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    Week 4 Basis of Christian Ethics

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    Basis of Christian Ethics

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    Week 4 Basis of Christian Ethics

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    anggelia25anggeles
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    Basis of Christian Ethics

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    Basis of Christian Ethics

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    1 views2 pages

    Week 4 Basis of Christian Ethics

    Uploaded by

    anggelia25anggeles
    Basis of Christian Ethics

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    The Basis of Christian Ethics as Revealed in the Righteousness of God & Revealed in the Scriptures

     He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and
    upright is He. Deuteronomy 32:4
     The Righteousness of God is one of the most prominent attributes of God in the Scriptures, is also one of the most
    elusive, or indescribable.
     The Righteousness of God is virtually synonymous with His Justice.
     The most common Old Testament word for Just, means "Straight," and the New Testament word means "Equal," in a
    moral sense they both mean "Right."
     When we say that God is Just, we are saying that He always does what is right, and what should be done, and that He
    does it consistently, without partiality or prejudice
    What is righteousness?
     Webster dictionary says, is a state of BEING right or just. Being upright blameless or morally right. A conduct that
    conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong
     In the context of Christianity, "righteousness," means to be right blameless or just before God, to act with justice.
     We are made righteous through the loving action of God. The Holy Spirit is what makes us right in the eyes of the
    Father. We are also right before God as God sees his Son in us.
     The term, "righteousness," is the term, "justified, or Justification..." This term means, "The act of declaring as righteous
    in the sight of God.
     To be justified means, "to be declared righteous; to be declared right or just by God." God declares you as RIGHT
    before Him.
     So to be RIGHTEOUS means that you are RIGHT before God according to God's standards and definition.
    The Righteousness of God
     The incredible Truth about righteousness before God is that it is NOT based upon who we are in Him. Rather, it is
    based upon who Christ in us.
     Jesus Christ IS the righteousness of God. He is the ONLY righteousness of God. And if Christ is in us, then He is our
    ONLY righteousness.
     We are righteous only if CHRIST is in us - the righteousness of the believer is Christ Himself, meaning Christ in us. He
    is alone our RIGHTEOUSNESS.
     (I Corinthians 1:30) And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, Righteousness
    and Sanctification and Redemption
    Why must a person BE righteous before God?
     Because God is righteous God, and God is a holy God, and we are to spend eternity living with Him.
     Eternal life IS a righteous life-it is that by nature. Why? Because Christ IS our life, and Christ IS our righteousness. --
    We are talking about a Living Person that have eternal life in Christ.
     Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
    Romans 5:1
     The Teaching of, "justification by faith," states that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God will impute our sin to Him,
    and will impute to us His righteousness. This is the explanation of how God is able to LEGALLY and MORALLY
    justify the sinner because of Jesus Christ.
    How do We pursue righteousness?
     So, we've covered what righteousness is, and how we get it. Let's finish with how we pursue it.
     In 2 Timothy 2:22, when Paul talks about turning from our lustful desires and pursuing righteousness, he doesn't mean
    trying to earn or achieve it. He means pursuing God's character, because it is the desire of our new nature to become
    more Christlike.
    3 steps to pursue Righteousness:
    1. To turn away from your natural, sinful desires
    2. Turn to Christ and His perfect ways, and His righteous ways
    3. Through obedience to His command

     God is preparing us for eternal life with Him, aligning us with our righteousness through Christ.
     Our righteousness began in Christ and is completed in Christ. Follow Him and pursue it daily. He restores my soul. He
    leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Psalms 23:3)
     Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
    lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
    things.
    There are six features of biblical ethics as revealed in the Scriptures:
    1. Biblical Ethics Is Covenantal or Communal
     The teaching of Biblical ethics is existing for the people of God.
     While all people are morally accountable to God, The Bible leaches us that the ethical life portrayed in Scriplure is
    intended especially for those who are in covenant relationship with God.
     The Sermon on the Mount reveals this (Matt. 5:1-2)
    a. The love ethics, is the cornerstone of the New Testament's moral teaching, is placed directly on the shoulders of
    believers.
    b. John 13:34-35. I give you a new commandment - to love one another. Just as I have loved you, that you also
    love one another. v35. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples - if you have love for one another."
    c. 1 Pet. 4:8. Above all keep your love for one another fervently, because love covers a multitude of sins.
    d. Heb. 13:1. Continue to love each other like brother and sister, and always remember to be kind to Strangers.

    2. Biblical Ethics is Grace-motivated.


     "We love because God first loved us" (1 John 4:19] is the consistent rhythm of the Bible.
     What God has done for us, is supremely manifested in Christ, it is the foundation of what we do for God.
     God's acceptance of us as his children results in ethical living. Ethical living is the result in God's acceptance of US.
     Throughout the Bible, upright living does not lie essentially in believers' exertion of willpower but in the spiritual
    and moral transformation brought by the power of the gospel in them, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in
    their lives

    3. The Ethics Of The Bible is Transformational


     The ethical life described in the Bible is one that is energized by something more profound than mere behavior
    conformity.
     Biblical ethics stems from the inner life, That's what the Bible calls the heart.
     It is an ethics generated by a law written on the heart. (Jer. 31:31-33)
     It is an ethics that stirring, urges of the indwelling and sanctifying of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 5:5) (Gal. 5:22-25)
     It is an ethics that is fundamentally an internal rather than external. (Matt. 15:18-20)
     It is an Ethics that goes beyond mere conformity to a written code. (Matt. 23:25-28) (2 Cor. 3:6).

    4. The Ethics Of The Bible Is Countercultural.


     It is "against the grain." "There is no division"
     Those who are in a covenant relationship with God are called upon to conduct their lives according to the new
    identity that flows from that gracious relationship. (Exodus. 19:5 1 Pet. 2:9-12).
     This does not mean rejection of existing cultural values but radical assessment and, if necessary, replacement of
    those values in light of the kingdom into which bellevers have been drawn by God's grace. (Rom. 12: 1-2).

    5. Biblical Ethics Has An Integrative Character


     Means to bring together or incorporate into a whole, to combine, to unit and give equal opportunity & consideration
    to (a racial, religious, or ethnic group or a member of such a group).
     Reaching into every corner of human living, the system of ethics taught in the Bible touches belief and conduct.
    (Eph. 4:17-24)
     Private behaviour and public morality (James 1:27)
     Personal devotion and mutual justice (Jer. 7:1-11; Mic.6:6-8)
     This characteristic is due to the saving framework in which believers now live-they have been given a wholly new
    identity. (Romans 6; 1 Pet. 2:9-10).

    6. Finally, Its eschatological character


     Biblically, ethics is shaped and motivated by what God has done in Christ and what he promises to do in the future.
     Followers of Christ pursue holiness by looking back and by looking forward.
     We look back to what God has done, sending his Son, uniting us to Christ, and placing his Spirit within us. And we
    look forward to what God will do, as Christ returns a second time to execute justice and finally redeem his people
    from all sin and suffering...

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