Scripture and Decision-Making
In a world filled with test-tube babies, drones, and physician-assisted suicide, Christian ethics can become unpredictable, with positions turning irrelevant as soon as they are broadcasted. This dilemma causes us to ask, how do we move from the ancient text of the Bible to contemporary ethical issues? Do the Old and New Testaments give answers for ethical dilemmas in public policy, genetics, creation care, and politics? While moral decision-making is an intimidating task nowadays, Christians need not fear; God has not left His people without guidance in every area of life (2 Pet. 1:3).
In this essay, we will examine why every believer is called to Christ-centered ethical reasoning. Then we will turn our attention to how we use the Bible in moral decision-making.
Pursuit of Human Flourishing
Much of secular ethics is based on the question, “Who am I in relation to myself?” But for those of us who believe in God, we believe that God created this world and everything in it with a planned purpose. In ethics, this is called a telos, or a purpose for which we were created. From the beginning, humans were made to worship their natural telos (Gen. 2:15). We were made to aim toward human flourishing and humanity’s good. This explains why we are naturally fulfilled to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
However, due to sin, this pursuit is difficult. Pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful is difficult. Sin has fractured this natural end and caused man to be misguided in his decision-making. As Christians, we must have a biblical understanding of what sin actually is, especially if we are to understand ethics. Leroy Forlines states, “If one cannot sin without being conscious of it, this means that anything one thinks to be right is all right.” Forlines continues by saying, “If whatever one thinks to be right is right, careless thinking seems to be rewarded.”[1] This is why the best Christian is a humble, repentant, and morally aware Christian, in terms of moral decision-making.
Thus, we must rely on an authority outside ourselves in our decision-making: namely, God’s Word. Careful attention to Scripture is required of every person if they are to make ethical applications to everyday life.
Ethical Application of Scripture
Scripture can and should be the Christian’s final authority. When moral decisions are made without Scripture as the final authority, ethics will lose power and precision. Carl F. H. Henry speaks to this truth:
The Hebrew-Christian Ethic is transcendently revealed. Its source is a special Divine disclosure to man. In contrast with the ethics of human insight and speculative genius, Christian ethics is the ethic of revealed religion. In the preface to the Ten Commandments stands a dramatic and momentous phrase that is characteristic of revelational ethics: “And God spake all these words” (Exod. 20:1). From this source it gains an eternal and absolute quality. It communicates to man commands and norms that are unaffected by society or by time or by place.[2]
Henry maintained that Scripture is absolutely necessary as the truth standard for the disciples of Christ. Scripture has the ability to function in a way that explains the whys of life.
Scripture not only provides the “whys” of life, but also authoritative guidance on the “hows” of life. The Free Will Baptists Treatise of Faith and Practice says the Scriptures “are a sufficient and infallible rule and guide to salvation and all Christian worship and service (2 Tim. 3:16-17).”[3] Thus we ask how the Bible functions as our authoritative guide. What follows are some of the most common views on its role in our moral decision-making:
The Bible as Principles – This theory seeks to find the underlying principle in any given passage by which we can reach conclusions on how to make decisions. Rather than looking for specific commandments, we should look for the motivating principle that informs the precepts and laws found within the Bible.
For example, God commands people to not mix different types of fabric (Lev. 19:19) or round off the hair on your head (Lev. 19:27). Proponents of this view do not see these commands to be taken literally in today’s culture, though the motivating principle still applies: Christians should be set apart and recognizable in both behavior and practice.
While the Bible is filled with timeless truths, this view seems to ignore the rich diversity of teaching on ethics in Scripture. Careful study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount reveals virtues to be lived out, not suggested principles, so that we might emulate Christ’s behavior. Again, we see here the mistake of limiting Scripture in a way that ignores authorial intent, genre, and cultural background. This view can be helpful based on the timeless truths found within Scripture but it is incomplete and limits the way Scripture speaks to every area of life.
The Bible as Eternal Laws – This theory of applying Scripture for moral decisions is one in which the foundation is the revealed will of God, namely, the commands of God as found in Scripture. Proponents of this view argue that if we want to know what decision to make, we should consult the ordinances found within the Old and New Testaments. Special attention should be given to the laws and rules in moral decision-making. Simply find a rule and follow it.
However, the problem with this view is that the Bible is actually more than just sixty-six books of rules. While it includes specific instructions and commandments, it also contains prophetic writings, songs, and wisdom literature. It would be difficult to hold to biblical inerrancy and yet not interpret the Scriptures in light of each book’s genre, authorial intent, or cultural background.
Strict adherence to this view will soon run into trouble when it comes to finding eternal laws for nuclear warfare, assisted reproduction, and capital punishment. Ethical problems are changing. What matters is that our sense of ethics is attuned to a view of Scripture that is adequate to speak to every area of life.
The Bible as Revealed Morality of Laws, Principles, and Virtues – In his book, Exploring Christian Ethics, Kyle Fedler gives some helpful advice in the ethical application of Scripture. He argues that using just one method of applying Scripture is inadequate. We should interpret narratives as narratives, poetry as poetry, and epistles as epistles. He then says that we should try as best we can to situate ourselves in the historical-cultural context of the original hearers. We should seek to understand the authorial intent as much as we can before drawing conclusions or application.
Fedler then argues that we should not lift a Bible verse out of its literary, historical, and cultural context in any circumstance, and then make application in our moral decision-making. “By ripping passages out of their literary, social, and historical context,” he writes, “Scripture has been wrongly employed to justify such things as slavery, the burning of witches, the Holocaust, and the taking of land from the American Indians.”[4] He states further, “Yes, there is great diversity within Scripture, but that does not mean that all readings are equally valid or defensible. It is important to discern the larger unity of vision within the Bible and to base one’s exegesis upon its dominant lines.”[5]
The Bible is capable of guiding us in every moral decision, but we cannot simply “proof-text” to find a verse for every dilemma. Scripture must be treated with reverence for what they actually are.[6] The Apostle Paul has no specific instruction for what we should do with test-tube babies, drones, and human cloning. This is why we must be faithful to understanding the laws, principles, and virtues found within Scripture before making application to contemporary context.
Conclusion
Scripture is the ultimate source of authority for the Christian in moral decision-making. We must guard against emotional and utilitarian justification of moral events. The Bible reveals to us the heart of God for His image-bearers and His redemptive purposes for the entire creation. We should see Scripture as being inspired and powerful (2 Tim 3:16), convicting and discerning (Hebrews 4:12), and as a positive guide in life and practice (Ps. 119:105). This is why knowing how Christian ethics applies to the life of a believer should be emphasized in the local church.[7]
God has not left us without guidance for the moral dilemmas we find ourselves in today (2 Pet. 1:3). With careful attention to reading Scripture, we should have confidence in the Gospel to provide guidance for the ethical problems of our day. Because the Gospel is unaffected by society, time, and place, it can handle the burden of being the one “main thing” of a church.[8] Bearing this truth in mind, every person ought to be concerned about and interested in ethics. As Socrates said in Plato’s Republic, “We are discussing no small matter, but how we ought to live.”[9]
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[1] Leroy Forlines, Biblical Ethics: Ethics for Happier Living (Nashville: Randall House, 1973), 23-24.
[2] Carl F. H. Henry, Christian Personal Ethics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 188.
[3] Treatise of the Faith and Practices of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, Inc. (Nashville: The Executive Office, 2013), Chapter I, p. 3.
[4] Kyle D. Fedler, Exploring Christian Ethics: Biblical Foundations for Morality (Louisville: John Knox Press, 2006), 54-55
[5] Fedler, Exploring Christian Ethics, 55.
[6] See Jordan Pennington’s book, Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2012). Pennington points out, “[O]ur canonical Gospels are the theological, historical, and aretological (virtue-forming) biographical narratives that retell the story and proclaim the significance of Jesus Christ, who through the power of the Spirit is the Restorer of God’s reign.”
[7] See Andrew Walker, Knowing the Good and Doing the Good. Access here: http://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/knowing-the-good-and-doing-the-good
[8] Tim Keller, Center Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 36.
[9] Socrates, in Plato. (399 BCE.) Republic 1:352d.
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