. And it's like. Hours and hours. Just playing some.

[46:42] Shoot them up. Or some driving game. You think. What's the point of that? Is that using my time wisely? Or is it really. A vain pursuit. A trivial pursuit. That's just.

[46:53] Pointless. And maybe not wise. And it can become an addiction. Of course. The next section there. Questions of conscience. We're all going to be faced with these things.

[47:06] And sometimes. You can see it one way. Or you can see it the other. This ambiguity. It's like. Oh. I'm a bit torn. Which way do I go? Do I go this way?

[47:16] Or do I go that way? And. When we're faced with those questions of conscience. Have that internal moral compass. That the word of God is my compass. And.

[47:27] As much as we're living in this world. That's fallen through sin. And we might be fallible ourselves. Inclined to. Maybe not do the right thing. Or decide the right thing. That the scriptures will inform.

[47:38] Our choices. In those disputable areas too. It could be for some. That there's not an explicit command. So some have got questions.

[47:49] For example. About. Celebrating. Certain things. Like celebrating. Christmas even. Or whatever. Whatever it be. That. There's disputable matters.

[48:01] Some Christians can take a hard line. One way. And a hard line the other. Let's exercise liberty. With love. That. Even as believers. We might differ on certain things.

[48:14] We accept that there's a bit of scope there. As much as we might have very strong convictions. One way or the other. We'll exercise. That grace with each other. And.

[48:25] The question of civil disobedience. The Bible talks about how we should honor. Civil. Government. Respect it. Romans 13. Yet.

[48:38] Sometimes. Our government makes really dumb decisions. They make godless decisions. They make godless laws. And the governance of our land. Sometimes they.

[48:50] Tell us things that are not. Not in accord with the word of God. So. When they redefine marriage. For example. And. When the conflict comes down to it.

[49:01] When we're faced with the. Choice of. Do we obey God. Or do we obey man. Obviously it's clear. That we obey God. Over man. And that can be.

[49:12] You know. When you have a conflict about things. And. I mean. For example. And I know there's different views on this one. About the COVID. Lockdowns. And all that. That there's certain rules.

[49:22] Oh. You've got to close the church down. It gets to a point where actually. God says to worship. So. We tried to exercise.

[49:34] Discretion with that one. When we. When we tackled it. But some churches actually said. No. We're just going to totally disregard. What the government says. Because. They have the conviction. That we shouldn't stop worship at all.

[49:46] And still just continue to worship like normal. Now of course. It's another. One of those ethical dilemmas. Do you. Do you just. Ride roughshod over what the government says. Well actually. Well the government's meant to be.

[49:59] In God's stead. It's meant to be. Looking after us. And making. Hopefully wise decisions. As much as we might differ with them. So again. There's this conflict. Which side of it do you fall. But ideally.

[50:10] Hopefully. That. You'll have the precedence of. God above. All other considerations. That. What would honor God. That would be the first consideration. And.

[50:21] Even if it mean. Accepting the consequences. That we might even get locked up. You know. There was pastors in Canada. That. Got locked up. For months and months. Because they. Went against the rules.

[50:32] Of the time. Of the COVID rules. Because they. Felt. In their conscience. To. Rather keep worshipping. So. These are things that we. Got to face. This is the ethical dilemma.

[50:43] That we sometimes have. And then last section there. We can think of. In conclusion. Really. What is. Christian ethics. It's. That we're. Oriented by grace.

[50:54] We're empowered. By God's spirit. To apply biblical truth. Hopefully in every facet. Of our lives. So again. We've only. Just scratched the surface. Here tonight. But you can see.

[51:04] Sometimes there's ethical dilemmas. There's. One Christian sees it one way. One Christian sees it the other way. And hey. That. That's. Life. Sometimes we don't always agree. On every finer point.

[51:16] But. Hopefully I have that. Overarching principle. That hey. The Bible. What to dictate. How I live. In every facet. Of my life. And. How can I glorify God.

[51:26] How can I put these principles. Into action. In my shoe leather. How can I live it out. In this fallen world. How can I reflect Christ's character. When the rubber hits the road. Down at the workplace.

[51:38] Do I actually think. Hey. I'm a Christian. And I'm. I'm a Christian. In my. Work clothes. As well as. In my Sunday clothes. In the sense where. It's.

[51:49] Who I am. I'm a Christian. And we don't switch it on. Or switch it off. We actually have that mind. I'm going to live with integrity. And. Be a witness. And.

[52:00] Ethics really. It flows from God's grace. It's not a legalism. It's not that we're forced to do anything. It's because hey. We want to honour our Lord above all. That's the first consideration. How do I glorify God.

[52:12] That's my goal. That's the ultimate goal. For everything. And. That should. Be the overarching mindset. Over any decision. That I make. Through life. And then we've got this sense.

[52:23] Where we can. Encourage one another. The church can provide that. Encouragement. And accountability. And ultimately. Thinking. Well. Christ is coming. And.

[52:33] With that in mind. We're anticipating. The coming of our Lord. That we want to be a people ready. We've got that blessed hope. And it affects how we live. So grace teaches us.

[52:44] How to live. Soberly. Righteously. And godly. In this present world. Looking for that blessed hope. The glorious appearing. Of our Lord. So. We're going to live soberly. We're going to live righteously.

[52:56] We're going to live godly. Because in view. Is the coming of our saviour. And we want to be ready. Anticipating. His return. And.

[53:06] Then we can think. Of this scripture here. Ephesians 4. Verse 1. It tells us. Walk worthy. Of the vocation. Wherewith ye are called. Walk worthy. And.

[53:18] It's not that the pastor. Sets that. Or the church. Or some. Legislative. Legalistic framework. That is imposed upon you. But you think. Hey. How can I walk worthy of my Lord?

[53:29] How can I do something. In how I walk. In how I live. That's going to be worthy. Worthy of my saviour. That my walk is going to be worthy of him. There's going to be no question.

[53:41] And. As failing as I. I'm inclined to be. I'm going to determine that. To walk worthy of my Lord. To commit. To commit. To live boldly. For his glory.

[53:52] To let my life be a testimony. For the gospel. That even. In the nitty gritty of life. In the people that know me. The best. My workmates.

[54:03] The people that. Interact with me. Through. My life. Or whatever means. Whatever media. That. All the relationships of my life.

[54:14] With all the people that I love. And care about. That I'm going to walk worthy of my Lord. That. That's going to be the overarching consideration. In everything I do. In how I interact.

[54:24] In how I manage conflict. In how I speak. In how I. Put my relationships with other people. Hey. I want to walk worthy. Walk worthy of my saviour.

[54:35] And be a testimony. That I'll draw others to. The Lord through my life. And. You could think. How you could put it. In summary. There. How can we study the word.

[54:46] To get God's wisdom. To be a testimony for him. And we look at Philippians 4. Verse 8. It's a great. Verse to commit to memory. About. How we should think about things.

[54:58] Now ethics is about. Thinking. It's about choices. About discernment. It's about. Which. Way do I fall. On the spectrum of. Dilemmas. I'm faced with.

[55:09] That. Above all. That I'll. Have that mind. That thinking. That intellect. That consideration. In. All of my mental. Wranglings.

[55:19] And. Decidings. Of this or that. That will have this. Thought. About how we think. So we could see that. Verse there. Philippians 4. Verse 8. Finally.

[55:30] Brethren. Whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely.

[55:42] Whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue. If there be any praise. Think on these things. I know Julie's good at chipping me sometimes when I need it.

[55:54] To actually stop thinking about the negative. Now stop thinking about what's going wrong. Stop thinking about. All the things that are not working out. But rather think on these things.

[56:07] Have that mind shift. Away from the negative. And the. You know. Your human reactivity. Actually I want to think about these things. What's true. Honest.

[56:19] Just. Pure. Lovely. Of good report. Think on that. Dwell on that. Concentrate on that. Any virtue. Any praise. Think on these things. So we can live it out.

[56:29] We can think it out. That our whole. Living out of your faith. Will be minded. With these. Principles of ethics. Of. Of truth. Lived out.

[56:40] It's your Christian life. It's your Christian witness. It's you. It's the gospel according to you. Hey I'm going to live ethically. I'm going to live with integrity. To honour my Lord. To give him glory.

[56:51] In every dimension. Every facet. Every interaction. Every relationship. With my life. That God will help me. To be. Such a person. Let us pray. Lord we thank you.

[57:02] Dear Lord. That. These truths of your word. It's meant to be lived out. Lord that. We're meant to be. A display. Of your glory. To this fallen world. That will shine as lights.

[57:14] In this darkened world. Lord help us. To have that mind. When we interact. With others. That. Especially those that know you're not. That they're in darkness. They're blinded. Lord.

[57:25] And we were there once. Lord help us to have compassion. Help us to have grace. And patience. And kindness. Let. Let our bias be. To love. To care.

[57:36] To have that. Scriptural. Foundation. To have that eye. To what would be. Worthy of you. Lord. We'll walk that way. Help us Lord. To have that grace.

[57:46] We pray. And Lord. To not just take this lightly. But. When we face those ethical dilemmas. And we know. We. We will differ amongst. This body here tonight.

[57:57] On some of these dimensions. Which way we fall. But Lord. What matters the most. Is that. We'll put you first. And give you all the glory. So that our conscience. Will be clear.

[58:08] We'll have that. Integrity. Of character. Of ourselves. By your grace. Lord. As much as we're inclined. Not to. And we'll have those. Spiritual disciplines. That we need.

[58:18] Lord. Energise us that way. Give us. Your wisdom. We pray. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.